Helio Out: Just recently, Team Penske vowed to stand by Helio Castroneves as he faced tax evasion charges, hoping to put him in the car at the beginning of the season if he was acquitted quickly. Something has apparently changed very quickly in Helio’s case, because Penske will hold a press conference tomorrow to announce Helio’s replacement in the #3 car. Names like Will Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay are floating (imagine Ryan being teammates with Penske #6 Ryan Briscoe…that’d be fun), but the name my sources are offering up as the pick is Justin Wilson.

Meantime, I’m hoping for the best for Helio. Some folks I know who know Helio say it wouldn’t be like him to knowingly do something illegal – they are citing his trustful, naive nature as something that may have gotten him into this mess. I just hope he doesn’t have to do time, if these folks are right.

Update: Both the Indy Star and Robin Miller at SPEED TV are reporting the driver is Power!  He’ll be on board until Helio’s situation is clear. So Team Penske hasn’t backed away from supporting Helio after all…they’re just announcing their game plan early. That sounds like the Team Penske we know and love…

Sabrina: I miss my little angel so much…she was the pet love of my life and I’m still having dreams about trying to protect her and occasionally wake up in tears. Just gotta grieve my way through it, I guess.

Sebastian: He’s been so bummed without his little Brina Bean to play and snuggle with. He’s extra-clingy and only eats well if I sit with him. I’ve been giving him as much attention I can.

SF SPCA: I stopped by Saturday on an errand and walked through the kitty condos to see if it was the same as 10 years ago when I volunteered as a cat socializer. Same lovely lofts, mostly full of adorable fuzzballs that need a good home. Including…

Felix!: I saw this little dude, who’d just been made available for adoption 30 minutes before I got there, and had to go in and say hi. I found Mark, a really kind socializer, who joined me in Felix’s room to get to know him better himself. Little Felix was immediately engaging and curious, with the typical energy of a 6-month-old kitten, but a nice settled sweetness to him as well. I wasn’t considering adoption so soon after losing Sabrina, but fifteen minutes later I was telling Mark I wanted to take him with me, so we now have a little bouncing ball of fur in the house. Isn’t’ he cute? 

Sebastian is still hissing a little, but is starting to play with Felix some, and although my heart still aches for Sabrina, it’s fun to have a bit of comic relief and such a sweet kitty boy around to brighten our place a bit.

Work: We’re getting another senior-level writer after all, which is good – we need more hands on deck.

Health: The condition I had surgery for in 2006 is really reasserting itself. Time for another round of tests…more surgery seems a given at this point. The sinus/ear infection has cleared up, but my right ear is still clogged and my hearing is about 40% on that side.

Racing: Is it May yet? Or at least April? Okay, we’ve got the Rolex 24 and Speedweeks coming soon…

TV: Jack is Back!! Other than the political news shows on MSNBC, the only show I see regularly is 24. So happy it’s finally returning after a year off due to the writers’ strike. A girl needs her weekly heart-attack drama…  LOL!