My Rant on life...

[SpeedyManiac]

I guess I shouldn't be complaining, because I'm fortunate to be able to go to a good university and get a degree, but damn, with all the new bikes coming out, I just want to go riding and get a new bike. Right now I'm attending the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta (Canada) where I'm taking Engineering in hopes of someday designing motorcycles or something. This is all good, except the fact that I'm 1000 miles from home and it's freaking cold outside with a foot of snow on the ground. It's getting warmer now (~-10 C) but it was around -50 earlier this year. Right now I can't wait until the end of april when I'm done exams and can go home and ride (and work :ugg:), it just gets depressing being away from everything I love. One plus is the legal drinking age is 18, but I have much more fun on my bike than at the bar. I plan on sticking through it and getting my degree so I can afford a nice bike someday, but I still sometimes wish I could quit school, work for awhile, get a bike and go racing. Well, that's my rant for the day, thanks for listening.

 

[Smit-Dog]

College is one of the best investments you can make towards your future. 4-6 years in college will impact your next 50+ years. I don't know of anyone who has regretted going to college and sticking it out, but plenty regret not going or not finishing.

 

[Rooster]

College is one of the best investments you can make towards your future. 4-6 years in college will impact your next 50+ years. I don't know of anyone who has regretted going to college and sticking it out, but plenty regret not going or not finishing.

Yeah, take a look at my pay stub, you will REALLY want to stay in college then!! :ohmy:

 

[Casper250]

Hey buddy, I was in your position not to long ago. I graduated with an engineering degree last May after struggling through 6 years of school. Difference though is that I had a bike, but it was home. I used to go to a district race to watch every once in a while and down to the dealership by school to look at bikes all the time. Kept me motivated.

Stay with it! 8 months after I graduated my gerage looked like THIS.

 

[SpeedyManiac]

Thanks for the support guys. Casper, I have a bike, but again, it's at home. Thanks for the motivation though, that definitely makes me want to stick with it.

 

[Smit-Dog]

I had a decent paying job during high school working in a machine shop, so I didn't go to college right away. Took a few courses at a community college, but worked full time for 2 years before going away to school.

Getting paid time and a half and double-time running a Bridgeport and CNC machines, I had a new car, street bike, speed boat, and my own apartment. At age 19, Life Was Good. It was mostly 50-72 hour work weeks, but when you're young and money-hungry, you can do that.

I realized however that I didn't want to work in a machine shop anymore. I would visit friends on the weekends who did go away to college, and decided that it was something that I must do.

Sold all my toys, took out loans, and lived off my credit cards to finance college. It was the best thing I could have done. You'll always have time later in life to enjoy your toys. In the group of guys I ride offroad with, the age range is mostly 35-49. Everyone wishes they could ride anytime they wanted, but if you get your priorities in-line at the right stages of life, you'll really be able to enjoy it all over the long haul.

Good luck!

 

[Green Horn]

Yeah, take a look at my pay stub, you will REALLY want to stay in college then!! :ohmy:

Mine too. :laugh:

An engineering degree? Shoot boy, you gonna have lots of money for new bikes when you get out and find a job. There are LOTS of jobs for all aspects of engineering too. :thumb:

 

[SpeedyManiac]

I'm hoping to go into Mechanical engineering and then work for somebody like Honda, or possibly a race team. Atleast, that's the plan at the moment.

 

[j_freak]

Sounds a lot like my plan, but I haven't gotten to the College part yet...

 

[CaNaDiAn,Eh?]

Stick with it man, when you graduate you'll be able to afford to have a whole garage full of bikes!!!!

How do you like the U of A? I've been thinking of going there when I graduate but its size is kind of intimidating to me. There is less than 250 kids in the school I go to now and that is Preschool to Grade 12. Are the classes and professors generally pretty good? Anything you can tell me about the place would be great, I'd really appreciate the help.
Thanks!!

 

[SpeedyManiac]

Sorry, I haven't checked this thread in awhile. U of A is awesome, I came from a highschool (grade 6-12) that had about 400 students. U of A is pretty big, but not intimidating. The profs range from really great (my economics prof was awesome, and NORMAL) to not good (chem prof that had been teaching since the 70s and hadn't realized the world had changed in the last 30 years). If you decide to go to U of A, spend ATLEAST your first year in residence. I spent my first in res and plan on going back to the res for second year too. You'll make a ton of friends and it really helps with the whole experience. U of A is a top notch school, one of the best in Western Canada. In fact, their engineering program is rated the best in Western Canada, and overall only Waterloo, U of T and maybe one other eastern university is rated above it. As you can see, I think very highly of the school.

 

[CaNaDiAn,Eh?]

Glad to hear you at least enjoy U of A. I am definitely going to be living in residence, hopefully for my entire time at U of A. I'm just worried I'm gonna get lost in the place, it's sooooooo big.

Have you gotten to ride much lately? The weather is getting nicer, not being able to ride must be killing you. But at least its for a good cause.

 

[SpeedyManiac]

I've been riding I think around 8 times since I got back at the end of April. I've gone racing once (may 16th- placed 3rd!) and I'm hoping that I can race again this weekend, but it depends on money, as it'll be about $150 for the weekend just in entry fees.

As for the residence thing the entire time, you may change your tune after a few years. I definitely plan on renting a house or apartment with some friends after next year. You'll find that you may outgrow residence, plus the food sucks, so I suggest you learn how to cook!