Nice to see you back, Guido7. Hope everyone is enjoying the show. This has got to be one of the longest threads in quite some time.

 

46 ½.

I like a moderate mixture of aesthetics, performance, utility and creature comfort.

I currently own a 1995 Ram 1500 Laramie. Maroon, Unique rims w/Bridgestone Revo 285/75/r16’s, black extend-a-fenders, tinted windows and a Roll n’ Lock bed cover. Used to be a real looker…not exactly “pimped”, but kewl.

Of course, I regularly exceeded the payload capacity of my poor 1500, so the 5.2L engine, tranny and suspension have needed work and have seen their best days. One guy dropped a boulder out of a front-end loader onto my Roll n’ Lock case, dinged the heck out of it and eventually it became non-functional. The lug nuts on my front drivers side backed-off and my wheel came off on the highway, not only making my rim unusable (not to mention irreplaceable) but taking my fender flare with it, adding insult to injury.

Sometime soon, when the dealers get REALLY desperate to move the remaining 05’s, I plan to get a 2500/Hemi. If I want to make it impossible for people on the street to miss my manhood, maybe even a Power Wagon, though I’m not much of an off-roader. I could have used that in high school back in Az., where you needed a 4x4 to get to the keggers, but these days I look for a more refined image.

 

HOLY CRAP!!!! I just read up on this thread where I had left off and WTF? I leave for a few days and suddenly everybody has guns-a-firing. I wish I had come back earlier to "clean things up," but I'm glad to see that ya'll are now raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. None the less I don't want everybody to think I bailed on this thread when the S hit the fan, so here's what I have to say;

05Laramie,

I agree with you about not dropping school. In fact that was never my intention. Maybe you just interpreted my words in a negative fashion. I also don't look at the money in front of me and think everything is A-OK. There are a few other things you mentioned that were wrong, but wrong only about me. Basically, you assumed the kind of person I am with the little bit of information you had. That, I think, is what is what started to **** people off. I guess they figure if you are gonna do it to me, then you just might do it to others too(ie. "rubbing people the wrong way.) Plus you have all the blue collar guys in an uproar to defend their way of life. I took no offense in what you had said, only in your assumption of who I am. Oh, btw, I'm not confused about what I want to do.



1SlowFormula,

Thanks for picking up a fight that I wasn't around to fight for myself...LOL.

Not that I was looking for a fight, 05Laramie.....

ce2flaco and others,

Thanks for backing up all the blue collar guys out there. Without them nothing would get done.

SO....a little info about me for everyone, especially 05Laramie, to tie up loose ends.

Am I going to finish college?

Yes, when I financially get back on my feet and when I feel ready to deal with those A-holes at drexel again.

What will I do when I graduate with a bachelors in mechanical engineering?

Right now I love what I do. I have always loved construction since I was a little kid. I'll probably do this for a while, but when it is time to move on I know I have the ability to go and do almost whatever bc of my background and my experience.

What exactly is it that I do now?

I am self employed in home remodeling. I choose the jobs. I choose the people I work for. I choose when I want to take a vacation and for how long. I choose the challenges in my profession that make me confident and better at what I do. It almost doesn't get any better than that. I handle all aspects of a remodel; elec, plumbing, framing, masonry, finish work, you name it. I have a natural talent for working with my hands and I can honestly say that I can do it all. I'm only limited by my physical ability and the few tools that I don't have.

The only way things can get better are if I hire some decent trustworthy tradesmen to take some of the load off my shoulders. That will come in due time. Then I will really be running a business and that is the goal.

But why not work a white collar job if you have the ability?

Honestly I could care less. I have done all of that before and even had a desk with my name on it. I worked for Philly International airport Dept of Engineering monitoring/inspecting all the new construction making sure things are right. If anybody knows Philly International, then they know that it has gone through some major overhauls in the past years. I was a part of all of that when it began. I worked as a manufacturing engineer for a company called Synthes. They make medical implants for bone fractures out of titanium. I designed some of the tooling and fixtures to make those parts possible. I also worked for Black & Decker. Specifically, research and development for DeWalt Circular saws. Next time you're in a home depot or lowes pick up a DW369 and look at the bevel stops for 22.5 and 45 degrees. I designed the concept and the prototype saws with that feature.

Fact of the matter is I don't get the satisfaction out of those jobs like I do out of creating things with my own hands. If I get anything at all it is the pride of having a high tech job that society tends to look up to and that doesn't satisfy who I am, only my ego. The cool part is that I have and engineering background to go along with my blue collar talent and vice versa. It is a quality that most people in my field(s) don't have. Also, I am very successful in my business right now. If you want me there is always a three to four month waiting list. Now if somebody offered me an engineering job that I liked, then yeah sure I would go for it. But it would have to have one hell of a paycheck and benefits for me to let go of the freedom I have now.

As you can see, I am the college guy and I am the working guy all at the same time. The college guy is no better than the tradesman and the same is true for the opposite. Both will need eachother no matter how far apart they seem. Believe me I know. Finding a job in either field of work these days isn't easy. Making it on your own isn't any different either.

To each his own and leave'em alone.

Thanks for hearing me out you guys.

 

I am 23 and just bought my first dodge ram 1500 slt with the 4.7 v8 yesterday. I wanted to get the hemi, but didn't really care enough I guess... I got a good deal, so whatever...
Anyway, I am a systems admin for a large upstate ny hospital. I used to drive a 2004 WRX STi I purchased in the summer of 2003, till about a couple weeks ago when I sold it.
I am looking to get Line-X spray in bed liner this week and a tonneu cover. Eventually I also want to put pick up a nice throaty cat back exhaust. I am sort of a car audio/video nut, so I will be doing something with that probably soon.

 

I'm 44, and this is my first Dodge. I'm a bleedin' heart liberal social worker, but I hate being pigeon-holed. When I pull up in my gas-guzzlin hemi, some people just scratch their heads. Keep 'em guessin.

 

I'm 31 and work behind a desk in SoCal. Plan on moving to Idaho in the next month and doing the same kind of work I do now. I work for Welfare and have to make sure people are getting there benefits every month. It's a tough gig at times.

To all the enlisted and retired Armed Services guys/gals out there: I'd like to give you all a thanks for your service. Both my grandparents were in WWII, my dad was in 'Nam for the Air Force. I never enlisted as I didn't want to move my family every 2-4 years. I hated that when I was a kid. I currently have 2 nephews in the Army. One of them fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, the other has yet to be deployed. I couldn't be a prouder uncle!!

Just bought my '04 QC SLT 2X4. Dealer wanted $26,990 for it. By the time we signed the contract the price was $17,190. LOL!!!

 

Hey all 21 here going on 3 years AD USAF

 

Thank you Silver Eagle! It was beginning to look like I was going to remain tied as the oldest one here!


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