What I've been doing

"Slant6" (slant-6)
12/24/2014 at 10:44 • Filed to: None

I don't think I've ever been active on Oppo long enough to be considered a regular. Been around for about 2 years now but have only really posted on a regular basis in spurts. I'm on Christmas break now. Here's what's new:

The Dart is in storage. My usernamesake is currently in a 53 foot trailer at my dad's warehouse. We came to the decision that it should be stored away until I graduate from college and start having my own place and funds to do something with it. The plan right now is complete drive train swap from an ex police hemi Charger (i know it will be hard, but totally worth it).

I had to put it in storage to free up driveway space for this project:

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1999 Saab 9-3 convertible.

I hated this car. I bought it for $750 and put about $500 into it and it still failed to impress me. The top never worked correctly, smoke would intermediately come from the engine compartment and the brakes never bleed right. I'm also used to the higher quality of my 9-5 wagon (which hardly ever gives me a problem) so the convertible was just a bust. I was able to replace the seats with some nicer ones from a facebook group and I sold the car locally on Craigslist for $1500. I made a small profit and gained a good bit of experience. The same day I sold the car I bought something I had always wanted.

My neighbor's 1995 Toyota Tacoma

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I've grown up seeing this truck. It's technically blue but looks purple from most any angle. 215,000 miles, 4x4, regular cab, 5 speed. Bought it for $1400. This is the first car I've bought that I could drive immediately after buying it. The 9-5 needed a water pump and the vert needed seat-belts and brakes. This truck is awesome. I drive it every chance I get. It gets decent fuel economy (average 20, which should get better once I replace the cat and the exhaust). I'm getting a little bit of white smoke on start up that goes away once it's warmed up which I'm not sure if it's just cold out, or the patched muffler is just holding water or the head gasket is on the way out. Ill wait until it gets warmer out to diagnose it but it still runs well. I bought it for college, which is the next little part of my story.

I got into my first choice school: Appalachian State University in Boone North Carolina. It's awesome. I'm going to study Industrial Design and I have a truck that can get me home in the snow. Since I've lived here in NC my entire life I get instate tuition, which makes the cost of attendance an affordable $13,000 a year. I'm really excited about this.

Well, that's what I've been doing.

DISCUSSION (8)

E92M3 > Slant6
12/24/2014 at 10:53

Boone is a cool place. Sometimes I wish I had went to school there..

Leadbull > Slant6
12/24/2014 at 12:15

Where at in NC are you from? I'm currently chillin' at my grandma's house in Fayetteville. Most of my paternal family lives in the area, and I've been all over the state.

Slant6 > Leadbull
12/24/2014 at 12:28

I live in Wake Forest. It's 20 miles north of Raleigh, where I go to school.

Leadbull > Slant6
12/24/2014 at 13:25

Raleigh is pretty nice.

I just love the mountains, though.

Slant6 > Leadbull
12/24/2014 at 13:28

Agreed.

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > Slant6
12/24/2014 at 13:52

You drive a 90s pickup and are studying Industrial Design. I drive a 90s pickup and am studying Industrial Design. Are we twins?

Slant6 > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
12/24/2014 at 13:57

I'd say coastal counterparts, even though you're a few states away from the west coast. What is studying ID like? I hear it's a ton of drawing and I haven't taken drafting since 6th grade. But I do a lot of Photoshop and 3ds max (and I've been told AutoCad is easy to learn with 3ds experience).

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > Slant6
12/24/2014 at 14:16

Its alot of everything. Its basically Engineering without the math and a little graphic design, architecture and interior design thrown in for good measure. Its a very versatile career path. Something to realize, drawing is not drafting. Drawing is being creative and arbitrary with a pencil. Drafting is drawing a line to a point on a page over and over and over and over and over again.