Okay, REALLY quick update. After 3 days here I finally got (restricted) internet access. My personal computer won't find a wifi network, and I don't even have a phone line in my room. So I won't be posting MUCH anymore. Guess someone will finally beat my post count.
Lets see, getting here was fine, I was pretty tired by the time I rolled in. But that's nothing new, it isn't even my longest single day trip (Kamloops to Sherwood Park). So I hope no one is impressed by it.
Class is going to be interesting, turns out that in some cases I need to have measurements precise to 1/10000th of an inch. Yes there are supposed to be 4 zeros there. That's like cutting a sheet of paper 30 times across the depth (part you don't write on) then only using one of those pieces. I'm sure tech TMW can back me up on that.
The guys in my dorm make me sad. All they do is drink or talk about drinking and getting into fights. Though none of them have any of the tell tale signs of being hit before. And when they start throwing punches to show how they were fighting it looks rediculous to me. They swing down at the top of the other guys head... WTF? You aim for soft stuff, eyes, nose, ears, throat. Not his forehead. But.... whatever they feel big.
All in all I was feeling a little depressed about things. Class is going to be crazy tough, no internet, cannot play my games anymore /sob. No twisty roads, and the guys in my dorm are nuts!
Then we got to see the "playbox". Imagine walking into a room where you can see 7 sets of shelves per side, 3 stacks high... and each shelf has 4 or 5 bikes on it. Suzuki, Harley, Kawasaki, and Yamaha's (in that order) are the most common. Not a single Honda in the shop. But there's everything from a 1960 flattracker to an 06 Busa or M109R plus everything you can imagine in between. And we get to ride any or all of them on the Dyno/Rolling Road. Whatever bike we happen to be working on. Unfortunately the bikes are not road legal, and can never be sold because they're "working models" or "mock ups" of next years designs (relatively speaking). They cannot ever be found on the road or it's major problems and cannot be insured.
I like to think I'm rising to the challenge. I'm enjoying studying (which is just messed up). I spent all last night learning how to install a tire and balance it. How to change spokes, or true up a wheel. All sorts of things like that, and that was just bored reading. I think this is going to be a pretty cool year.
Geoff. Classes up here are really popular... apparently this is the "center of North America" for motorcycle repair. Classes are fairly cheap (relatively speaking) and accomodations are reasonable (with no intarnets). If you're thinking about this at all come here. Once you have your Alberta Journeyman you can work ANYWHERE, with no questions asked (Brad one of my profs went to Australia and got a job instantly as soon as they saw his accreditation).
Anyways, I need lunch, so I'm gonna take off.
But thanks for reading
