01tibby

warning, this will probably be the longest post to ever grace these forums. im letting it all out. positives and negatives of my life right now, future ideas for mods on the tib...everything. not for the faint of heart.



so lately i've been having some conflicting and just plain random thoughts mostly surrounding my car, so i thought i would spill them all over the off topic board. short intro to how i got where i am now...

spring 03 graduated highschool...good grades
fall 03 CSM(community college)...good grades
spring 04 UMD(university of MD)...driving 1-2+hours in rush hour traffic to and fro the university from home while working near home...horrible grades
fall 04-spring 06 CSM...full-time job, lots of stress but still manageable...good grades, associate's degree in engineering
fall 06 UMD...living up here, focused on school...good grades


i'm currently about an hour away from home staying in a house with some friends while i attend UMD. i took my primary job with me, as i do everything online and just email it back to my boss. it's an autocad job for my (home) neighbor... a really small company with just three people total. it's alright and the guy i work for is cool as hell. lately things have been slowing down and i have been going for months without any work as keeping the other employee(wife with a kid) full-time is tough enough on it's own. im completely ok with that, they both have families to provide for and they are both good people. we occasionally go out and have "company" dinners as we like to call them. i also just got a nice $500 christmas bonus which i used to buy x-mas gifts, put a little dent in my credit, treat myself to a couple bar-hopping nights with my buddies from home, and fix a couple little loose ends on my tib. that 500 dollars probably exceeded my total earnings over the last 2 months of the year.

when i was attending my community college i was living at home and working a management position full time. it was a steady 350 a week. i was paying my own tuition, lets say around $2k after books and stuff. i had gotten my credit close to zero while doing that. i eventually got tired of super stress i was dealing with and just went to regular old stocker at like 3 days a week and then i picked up the autocad job, making good money initially.

at the same time i had my tib torn apart, and realized that i never wanted to have it like that again. so i splurged and bought pretty much everything that i ever wanted that would require that kind of tear-down. component set of polks at each corner, an amp to power them, 2 eD 10" subs, an amp to power them, all the wiring for those things, CarPC, all the wiring for that thing, and all the antennas for that thing. add up all that along with the little things which end up costing atleast half as much in most cases and thats close to 4 grand right there. i tapped my bank account and then bought the rest with a card at 0% apr. i always have a card at 0%, so it's no biggie really. i just transfer balances once the 0% ends and all is well. my credit score is up near 750 and im only 21. but that doesnt mean that i dont like the thought of owing someone else large sums of money.

i also started purchasing parts to boost the tib early last year while i still had the available credit, but realized that was not an option. just a few hundred there. then there is my wilwood diy bbk that is totaled around 500 right now and only needs about 100 more to finish. not to mention i had a "quasi" girlfriend over the summer. we hung out all the time, usually at my house, but we did go out occasionally. another couple hundred there after adding it all up.

initially when i registered for umd i was going to be paying the tuition with student loans, and my parents would be paying for a place to live for me. they saw the stress i went through driving up to UMD and back in 2004 while working a job at home and the shitty grades that resulted and they didnt want me going through that again. with the crazy apartment searching we did up here i never really took the time to fully signup for student loans and my parent ended up paying for last semester along with my rent. not only that, with the low income i am getting from my almost non-existent job they sent me a hundred bucks a few times throughout the semester to pay for groceries and to help out with my monthly credit card payments. i wouldnt consider my family "rich" but they do have enough to be able to do this and still be comfortable, mostly because of good planning. they really had no problem with it and are glad to help me out if i need it. i think part of this comes from the fact that my younger brother is now going to towson university and has no problem mooching off of them, while they know it bugs the hell out of me to think i am completely relying on someone else financially. i've been like that ever since i had a job too, so the age difference does not apply.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~

that brings to my current state. i only have about a hundred dollars saved in the bank. i feel like a bum for having my parents pay for all that and knowing that i cant pay them back any time in the foreseeable future. im about 6500 in debt from leftover tuition costs at csm, books here at UMD, and all the car parts i bought around the end of 05. the debt is at 0%, and will be for a long time(i do have to transfer it to another 0% card soon however). i've been searching for a steady PT autocad job up here, but it's near impossible to find one. most jobs are FT or just require credentials i dont have. the money that i did make from my drafting job has a catch with it though. i made 15 dollars per hour during the year, untaxed. i get a 1099misc for those earnings at the end of the year, and have to pay taxes on it. i will probably get a refund from my stocker job, but it wont offset the amount i will owe from the drafting job. i BARELY came out on top last year, and that is with having a lot of earnings taxed throughout the year, and only a little bit from my cad job. all deductions are factored in, but i will be owing the government this year, and i have a feeling it will be a good amount. i am claimed as a dependent on my parent's taxes. it helps them more than it hurts me and i really am dependent on them so i have to bite the bullet on that one.

i do have a full stock of ramen that I payed for though, so we're good there.

but things are looking up financially. i have an interview tuesday with a small e-commerce company doing just grunt computer work(data entry). it would fit perfectly around my school schedule though and its more than i would make working at the college bookstore or something. talking to the person over the phone gave me good vibes and i think im what they need plus a little more. im going to do some fiddling with excel to get familiar with it again. if anyone has experience with data entry and can tell me specifically what i need to know in excel i would appreciate it greatly. she was telling me that all data is entered in excel and exported as a .csv file that pearl(?) can interpret.

the engineering school here at UMD is limited enrollment, and because of my first shitty semester gpa up here, is almost impossible for me to get into. i tried to raise it up above a 3.0(required gpa from all institutions...CSM one is fine but spring04 UMD one is horrible) this semester but going from a 1.2 to that in one semester is a monumental task to do. i ended up getting it to a 2.8 or something, and im not going to be in school for another year just to get into engineering(courses in engineering are only offered at certain times, and many are prerequisites for others).

so i landed myself in physics. blessing in disguise actually. i can get into a research program and make it a paid position by the end of spring if all goes well. it can also count as credit. the program i was looking at is really closely related to engineering too, condensed matter...
http://www.physics.umd.edu/rgroups/condmatex.html

i am looking forward to this upcoming semester. in all reality i did have a good amount of spare time during this last fall semester, and it think it worked against me making me a little lazy. this data entry job will keep me on my toes when im not doing school work though, and provide me with some much needed cash. i've learned that i procrastinate when i am home too, and will be doing nearly all homework immediately after classes in the library so that im forced to get it done. so we'll see how things go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

on to stuff pertaining the tib.

there is no way i could get a different car with my financial situation now, but i have been oogling over the saturn sky. it's pretty much the first car to come out and have me think that i would rather have it than the tib. if i had gone directly into a fulltime job with my associate's in engineering from CSM i would probably be driving a sky right now(if i could have gotten one of those things, they sell like hotcakes). it makes me uneasy thinking about that with how much work i have put into the hyundai. it makes me realize that i will never get that work back if i did decide to sell or trade in the car. a lot of what i have done i just cant rip out and sell.

there are certain things that i can sell though. i have been debating selling my coilovers and sway bars, and returning my suspension to stock. that would net me a grand right there, or close to. the carpc has been considered as well. i would just sell the actual component filled case and molded monitor and leave all the antennas/random wiring in the car and throw my regular old headunit back in. that would be another easy grand.

selling the alarm wouldnt amount to much. even though it has tons more outputs than i see on modern units, its old, the range isnt that great, and there is no way im going through the trouble of removing the harness after it took so damn long to put in.

i AM going to be selling my stock rd2 spoiler. i took it off to do some preliminary mocking up of my shark spoiler and now i think i might be selling the shark spoiler as well. the tib just looks so damn sexy without a spoiler i dont know if i want to ruin it by adding one. before it gets sold though i'm going to finish matching it to the curvature of the rd2 hatch with some fiberglass and bondo, and also provide a mounting solution for it as it came to me with no studs sticking out of it or threaded inserts for bolts. then i could sell it for much more than i could if i sold it as is.

as it stands right now though i am going to see where my life heads in the next couple months and then decide if i want to start raping the tib of the parts that make me love it soo much.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~

in the absence of extra money in this past half a year or so i have been doing nothing but dreaming of what i want to do to the tib and would do if i had zero debt and atleast 3 grand saved up. that has often been challenged with the contemplation of never messing with the tib again, just leaving it how it is, and saving my money...but it really is my calling if you will and i know i still have a few more years in me of modding provided the money is there to do it.

so with that let the ideas flow from my brain. im not going to explain how much, because i'm getting tired of writing, but here they are:

1. m3 auto folding mirrors. just look at the functions of them and know that they will all work in my car.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/04-05-BMW-E...sspagenameZWDVW

2. finish wilwood DIY front bbk.

3. start and finish wilwood DIY rear bbk. retain parking brake function using the "parker" caliper. doesnt require internal shoe parking brake setup inside of rotor hat.

4. finish acquiring parts for turbo kit and install everything. i'll be satisfied with ~250hp, low 13 quarter times, and traction from a quaife to boot. more info on how here:
http://www.rdtiburon.com/index.php?showtopic=15453&hl=

5. build a sub and amp enclosure in the back of my car. cant really explain unless you watch me point to where everything will go in my hatch, so i wont. big enough to house two 10" subs and two amps putting out a combined 750rms yet still able to fit a good amount of groceries or even a hockey bag. also contain a hidden fire extinguisher incase of emergencies, but not to show off.

6. remove switch operated blower controls and integrate everything with my carpc. throw gauges for boosted engine in the dash holes left by blower controls. remove clock and fiberglass that area smooth.

7. HID fog lights

8. home depot lip kit all around, molded to stock panels.

9. open up lower opening in front bumper for intercooler. eliminate marker lights with a little fiberglass and bondo.

10. b****in led tailights. no premade bulbs for those, and tons more leds.

11. shaved doorhandles and rear key hole.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

whelp, im tired...off to bed. if you made it through all that i commend and thank you. i might be adding to that list at the end as i think of more stuff, for people to get ideas and to keep all my ideas somewhere where i can keep track of them.

Blaze

good luck on the interview and good luck on not getting lazy with homework lol.

jokergrin

Well, it sounds like you know your weaknesses and are making a conscious effort to keep moving in the right direction with your schoolwork, your possible internship from your physics class, and your new job. Keep up the good work and keep trying harder...never give up. You will go far. And as far as your Tib is concerned, those are some nice plans. You have inspired me to look into the Home Depot Lip Kit. I think I'll go do some research.

Best of luck and blessings and have a good weekend.

-Steve

Kantizuni

Just remember that a lot of other people are older than you, and haven't accomplished as much.
You seem to know what you want for the most part, and I know from your conversations in the past that you've got your head on straight. You don't need encouragement from anyone (horoscope in a box).

I had the same thought about the Sky when I saw it too. 02.gif
However, I ain't givin up my tib for nuthin!

Good luck with everything.

'treezy

haha, your stresses in life right now are a lot like mine. Take the debt and multiply it a few times, subtract a few of the cool tiburon modifications, and switch physics/engineering with flying airplanes and you pretty much got my life story. sad.gif

Look at the bright side, at least you are not 30 and still addicted to playing Halo with some kid in Malaysia at 3am in the morning. (I know one...) rolleyes.gif

But at the end of the day, all that really matters is;

cool.gif


---------------------------------------------------
All joking behind,

Here's my opinions on your questions... (take it as you wish). Before I start let me tell you where I am coming from in comparison:

and just for kicks, my running debt balance is to the right in red. lmao.gif


The reason I am so stressed is not the amount of debt, but the way I fell behind. They are all school loans, no payments as long as I remain full-time), but I am currently at 101 credits and needing only ~40 more to graduate with a Bachelors in Aeronautical Science. I am so friggin far behind in my flight training (due to the fact that I am left with coming up with most of the costs on my own) that I will probably graduated from Embry-Riddle in late 08'/early 09' with a Bachelor's, TWO minors I don't even need to graduate, and a dispatchers license but STILL be enrolled in flight.

I will have to begin loan payments since I can no longer "run the clock" on my classes after I reach senior status, AND find the money to continue my flight training and receive my certificates/licenses. I will not be authorized to flight instruct so I am left to the only job I know, STOCKING! (currently making $200/week).

I am in a situation already that if I lose my job, I will not be able to make rent. What the eff am I gonna do in 2 to 1 1/2 years when I have the flight portion of my degree remaining AND loan payments to make, AND rent, AHHH!

But I am trying to enjoy myself while I can, save up and keep calm. I too, have a full pantry of ramen. ...that I paid for! wink1.gif


So my advice tibby01 is,

keep your damn car. If you must sell the non-essentials. You have a nice ride, and I would show it off if I were you.

You have a long life ahead of you, and the Saturn Sky will probably still be around in that time.

GET YOUR CREDIT CARD DEBT PAID OFF (I know, I know, the 0%APR switch-a-ro game, but find a way to get it done...)

DEDICATE your free time to the making, and saving of money (minus whatever you need to study your little particle mass stuff... physcists.... LOL).

You gotta land a job somewhere if you non-stop apply EVERYWHERE. Hell do what I did, play the local grocery stores for the training weeks. Go for the training receive your check and say goodbye, easy money. Usually around $200 for a week of training. Move on the the next, till an AutoCAD job lands in your lap.

And on the data entry shizz, I commend your balls to take on a job like that. Ugh, boring but worth it for the $$ if you know what you are doing. "Pearl" is a part of the new Microsoft Office 2k7, I suggest you familiarize yourself with Vista and especially Office 2007's new features (mainly, their new web-saving features, the "ribbon" at the top of every Office program, One Note (kicks ass btw) and Power Points and Excels AWESOME new way of creating documents....


G'lcuk!

01tibby

thanks for the comments fellas and for taking the time to go through all that junk. patreezy, i'm just thanking god that i'm not attending an out of state university. good luck with all that. one thing i do know about student loans is that you can take a long time to pay them off, so i'm sure the minimum payments per month after you stop being full-time are not that much.

'treezy

Dear God, if it's going to be more than $60/month I can pretty much plan on buying a cot and living under a bridge. LOL. Even when I get my CFI and/or CFII (Comm. Flight Instructor/Instrument Instructor) License, they don't make a lot of money for what they do... sad.gif But it's fun.

Plus, I don't know if you've heard about the F2 Tornado that hit Daytona (our other campus) but 50 out of their 65 aircraft were destroyed in the matter which means two things

1.) a huge tuition spike for ALL ERAU students (including Prescott Campus)
2.) Daytona gets all the Garmin G1000's (Cessna 172's with glass cockpits like a Boeing 737). Prescott gets none. =(


And tibby01, don't feel bad about getting help from others when you need it. I personally am EXACTLY the same way. I never accepted money from my Dad, one because he was a jackass about me going to college and two after he tried to offer $$ I refused...

But family is family, and take the help when it's givin to you. You will have plenty of chances to "repay" your debt if you feel you must.

When I moved down here my family in Phoenix donated there kitchen dishes, random furniture, and bedsheets. It was better than $$ imo at that time in my life. I recently made enough money, bought my own furniture and returned it all.

fonseca

My biggest mistake was going to school part-time while working. It's just not worth it. I tried for years in order to avoid studednt loans, and my grades suffered. Not to mention, I could have graduated close to 4 years ago had I been full-time. If I could do it over again, I would have accepted every penny I could get in loans, as the interest rates are the best I'll likely ever see, and had I finished sooner I'd be making a hell of a lot more money than I am now, that's for sure. Did I mention I lost my apt several years back? I'm living at home with my mother when most of my friends are married and have houses of their own.

Don't worry about debt when it's school-related IMO.

HyundaiKitCoupe

damn it seems like you're going to have to make a good number of decisions that will change your lifestyle. i trust you will make the best ones because i know you're smart enough never to give up and do what is necessary to meet your own personal as well as financial criteria.

i'm thinking of going into mechanical engineering myself, but this makes me just not want to pursue that because the system is so diverse, has such high expectations and demands, and requires you to meet such diversified credits so you'll find yourself in school for a long, long time.

my advice to you: let your family help you. that's what they're there for and that is why you're on this earth. my family helps me through some hard times as well as a limited free education i take foregranted.

don't sell your tiburon for excuse for sports car saturn sky. you're saving much money as it is, have something you have a strong passion for, and it would be wierd to be part of something you're not used to. i parked next to a solstice one time, sure it looked a little more beefy than my car but you have to love the car for its history and the company's history more than the car itself. the saturn sky hardly has a history of anykind, it's not even intended for aftermarket. it's just... there.

i'm waiting for a 2009 tiburon possibly convertible while still going to keep my car and possibly throw my supercharger on when i get some good money going. other than that, you're having problems what 35 year olds have. keep doing that and you'll end up in high places anyways.

i'd say relax with the mods man you have too many unnecessary ideas for it at this point. if you want to do BBK's do them later. slow down, keep your life as it is. keep searching for jobs with your degree as they're endless. you'll get paid and pay off your debts. you could be in a worse situation, like me!

i don't really know if i want to attend UMD at this point and if i do i don't really know if i want to do mechanical engineering anyways because i know i'll probably fall behind. at least you have a degree shit i wish i had a degree so i wouldn't have to work in a damn restaurant and puncture my education.

SwiftTiburon

College is expensive and the loans are just crazy. But; its so good to have an education, and it seems like you have made it very far. Thats a good thing.

Keep the tib, a new car just adds to more unneeded debt..and the tib has more history then the Sky. Plus it looks like it means much more to you.

Never worry about accepting money from family if you really need it. If your working your butt off and they know that, they shouldnt give you any crap later on for accepting their help. When I was starting college, Id feel bad for accepting money from my mom for gas or something because she was taking loans out on herself to pay for my school, but she told me that she didnt want me to work a full time job just to get my neccesities..she said school was much more important.

Your def. going through some hard times, but it seems as if all is looking up for you, and eventually things will be better. Just keep looking for those good jobs. Everyone has a tough period they need to go through.