Eric’s Estimate
A country kid in Vancouver

photo credit: sindesign

Like a good member of any family I recently helped my dad move out of his house. He is now retired and is no longer in need of a lot of space, so he is downsizing. A whole house for one person is just too much.

As I was going through the endless piles of stuff in the house I realized. Though everyone is always looking for the largest apartment or house, the car with the most leg room etc. too much space can actually just make you inefficient. You spread out. You leave spaces filled with stuff that you may or may not use. You can leave stuff around because it’s not in your way because you have so much space. So even though you have a giant living space, it ends up being mostly useless and filled with stuff you won’t use. And worse yet, someone else could probably use some of that stuff.

This whole thing got me thinking about work efficiency. I always have thought that I work the best when I have less time to do something. Though it may seem like a really simple and obvious thing, most people give themselves too much time to do anything, and they end up with a lot of extra “time-space” that they fill with useless crap. A little TV here and a few Youtube vids there can add up to a lot of time, and end up making you really inefficient. To top it all off, if you were to fill this time with something useful, you’d probably be able to find something you love doing, or something that would make you more money!

So what’s the solution? Well the way I see it, giving yourself a shorter than normal (but still manageble) time frame to accomplish your goals is a much better and quicker way of getting things done. Give yourself 1 hour to do that project today instead of 4 and see what happens. You won’t sit around to watch TV because you simply wont have the time. Live in a more efficient living space, and you will have less junk. But as for the car, buy the Cadillac with the extra leg room and screw the tiny Honda.

Have fun and be happy,
~E

“Give Me Up Again”
Jonny Lang

Make up your mind take me or leave me
I’ll be doing fine with or without you
I’m wasting my time letting you deceive me
The truth is in your eyes but I deny what I see
Time and time again

I let you get back under my skin
I let you break me down again
I let you get close way too close
But I see through it

You gave me that smile and I gave in
And you knew that I would
Time and time again you pulled me in
Just to give me up, gime me up again

What is a dream if it doesn’t come true
I believe I’ll find love but will it be with you
I never would have thought such a pretty little face could
offer me so much and take all that I had
Well I want it back

I let you get back under my skin
I let you break me down again
I let you get close way too close
But I see through it

You gave me that smile and I gave in
And you knew that I would
Time and time again you pulled me in
Just to give me up, gime me up again

Time and time again you pulled me in
Just to give me up, give me up, give me up

Me on my bike

I recently went through Pro Ride’s Motorcycle Training in North Van and wanted to give a bit of a review of my experience. I’d ridden a motorbike for over a year previous to this, but I figured I could use a refresher and learn a bunch about safe riding anyways… plus my bike is not really street legal and it wouldn’t pass ICBC’s inspection even if I was Jesus…

The first two days are mandatory classroom days… this is enforced by ICBC, and is kinda lame. They cram 12 hours of info into your head without any practical work to speak of and so most of the students forget everything by the time they get on the bike. For me, this was pretty boring and I just hit the snooze button in my brain and dreamt of riding the duffy lake road… The instructor was easy to get along with though and for the most part I think it was well put together. They go through a bunch of stuff that you need to know for your test, and they explain what the examiners are going to be looking for.

The third and fourth days are in a parking lot. The classes are all held at Capilano University in North Vancouver so it’s a gorgeous place to be (even though it’s really freaking hard to get there by transit). They go over clutch control and endlessly put you through drills including the slalom, figure eights, turn boxes etc… this is all good stuff even though it came back to me quickly… It’s great to be able to try things in a controlled environment that you wouldn’t want to learn on the street. Plus the bikes are beaten up enough so you don’t have to worry about dumping it ( I still have never done this and wonder how anyone can ).

The fifth and sixth days are out on the road (finally!) and are by far the most fun. The classes are small (ours was 8 people) and they split you up into two groups for the ride. Pro Ride’s street fleet of motorcycles are Suzuki Marauder 250s so they leave a lot to be desired, but are a great bike to start out on. I had out grown the bike by the time looked at it however, so they put me on a gs500 on the sixth day. The two instructors for the parking lot and street rides were great, patient and clear and I think it was all run in the safest way possible considering most of the class had never ridden before.

Finally, Pro Ride lets you take a mock ICBC road test two days before your real one. They take you on a route that is used by ICBC and let you know what you’ve done wrong etc. All in all I think this was great and it made my final road test a heck of a lot easier. After this, they let you be in the car to watch someone else take the mock road test, which lets you see a lot of the mistakes that are really easy to make.

Last Friday the day finally came and I took the test. It was a breeze and I didn’t even have to be that nervous! In about a weeks time I’ll be getting my brand new (helmet hair and all) license complete with the class 6 designation! I think that Pro Ride definitely provided a lot of value and I would recommend it to anyone who is in the area and is thinking about taking motorcycle training. It is a bit far out of the way however, so I think having a car to make the drive every day would help.

As for the cons of the course there aren’t many, but there are a number of things on their site that they list that aren’t available to everyone. They say on their site that they will take photos of the class in session and provide you with them. This is not true at all. They also say that they give you a card at the end which proves that you went through the course and gets you discounts. Though you do get discounts at Carter Honda without the card, this is also not true. As well they say on the site that you can ride a sport bike. Though I was able to ride one, this opportunity was not available to everyone and I think this should not be listed on the site.

All in all I think it was a great experience however, and I appreciate the time the instructors took with our whole class. Feel free to comment if you have any questions about the course.

~E

By: Eric Sloan

It comes down on you
Like a brick from the sky
You don’t know from where
The what or the why

Your stomach all twisted
It’s asking for mercy
But your mind’s all messed up
And your eyes are all murky

You think back on the steps
And run ‘em through your head
You want to stand up
But your legs feel like lead

There’s no use any more
In thinking on it
It’s everywhere now
Where you stand,and you sit

It’s like a wave hitting you
Straight in the face
It plows you right over
It ruins your pace

Then you’re left staring towards
The horizon again
Curious now
About the how and the when

The sun’s last sliver
Is saying good night
And though it can be tough
It’s a wonderful sight

Because it won’t be long now
Until the day is anew
The flowers reopen
And the world again moves