I haven't done much since Easter. Had four exams then did nothing for a couple of months. Now I work nasty hours in a hotel bar for so little money it's only sort of legal. Still better than working the fruit-farm...

I'm trying to learn to drive and ride but its not cheap here. How the government justifies charging £30 for a half hour theory exam is yet to be explained. Then its another £80 for the test. How?

Anyway things should go up from tomorrow when I get my next flat in Edinburgh so I won't be utterly stuck in the middle of nowhere. I just hope it has a phone line.

110 lbs to take a test? Thats like 150-200 bucks in the US, man that better be a good paying job brother!

Getting used to marriage? Rather not. Its really not all it's cracked up to be, 'sides while I am a bit selfish and self-absorbed, I have enough sense not to inflict that on another...

Ok Blackie, pretty good motive if I may say so... But what I also meant was that as time goes by you get a cooler view of the whole thing, it's getting less intense and you get more "you-time" Anyway it's like that for me!

I may be a bit unclear but I think you get the picture...

Thats just the test - to be allowed to ride on the road its another £130 training day. Fortunatly I'm a student so my loan is subsidised by the government (who then take it back in unnessesary costs - great system). It also means that by the time you've passed your test you don't have enough money for the £1.20 a litre petrol.

Still its not all doom and gloom - the housing price collapse here means rents are coming down.

Oh boohoo. You have to take classes here and usually several driving practice lessons. You usually end up paying something in the vicinity of 1500-2000 EUR to get your license around here.

Yup...similar in Sweden folks! Reeeeeeeally expensive, especiallly if you have a bunch of kiddos who likes dad to pay!

this is just regular driving? Like, get in my car, go to school and work kind of driving?

A license here in NC is 35 bucks. It just went up from 20. Before that it was 10. I thought 35 was ridiculous, but I guess I have it alright.

EDIT: forgot that I'm not in NC anymore, but i still have that license.

This post has been edited by Dantrag: Jul 15 2008, 08:36 PM

Yes, regular driving. Nothing fancy, and you can't even drive a truck or a bike with that license.

uhhh I am allowed to drive a motorbike with mine! But I can assure you, you'll never find me riding one of those monsters! It was like that back then when I got my licence, you automatically got a mc-licence as well!

hehe, that annoys my very motor-interested lil' brother! (he didn't get one!)

Don't recall the cost for license here in Tennessee (I could look it up, but I'm lazy). Just renewed mine a few weeks ago....

It is a standard "drive passenger vehicles, not including limousines, buses, etc." deal. For motorcycles, you have to get a separate endorsement and take a road test. Which always caused an interesting dilemma- how do you get your motorcycle to the testing location before you have your license? (ie- you are operating it without a license, therefore breaking the law in order to come into compliance).

I think you are allowed a learner's permit for the Motorcycles, no? The proverbial catch 22 in america. Cant get hired unless you have experience, cant get experience until you're hired.

Well if I want to buy a mc and drive it, by showing my permit I'm technically allowed, but of course in reality I'm not sure any dealer will let me!!! (Thank god)

Pickup truck.

Or have someone else ride it there and sit on the pillion.

But seriously 2000EUR! How can anyone afford it? It would take me about a year to get the sort of money (or another loan).

In other news I got my flat in town yesterday and its quite nice. Only gripe is that for some reason the prepayment electric meter (ie put in money before electricity comes out) is on the ceiling. Really conveniant for when the lights go out but it should be funny at least.

Somehow everybody manages it. I think those that don't have the cash readily available go look for a summer job so they can get their license the minute they turn 18.

Aye, that's how I managed...ehh long time ago. Then again there are fathers who gladly pays!

Well you can blame the fact that we have more easily attainable licenses to the fact it takes damn near forever to get anywhere in the US. What I wouldn't give for a good metro or something like that.

I know thats generally our problem with gasoline being so expensive as of late. You have to get a second job just to pay for fuel to go to your first one. I'd get a moped if I didn't have to drive 20 miles on highways everyday. (Or up a mountain while I'm at school)

Having only been through Spanish I, I only understood the gist of that exchange. Whatever, I've not even started dating yet (in contrast to kids one year younger than I). Marriage and courtship aren't priorities in my life plan.

I just finished Flight Camp at OU (to answer Zar). It's a five day camp I attend every year for 8 years. I used to live in Norman, my aunt and cousin still reside there so I stay with them for the week.

As a matter of fact, I'll be able to do internship next year (since I'll have a driver's license by then).

It must be quite nice having a variety of camps to go to over summer. Are you planning on joining the airforce or do you just like flying?

I'm not having a good day. Its torrential rain which more or less kills any of the plans I had and I just slipped putting rubbish out (naturally the bag split) and dislocated at least one toe which is being hard to pull back in. Work should be painful tonight.

*1,000th post!

That's what I'm planning to do. Military aviation is a whole lot more interesting than civilian aviation.

Camps are alright, but sometimes I'd rather be at home because it feels like time spent elsewhere is taking away from Summer vacation. It sounds kind of perverse, but I started to feel that way when my family spent Christmas in Arizona (it happened to be warmer back in Texas) rather than at home or with our family in Norman.

Crap, dislocating a toe has to be painful. At least a finger can be restrained and immobile, but you have to put pressure on your toes to walk. I hope you get that toe back in place, man.

This post has been edited by Lord Revan: Jul 19 2008, 06:42 PM