Absolutely! I'm amazed how remarkably civil this forum is. I've used/viewed other platforms and this is by far the best one in my experience. Reddit has a SUPER negative energy to it, Quora is better, but also a bit pretentious, and AR15.com has SOME good people, but a LOT of stuck up self riotous pricks too.
Greetings Boots97,
Glad to cross paths with you. We both share an interest in taking something and making it better,
and like you I find that the folks in here are the kind where
mutual respect is the order of the day.
Thanks to a solid upbringing, they understand that sometimes in order to get where you are going
you have to pull the wagon...while others who were never raised (feral?) to appreciate common
sense have come to the conclusion that they only have to ride the wagon?
Saying it in a slightly different way, there are people out there who have invested in themselves in
such a way that, over time, they developed & now possess a valuable skill or trade that others appreciate.
Instead of telling you using words how talented they are, they instead let their finished product speak
on their behalf. These are the people who are comfortable in their own skin. They understand the
difference between visibility and exposure -- and since they don't feel insecure due to exposure,
they come across as relaxed and ready to share their experience w/others cheerfully.
On the other hand, there are those who were raised in an environment where they were not
expected to help contribute to the greater good...even something as simple as being
expected to do the dishes on the back end of a meal after the parent(s) cooked the food
on the front end. (ie: One of the household rules I was raised under was simply that
"The cook doesn't clean.") As a youngster, I was not raised to be a consumer, but instead
to be a contributing member of the household.
Instead, being raised in an environment where there is no expectation from them, there is
no real work done, no sense of accomplishment, instead everything is driven purely by emotion.
You end up with people that grow up to be insecure, judge others by superficial differences, and
feel that they
must set up a pecking order that feeds their ego by placing them above everyone else?
For example, although I don't own a 'vette, I've worked on several of my friend's vettes.
Done plenty of lurking on 'vette forums in order to help figure out some 'vette-specific
problems. But I never joined any of them. Why?
Because the whole pecking order thing was simply out of control. Instead of telling
someone to enjoy their 'work in progress' ride being restored on a modest budget,
they would instead tell them that "My car is a NCRS Top Flight Award winner, you
may as well stop now, for you can't do any better than that."
And then some other clown would spy a tiny detail, (something truly inconsequential
like the correct size spare tire, but from the
wrong year) point it out, and then
triumphantly state, "On my Corvette, I still have the Original Air in the Original Spare!"
Some of the stuff I've seen over the years is simply Ridonkulus!
****
I don't see that here. Like you said, we all share a common appreciation for the
sheer value, functionality, and built to last traits that the GMT400 vehicles represent.
Are these trucks perfect? No. Are we the owners perfect? No.
But then again I think that I could suddenly get the urge to do a favorite activity
(road trip) & go visit some of the folks I've interacted with here so far...and
a great time would be had by all involved.
And I think that we all have our parents to blame for this. They did the best
they could with what they had to work with, even though they weren't perfect,
we still all ended up the richer for the guidance they gave us.
Yeah I've become more content with who I am as I've gotten older. I'm Korean and I was adopted from South Korea at 8 months old. I've never fit into the "Asian" category of stereotypes. I like running, working on my car, eating pizza, burgers, and fried chicken, and I used to go trapshooting, but haven't in about 3 years. I've also started rucking which I also like to do too. My friend has a 1998 Chevrolet K1500 Z71 from his Uncle who bought it new and he had it throughout High School and even now. I've always wanted a truck like his and finally got it last year! I got everything I wanted (extended cab, 6.5 ft box, Vortec 5700 and the Z71 off road package) and now I got a 14 bolt SF rear axle compared to my original 10 bolt SF. I love the sound of an old school V8 and it's a super comfortable ride. Plus, the truck is Silver and I've only seen a few Silver trucks online and mine is the only one I've seen in person.
Sounds like your childhood was even more interesting than mine.
Being charitable, I had a rather eclectic upbringing, thanks to the
way everything unfolded. I went from attending a Ft. Worth
private school (Trinity Valley) ...to living in a home where a
lot of mac & cheese was eaten in order to stretch the budget.
(BTW, still to this day an awesome comfort food after a long
session of getting my @$$ kicked in the garage. :0)
If I didn't fix my own bicycle I got to walk to school.
But everything happens for a reason. I'm actually glad it
all happened, for if I'd grown up as a poor little rich kid I wouldn't
have learned 98% of what I got to learn growing up trying to deal
with a champagne taste on a tap water budget. :0)
Misquoting slightly, "Necessity is the Mother of All Real Learning".
****
Anyway, that's my 22¢ worth on all that. Congratulations, you
have found the people who understand that what you get out
of something is directly proportional to what you put
into it.
Cheers --
