Quitting the job I've been at for 3.5 years to go, finally, be a chemical engineer. I'm excited. There were a lot of reasons I decided it was time for a change, but a opportunity came up and I took it. Doesn't mean any more money, at least salary wise, but there is bonus potential, unlike my current job.

Does mean I will probably be on oppo less during the day, but I'll make some time for you guys. I was here from 2009-2013 then 2016 to present. I have no plans on going anywhere else.

I do not love this car.

You read that correctly. I do not love this car. It is merely an inanimate object; I love my wife, but I do not love this machine. It has no feelings, no emotions, it cannot love me back; therefore I do not love it.

All of that addressed, it still evokes so many feelings, brings me so much joy. This is as close as I'll ever come to writing a love letter to a machine.

I almost unable to get into it without conjuring up memories of that late July Texas evening when my M3 arrived at my apartment. That sheer unbridled joy I felt that first time I saw it, the first time I got in it, the first time I took it for a drive. I am always transported back to that day, and remember just how surreal it was; that state of pure ecstasy.

I'm am reminded me of the highs, and the lows. The times when I would just take it for a drive to clear my head. Those times in my life where I'd wondered how the fuck did I get here. It was there. Even in the depths of my despair, it never failed to brighten my day. Spending 11 months unemployed sucks, it sucks slightly less with an M3.

Another job, the same constant in my life.

Then finally, in 2018, we moved to Greenville South Carolina. Finally in distance from mountain roads. There was one Friday where I had a really rough day, so the next day I took my M3 and tore up some mountain roads. I was grinning from ear to ear the entire time as carved up those roads; just man and machine in perfect harmony. Sheer, unadulterated bliss.

It was with me the day I took my future wife on our first day trip together.

It took me to her place to propose and then took my new fiancé back home.

I even got it in a couple engagement photos.

Then we left our wedding in it.

I've still gotten a chance to enjoy it as a married man; just mountain roads, M3 and me. Joy in driving.

So while it has no idea, while it has no feelings, it has brought me so much joy and I have enjoyed incorporating in important life events. So while I do not love this car, I can't wait until the next time I get to unleash it and hear the sonorous shrill of that S65.

@mark-tucker

From there being a Mrs. E90M3. Well technically it'll be Dr. E90M3, but that's besides the point. It's starting to feel surreal.

That's right, two weekends ago I got married.
Both @OpposResidentLexusGuy and @golfr-guy were in attendance. Used the M3 as the get away car, and since we sat in the back, it's where the four door comes into its own. I don't have a picture of that yet, but I'm sure I'll post it when I do.

Unfortuneatly, despite both being fully vaccinated, we couldn't really leave the county, so the honeymoon I would have wanted to do wasn't really an option, so we went to Amelia Island for the week. Where we saw @bluemazda2

Not really him, but probably a close cousin. We did have dinner at the Ritz one night and got the Corolla valeted. Naturally, they parked in front with the other nice cars.

I got a good chuckle out of it.

It was nice to be off for a week, but I was happy to get home. Looking forward to the next chapter of my life.

GTFAC - Go to fuck a camel.

Now that might sound like quite the strange insult, and it is, but its ours. It's pretty much our version of GTFO. While GTFAC didn't exactly originate on oppo, it was quickly and subsequently adopted. The origin is from a reply that a former opponaut, Roberto G, left to a comment on COTD:
This is how, the comment appears now, but at the time, he was banned for the comment. This is a screen shot I have from 2012; at the time I didn't have the foresight to capture the entire thread for posterity. However, since the original comment was made, and while Roberto G has left oppo, GTFAC has joined oppo lore.

It has been immortalized by @McMike with this excellent GIF:

It even has its own entry in urban dictionary.

So the next time you see GTAFC, you know where it came from. Maybe you'll even be able to use it here.

This is a revised post of one that I made on Kinja back in early 2017.

Any additions or comments are appreciated and if you didn't like it you can GTFAC. I have a couple more history of oppo posts planned in the future.

We will be buying our first house. Should close in June, which will be perfect for our lease, which ends in July.

Something happened with the people who were set to buy the house, so it's ours now. Deposit is down and contract is signed. What blows my mind about all of this is we got approved for the loan with a smaller down payment than what I put down on my M3. Now, we'll end up putting more down, but still crazy to think that could work out.

Liquidated the fund the downpayment was in and had them Fedex me a check. After my previous misdealing with USPS, I didn't want that kind of money to be in limbo. Picked up the check today after golf and the funds are pending.

This all feels surreal.

Ok, so while that was a completely and entirely a clickbait title, there is some truth to it.

At midnight on October 16 I went from employed to unemployed, except unlike my parting from Schlumberger, this was on my own fruition. Also, unlike my parting SLB, this period of unemployment was a mere two days, not 347. All of this was done deliberately as a mere two weeks prior I left an interview with a job offer. Meaning this previous Monday, the 18th, was my first day at the new place.

My commute has substantially increased, which means the 3 is back to doing what I bought it for, eating up the miles. There is a silver lining, I'm going to start working 10 hour days and only work Monday through Thursday. Probably way less time for oppo, but I'll be around. I'm also going to be doing actual chemical engineering for the first time since school, and I'm very excited about that. I was filled with a little trepidation day one when I found out the reason the position came open was due to the fact they fired the previous engineer. That said, it did sound like he had ample opportunities to correct his behavior, and he was there for as long as I was at my previous place. I'm not too worried about being let go, I've been told already I'm doing a better job than the previous engineer.

Things are also looking promising on my wife's job search, so we are going to start figuring out where we want to live when our lease ends in July. Looks like we'll be making a foray into home ownership soon enough. Maybe there will be an E34 M5 sized hole in the garage soon. We do have to take care of her med school loans, but after that, there should be some left over funds for some fun things.

@Arch-Duke-Maxyenko

@Arch-Duke-Maxyenko

@Tripper I got the m3 with Bridgestones, I despised those tires. I'd rather be super happy with the tires than save a few bucks, unless the cheaper tires are so close I'll never be able to tell the difference. I guess real question is, would you do it again?

@tophercrowder when I'm driving with my wife and I see a horse, I can't help myself, I point at it and go "guess how much horsepower that horse has? One"

@Tripper out of curiosity, what do you run on the M3?

@Highlander Wonder if they're done paying on their 12 year 21% loan yet?

@MasterMario Didn't this one have swastikas on it last time we saw this one?

Nope, no way. Wernher von Braun said this is in no way related to the V2.

@monkeepuzzle Don't let your employer see you taking a photo while driving!

@WhoIsTheLeader It's better at it's new location then it was was at the old location.

I would also recommend a visit, if you like history.

@ranwhenparked My wife spent a year one county over ion Washington County, before we met, and was not a fan. Guess this is a case of to each their own.

@WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAthenGTInowA4 I thought someone was going to pick up on that immediately.

@functionoverfashion said in Glitch in the Matrix... In My Driveway:

My kids are the exact age where they can use these integrated boosters.

Well, if I ever need to convince the Pediatrician we need a Volvo, this'll hlep