I suppose no one noticed, but I haven't been around Oppo much over the last few months. Not for any one specific reason, more of a congregation of circumstances. But I figured it wouldn't hurt to pop back in and say hello.

So, here's all that's gone on in my neck of the woods...

No changes to the fleet. The Jaguar is still pulling daily duty. Well, all duty.
The C5 has a dead battery. From sitting too long. Yeah, I know. Shame on me. I spent almost a month out of town, then came back to severe heat, and I just didn't drive at all. I've got it hooked up to a battery charger right now, so maybe I'll actually take it for a spin this weekend.

Work is kicking my ass. Pulling crazy OT lately, albeit at straight pay rates. Air travel is going way up, and airports/airlines can't hire folks fast enough (largely due to the huge backlog of lengthy background checks that are required). So I'm routinely wearing many different hats throughout my day. On top of that, I've worked through an earthquake, 115 degree heat on the ramp, and spent 90 minutes chasing a coyote that just wouldn't stay off a runway. And that's just in the last 10 days.

I did go on a couple of great vacations back in May and June. Spent 10 days up around Lake Tahoe. Mrs. Aardvark even had one of her work friends up there for two days by coincidence. So I got the two of them to go do some shopping/ gambling one day, and I took the Jaguar for a full loop around the lake. Gorgeous drive in the late spring! I wish I had thought to bring my GoPro, maybe next time.

After that, me and the Mrs (and 20 members of her extended family) all went to Hawaii. Kauai to be specific. It was my first trip to that island, and it really is a tropical Rainforest paradise. The only down sides were; 1) we flew out on the day Southwest had all their "computer problems" and got stuck in Honolulu for 7.5 hours, waiting on the 20 minute flight to Lihue, and 2) our base model Nissan Sentra rental car cost us $1,000 for the week, and had warning lights blowing the whole time. The rental shortage there is apparently very real, and we were the only people in our group of 22 to even get a rental, because we booked it three months in advance. Anyway, we hiked the Waimea Canyon, and pictures don't do it justice. But here's some anyway.

I think that's pretty much it. Wifey is now a permanent work-from-home employee, which means much less tinkering with cars during the day, because the driveway sits right alongside her office window. But that's fine. Keeps me from spending too much money.

If you made it this far, congratulations! Have a free photo of an Allard J2X-C!

I took a class this week for work. 3.5 days in a zoom classroom with a 400-page workbook detailing the MANY intricacies of running the operations side of an airport. And then yesterday, I took the required exam, and passed on my first try. Seriously, it's almost crazy the level of detail the FAA requires for literally everything from the width of the black border surrounding painted stripes on the airfield based on the type of surface, to the types of light bulbs you can and cannot use for various lenses you might have, to the exact amount of time you have to clear runways of snow and ice (which was all new to me since it doesn't snow here).

The cert itself is called ACE, or Airport Certified Employee. I managed to take 60 pages of notes in the class, only to realize the exam would not allow me to use any of it. The exam itself was only 100 questions, but the weird part was how it was proctored. Before starting, I had to rotate my webcam around the room to show a full 360 degrees including all 4 walls, the floor and ceiling, and my desk. Then during the test, all video, audio, and my screen was recorded.

Now I get to put the fancy ACE credential on my business cards and email signature. Pair that with the CM cert I got a few years ago (and was probably more difficult) , and I'm developing quite the word salad after my name. Feels good to know I'm not too old to learn and retain new information. It doesn't give me any sort of bump in pay, but it will look great on the ol' resume when I apply for promotions or if I ever want to work at a different airport.

Have a vintage Morgan race car for your time.

Got my Redbubble shipment today, including an Oppo sticker from our very own @Arch-Duke-Maxyenko within. After a little internal discussion regarding proper placement, I ultimately elected that my helmet was the proper location to display my Oppo pride.

And really, it's a perfect fitment. No obstruction of my field of vision, even with the visor all the way down. Thanks ADM!

My parents bought a new (used) car today, a Mazda CX-5. They got it from a local Mazda dealer near their home in Jacksonville, FL. I didn't know any of this, as they hadn't even mentioned they were looking at cars recently. But at any rate, I got a call from them while I was having lunch today. All my mom said was, "We're buying a car at the Mazda dealer and we ran into someone that knows you."

I thought this was weird, since they moved to Jacksonville from the Cocoa Beach area after I had left the state, so I had no social ties to the city they had taken up residence in. Apparently while they were doing the financing paperwork, my pops had mentioned to the salesman that both of his kids were Mazda people at one point (my brother has had a few Miatas over the years, and I had a Mazdaspeed Protege from 2003-2006).

As it turns out, their salesman was a buddy of mine from Orlando, 18 years ago. Him and I were among the founding members of a local group of Mazdaspeed owners in and around Orlando. Pretty cool talking to an old friend, and my folks said they took great care of them, especially once the familial connection was made clear.

So far, they love the CX-5. I probably won't get to drive it for awhile (being clear across the country and all), but I told them I'm glad they got it in Soul Red, as that really is the best color in the Mazda palette.

It's a small world, after all.

Filled up the C5 with gas on my way to work today, and a guy walked over to tell me how much he liked my car. I thanked him, and we chatted for about 2 or 3 minutes while the gas pump did its thing. Once I was done, I got back in the car, and had a thought; I get a lot of comments from people in this car, while pretty much no one ever says a word when I'm in the Jaguar.

Through all the vehicles I have owned over the years (25-ish I think), some have been completely unnoticed by folks, and some generate a lot of comments from strangers. I always welcome the opportunity to chat cars with folks, but there definitely seem to be patterns. Here are a few of mine that have resulted in the most impromptu conversations.

Corvette - Like I said, I wind up in a lot of random talks when I take this car out. It isn't like C5's are very rare or worth a ton. But people seem to love Corvettes in general. I get a lot of, "my dad used to have a Corvette" kind of comments, which is always kind of neat giving someone a hint of nostalgia.

Subaru SVX - Most people that would stop to talk about this car fell into one of two categories. Either they'd never seen one before and wanted to know what it was, or they knew exactly what it was an always wanted to own one. The windows alone were a great conversation starter.

Ford Mustang (1965 Coupe) - I think this was more just because it was a classic car, and lots of people like classic cars. It's all back to the nostalgia thing. Most people who would talk to me about it were my parents' age or older.

Honda Ruckus - Because it's always a little funny to see a 6'3" guy riding a 50cc scooter, I guess.

Honda S2000 - This is a car that probably was the most polarizing in terms of both positive and negative comments. Bright yellow, loud, low, and clearly a sports car. A lot of people loved it, and a lot of people called it a slow rice rocket. Didn't really bother me, because it was just flat out fun to drive.

Peugeot 405 - Much like the SVX, the majority of comments were questions about what kind of car it was. One guy told me that "Pew-got" isn't a real car company that he had ever heard of, so it must have been some kind of fancy Honda Accord.

Toyota MR2 (AW11) - I had a few "Is that a Fiero?" questions, but mostly folks just thought it was a neat car. A lot of people that knew a bit about these cars would make comments like, "How many times have you spun out?", to which the answer was always, "Several."

How about you all? What cars have you had that numerous strangers would choose to ask you questions or give you unsolicited thoughts about?

I just realized today that I haven't been to Jalopnik once since Oppo got the boot.

And really, I'm more than okay with it.

Had a few cancelations tonight, meaning the airfield was eerily quiet after about 2300 hours. So I had to snap a quick potato-phone picture, because... well... not much else to do. Just a bunch of empty planes parked at empty gates.

About time to head home and start my weekend. Good night Oppo!

As one could surmise, working at an airport during a pandemic left me with some extra free time over the past year. One thing that we've found to be quite fun is a game me and a colleague came up with involving the parking garage.

Person 1 comes up with a specific type, brand, model, color, etc of vehicle. For instance: BMW M-cars, Swedish cars, dually trucks, Mitsubishis, convertibles with tops that aren't black, SUVs with stick figure family stickers, blue RWD sedans from Europe, vehicles without a 3rd brake light, and so on.

Person 2 guesses how many vehicles will be in the garage that match the description.

Person 1 then guesses if the true number will be higher or lower than what Person 2 guessed.

Then we drive through the garage in our work trucks and see who wins. We play on the honesty policy. So far, I don't think either of us have ever intentionally cheated. We tend to just do one lap around the perimeter of each floor of the garage, only going down individual aisles if we both agree to. Usually, it isn't a problem to do so, as we both seem to have a pretty keen eye and just serve to validate what we thought we saw.

We usually take turns making the guesses, and we're down to doing it once per week. Doing it on multiple consecutive days feels a little less honest, since the turnover of cars isn't incredibly high some days.

It's not much, but at least it eats up a tiny bit more time than watching rows of jets sit cold and idle at every gate at the concourse.

Fun fact: Our garage has 5,255 total spaces. And despite spending most of 2020 at 35% capacity or lower, people would routinely still park on the roof level. That always struck me as odd. Parking in the garage costs more than any of the surface lots. Part of that is surely for the convenience factor, as it is closer than any lot. But part of that, you would think, would be reduced exposure to the elements. Kinda defeats the purpose if you're going to park on the roof, which somehow collects a fair amount of sand despite being nowhere near any discernable source of sand.

Okay, now for some Oppo input. Give me some great guesses to spring on my colleague.

And here's a bonus for your time, a real rarity, as spotted in said garage.
I posted it once on the old Oppo, and the owner actually managed to find come across the post and appreciate the love we gave his car.

Pulling a week of midnight shifts at work, just completing my first one. Driving on the airfield in the middle of the night is a significantly different experience. For example, the runway and taxiway inspections have me focusing on a whole other aspect of airport safety.

During the day, I'm looking for issues with the driving surfaces. Cracks, spalling, rutting, pooling water, damage to signage, and so on. At night, you really can't see much of anything other than the lights. And there are So. Many. Lights. It's sorta like when you're checking your Christmas lights for burnt out bulbs. Only the strings aren't strings, but a pair of 8,000' slabs (plus another 20,000' or so of taxiways) that you have to get out of the way of jetliners for here and there.

Slightly terrifying, very exciting, and a lot of bulb checking.

Not my photo, but I'll try and grab some if I can this week.

@taylor-martin I know it's weird getting into online dating, speaking from experience. But there's good people out there, and right now a lot more people are probably going that route than under normal worldly circumstances.

A couple things I would throw out there, also from my experience.

1. Women on dating sites get TONS of messages. Many of these messages are crass, vulgar, and occasionally include unsolicited dick pics. So being a decent person right off the bat can help.

2. If you don't think you're suave, witty, or clever...don't try to be. Forcing it can reek of desperation. Being honest will get you a lot further. And let's face it, if you pull off witty lines via chat, but can't in real life, it doesn't really help you get a second date.

3. Know fully well going in that every date isn't going to be amazing. Be prepared for some duds. It isn't necessarily anyone's fault. Some people just don't "click" when they meet in person. Don't take rejection personally. On the flip side, if you aren't "feeling it" after a first date, be honest and tell her how you feel. It's less of a dick move than just ghosting her. It can be a text or email the next day, but at least say something to the effect of, "Had a fun time, but I didn't really feel any chemistry". Funny enough, I went on such a date when I first moved to California, and we wound up being best friends, just never wanted to be dating one another.

4. Ultimately, if you don't feel up for it, then just don't do it. If your heart isn't in it, you aren't going to be your best self.

As for Florida back roads, they really do exist. Sometimes, you just have to know where to look. I can't remember if you've ever said where in the state you are. I was in Cocoa Beach and Orlando for about 18 years, and my folks are in Jacksonville. I've found a few decent drives in both areas, but yeah, they aren't everywhere like in some places.

P.S. Just to toss it out there, I've been in my relationship about 7.5 years now, and we met on OkCupid. We lived 4 blocks from each other in the city, had mutual acquaintances, even went to some of the same bars and restaurants. But without online dating, there's a decent chance we would have never actually met. Now we have a house, a dog, and I got her to sell her Jetta for a BMW 1-series. So, miracles can happen!

@wrong-wheel-drive You'll literally be driving within a mile or two of my house when you go through Sacramento. Not sure of the timing, but if you feel like stopping in town for lunch or something on your way there or back, feel free to let me know!

@rallydarkstrike Here's a link to my profile.

I suppose no one noticed, but I haven't been around Oppo much over the last few months. Not for any one specific reason, more of a congregation of circumstances. But I figured it wouldn't hurt to pop back in and say hello.

So, here's all that's gone on in my neck of the woods...

No changes to the fleet. The Jaguar is still pulling daily duty. Well, all duty.
The C5 has a dead battery. From sitting too long. Yeah, I know. Shame on me. I spent almost a month out of town, then came back to severe heat, and I just didn't drive at all. I've got it hooked up to a battery charger right now, so maybe I'll actually take it for a spin this weekend.

Work is kicking my ass. Pulling crazy OT lately, albeit at straight pay rates. Air travel is going way up, and airports/airlines can't hire folks fast enough (largely due to the huge backlog of lengthy background checks that are required). So I'm routinely wearing many different hats throughout my day. On top of that, I've worked through an earthquake, 115 degree heat on the ramp, and spent 90 minutes chasing a coyote that just wouldn't stay off a runway. And that's just in the last 10 days.

I did go on a couple of great vacations back in May and June. Spent 10 days up around Lake Tahoe. Mrs. Aardvark even had one of her work friends up there for two days by coincidence. So I got the two of them to go do some shopping/ gambling one day, and I took the Jaguar for a full loop around the lake. Gorgeous drive in the late spring! I wish I had thought to bring my GoPro, maybe next time.

After that, me and the Mrs (and 20 members of her extended family) all went to Hawaii. Kauai to be specific. It was my first trip to that island, and it really is a tropical Rainforest paradise. The only down sides were; 1) we flew out on the day Southwest had all their "computer problems" and got stuck in Honolulu for 7.5 hours, waiting on the 20 minute flight to Lihue, and 2) our base model Nissan Sentra rental car cost us $1,000 for the week, and had warning lights blowing the whole time. The rental shortage there is apparently very real, and we were the only people in our group of 22 to even get a rental, because we booked it three months in advance. Anyway, we hiked the Waimea Canyon, and pictures don't do it justice. But here's some anyway.

I think that's pretty much it. Wifey is now a permanent work-from-home employee, which means much less tinkering with cars during the day, because the driveway sits right alongside her office window. But that's fine. Keeps me from spending too much money.

If you made it this far, congratulations! Have a free photo of an Allard J2X-C!

@cb Man, my airport has been anything but fun over the last week.

Had an earthquake, an emergency diversion with a new 737 Max-9 that the airline didn't have equipment to operate, had a major snafu with a few international flights (too many flights came in on delays, and we didn't have enough gates to support them), and it was in the 110's for several days straight. If I didn't just come back from vacation, I'd be trying to take some time off..

@carbon-fiber-sasquatch I drive the 1st gen Forte Koup. It was a rather pleasant car for the money. I'd actually be interested to see what the new ones are like.

@rallydarkstrike On Steam, I think I'm Smug Aardvark

On XBL, I'm JogCon

I don't play online much apart from Forza games though.

I'm turning 38 today, and normally I'd already be three drinks in to celebration. But today, wifey surprised me by telling me last night that she's getting a small group of our friends together for some laps at K1 Speed. I've never driven an electric kart before, but they do 45mph, so it should be a good time.

Then drinks after, of course.

All I ask from my Oppo brothers and sisters are some sweet pictures of British race cars to get me in the mood for some racing action.

I'm thinking that another 2 or so years from now, I'll be trading in the XE for an XF Sportbrake. Such a good looking car, and functional too!

@hfv I hear ya, buddy. Working today as well, except it's 82 degrees with 30mph winds here.

I elected to go with an energy drink from Reign today. Their lychee flavor is quite tasty.

@ttyymmnn No raise, unfortunately. Just a bit of resume padding for the time being. But more than that, it was actually good knowledge to have for my job (which is often not the case for training classes).