Ok, so following up to my last post. I still can't say I have it totally figured out, BUT, seriously, why am I in such a rush to move on? I mean, I have a kickass schedule, travel a ton, and I see all my friends plenty anyways. If I move, I risk giving up all of those things. Granted, I can't keep things the way they are forever, I need to promote myself eventually, but I might as well live it up while I can. Also, Flagstaff is an awesome place. Its beautiful, four seasons, plenty of severe weather to entertain me, nice location, I love my job, and my management has been so good to me, why run away from all that??? So my plan is more or less, stick it out in Flagstaff, and only consider applying for jobs in highly desirable locations. In the mean time, I'll continue to build up my resume to be top notch, so I'll be as competitive as possible when time comes to apply for something else.
My greatest fear would be moving somewhere less desirable, with a less flexible schedule, and crappy management. Then I would really be upset, so, I might as well be picky, may mean I'll be here longer, but hopefully I'll end up where I really want to be long term. It's still weird being the kid who always had a plan, and not having one now, but I guess that just keeps things interesting!
And as always, a music video post.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Ahh Life
So this is kinda of a personal rant I really don't expect anyone to read. Just words on paper mostly. So I'm at a weird point in my life where I seriously have no idea where it's going. This really bothers me, seeing as how I've always had a plan. I applied for a job back home, but unfortunately didn't get it. All good, but I have a feeling the odds of getting back to the Rogue Valley are pretty slim for the next few years. So plan B??? I have no idea.
I love the Pacific Northwest, and would love to get back to it, but getting into Portland/Seattle/Spokane won't be easy, and competition is fierce. I'm not sure that's a plan worth waiting on, seeing as how there is no guarantees anyways, even if I did wait for openings. I would love to get back to the Front Range region where I have a large of network of friends, though I wouldn't want to live there forever, and friends scatter over time.
Then there's the midwest. If you had asked me 5 or 10 years ago, that would be exactly where I'd want to go. Tornado Alley! But anymore, I'm not sure that alone would make me content living somewhere. Ideally I'd end up a place where I know people already. But, if I stuck to that rule exclusively, that'd be like 5 offices. I don't want to be tooo picky and risk never getting promoted to forecaster. Argh. It's so complicated. Why can't I just pick a place to transfer to and that could be it! I really wish it was that easy.
And finally, how eager am I to get out of Flagstaff? To be honest, I kinda love Flagstaff. I hated it when I first moved here, mostly because I felt so isolated. But things have improved and I've learned how to manage my time to still keep in touch with people. Flagstaff is fantastic, 4 seasons, college town, good location, storms, lots of snow, what's not to love?!?! I also have wonderful management and a killer schedule which is very forgiving in terms of time off, I can not complain at all. So wherever I go, I would want to trade up, as I'm I'd be giving up some pretty awesome stuff here. So I don't know what to do.
That is all, my little rant about my career path. I love my job, I just wish I had a little more power to dictate where I end up. I guess that's the real world for ya.
On a brighter note, I'm really loving this song right now. Later.
I love the Pacific Northwest, and would love to get back to it, but getting into Portland/Seattle/Spokane won't be easy, and competition is fierce. I'm not sure that's a plan worth waiting on, seeing as how there is no guarantees anyways, even if I did wait for openings. I would love to get back to the Front Range region where I have a large of network of friends, though I wouldn't want to live there forever, and friends scatter over time.
Then there's the midwest. If you had asked me 5 or 10 years ago, that would be exactly where I'd want to go. Tornado Alley! But anymore, I'm not sure that alone would make me content living somewhere. Ideally I'd end up a place where I know people already. But, if I stuck to that rule exclusively, that'd be like 5 offices. I don't want to be tooo picky and risk never getting promoted to forecaster. Argh. It's so complicated. Why can't I just pick a place to transfer to and that could be it! I really wish it was that easy.
And finally, how eager am I to get out of Flagstaff? To be honest, I kinda love Flagstaff. I hated it when I first moved here, mostly because I felt so isolated. But things have improved and I've learned how to manage my time to still keep in touch with people. Flagstaff is fantastic, 4 seasons, college town, good location, storms, lots of snow, what's not to love?!?! I also have wonderful management and a killer schedule which is very forgiving in terms of time off, I can not complain at all. So wherever I go, I would want to trade up, as I'm I'd be giving up some pretty awesome stuff here. So I don't know what to do.
That is all, my little rant about my career path. I love my job, I just wish I had a little more power to dictate where I end up. I guess that's the real world for ya.
On a brighter note, I'm really loving this song right now. Later.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Virtual Tour of Northern AZ
When most people think Arizona, they think of a dry, hot, desert landscape, something along the lines of Phoenix and Tucson. In fact, whenever I tell people I live in Arizona, their first inclination is, “Wow, how do you put up with that heat!” However, having lived in Arizona almost two years now, I can tell you, the reality is that this is a very diverse state with many different climate zones and landscapes. In some ways, it reminds me a lot of Colorado; yes we have a lot of desert, but we also have thick Ponderosa Pine forests, snow covered peaks, spectacular mesas and canyons, we even have a fair amount of agriculture.
The climate here is just as dramatic, and elevation accounts for some tremendous changes in weather. Phoenix, being located at nearly 1,000 feet above sea level experiences stifling heat, with temperatures exceeding 115F on occasion. Phoenix is also very dry, with approximately 7 inches of annual precipitation, and it virtually never snows. Flagstaff, where I live however, is the complete opposite of Phoenix, despite being located only 110 miles north. In Flag, the temperature has never exceeded 97F in our history of record keeping, and most residences do not have air conditioning. Nearly 23 inches of precipitation falls each year, more than 3 times what Phoenix receives (And more rain than Medford, OR for my valley friends), and with over 100 inches of annual snowfall, Flagstaff is one of the snowiest cities in the country. The reason for this dramatic climate difference: Flag’s 7,000 foot elevation. (For reference, the summit of Mount Ashland is 7,532 ft.)
While the lower Arizona deserts experience extreme heat annually, mountainous northern Arizona experiences extreme cold. Just this past winter, January 1st awoke to a bitter cold -30F at Bellemont where the weather office is located, about 10 miles west of Flagstaff. One of our observing sites near Parks, about 20 miles west of Flagstaff registered -40F. Bet you didn’t think Arizona got that cold! It was so cold, we took a video of what boiling water does when it is thrown into -30F air, check it out!
Finally, I attached a graphic depicting the wildly differing elevations of Northern Arizona, and some numbers corresponding to graphics that follow the image. As you can see, the landscape differs dramatically in just short distances, which is part of what makes Arizona such a beautiful state!
1. Flagstaff Arizona - Elevation: 6910 ft. Heavily forested, cool and occasionally snowy, flagstaff defies the reputation of hot and dry Arizona.
2. San Francisco Peaks -Highest Peak Elevation:12,663 ft. Home of Arizona’s tallest peak and largest ski resort, the Arizona Snowbowl.
3. Sedona- Elevation: 4,326 ft. incredible red rocks, cliffs and canyons, and only a short 45 minute drive from Flagstaff.
4. Grand Canyon- Elevation 2,000 ft. at the Colorado River canyon floor, over 9,000 feet at the top of the North Rim.
5. Meteor Crater- Elevation 5,400 ft. Located in the high desert of northeast Arizona, being 40 minutes east of flagstaff the weather becomes very dry and arid, preserving the crater landscape for thousands of years.
6. Far East Arizona- Elevation 5,000- 7000 ft. This desolate region is semi-arid featuring numerous mesas and plateaus as you approach the New Mexico border.
7. Black Canyon city- Elevation 2,000 ft. Less than an hour from downtown Phoenix, this area transisitions sharply from the high desert to the lower desert with Saguaro cactus first appearing in this region.
8. Lake Havasu City- Elevation 735 ft. One of the hottest cities in Arizona, located along the shores of Lake Havasu, the temperature has reached 128F!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
30 Day Song Challenge!
Second blog post, Woot! So I really want to participate in the 30 day song challenge on Facebook, but I don't care to blow up everyone's Facebook wall with 30 days of music video posts. So rather I will blog all the 30 days in one post, check it out below!
Day 01 - Your favorite song: You belong with Me, Taylor Swift- This should come as no surprise to anyone who really knows me, I'm a die hard Taylor Swift Fan. There's something about this song that is just timeless to me, its so fun and whimsical, I just love it!
Day 02 - Your least favorite song: Anything with Nikki Minaj- Like nails on a chalkboard to me, it's so obnoxious, and her rhymes don't make sense! I cannot stand her, sorry.
Day 03 - A song that makes you happy: DJ got us fallin in love again, Usher- Love this song! "Dance, Dance, like it's the Last, Last night of your Life, Life" How can you not love that line!
Day 04 - A song that makes you sad: Two Ways to say goodbye, Pat Monahan- This is a sad song in general, and I love Pat Monahan, but I cant listen to this song it makes me too sad. I listened to it a lot when my dog Cooler died, and its just hard for me to listen to now.
Day 05 - A song that reminds you of someone: Avril Lavine, things ill never say-Kristy Montemayor and I are way too inappropriate together. lol.
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of somewhere: We R who we R, Kesha- I LOVE this song, and it was a close contender for favorite song. It reminds me of Seattle and the fun we had at night, going out and having fun, being young and enjoying life. Singing this song in the bars and looking up the lyrics on our cell phones, we had way too much fun with this song, and it will forever be the Seattle anthem!
Day 07 - A song that reminds you of a certain event: Copperhead Road, Steve Earle- This song always reminds me of our Thursday nights our in college when we would go to the Cactus and line dance to this song. Amy Drieling spent weeks teaching me how to do it right and I had so much fun learning it!
Day 08 - A song that you know all the words to: Hey Soul Sister, Train- Another fun song that's just easy to sing along to, so of course I know all the words!
Day 09 - A song that you can dance to: Yeah 3X, Chris Brown- This is a great song to dance too, good beat, good lyrics, just fun in general. Chris Brown may be a d-bag, but he makes good music!
day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep: Vanilla Twilight, Owl City- This such a peaceful, innocent song, very mellow and sweet. It would be good to fall asleep to.
Day 11 - A song from your favorite Band: Get Back in My Life, Maroon 5- This song hasn't been radio released yet by them, but its so good, check it out!
Day 12 - A song from a band you hate: Black Eyed Pees- I've just never been a big fan of the Black Eye'd Pees, they have some good stuff but most of it just annoys me.
Day 13 - A song that is a guilty pleasure: Thats Not My Name, The Ting Tings- I admit, I know all the words, and I kinda love this song.
Day 14-A song that nobody would expect you to love- Pink tux to the prom, Relient K- Being a christian band they aren't really my style, but actually they have some really good stuff, and I have a handful of their cds. Pink Tux to the prom is also one of my favorite songs.
Day 15 - A song that describes you: The Remedy, Jason Mraz-This song is just free and fun, and carefree, which is how I would like to be anyways.
Day 16 - A song that you used to love but now hate: Sorry, Buckcherry- I used to like it, then someone tied it me and now I don't. That is all I'm going to say.
Day 17 - A song that you hear often on the radio: Alejandro, Lady Gaga- This song is always on the radio, or was, and its good too, I like the beat.
Day 18 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio: Bad Romance, On The Rocks- Okay, these guys are amazing, serisously listen to them and give them a chance, it is way better than the original!
Day 19 - A song from your favorite album: All my friends say, Luke Bryan- Both of Luke Bryan's cd's are masterpieces, really good country music! I highly recommend him.
Day 20 - A song that you listen to when you’re angry: What I've Done, Linkin Park-It's good, it's loud, I guess it would be angry music, but I'm not usually angry very often.
Day 21 - A song that you listen to when you’re happy: Her Eyes, Pat Monohan- This song is just great, Pat Monahan has a great voice, and it really shows in this song. It never gets old!
Day 22 - A song that you listen to when you’re sad: Can't have it all, Jay Brannan- This guy is awesome, and I'm going to see him in concert this month! But he really knows how to sum up my feelings and outlooks sometimes, good sad day music.
Day 23 - A song that you want to play at your wedding: You and Me, Lifehouse- Sweet, simple, sexy, romantic song. Enough said.
Day 24 - A song that you want to play at your funeral: -My old friend, Tim Mcgraw-Well, I'd really rather not think about that...but this song is good.
Day 25 - A song that makes you laugh: Lets go to the Mall, Robin Sparkles- This is so funny, watch the video, its so classic 80's. Gotta love "How I met your mother."
Day 26 -The next two songs are supposed to be related to instruments I can play, but since I play none, I'm making these freebes- Marchin on, OneRepublic, its a great song and I love the video.
Day 27 - Another freebe-Crossfire, Brandon Flowers- Great song.
Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty: Party in the USA, Miley Cyrus- Yes...I secretly like this song, I guess not so secretly now...
Day 29 - A song from your childhood-Amarillo Sky, Jason Aldean- Not so much my childhood, but just growing up in general, I played it a ton on my mom and I's cross country road trips.
Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year-Talo Cruz, Dynamite- Becky Elliot knows, this came out near when my friend Tracy was getting married last June, and we listened to this song a ton. It's a great song!
Day 01 - Your favorite song: You belong with Me, Taylor Swift- This should come as no surprise to anyone who really knows me, I'm a die hard Taylor Swift Fan. There's something about this song that is just timeless to me, its so fun and whimsical, I just love it!
Day 02 - Your least favorite song: Anything with Nikki Minaj- Like nails on a chalkboard to me, it's so obnoxious, and her rhymes don't make sense! I cannot stand her, sorry.
Day 03 - A song that makes you happy: DJ got us fallin in love again, Usher- Love this song! "Dance, Dance, like it's the Last, Last night of your Life, Life" How can you not love that line!
Day 04 - A song that makes you sad: Two Ways to say goodbye, Pat Monahan- This is a sad song in general, and I love Pat Monahan, but I cant listen to this song it makes me too sad. I listened to it a lot when my dog Cooler died, and its just hard for me to listen to now.
Day 05 - A song that reminds you of someone: Avril Lavine, things ill never say-Kristy Montemayor and I are way too inappropriate together. lol.
Day 07 - A song that reminds you of a certain event: Copperhead Road, Steve Earle- This song always reminds me of our Thursday nights our in college when we would go to the Cactus and line dance to this song. Amy Drieling spent weeks teaching me how to do it right and I had so much fun learning it!
Day 09 - A song that you can dance to: Yeah 3X, Chris Brown- This is a great song to dance too, good beat, good lyrics, just fun in general. Chris Brown may be a d-bag, but he makes good music!
day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep: Vanilla Twilight, Owl City- This such a peaceful, innocent song, very mellow and sweet. It would be good to fall asleep to.
Day 11 - A song from your favorite Band: Get Back in My Life, Maroon 5- This song hasn't been radio released yet by them, but its so good, check it out!
Day 12 - A song from a band you hate: Black Eyed Pees- I've just never been a big fan of the Black Eye'd Pees, they have some good stuff but most of it just annoys me.
Day 13 - A song that is a guilty pleasure: Thats Not My Name, The Ting Tings- I admit, I know all the words, and I kinda love this song.
Day 14-A song that nobody would expect you to love- Pink tux to the prom, Relient K- Being a christian band they aren't really my style, but actually they have some really good stuff, and I have a handful of their cds. Pink Tux to the prom is also one of my favorite songs.
Day 15 - A song that describes you: The Remedy, Jason Mraz-This song is just free and fun, and carefree, which is how I would like to be anyways.
Day 16 - A song that you used to love but now hate: Sorry, Buckcherry- I used to like it, then someone tied it me and now I don't. That is all I'm going to say.
Day 17 - A song that you hear often on the radio: Alejandro, Lady Gaga- This song is always on the radio, or was, and its good too, I like the beat.
Day 18 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio: Bad Romance, On The Rocks- Okay, these guys are amazing, serisously listen to them and give them a chance, it is way better than the original!
Day 19 - A song from your favorite album: All my friends say, Luke Bryan- Both of Luke Bryan's cd's are masterpieces, really good country music! I highly recommend him.
Day 20 - A song that you listen to when you’re angry: What I've Done, Linkin Park-It's good, it's loud, I guess it would be angry music, but I'm not usually angry very often.
Day 21 - A song that you listen to when you’re happy: Her Eyes, Pat Monohan- This song is just great, Pat Monahan has a great voice, and it really shows in this song. It never gets old!
Day 22 - A song that you listen to when you’re sad: Can't have it all, Jay Brannan- This guy is awesome, and I'm going to see him in concert this month! But he really knows how to sum up my feelings and outlooks sometimes, good sad day music.
Day 23 - A song that you want to play at your wedding: You and Me, Lifehouse- Sweet, simple, sexy, romantic song. Enough said.
Day 24 - A song that you want to play at your funeral: -My old friend, Tim Mcgraw-Well, I'd really rather not think about that...but this song is good.
Day 25 - A song that makes you laugh: Lets go to the Mall, Robin Sparkles- This is so funny, watch the video, its so classic 80's. Gotta love "How I met your mother."
Day 26 -The next two songs are supposed to be related to instruments I can play, but since I play none, I'm making these freebes- Marchin on, OneRepublic, its a great song and I love the video.
Day 27 - Another freebe-Crossfire, Brandon Flowers- Great song.
Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty: Party in the USA, Miley Cyrus- Yes...I secretly like this song, I guess not so secretly now...
Day 29 - A song from your childhood-Amarillo Sky, Jason Aldean- Not so much my childhood, but just growing up in general, I played it a ton on my mom and I's cross country road trips.
Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year-Talo Cruz, Dynamite- Becky Elliot knows, this came out near when my friend Tracy was getting married last June, and we listened to this song a ton. It's a great song!
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Joplin tornado tragedy
Hello! And welcome to my blog site, and very first blog post. I am just learning how to use this site so bear with me as I figure things out. Also, don't be discouraged by my first blog post being somewhat depressing, but the images and stories I have seen and heard coming out of Missouri this past week have really been weighing heavily on my mind.
In case you haven't heard, a massive EF-5 Tornado struck the city of Joplin, MO on May 22nd. It developed on the west edge of town while intensifying rapidly to the highest category of conceivable tornado strength, leveling entire residential neighborhoods, striking the local 'Restaurant Row', heavily damaging the local primary hospital, and wiping clean an entire Wal-Mart and Home-Depot store. By the time the tornado lifted, hundreds of people had been killed, thousands injured, and a community was changed forever.
As a meteorologist, I have payed close attention to major weather events for years, and unfortunately have witnessed many weather related tragedies. I tracked Hurricane Katrina as it made landfall on the Mississippi coastline, I've watched as storms tracked towards major cities every tornado season, and have even storm chased myself. But the events which have taken place in MO for some reason have really hit me hard. This community woke up to a sunny and humid morning, and by nightfall thousands of people were homeless, entire families wiped out, the city of Joplin demolished.
I know tragedies happen all the time, but this is middle America. Many of these families are no different than my own, and I see the images on the news of families looking for their missing loved ones and it breaks my heart. Often times tornado fatalities fall into risk groups (elderly, poor, infants), but this tornado showed no mercy, young or old, rich or poor, it just didn't matter.
One particular story that really gets me is the story of Will Norton, this young man had just graduated from High school that afternoon, he was on his way home from the ceremony with his father when they got caught in the tornado. He was sucked out through the sunroof while the tornado tossed and rolled the vehicle. His family was looking for him for a week following the storm, hoping to find him alive in some regional hospital. He was found yesterday night, a week later, and he didn't make it. This guy was 18 years old, had an active Facebook, twitter, and youtube account, I really just see myself in this kid. I don't even know him but im tearing up as I write this, I can't image the hell that this community is going through and I wish there was more I could do to help them. What's even sadder is his story is not unique, there may end up being more than 200 people who met the same fate on this stormy afternoon.
I'm not writing this blog to bring people down, but I just feel the need to vent my feelings for what has unfolded in Joplin. Maybe getting my thoughts down on paper will help express the pain I feel for this community. I guess if anything should be taken away from this it's that you should value everything you have in your life, because you really never know what the future holds. And also value what you have because it can be so easily be taken away, and some people have absolutely nothing.
If you feel the desire to help out, you can donate to the red cross on their website or through text by texting REDCROSS to 90999 because I'm sure they need all the help they can get. We can only hope this horrific tornado season ends soon, and in the mean time, keep Joplin in your thoughts.
Red Cross Homepage
City of Joplin Tornado Info Page
Wishes for will
High Res Tornado Damage Viewer (Incredible)
In case you haven't heard, a massive EF-5 Tornado struck the city of Joplin, MO on May 22nd. It developed on the west edge of town while intensifying rapidly to the highest category of conceivable tornado strength, leveling entire residential neighborhoods, striking the local 'Restaurant Row', heavily damaging the local primary hospital, and wiping clean an entire Wal-Mart and Home-Depot store. By the time the tornado lifted, hundreds of people had been killed, thousands injured, and a community was changed forever.
As a meteorologist, I have payed close attention to major weather events for years, and unfortunately have witnessed many weather related tragedies. I tracked Hurricane Katrina as it made landfall on the Mississippi coastline, I've watched as storms tracked towards major cities every tornado season, and have even storm chased myself. But the events which have taken place in MO for some reason have really hit me hard. This community woke up to a sunny and humid morning, and by nightfall thousands of people were homeless, entire families wiped out, the city of Joplin demolished.
I know tragedies happen all the time, but this is middle America. Many of these families are no different than my own, and I see the images on the news of families looking for their missing loved ones and it breaks my heart. Often times tornado fatalities fall into risk groups (elderly, poor, infants), but this tornado showed no mercy, young or old, rich or poor, it just didn't matter.
 |
| Will Norton, one of the tornadoes many victims. |
I'm not writing this blog to bring people down, but I just feel the need to vent my feelings for what has unfolded in Joplin. Maybe getting my thoughts down on paper will help express the pain I feel for this community. I guess if anything should be taken away from this it's that you should value everything you have in your life, because you really never know what the future holds. And also value what you have because it can be so easily be taken away, and some people have absolutely nothing.
If you feel the desire to help out, you can donate to the red cross on their website or through text by texting REDCROSS to 90999 because I'm sure they need all the help they can get. We can only hope this horrific tornado season ends soon, and in the mean time, keep Joplin in your thoughts.
Red Cross Homepage
City of Joplin Tornado Info Page
Wishes for will
High Res Tornado Damage Viewer (Incredible)
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