'Tis the season for an update

I need to try to remember I have this. There hasn't been a whole lot that's been new since last I've typed, although I can say I feel I'm settling into my job rather nicely. I'm still learning something new every day, but I'm beginning to feel more like a forecaster instead of an outsider. Thanksgiving came and went; Alex and I had our own Thanksgiving dinner which was nice, although we won't be able to do the same for Christmas sadly. He and I work two different shifts those days, which also means I won't get to Skype with my folks during the time of day that I'd like to. Ah well. I'm thinking of going home for a couple of days next week. I have four days off in a row due to last month's scheduling (working holidays and such) so I figured, when is the next time I will get the chance to do this without taking any vacation days? Plus, with the holidays around the corner, it would be a good time for me to see the family for a little and get some stuff I left behind. It's been difficult for me to get into the holiday spirit, given that I'm so far away from the only people I've ever celebrated it with. Plus the prospect of not doing anything but working or sitting by myself in my apartment on those days hasn't helped fill me with cheer, either. Don't get me wrong, I'm not moping or anything, just saying that it doesn't really feel like Christmas to me and I'm hoping this little trip home will put me in the spirit. We'll see. Anyway, that's all for now. Thanks for reading!

When Life Hands You Lemons...

Well a lot has certainly happened since last I posted. I don't even know where to begin, so perhaps I should go on a month-by-month basis. August: I last posted in August, and at that time I had been feeling pretty discouraged. Summer was winding down and the job prospects, both in Meteorology and just minimum wage, weren't looking very good. September: Fast forward to September. A small glimmer of hope. My old security company called me to say they were interested in hiring me. I was happy to have a job, don't get me wrong, but the prospect of working for minimum wage again was really depressing. It seemed as though I was going backwards, not forwards. Still, I told myself it was temporary. It was a necessity to pay the bills. I think my spirit got really low by the end of the month but something occurred that renewed my faith and hope, albeit a long shot. I was called by a company out west in North Dakota, a private company that was hiring Meteorologists whom I had sent my resume to. A good friend of mine also was working there and had told me of the opportunity, so I sent my resume in and lo and behold they called me back to set up an interview. It was a tough interview but I made it out alright and was given the opportunity to provide them with a couple of mock forecasts as part of the interviewing process. They chose the cities. Chicago and Seattle. SEATTLE!? My arch nemesis when it came to forecasting the weather challenge! Nevertheless, working a third shift that night at security didn't deter me from making the best forecast I could and submitting it the next morning. I later checked on the forecast and was very happily surprised at how well it was verifying. This definitely lifted my spirits. October: Well weeks had gone by since the interview and I was already planning on not going anywhere for awhile. Just when it seemed like all hope was lost, I got the call from that company and they told me they'd like to hire me. I was ecstatic to say the least. It was kind of scary, too, because I didn't have much time to get a place out there and move all of my stuff, not to mention the difficulty in leaving everyone behind. Luckily I had a good friend or two out here already waiting for me, but it was still difficult leaving my family and friends back in Michigan. Still, moved I did. November: And now here we are. I am now currently living in North Dakota forecasting. It's been an incredible last few months. I'm not sure what's in store for me next, but now I have a renewed determination to be optimistic and to feel more confident. I forecast for several different states around the country. It's quite challenging but is also allowing me to gain a lot of forecasting experience in very different climates/terrain. From west coast to east coast, the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico. It's approaching winter, though, so we'll see how I far in one of the biggest winter players in the Contiguous U.S. It's funny how life works out sometimes I suppose :-)

Where has the summer gone?

It's been awhile I know, and it's not like I didn't have the time to update this, just that I forget or get busy when I remember.

The last several months have been...unproductive. Mostly. I am caught between feeling relaxed and feeling guilty. I've used the last couple of months as one would a summer vacation, but now that fall is creeping up I'm left wondering if I should not have been more diligent in finding work. While I certainly did enjoy the relaxation and lack of responsibility, it is now time to get back to life. I only hope I haven't squandered too much time.

It wasn't all a wash, though. I did maintain a steady rhythm of sending out applications and resumes to both career and local jobs. I have yet to hear from any, however, but I will continue to do so.

Other than that, I haven't got much else to say. I turned 27 since last I updated, but until I hit 30 my birthdays aren't much of a "to-do" for me. I haven't maintained my other website much but I think that should change. I am now getting very antsy and ready to work and get something done.

Here's hoping that my financial outlook is sunny and bright!

Graduation

Finally. 9 years of post-secondary education finally completed. I have in my hands now the culmination of my hard work; My Bachelor of Science degree. It's a great relief but at the same time it's difficult to keep optimism when I have not a clue as to where to go next. I am putting out resumes but as I already expected, no positive returns. Well, not all hope is lost; I shall continue to pursue this as I have the degree. Perseverance and all that.

In the mean time, I am enjoying some much needed "vacation" time. I have been getting over a recent cold but luckily for once I don't have anywhere I have to be, so I was able to get plenty of rest and am happy to report I am feeling much better.

Not a whole lot else to report for the time being. Until next time, I leave you with this link:

Some fascinating photos of Iceland's Disruptive Volcano

Well no surprise there!

Been awhile since I've updated this.

So far I've kept MOST of my aspirations that I had for after graduation. I've maintained a nice vegetable garden which is coming in nicely. Stayed on a sensible diet and have been exercising (almost) regularly. I've even been putting out a lot of applications although not to much avail (yet).

Well, we'll see how things go. Right now I just wish the weather pattern would transition a little more to the summerly. Is that a word? Probably not, but I like it.

Anyway, for the link of the day/week/whatever, if you use gmail but don't want to always have to go log into your account to see if you have mail, use this:

GMAIL Notifier

An icon in your taskbar will alert/notify you any time you get an email. Until next time!

Freedom

As of last Saturday I have graduated from Central Michigan University with a B.S. in Meteorology and Geography (and a minor in Math). It's bittersweet as I have a lot of fond memories of my years in college, but I'm also excited to see what comes next in my career. I hope that it doesn't take me too long to find a job so I can start putting my knowledge to use and to expand my knowledge.

In the mean time, I have put in a garden and started my diet. It's going well so far but we're only on day 2 haha!

We'll see what else happens. Anyway, that's all for now. My posts should start to be a little longer and more frequent (at least until I have something else to do and occupy my time).

Here's something different. If you like video games (like I do) and video game music, try OverClocked Remix

Projects and Banquets and Tornadoes...oh my

Corny right up 'til the end. Finished my Numerical Weather Prediction presentation and did surprisingly well on that (95%! ...not to brag or anything). Attended my last senior banquet last night, and witnessed some of the horrific footage from AL and surrounding areas as one of the largest tornadic outbreaks in years took place.

It has certainly been a melange of good and bad events this week. All that is left are my final exams next week which I will start to study for now. Hopefully all goes well and then, I shall be done.

I don't know what the future holds for me, but with cautious optimism and some slight trepidation I shall journey forward. That's all for now!

Extended cold period

This seems to be one of the longest winters that I can remember. Just last night we had snow and ice reports throughout the state, and there was certainly some on my truck as I left the lab late last night.

I'm not sure that we're out of the woods yet as there doesn't seem to be much of a warm up on it's way any time soon, but boy oh boy, I sure could use some warm, sunny weather! Probably for the best, I don't need the added distraction right now while I'm working on my final projects.

Well not much else to contribute right now, and I know that I didn't put a link in my last post as I was in a hurry. So, I shall make up for it with TWO links:

Kongregate - Online web games
A great way to waste time!

VLC Media Player
I swear by this as a great alternative to Windows Media Player. It plays almost all files including some that WMP doesn't! I use this 99% of the time.

Short and Sweet

As the title implies, I'm going to keep this entry short and sweet, since I have a lot going on right now as the final semester winds down. I find myself swamped with projects and work so if I don't focus and concentrate on the tasks at hand, I will freak out! ...well ok, probably not. Still, it can get frustrating.

Anyway, maybe I'll update more if I get any free time (hah! unlikely...) so until then, adios!

New Website

I'm working on a personal website since this HTML class I've been taking has inspired me to take up programming again. I've found a decent host site (the one I linked to in the last blog I believe), I just don't know what to make the site about. I don't want it to be completely about me because that would be boring and somewhat egotistical. I don't know that I want it to be completely about weather, either, since not everyone would care for something like that and it seems a bit too "on the nose."

We'll see. I've made a bit of progress on it but it's slow going now that I have some exams coming up to study for. Anyway that's it for now. Until next time!

April Fools' Day

There's not much going on today. Decided to visit the folks for the weekend. Have some exams to study for.

I haven't forgotten about my last post, so here you go, another website to check out!

WEBS.com

A very simple webhosting site. Ever wanted to make your own website? It's pretty easy (and free!). If you're like me and used to have a Yahoo! Geocities website (or four haha) then it's something you should check out. Something to do in one's spare time.

And here's another website to check out for those that aren't computer nerds like myself:

Things 90's Kids Realize

Being a 90's kid I have LOVED reading these articles. Very nostalgic.

Well that's all for this week. Hope all are doing well!

Whew, long time no talk

I kind of already figured it would be awhile in between entries, but I've been very busy lately and I tend to forget the smaller things.

Winter has been pretty brutal this year despite the La Nina conditions we were supposed to be under. Although I can't say for certain that we are out of the woods as far as winter storms are concerned, I can say that with the seasons changing any snow we do get will not stick around for long.

Things are gearing up/winding down (depending on how you look at it) as graduation nears. I'm optimistic although I have some trepidation as to whether or not I'll be able to get through this Differential Equations class intact. Higher end mathematics were never my strong suit.

I really do wish I could post more "interesting" things than just my random updates and ramblings, so maybe I'll try to post pictures and/or links every so often. For instance, if you're interested in growing a vegetable garden this spring/summer (which I'm actually contemplating doing), but you, like me, don't know how to go about it, there's a great "How-To" guide here:

e-how's guide to growing a vegetable garden

You'll also want to look at this accompanying map of Michigan's "Hardiness Zones": MI Hardiness Zones

Lastly, the average last frost dates in Michigan areas: Average Last Frost Dates in MI

Good luck on your gardening! I plan on trying my hand at some cucumbers and possibly potatoes, but we'll see. I have to find some space to grow this stuff, first. Have a great week!

Tsunamis and Earthquakes

My heart goes out to all those people in Japan and even those in Hawaii and the West Coast whom are bracing for the water.

I was going to get on here to just make a simple little blurb about how my spring break is going but all things considered it just doesn't seem that important right now. Things like this are why I can't understand why the government wants to cut funding to the NWS and other Natural Disaster Relief programs that specialize in preparedness for such events.

Well I'm not trying to make a political statement or anything. Just concerns me is all. I don't have a particular political party preference (say that three times fast!) as I pretty much think that both parties are capable of doing much good or much "evil" (evil is perhaps too strong a word, making things worse would be better). Just depends on the person elected.

Anyway, enough about that. Not much going on with my spring break as far as activities are concerned. I really haven't done much at all, which while that used to be very relaxing to me, kind of makes me uneasy. I've been studying up on ASOS (Aviation Weather Observation) tests to prepare for the real thing some day, but other than that I feel like I've kind of squandered all my free time. Ah well. A rest is much needed since this semester seems to have taken a larger toll on me than others prior.

Also, I'm sick of winter...I want spring to get here! I want the warmth, sunshine, and lately (call it spring fever) I am contemplating planting a small vegetable garden after I graduate. It might give me something to do with all that free time I'll inevitably have.

That's all from me. Hope all are doing well!

Forecasting is a humbling experience

There's nothing quite like feeling optimistic and hopeful only to be told you're wrong. Forecasting can be a very humbling experience for those who take it seriously. With all of today's technologies and past experiences, you'd think that we should have the weather pinned down by now. Sadly, nothing is farther from the truth. There are just too many factors, too many ways for things to go wrong that prevent forecasters from getting a forecast exactly right. The fact that we get anything right at any time is something to behold in and of itself. The atmosphere, the Earth, just has too many processes intricately working together to all be analyzed and scrutinized within any of our lifetimes. We're talking about trillions of calculations (no exaggeration) alone for just a 36 hour forecast.

Computers, however, can only do so much, and are as flawed as the humans who make them. I say all this because there are times when we, as forecasters, will make a forecast (say for just 24 hours out) and feel so very confident about everything coming together, only to find out that we couldn't be more wrong. What kind of person would choose a profession where they have to constantly be reminded of how little we know about the world?

Dedicated and humbled people, I would imagine. Now I'm not putting our profession up on a pedestal by any means. There are far more humbling and dedicated people out there I'm sure, but I wanted to clarify these points because there are so many people out there who blame meteorologists or forecasters for "screwing up" a forecast, when it's really just telling us something we already know. Try not to judge us too harshly. We're doing the best we can with what limited resources and technology we can.

I've been going through a bad slump of failed forecasts lately so I guess this has been weighing heavily on my mind. For the last several weeks it has seemed that the models will not agree on what the weather will do for two specific cities I'm forecasting for, and it can be really difficult to ascertain what will happen until after it has already occurred. I don't base my forecasts solely off of what the models tell us (as that would just be the computer forecasting, without human intuition and experience), but they do provide a good "jumping off" point, or basis for comparison.

Well anyway, I've rambled on far enough. I have yet another exam tomorrow that I need to be studying for. Ironically enough, it's for Numerical Weather Prediction (how the weather models work)!

You Take the Good and the Bad

...as well as the Wrong and the Right. By that I mean, we ended up not getting the amount of snow originally forecasted, but we still got enough to make travel conditions hazardous and a half-snow day. Unfortunately, my only class today was at night! Oh well.

I'm not going to be updating this every day, I can tell you that right now. It's more of just something to do when I think about it, and I'll probably be too busy this semester to update more than a couple of times a week (usually). We'll see.

My current thoughts linger towards ASOS observing. It's something I want to try for after graduation but as to WHERE is another question. You go where there is an available position or are needed (if you get the job that is). I learned recently that there may, indeed, be a position at a nearby airport that I had previously thought was unmanned. Chances of getting that particular place are slim at best anyway, but still, it makes me wonder of the convenience and possibilities.

On an opposite side to that thought/note, there is a bill currently being trying to be passed that would seriously cut the NWS budget. As if finding a job with the NWS wasn't hard enough. We'll see how this goes but I really hope that it does not pass.

That's all for now. I really have to get back to studying for this exam tomorrow.

Meteorology and Snow

Big "snow storm" today, although I'm just not seeing it accumulate as much as the models were predicting. The back edge of the storm is deteriorating too rapidly for my taste.

Anyway, sort of on that note, am I the only meteorologist that DOESN'T like snow? I don't mind forecasting for it, but I don't like driving in it either. I suppose I'm a little biased, because I was in an automobile accident which was on a very snowy road, and that kind of experience tends to stay with you. I hate driving in the snow and seeing all the accidents, having to creep along to keep from spinning out of control and always having to be on the look out for sliding vehicles. Plus, I only get sick once a year and it's during the winter, and it's usually a cold that makes me bedridden for at least a few days, although this year I had a cold that lasted three weeks! Ah well, that's just me, but apparently all the other meteorologists I've talked to get excited about the stuff and think you're not a TRUE meteorologist unless you are excited about snow as well. Oh well, guess I'm not a "true" meteorologist.

Other than this, not much else happening today. I haven't studied very much in the past two days but I have no choice but to crack down on the books and get going. Soon. Very soon. This computer and internet is just so distracting...

New Kid on the Block

While "blogging" is nothing new to me, I decided to finally cave in and get a Blogger account set up. Life gets pretty hectic at times and it's nice just to have something recreational to do every once in awhile. What better way than to combine two things I like: Computers and Talking about myself!

Anyway, I've entered my final semester here at college and before long I'll have earned myself a B.S. in Meteorology (and Geography). Fun stuff. It's been a long and sometimes difficult road getting here, but it's been well worth the journey. I enter my last few months with some fear and trepidation, but also with hope and excitement. Who knows where life will take me next, but if it's anything like the last 5 years, I know I won't be bored!

As for the time being, I really should be studying for my upcoming Differential Equations exam this Tuesday, but being a Saturday afternoon, my mind and attention have been naturally wandering toward other activities, such as creating this blog. I think that I should go to the Meteorology Lab on campus to work, although I did that last night and had very little success in studying. Perhaps I'll have better luck at it today.

That's all from me for now. Perhaps I will continue to update this in the future with some relative frequency (as opposed to my other, now defunct, blogs). Have a great weekend!