So, a little about me. I was born and raised in Minnesota, living in New Brighton, MN for 19 years (and still living there) with my mom, dad, two sisters (Laura and Jessica) and brother (Tom). I went to Irondale High School, graduating in 2008. I'm currently going to Anoka Ramsey Community College just to get my generals done, I really can't wait to get the hell out of there. Current plan is to transfer to St Cloud State either next year or for the 2010-2011 year. During high school I was set on majoring in meteorology, but now I am reconsidering that thought. Between a grim job market in the current met. field and the amount of math/science required to complete the degree, I am considering a different major. Other options I have come up with are hydrology (yes, I thought it sounded like the most boring thing in the world too until we looked in to it in a geography class last semester), geography, or cartography. The one thing I dont want for a job is to sit at a desk for 8+ hours a day, 5+ days a week. If possible, I want to work outdoors.
There isn't one single weather event that made me decide to become a storm chaser or that got me hooked on storms, it's always been a passion of mine. Even as a little kid I would sit at the front window that looks to the west and watch the storms come in. This passion for storms just kept growing to where I am today. In May 2005 I became a certified SKYWARN spotter, and the following year in 2006 I started my chasing career. My first "official" chase was August 5th in the eastern Dakotas. Rich Gudmenson was nice enough to let me tag along, and we have continued chasing together ever since. I cant thank him enough for the amount of help he has given me. Although I only totaled 6 chases in my first two seasons combined, they were still some good chases (only regret is not trying to get off work on 8-24-06). In 2008 I got in 8 chases. They ranged in miles traveled and time spent anywhere from under 100 miles and just a couple of hours to over 800 miles and 18+ hours in a single day. In my three years of chasing I haven't bagged a tornado yet (currently 0-14) but to me that's just another reason to keep chasing. Tornadoes aren't the only reason to chase for me, mammatus, anvils, mesos, hail, etc. are all reasons I chase, tornadoes are just the icing on the cake. As for the 2009 season I hope to get out atleast 10 times, and make a trip to the central plains in May. My boss owes me some vacation time and what better way to spend it than spending hundreds of dollars on gas, food, and lodging to see some condensed water, right? ;)
I also have a huge passion for photography, and not just taking pictures of storms. My favorite type of photography is color outdoor/landscape photography, although I have had some success with black and white. I think photography must run in the family, apparently my grandpa really in to photography and even had his own darkroom. My brother and one of my sisters also have a pretty strong interest in it. I got my first real camera back in 2006 with a film Nikon N65 with a 28-80 mm Nikkor lens from National Camera Exchange for just over $200. Up until this past winter the digital camera I used for storm chasing was my parent's Canon Powershot, but in February I got a DSLR which I am very happy with. It an Olympus E520 with two Olympus Digital lenses. I have already taken hundreds of pictures with it and I can tell I'm going to love it.
Besides chasing and photography I love sports, both playing and watching. I'm a HUGE hockey fan and follow the Minnesota Wild and the University of Minnesota Gophers all season and get to games when I can, although it's extremely hard to get tickets for either team in the State of Hockey. I also enjoy baseball watching the Minnesota Twins on t.v. and getting to the Metrodome a few times a year to see them in person. Football is another sport I watch a lot, both the Minnesota Vikings and Gophers, though neither one seems to want to win a championship. I've also gotten in to snowboarding in the winter the last couple of years, and I've been playing pond hockey since I can remember. Other than that, just hanging out with friends. |
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