No, not the sun again!

UPDATE: Hold up... I might be wrong. We still have a chance of bringing a front in for Friday morning. I just overlooked it. Highs in the upper 60's with rain could be the game forecast. I hope so!

I thought we'd have a nice Thanksgiving with highs around 60 and some rain, especially for the t.u. game. Nope. Another ridge is going to push, which it already has, all the activity to the eastern side of the U.S. Poor Texas gets a ridge of high pressure with sunshine and highs near 80 for Thanksgiving. Very un-late fall like. It stinks. Bring the winter air please!

Moisture will creep in for the weekend and we might see rain in the Houston area, but I wanted to see it come a little earlier. Oh well.. it'll be a hot week for this time of year... put up your Christmas lights with shorts on.

Simply Blessed

Yesterday, I got out of my toyota celica, passenger back end beat to a pulp, but me without a scratch... heck, I didn't even have a sore spot in my body today. It was a surreal moment, one of those you don't forget for a long time. It plays in my head once every 10 minutes, if not more. I laugh, I cry, I thank God I'm still here. It all happened on a whim. I didn't see it coming. The 18 wheeler behind me didn't even know what happened. I'm glad my guardian angel never gets tired.....

I learned an important lesson. When driving 75 on a highway don't let your wheels ever touch the grass off the shoulder. Good riddance to those little grooves on the shoulder, this particular spot of road did not make that awful tire shredding noise it's supposed to in order to snap me out of my daydream. Not on this particular Thursday morning. I was about to be in for an insane 6 seconds of heart stopping, adrenaline pumping, change your life type of moment.

I was driving northbound on highway 6, coming in to CS for the day to see my best friend Ray. It was my first day off since a week or so ago. I was about 8 miles south of Navasota... everything going as smooth as butter. I started going into thought, something I do everytime I'm in the car for any extended period of time. For some reason, this particular time my subconscious didn't drive for me. This time my car slowly slided into oblivion. I had just passed a semi and was in the left lane. For whatever reason I veered to the left slightly, not hearing the grooves, hit the grass on the median side and proceeded to go into a 75 mph tailspin. I didn't panic really. I don't really know what I did. I tried to break out of the spin somehow. About 1.5 seconds had passed, and I was facing backwards back in my original lane sliding along still slowly spinning.... I see the 18 wheeler in the right lane coming towards me. Another second passes. I do another 180, facing again towards the front. Now I'm half in the right and left lanes. I think I gain partial control, but I don't, I overcompensate. I begin my second spin 90 degrees, this time counterclockwise, with my driver side facing the oncoming semi, while I was now rolling into the right lane & staring at a semi's grill about 40 feet from me. I'm really not sure what happened next. I just remember seeing the semi about to smash into the driver's side and beginning to brace myself. Later, the truck driver said he saw my face right before impact, and he though, "This has got to suck for this guy".

This is where divine intervention took place. Think about this... I was spinning counter-clockwise, with my driver's side facing the semi and my car perpendicular to the lanes. I'm a second from impact and all of a sudden I feel the bump of the truck and it pushes me over into the grass where I come to a stop. I think, what in the world? I was just about to take a hit on the driver's side and I barely felt anything?! I get out and see the truck driver hit my on my back right passenger side. Now people, this is an impossible scenario. I was turning counter-clockwise with the driver's side facing the truck. If I had turned any more I would be FACING the truck, not facing frontwards again. There's no way I did another 270 spin before he hit me. Somehow, my car had turned REVERSE of its momentum 90 degrees while the truck veered to the shoulder and caught me with his left end. It was unexplainable. I got out and talked to the truck driver, and I asked him, "How did you hit me on the right back side?". He said, "I have no idea, the last time I saw you before you were about to be HIT was looking towards ME!"

Unexplainable... well not really. It's called a miracle. God spared my life again. He's done it before and He did it again. It didn't surprise me because He is so amazing but wow was I excited about what God did for me. I was almost toast. The semi did say he slowed to 40 mph before impact, but still... I at least should have been hurt. No sign I was even just hit by a freaking 18 wheeler! Well, besides my right end being in shambles. I lost another of my 9 lives. I think I'm down to 5 or 6 now.
But seriously, it was amazing.

The aftermath is really nothing compared to what SHOULD have been. I'm here typing and thanks to the Lord I am acting like nothing happened.
God put people in my life to help me out after the fact.
I'd like to give a shout out to Miss Karen Davis, who for the 2nd time has been there to help me when I totalled my car. ( Yes, it's my 2nd one in 2 years)
After the wrecker took my car to Navasota, I was picked up by Karen and taken to CS where at least I have people to be around for the time being. And that's where I sit today. In front of a computer in the SCC, not in a hospital. Amazing.
Also, another shout out to my best friend Ray who is always there when I have just gone through a crazy time.
And one more to Jonathon who is going to go out of his way the weekend of his and his g/f's anniversary to take me back home in Houston.
Something ironic... I got a citation for failure to keep my car in one lane. If I can keep my car in one lane during a 75 mph spin I should be a stunt driver.
I could talk about the jerk of a DPS officer who showed up (of the FIVE who did), but I'm going to keep this absorbed in optimism.

I'll find a car, I'll go back to work on Sunday, and I'll find a way to get to the airport to go home for Thanksgiving. Life will go back to what it was, but I kinda hope it doesn't. I want this experience to help motivate me in my walk with God. We all need a little motivation. It seems like we always forget about God has done for us in the past. Well I'm not anymore. I want to be the one to step out againt the grain and stand for Jesus Christ. Everyday. Everywhere. I mean, look what He continues to do in my life just to keep me here on Earth? That must mean He believes in me to do something great for Him. And that's the best part of all. If He is keeping me alive, then I'm here for a purpose. I plan on fulfilling that purpose no matter what it takes.

On one last note, while at the gas station in Navasota I spoke to an employee about the accident. She said, "You sure are lucky... you must be doing something right". And I replied by saying, "Maam, I am just simply blessed".

Landmark day for weather

Wow! I come into work today and the storm prediction center has issued a HIGH risk of severe wx for the MS river valley. They do this no more than 2-3 times a year. The amazing part is that it's SNOWING on the west side of the Mississippi.

Can you believe this? Snow and tornadoes coexisting w/in a few hundred miles of each other.
After today is said and done we might look back on this day as one of the craziest weather days ever.

ENJOY THE FIREWORKS!!!!

P.S. Have an umbrella handy this afternoon!!

Cold front Tuesday

I've been working my friggin tail off this week... but it's going to pay cuz I'm getting 48 hours of OT and that spells C-a-s-h... anyway that cold front I mentioned last post is gonna come down in a big hurry. Instead of coming in on Thursday this puppy will make it here tomorrow later in the afternoon probably. Amazingly, it formed today in southern Sasketchewan/ nrn Montana and will move through the plains in one day.

I'm looking forward to it. Today's high was 86 with 66 dewpoint. That's disgusting. It's almost freakin Thanksgiving for crying out loud**.
That will change... as I said highs and lows will be chopped down probably like 15 degrees maybe up to 2o degrees this week. The moisture will be gone but look out for a possible temporary mess tomorrow. Severe wx is possible again just like on Halloween. It'll probably be real similar. High wind, small hail, etc... and around the mid-late afternoon again more than likely.

** Did you know the phrase "for crying out loud" was considered cursing a few decades ago? Yeah... odd

Well, I'm using my spare 2 hours I have per night... so I must go,
Working 144 hours in 14 days is not fun!


P.S. My forecasts are for central/srn TX

Gameday weather + extra

Looks like the cut-off low that was hovering over in Cali will make it's way towards the east.... just in time for the OU game in Norman tomorrow morning. I 'm sorry if I use technical terms, but I think you'll get the gist of my reasoning. Anyway, a cold front will result, forming tonight and head for the midwest. Rain, including possibly severe thuderstorms, will form in front of the cold front. The rain should push through Norman sometime during the morning hours and may make for a wet and windy game.

I think this helps the Aggies because it slows the game down, and we all know our D can benefit from that. Plus, this keeps Bomar from throwing downfield all day with a south wind at 20 mph.

Otherwise, this front probably won't make it past CS, it will stall and won't bring much relief in terms of this crappy hot, humid weather we have had. We may see the occasional thunderstorm/rain shower roll through parts of central and SE Texas the next couple of days but I wouldn't be real hopeful.

5 day outlook for Texas shows a nice looking cold front pushing on down this Thursday night into Friday morning. It will push out the moisture that will be hanging out over central and SE Texas the next 3-4 days. We should also see a notable cool off for the time being. Notable meaning 10-15 degrees off highs and lows. Don't know how long it will stick around but I'll keep an eye on it. Ha, I say that like I'm doing a favor when it's my job. Anyway... enjoy the game. I think with rain and wind we have a chance of pulling this thing out.

Have a nice weekend

The third commandment anyone?

You ever been pissed enough that you just sat there daydreaming about ways to deal with the situation to make you feel better? You know, like imagine beating the ever living crap out of the person? Yeah, I had a night like that at work. I decided to pick up a night shift for OT.. it's tough to do that now that I'm on days cuz it can really screw with ya head. I managed, but the real story was how this entire "team" that I worked with believed that the name of God and Jesus were to be used in as derogatory a way as possible. Now, I'll let it slide if somebody is really upset and uses GD or JC once.. bygones be bygones... but this was like every 2 minutes for 12 BLEEPING hours. Literally.. I wished I had one of those bleeper things from the radio. And it was used as carelessly as I've EVER heard in my entire life. It came to the point about 1/3 of the way into my shift where it was time to say something.
First, the casual joke remark>>> "You'd think we were in a church service with how many times I've heard the Lord's name in the past couple of hours"... laughs.. ok so that didn't work.
So now I'm fringing on just slamming something againt a wall, or perhaps yelling at them, but that's not the solution to this because I don't help the cause by acting irate. At this point, even my coworkers can tell that I'm upset. They even asked me why I wasn't myself. So, I told them, "It's just really frustrating when GD or JC is used as an adjective. Last time I checked the dictionary it was a noun."
OK, so I stated my mind... I'm expecting it to stop right? haha.. well I'll give two guys credit... they did stop saying it out of respect for me most the night afterward. At least they TRIED. But one guy just would not shut up. It came to the point that I went into about a 5-10 minute daydream about what I was going to do to him if he said it one more time. I thought of the following:
A) Throwing one of our little globe balls at his face hoping to poke his eye out.
B) Throwing something of more weight, perhaps my computer, at his head
C) Going on some kind of verbal rampage against this guy
D) And then, of course, thinking about beating the snot out of this guy.. I mean knee to the eye, punch to the teeth, broken nose, the whole kaboodle.

So I'm deciding on which to act out... then the phone rings and I pop out of my daydream. Eeesh... how long was I out?? I must have been staring at the wall or something.

Well, I never did any of those 4 things, it's not necessary. An eye for an eye would make the whole world blind anyway, I know that. Revenge is mine, just not on Earth. So I'll let it be, but wow it's hard to dismiss this stuff. Especially when you know that they KNOW what they say is sinful. Some just don't know any better really, others are just rebellious. I wonder which is worse?

Lukewarm Christian vs. Ignorant non-believer

Definitely lukewarm Christian. Why?
Well, I can recall Jesus stating to either be hot or cold for him. Don't just be room temperature. It's not enough.
A lukewarm Christian is a distraction to God's kingdom and here's why:

When you claim God's rules and live by your own rules you turn off those around you looking for answers from seeking the TRUE answer. If they see that YOU aren't interested in living for Him, then why should they be?
I mean, after all, you've experienced Jesus first hand and it hasn't made an impact on you enough to live any differently than the next person.

Think about that. You are aiding in the cause of depriving a non-believer of eternal life! Yeah, we are all guilty of it. So.. do something about it.
Act it. Live it. Actions are our witnessing tool. Our best tool. Use them!

Cue music.... And the world... will be a better place..

I need your vote

Well, it's 5:45 AM on a Wednesday morning and I can't sleep. I'm too used to these night shifts and my mental clock is all messed up. The bad thing is I gotta work days starting this weekend so I better fix it quick. It's a good thing I get 4 days off every 8 days or I'd never figure this thing out.

I've decided I need to invest in a new camera. I had a good digital one up until January when some middle school punk stole it in Amarillo during Christmas break 04-05. I put up flyers and everything in the school, but no luck. I think since I can't sleep I'll use my time to search thru the possibilities. I've saved about a G in the first two months of the job.. so that go either go to:

A) Flight school
B) A new camera
C) Loan payments

I think we all know this is a tough decision. So, vote. Leave a comment w/ your choice of A, B or C, and I'll use your intelligence. Remember, Christmas IS just around the corner. Although, getting my family to buy me a $1,000 camera isn't exactly gonna happen. Plus, I know this blog will get boring without pics, so I leave it to you.