Warning, this entry is a late-evening bunch of babble, so it does go on forever.. read at your own risk or falling asleep.
On November 18, I started a thread in Stormtrack titled Annual Storm Chasing Awards. In that list of awards are 14 categories in which only 3 are given to individuals. Among the 11 non-chaser related topics best state, chase day of the year, and core of the year. The three individual awards are for websites, not for a person and their chase skills. I did that on purpose because of issues earlier this year which really divided the chasing world. That issue stemmed from chasing eliteness, which severely pissed off many people when Stormtrack began a hidden group of core members that excluded a lot of other chasers.
While my awards thread hasn't drawn much negative attention, it has been criticized a couple times by a couple different chasers. While this something I would expect from such a thread, my obvious attention wasn't to draw a popularity contest. Yes, there are awards for best websites, but I kindly point out that I didn't make awards for chasers with most tornadoes, etc. This is a fun way to sum up a season, and I'm glad to see participation in the thread. In about a week, I'll take the nominations and set up polls for each category. I still haven't decided as to whether I'll create graphics for the website winners or not, but I'll probably make a page in my 2005 Chase Summary page in which the other awards will be mentioned.
I'm not sure I've gone on the record officially in regards to the issues which have plagued the chasing community this year. And while there isn't anything in particular that's triggered this entry, I just felt the need to pen it out anyway to get my 2-cents out in the world. I enjoy my role (or lack thereof) in the chasing world. I'm just here, that guy from Colorado who wears that silly Redskins jersey. I'm not expert in the field, nor am I anything more than a behind-the-scenes media guy. I'm just here, a simple nerd who enjoys being out, or just being for that matter. I've made some good friends in the passed couple of years, both locally and nationally. I'm finally able to enjoy my chasecations financially and have the time to spend in the field. I enjoy the fact that I can put my Tech. Comm. degree to use by creating graphically useless chase highlight videos in which I can save some cash by trading it out with other chasers to gawk over their finds for that year.
I once was young and craved the attention; I think at one point, we all were. Well, maybe not all of us, but I won't deny my early years. I was a young, silly punk who probably had no business being in the field. Obviously my years before then were spent reading up internet sources and books, talking with other, more experienced chasers, and learning the ropes. Once I got into the field, I began to really learn and added some muscle to all the reading I did. I owe a lot to my pre-chasing studying which really helped shorten the time for me before I felt comfortable enough to chase on my own in places beyond the borders of E-470.
After a couple small seasons taking random chases at random times, I finally hit it big in 2004 when I had spectacular day after spectacular day, reaping the rewards of the season along side many chasers. This was also the first season where I was in the company of other chasers as something other than a wide-eyed follower. I began to establish friendships among other chasers, and it most certainly wasn't cause of my chasing/forecasting skills (nor was it the Redskins jersey I so prominently display).
What all this has to do with anything can be up for debate. I consider myself one of those chasers who does show his face in the public eye, but also enjoys the quieter side that this hobby seems to rarely show anymore. I've made some good friends that I hope and intend to chase with for years to come. That's the extent of any popularity I want (and maybe bragging right for a Redskins Superbowl in the future). While I've been in the company of some very familiar names, I've never sought anything elite; I enjoy the quieter side of life.
Chasing is my passion, and anything which makes chasing a seriously stressful thing is something I want to steer clear of. Sure, chasing is full of various chase-related stresses, but to worry about the popularity contest and whether or not I am liked by the chasing community is something I don't care enough about. So why am I writing this, you ask? If you honestly don't care, why do you feel the need to write up this lengthy, go-nowhere blog entry? Simple, because its my thoughts and its my website. What else do you want? Yeah, I prefer to be liked… no wait, respected, among my chasing associates, but its nothing different than wanting respect in my bowling league, my DVD Authoring class, or my Tae Kwon Do classes. While I'm certainly not the best in any of those, its something I do and to be respected by those I do it with is nice to have. They reach themselves out to help me better myself with something I do, and I can learn from those around me, regardless of what their average, grade, or belt rank.
Chasing is like that for me, I enjoy surrounding myself with all the experiences that chasing has. Aside from the weather, I have preached endlessly about how much I enjoy being on the road. The small towns, the poe-dunk restaurants, sleepless nights in random hotels after an incredible day. All of that makes for a wonderful experience. But most of all, I've treasured the people I've shared those experiences with. I've surrounded myself with some terrific people whom I consider friends both on and off the chasing Plains. While I don't see many of those friends beyond the shadow of a supercell, I enjoy internet chats, emails, phone calls, and the football season exchanges which a few of us share.
Chasing has been tarnished this year, and there's no denying what has happened with the people involved. It's a sad state of affairs to see how this hobby has de-evolved. And my part has been played with several of the incidents that has lead to this demise and there's no reason for me to state otherwise. Obviously my intentions weren't to separate myself from anyone and I feel this is obviously by the lack of hate-mail I get (insert chuckle here). I think my name, car, and jersey are known in the community, and I'm happy to be known as the WX Nerd from Colorado with the Redskins jersey. A little bonus may be for those who've seen my jersey know whose number it is I am wearing (insert even harder laughter there). Of course, I could care less about the latter, but if you've plunged yourself this far, you deserve a little laugh (it's Art Monk, BTW).
I'm not going to offer any apologies for my involvement with the Stormtrack Core group, nor will I take off the chasing awards. My intentions with both of those were not to fuel the fire, even as I may very well have played my part to let it grow. The awards were meant as something casual for the chasing community, kind of like the music awards, except no one gets rewarded for being a great forecaster, taking the best picture, or being the biggest idiot in the field. Nature gets all the awards except for the earlier mentioned 3. Those were reserved for those who enjoy sharing their experience, even if every log is a bust report. The blogger who's leading the nomination category has been sparse in entries as of late, but during the thick of the season, was some of the better reading on the net. For reasons he's stated, he's going to discontinue the posting of pre-chase plans, which is understandable under the circumstances. A prime example of where things have gone, and I don't blame him at all, but I do believe some of the people he's referring to have more of an impact on his professional career outside of chasing rather than loyal followers of the field. Whatever the reason, its his choice as to what he wishes to do with his chasing, and I don't understand the beef he's getting for making the withdraw.
Which leads to other point, why do people care? I own my own website and keep my own blogs, which means I can post (or not post) whatever I care to. I've limited my blog and website specifically for chasing and weather-related goodies and have saved my personal life for another online journal hidden in the open someplace else on the web. My life is no secret, but I do have the choice what I wish to share. He's doing the same. And for people who claim to not care about eliteness and popularity, I'm having a hard time grasping why people care at all what he does and does not post. Some think he's hiding his forecasts from other chasers to avoid being followed or something, and reasons like that lead to the Stormtrack Core issue. So what if that's the case? Who cares, right? Specifically, why should you? As he says, follow him at your own risk. And I can attest, his forecasting is good, but together, we've experienced dizzying days to incredibly disappointing busts. And apart, we've done the same. Guess what, we all do! Its nothing new to the chasing world, but I guess with the amount of people chasing, its become an issue.
People feel that every chaser needs to share everything with everyone. The problem is with the growing popularity that has become of this hobby, we're expected to put our best foot forward and share with the world all the good that comes from chasing. Granted, we do our part to help the community by aiding with spotting and reporting, but every one of us are out for one common reason, to be in the weather. What we do with it is our own business and unfortunately our own business has all of a sudden become a requirement to be shared with the rest of the world. And those that want to hide from the public eye all of a sudden get dubbed elite and become a target for the rest of the chasers cause all of a sudden they're excluded. As was said in the ST Core argument, where is it stated that people have to share everything. I haven't seen it? Sure, I share my entire weather world here on my website, but I enjoy doing websites; I enjoy writing journals. I enjoy sharing my experiences with the world. This is something not many people do nor understand. I hope they are entertained and enjoy this site I've opened to the world. And regardless of what happens in the future, I fully intend to keep a well up-to-date and maintained website for as long as I enjoy doing so. My blog has become the most popular and most hit section of my website, and I'm assuming its cause people get some entertainment and enlightenment out of my endless blabs. I don't claim to be a good writer or even a good chaser, but I enjoy both and do it simply cause I like to. If you don't like it or me, you have the right to go elsewhere. There is plenty else to do online, don't believe, go google something!
Anywoo, as usual, this entry has no real centering point, nor do I expect to get any real feedback, but its my thoughts and I felt the need to get them out. If I were to try and pull a single point from this, it would basically be to let people just be. Chasing for me is about being, simply being. Let everyone do what they wish to do and if that means not sharing with the rest of the world or retiring to a more quiet side of chasing, so be it. No one signed a contract stating that they had to share everything with the world. And to be perfectly honest, the only reason I do it is because I enjoy it. When that goes away, so will everything else. In which case, it does happen. Accept it and continue being your own. People will like and respect you for who and what you are. And if few people like and respect you, then so be it. Remember why you enjoy doing it in the first place. If you maintain that mode of thinking, you'll be fine. If you want popularity, go back to high school. We all were there at one point, but only a few of us graduated.
And a final note, if you actually read through this and made it to this sentence, I'll have a homemade chocolate chip cookie waiting for you next time we meet!
