Link to Ike

This is such a cool story to link to one of my best friends, Deeann, who was flying Ike yesterday (9/11). I've done exactly what Scott Blair (mentioned in the article) was doing in this storm many times. Between eye passes, it's nap, reading or food time.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080912/ap_on_re_us/eye_of_ike

Hurricane Ike, bumpy ride with bird's-eye view
By MARY FOSTER, Associated Press Writer Fri Sep 12, 7:07 AM ET
INSIDE HURRICANE IKE - Amid the engines' roar, the Air Force Reserve pilots and navigator worked calmly as their huge plane neared the eyewall of Hurricane Ike.

The gray cloud, looming 50,000 feet into the sky like a colossal concrete barrier was four miles thick, and the Lockheed WC-130J was hurtling into it.
"It's a big one, and it's going to get bigger," said Lt. Col. Mark Carter, 54, a pilot who has chased storms for 31 years. "It's off land now, and feeding on the warm water down there while it gets itself back together."
"Down there" is 10,000 feet below, where the swirling dark water and foaming waves of the Gulf of Mexico are only visible intermittently through the clouds.
Carter, and his fellow Hurricane Hunters of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, were finishing a fourth trip across Ike, during a 10-hour, 3,000-mile trek to monitor the storm taking aim at the Texas coast.
The aircraft carved a 210-mile giant "X" pattern through Ike and its eye, just off the western tip of Cuba.
"We're the only military aircraft that has permission to fly through Cuban airspace," said public information officer Maj. Chad Gibson. "We share the information we gather with them."
Using high tech equipment aboard the $72 million plane, the crew gathers data on wind speed, barometric pressure and other information for the National Hurricane Center.
"The plane makes two observations a second," said Maj. Deeann Lufkin, 35, a meteorologist who stood behind a bank of screens as she monitored the storm.
Lufkin, who has more than 50 hurricane flights behind her, took the jostling of the storm as easily as a New York City subway rider handles rush hour.
Like everyone on the crew, Lufkin, of Northfield, Minn., is an Air Force Reservist — a civilian who works summers with the Hurricane Hunters, based at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss.
"I love this job," said Lufkin, whose husband is also a Hurricane Hunter. "It is endlessly fascinating, and it is also extremely important. We provide information the satellites can't get. And we provide something satellites will never have — a human eye and brain."
The C-130 has been a workhorse of the U.S. military for nearly five decades, is a squat, broad aircraft, painted dull gray, with four black propellers curving over the wings like exotic flowers.
Inside, it resembles a high-tech auto mechanic's garage. Metal grids on the floor offer secure places to stash equipment, insulation covers most of the walls and ceilings, wires shake everywhere, red mesh behind the armless seats offer something to grab onto when the plane starts bucking and tilting in a storm.
Despite its plain looks, Tech. Sgt. Scott Blair, a big man with close-cropped gray hair and tattoos running up his arms, calls the aircraft his girlfriend.
"I've been married 21 years," said Blair, 38, who runs Fat Boy's BBQ restaurant in Picayune. Miss., when not flying into storms. "She's never had call to be jealous until I started flying on this plane. Now she calls it my mistress."
Flights can run as long as 15 hours, not counting preflight and post-flight briefings.
Once ordered into a storm, the 10 crews made up of six people each, fly on a rotating basis, 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
The flights go into everything from developing tropical storms to Category 5 hurricanes. But they don't fly into a storm over land because of the danger of tornadoes.
Since the flights officially began in 1943, only four Hurricane Hunter planes have been lost in the bump and grind through the clouds — the last in 1974.
It doesn't take much to draw out stories of the storms that have tilted the plane at dangerous angles, sent shudders down its metal spine and through its human occupants, banging untethered people against the ceiling as ride-along journalists scramble for plastic bags amid lurching stomachs.
Blair, who dozed in free in-flight moments with a copy of the book "Unholy War" spread across his stomach, was nonchalant about the Ike flight.
But he remembers others that were more eventful.
"Hurricane Charlie, what was that '03, '04?" Blair said. "That almost beat us to death. We made a pass through it as a Category 2, and 45 minutes later, when we went back through, it was a Cat 4. Every reporter on board had a bag up to his face."
The storms are most dangerous as they build or break apart, Blair said. That's when a potentially deadly microburst of wind and huge up-and downdrafts threaten the plane.
Dangerous or not, the flights, with their combination of boredom and adrenaline-pumping moments, appear to be addictive.
"I'm going to keep doing this until I get too old or my hearing goes," Blair said. "Then I'll just sit up in Picayune (Miss.) and drink beer and eat barbecue and dream about it."

Making changes

I just got back from another trip to MN to visit my dear friends Greg and Deeann. Getting time to visit with special people with whom you can be yourself is such a wonderful feeling. I'm fortunate to have them in my life.

I read a book in the past year about friends and it got me thinking about relationships I've had over the years. Some of my best and longest lasting friendships have come out of the military, partly because we've shared so much time together in odd situations and places.

The friends I've made since coming to Texas have been very satisfying as well. I'm lucky to have gotten in with a set of girlfriends (and their hubbies) who share a lot of the same interests and we've collectively grown quite a bit in the six years I've been here. It's amazing how some of them you can just give a look and they know what you're thinking (which can be good or bad!)

It has also been a delight to meet new people who give you a new perspective. I recently met a lady down the street (well, she actually tracked me down, but that's another story). She enjoys being active as well, and I can't wait to have her meet some of the other girlfriends. She also is such a warm, exciting person. I've learned to think about being a little more open because of her already, though I still have a ways to go.

I've learned so much from all these people over the years. Many have given me great advice and even have told me when I'm being to anal about something! (Laugh). We've leaned on each each other when we're going through rough spells. It's incredible to watch this group pull together when we have to.

But at the same time all of this is going on, I've also learned to let go of relationships. Some of these are with people who are energy-suckers. These are the people with some kind of drama always happening and they need to be bailed out or reeled back in from their personal struggles. Some just don't give a rip, so why bother? Some you just grow apart from. It hasn't been easy to let go in some cases, especially when they live close to you, but with others, it's a relief.

I truely enjoy the friendships I have now. They keep me grounded and at times, pull me out of the house when I'm down. They are blessings to me. Thank you!

My first storm...on the ground

I love tropical weather!

I miss flying in hurricanes, but I sure don't miss the other 9 months of the year where the squadron is spinning out of control...you know, the ARTs bitching about the Reservists and vice-versa. The 3-ish months of storm season were always my favorite.

I've been watching Gustav the past few days, The Weather Channel on in the background at my house all weekend. It hit the coast on Monday morning and by the evening, the first few bands of the cirrus sheild from the storm was evident here in the Dallas area. It was beautiful.

All day Tuesday, I flipped between the radar and satellite images of the remnants of Gustav as it approached. By the time I left SWA that afternoon, I was in heaven. The clouds were in a banded pattern with a distinct arc. There were showers peppering the view towards the east. And the wind really picked up. I could see and feel the wind gusts hitting me.

All I could do was grin.

Can you believe that after 11 years and flying through close to 50 named storms, this is the first tropical storm I've been in on the ground? Amazing!

Great definitions

Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it. (My favorite!)
Glibido: All talk and no action
Arachnoleptic Fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people, that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The Bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an a ** hole.

The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are this year's winners. Read them carefully. Each is an artificial word with only one letter altered from a real word.

Big Butt Day

I know I probably shouldn't complain, but yesterday was a big butt day.

I went shopping, taking advantage of a few Labor Day sales at some of my favorite stores and found some fantastic deals! I even had a 20% off coupon for the entire purchase at Loft. Whee! I was in for good times, yeah!

Sunday, I had some awesome Pad Thai from Pei Wei, which I'm sure, made me retain a bit of water...or at least that's what I'm going to use as the excuse this week. Man, I had a helluva time getting into my "normal" pants size and really got grumpy with the lumps and bumps.

I really, truely have to get about 10lbs off this butt (and that's where it all is) and get into fighting shape for races and for Belize. UGH! It's just so hard.