2012....May You Rot In Hell

Since I won't be chasing again until 2013 I may as well do my year in review blog; as the title notes this year from a personal prospective was one of the most shittiest I've dealt with.

Chasing

Stats for 2012:

Chases- 4
States Chased In- TN, AL, MS, KS
Tornadoes- 5
Tornado days- 1

Milestones for the year- First Kansas tornado and first night time tornado.

January 22nd, February 29th and March 2nd were the only good severe weather events in the South; we blue sky busted on the 22nd setup, couldn't chase the 29th, and I was limited to a VERY local chase on the 2nd. April 14th like for many other chasers was the lone saving grace for my season; yet that chase almost ended in disaster when a few weeks later I had a falling out with my chase partners over my attitude towards them during our chase. That would be my last meaningful chase until Labor Day weekend when Ashley and I went down to Huntsville to chase the remnants of Hurricane Issac; the chase in general was a bust yet successful at the same time as I nailed my first target area as a brief tornado was reported near Madison, AL about 13 miles southwest of Huntsville.

My Life In General

I topped my tornado total from last year; under normal circumstances I should be happy with that but the mistakes I made in neglecting my financial responsibilities that ultimately ended my season prematurely and cost me seeing more tornadoes (5/25 in particular) along with the overbearing stress I had to deal with at work and the personal animosity I had towards a friend made any positive moment for this year an after thought.  My personal life from March all the way toward July was a train wreck as I was in fear of losing my job. I also fell behind on my payments to my old apartment, and as a result I had 25% of my weekly pay check garnished in order to pay it off which ended up costing me my chasecation because I didn't have the money to go after that. I sat at my computer the night of May 25th heart broken and angry at myself as I was hearing about the tornadoes in Central Kansas including the LaCrosse tornadoes that Ashley got (I fucked up...I hated myself for a long time after that....to this day I can't even watch video of that night).

Things got better for me though; I was bringing in extra money which helped knock out all of my debt and I was finally able to get away for week of RnR in Texas with two of the most coolest people I ever had the privilege of meeting. No chasing during the trip but I did get to see Rob Zombie perform on Halloween.

That pretty much sums up 2012 for me; I'm not going to say 2013 will be a rebound year for me because I have no fucking clue what the new year will bring. All I can say is if I miss out on a decent chase opportunity being broke won't be a reason why. I already made plans on taking my chasecation next year (May 17-27) and all of my money will be devoted on that trip to the Plains and any chases beforehand (even if it means my social life taking a hit, but like I fucking care about that). Everything else at this point is up in the air; I'm just hoping 2013 will not be carbon copy of 2012 (except for seeing tornadoes of course).