This pic was from last May...see me at the bottom?  I went up that Chute on the right.  When we came back we "Glissaded" down the snow.                               (slid on our butts...fast!)

http://www.rockclimbing.com/photos.php?Action=Show&PhotoID=35391

I'm really really tired, so I'm gonna TRY to keep this one short.

In the beginning of September my Step-dad Scott flew up here to Alaska to see me.  He works for Northwest Airlines, so it was nothing new.  I meet him at his hotel and we go grab a bite to eat.  I show him some pics from some hikes I've been doing and stuff, and then he tells me something.  He met a girl wearing a University of North Dakota shirt on the plane.  So, he decided to talk with her and her mom.  Then he shows her (and her mom) pictures of me.  THEN he gives her my home number, cell number, and work number! 

He tells me she would call me sometime...and she did.  She called me about a week after Scott left and I decided, what the heck, I'll take her out.  I pick her up and take her out with me and a few friends.  We did some indoor full-swing golf and then I even got her to try RockClimbing, even though she's very afraid of heights.  Well, to bring this to a close, Allison is an Amazing, wonderful woman and I'm so lucky she's a part of my life.  She's leaving Alaska in December and it's going to be very tough.  I had lost all hope of finding someone who understands me (I was BASICALLY single for ALL of college and the 2 years following it)   

All I can say is, "Thanks Scott!" 

(not to steal your flava TIM) Paul's fun fact of the day: My very first memory is of a tornado that went through Cottage Grove when I was 2 years old.  I remember the sky turning green and my babysitters dog running and hiding behind their couch while we bolted for the basement.  Now look at me...I'm a Meteorologist.

Hey everybody, this is my first entry!

The Run Down:  I graduated from the University of North Dakota in 2002 and commissioned as a USAF officer on the same day.  I spent about 2 months golfing in MN after that and then went down to Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Mississippi for the Weather Officer Course.  That's right, I ended up in Weather.    The course was 3 months long and I had the fortune of experiencing my first hurricane!  ...and my second...and maybe my third.  Nothing compared to a good-ole MN T-storm though.   After Biloxi, I flew up to Elmendorf, AFB in Anchorage, AK which is where I now reside.  Alaska is amazing, so I'll be sure to post a bunch of pics from all my adventures.  I've seen 2 brown bear here, one of which came within 10-15 feet of me; his choice not mine.  (I HAVE VIDEO TO PROVE IT!)  The AF has sent me back to MS once and also to Alabama for a month.  GO DEEP SOUTH! (not really)

I'll be in Minnesota for the second week of June (with a short trip down to Oklahoma for a wedding as well).  SO, if you'll be in the area and want to get together, let me know!  Also, if anyone is planning a trip to Anchorage, you've got a free hotel room (my apt).  I just need plenty of warning.