Spring Break makes decisions much easier!

Well, lots of excitement over the past few weeks! The half-way point in the semester came and went, and spring break was a blast. Oh, and I decided where I'm going to attend grad school!

After much deliberation, with a tough decision to be made between McGill University and the University of Wyoming, I decided to attend McGill for my graduate studies in meteorology. I'm very excited about the prospect of living in Montreal in the coming years, and come visit (once I've moved in of course!). Also, I was accepted to work on the VORTEX2 project, which means I'll be chasing tornadoes for the first half of the summer!


So, that was the big academic/research news...now on to the fun stuff: Spring Break! Six of my friends and myself went to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon last week for spring break, and it was a blast. We stayed a block of the strip, and explored it throughout the week. A favorite of all of ours was the Bellagio fountains, which were attended almost every night. A few other highlights from our time on the strip:

• Sunday night shows/dinner and The Palms Ghostbar (50 floors above the strip!)
• Crazy buffets
• The ups and downs of gambling (not me though of course)
• Stretch Hummer Taxi ride
• Stratosphere Rides
• Super-fancy dinner at the Venetian
• Wild car ride through the desert

The other big highlight of the trip was of course our trip to the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon. It was a two-day adventure, with a good bit of driving in between. We left Tuesday morning and visited the Dam on our way out, and managed to find Penn Staters driving across as we visited. After a good 'We are...Penn State', we continued on our way to the Canyon. We had gorgeous weather while out there, with clear skies and 'somewhat' warm temperatures. Sunset was great, and later that night the canyon was illuminated by a full moon (very cool!). The next morning, we watched a brilliant sunrise, and then proceeded on a 13 mile hike roughly half-way down the canyon. The hike was rigorous but great, and everyone had a blast doing it.






It was a bit of a shock returning back to Vegas and then back home after such a fantastic adventure, but it certainly made for some of my best memories of my college experience! Check out the rest of my pictures here.

Oops I still have a blog!

Okay, so I didn't really forget about my blog -- I just haven't gotten around to making an update. A TON has happened since winter break (naturally given spring break is just a few days away!). The AMS conference in Phoenix, two visits to grad schools, THON, half a semester of courses, and plenty of fun memories. I'll try to work though it all in a semi-logical order :-D

Phoenix was a blast to say the least. It was my first time to the city, and going there with many of my closer friends at PSU made for a good time. The conference was very interesting; I was able to attend this year with a better focus and knowledge, which helped in finding talks that were quite good. Exploring the city was a lot of fun as well -- both downtown and Tempe provided plenty of good times throughout:

The Convention Center

Presenting my poster

Amy, Alex, Chris, and I looking over the town at Sunset

Sunset over Phoenix

Alex and Chris enjoying the town

Grad School Visits!

Well, in the great grad school escapade, I have officially gotten two offers, and have visited both schools (all in the same weekend mind you!). A few weekends ago, I made a whirlwind trip to both the University of Wyoming and McGill University. Both schools made a compelling case for attending them in the coming years, and a tough decision is inevitable. I didn't get a chance to bring my camera up to Montreal, but I did have it for the journey up to Laramie (through Denver):

The sign (of course)

The Mascot

The Atmospheric Science Building

Hoar Frost on a Tree

Hoar Frost on long grass

I'll certainly be keeping everyone up-to-date on any decisions made on this front :-D

THON was an incredible success this year -- just a shade under $7.5 million was raised For The Kids, and it was a very emotional weekend without a doubt. The event brings back fond memories of the year I danced, and of course those closest to me who have fought the valiant fight:

Dream Forward FTK

The Stage

The Sign

Always remember - Alex Kowick & Katie Harris

Below, just a few more random pictures from basketball games -- also, I should have some fun updates either during or after my Vegas adventure over spring break!