Dating and chasing

MJ Poore

EF2
Joined
Sep 28, 2006
Messages
114
Location
Johannesburg, S Africa
Around lunchtime yesterday I had some completely different situations to ponder. A great dryline from a strong front and an interesting temperature boundary not far from Johanneburg, and then a date at six that evening. At 1:15pm a line of storms appeared on the radar about an hour away, no problems, I'll just knock off a quick chase and be back by the evening. Aside the good boundary situation, the surface dews and temps where not so great about 8-9 C and 20 C, and the low level jet didnt seem to be working, perhaps something do with the onset of winter. The good news is the fact that we get 20% of our strong (F3+)tornadoes in May.

By the time I got connected with the storms, they were barreling along at about 50kmh and after an hour and a bit of chasing I was some distance into the countryside, far across the provincial boundary. The surface shear was minimal, so there wasnt to much rotation, but great storms and good road coverage. I did about 450km's in all and just came skidding into my girl friend's flat a few minutes before six. "You've been where she said?"

Ps anyone in S Africa reading this, and who wants to chase, please drop me a line. I am the only chaser in this part of the world - that I know of anyway. [email protected].

Enjoy the pics. Hope you all start getting some of this in the US soon.


cheers

Mungo

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You did the right thing MJ. It was perfect just like you did it. CHASE FIRST and then if you have time, go see the girl.
 
In the past I always chased first, and if there was time left afterwards, did the girl thing. During the 1999 season I had a semi-steady and she complained that I was "never there" when she called. I was like "Yeah....it's Spring." That one didn't last long. I only ever stood a girl up once to chase, but it was going nowhere anyway so no big loss. These days, it's not even an issue. I can't remember the last time a woman looked at me who wasn't either drunk or being tipped generously by Yours Truly.
 
Things get majorly skewed when you get married (words of caution)...the whole game changes for chasing. Diplomacy and a little sense of urgency can usually go a long way to springboard into the planned chase. Fortunately my wife clearly understands that once the season hits, my brain goes into severe wx mode...kind of like NWR when they suspend regular programming !! ;)
 
Dating and chasing are two things which very very rarely go together smoothly. My chasing is quick to come up as ammo in her arguments. Its amazing how quick the wind can be taken out of your sails for a chase when you tell your significant other that there is a 15% hatched out and her response is "15% thats it, thats not very good odds, lets just go camping". No matter how much they say the support your passion it will always come up. On 4/21 I took Shane's policy towards chasing and women.......she was fine with it, well she was until she realized that I wasn't going to get home until 5am. Unfor, she realized what time I was getting home after a few hours at the bar, its amazing how much someones opinion changes after they have been drinking.

Good luck with the girlfriend, its not easy.

Graham Butler
http://www.darkskyproductions.com
 
The way I see it is if your with somebdoy and they really care they wouldnt ask you to give up your passion. if they argue about chase days then it isnt going to work out. You will either have to give up chasing or give up them. A true partner would never ask you to choose. Ofcourse its easily solved if they are wx weenies too.

For me chasing is part of the package. If you want to be a part of my life then you must also accept chasing as part of it. Ofcourse thats one reason I am divorced..lol

Graham your in big trouble. :). Tell her she has a 15% chance you cheating on here and she if she still thinks its a small risk..lmao
 
It's never really been an issue here. In some earlier relationships I was very quick to point out that chasing comes first in the Spring and it's not up for debate. My current fiance (of nearly 4 yrs now) is pretty cool with chasing, she only goes occasionally but she understands how important it is to me.

My advice... if you are looking to be in an actual relationship let the girl know very early on and if she starts complaining you need to make a decision very quick .. before it gets too serious and then starts causing volcanic arguments.
 
You should hear all the hell I catch from my girlfriend. I told her how I was during storm season, but I don't think she fully understood.
 
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My advice... if you are looking to be in an actual relationship let the girl know very early on and if she starts complaining you need to make a decision very quick .. before it gets too serious and then starts causing volcanic arguments.

That doesn't always work however. In the past I did that, layed it all out exactly how it would be and they would be like, that's cool. But when the reality of it sets in, it's like it never even registered what you told them. A couple of people I know right now are going through major crap just to get out and chase on a given day, and I know they layed it all out in advance. For some reason, non chasing people seem to think it's something you can do at your own convenience rather than mother nature's convenience.
 
I agree 100% David. You can tell them every day leading up to it how it's going to be and they're still going to throw a temper tantrum when it actually happens. My girlfiend loves to chase too, so I can only begin too imagine how bad it would be with a girl that was totally ignorant and bored with weather and chasing.
 
That doesn't always work however. In the past I did that, layed it all out exactly how it would be and they would be like, that's cool. But when the reality of it sets in, it's like it never even registered what you told them. A couple of people I know right now are going through major crap just to get out and chase on a given day, and I know they layed it all out in advance. For some reason, non chasing people seem to think it's something you can do at your own convenience rather than mother nature's convenience.

Yeah, I forgot about that type of girl. Basically it goes back to if they start whining leave ASAP.. unless you really like the girl and can take the daily beating. If I know one thing about girls it's that once they don't like something and it bothers them it usually never changes.
 
Well MIchael maybe I should rephrase my post.

It helps if they are a chase weenie. I guess not all wx weenies understand a chasers lifestyle. We will spend every waking moment and the last dollar we have to our name to catch 1 more storm. I spend most of the year paying off the credit cards I max out during chase season just so I can do it all over again. I have even quit jobs because I couldnt get off to chase. Luckily the job I have now mostly allows that.

The only trump card that will keep me from chasing is if my daughter has something going I need to attend then I forgo chasing but thats not often.
 
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