Of Tennis and Tornadoes

Well it seems as if the Spring/Summer weather is here to stay, although I may not have said that the other day. Today we had highs back in the 70s, just like we had on Friday, and they predict it will be the same for the rest of the week. But, if you had been here only three days ago, you would have noticed something very different; highs only in the 40s and 50s! It was back to the old sweatshirts and jackets around here, well at least for the last couple of days. Frankly, I'm glad that the chilly winter weather is over, because to me, what's the point in it being cold if you're not going to get any snow?

Okay, now let's get to the topic at hand. Friday, as I said, was one of the warmest days we've had so far. Everyone decided that was the day to do anything outdoors, and I was no exception to that (only it took me a little more encouragement from an outside source). This was around 2:30 in the afternoon, and some friends of mine from down the hall asked me to go play doubles tennis with them. I had to think for a second, since I hadn't played since at least last fall, but came to the old conclusion, "Aww, what the heck?" I got into tennis-appropriate attire and walked down there to our tennis courts, which I found out are abundant and well-kept. There were four of us total: two guys from down the hall, one guy who is in a couple of my classes (who claimed to have never played before), and myself. We were paired up just by coincidence, which I found to be a little lop-sided, since I was obviously paired with an experienced player, and the other side had a player with no experience whatsoever. But, I didn't really worry about that, since it had been so long since I had last played anyways.

That being said, I think I did fairly well for someone that hadn't played in a while. I got all my serves in except for one, and kept all errors down to a minimum. My companion was doing very well that day, and after all was said and done, we won 6-1, 6-4, 6-2! I was really excited about that, and that definitely boosted my confidence. But what I didn't realize was what was looming in the distance, as clouds took over the sky.

Right before our match ended, the clouds starting floating in from the distance, and within just a few minutes, they had totally taken over the once-blue sky. As we were packing up and heading off, it started to sprinkle a little bit, but nothing too significant. But only a few minutes after the rain started, something unexpected happened. We got up to the dorms, and out of nowhere the tornado sirens began to go off around us. I had never heard such things before, so I really didn't know what was going on. So I rushed back into the dorm and turned on the TV, only to find the weathermen on every single channel. That same line of storms that killed so many in the South was extending up here, and we had the possibility of heavy winds, large hail, local flooding, and the small chance of tornadoes. As I watched the news (which this "severe weather update" lasted for almost three hours), I saw something that I had never seen before: dark red, purple, and even black colored sections on the local radar. Fortunately for us (but possibly unfortunately for others), we didn't get any of the hail or tornadoes, but we did get heavy rain and some winds. I found out the only reason those sirens went off was because in Hamilton County, they set them off whenever there is a tornado watch and a severe thunderstorm warning at the same time, which there was at the beginning of the storm. So, this storm lasted for about 3-4 hours, and eventually moved to the East, leaving us with cold temperatures and wet areas for the next couple of days. We were truly spared from anything serious, but there was one possible tornado (or funnel cloud) somewhere in Indiana. Nevertheless, I was still glad that it didn't turn into anything more serious.

Well that's really all that's been going on lately for me. I do have my Easter Break starting on Wednesday after classes, which lasts through Monday. I have been looking forward to this for a while now, and I really do need a break. Next week will be very tough as far as classes go (as I think I mentioned in my last post), so I will need a few days off to prepare for the stress, and of course to study and start the papers, etc. I don't know if I will post before I leave, but I will be heading out around 1:30 on Wednesday, and I should post after I get home. Until then, I hope everyone's week is getting off to a good start, and I will talk to y'all later.