04/14/06

Alan's Place

It's baseball season again and I've decided to get back into officiating. I'm working high school baseball with the Colorado Springs High School Baseball Umpires Association. In 2007 I hope to attend a week long school hosted by former major league umpire, Jim Evans, near Orlando, FL! We will make a vacation out of it and go to Disneyworld for Christmas and while Chris and the kids enjoy Disney, I'll spend 5 days at school! Doesn't seem normal to go work at Orlando when the family is playing. We'll plan it to be there for Christmas Day and school starts on 12/26-12/31.

I'm still working at Colorado Springs Airport as an Air Traffic Controller.   I've been a controller since I graduated from the FAA academy in March 1990. It's been an awesome career and I will probably be a controller until I retire or get tired of it. I've tried a few different management jobs and government management is not for me. The mentality that is required to perform these jobs goes against everything I believe in, and treatment of people is one of them!

I'm very happily married to Christel and we have 2 wonderful daughters, Katelyn (15) and Danielle (13 1/2). They keep Chris and I very busy with school, sports, etc... Chris and I are coming up on our 17th wedding anniversary on April 15, 2006. We met in August of 1987 and have been together since. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me! We live in Colorado Springs and have been here since October 1995. While my family lives in Olympia, WA, Chris' resides in Windsor, CA. We don't get to visit often enough though.

Rocky Mountain Star Stare 2006 is approaching. June 22nd thru June 25th, we will find ourselves once again immersed in planning and operating our astronomy clubs annual star party, 60 miles west of Colorado Springs.  We host around 300 people to a 3-4 night event of stargazing near 9,000 feet! It's a lot of fun and a great time away with camper and family.

I also do short astronomy programs at the Elk Meadow Campground in Estes Park, CO. We go up for a weekend and host an astronomy night (or two) for the guests. Last year, the weather was great but kinda cool. It didn't stop the line up though at the telescope. So we will be doing that again this year as my calendar is pretty full thru the middle of July already!

I stay very active in our local astronomy club, Colorado Springs Astronomical Society. I handle the clubs' public relations and scheduling of star parties. We take our scopes out to schools and local events that we host and allow others to view planets, galaxies, nebulas and other objects in space. It's a lot of work but lots of fun too.

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