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HuskerSoldier
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Name: Travis
Country: United States
State: South Dakota
Metro: Sioux Falls
Birthday: 3/1/1982
Gender: Male
Interests: I'm a man of faith. I love the Lord God, and share my faith with others. I have a great wife, Kelly. Love to be with my friends, either going out or chillin' in. I love to go storm chasing in the spring and summer. I enjoy watching movies, playin' video games, listening to some music, reading, and all kinds of sports. I'm a huge Cornhusker fan, no matter how good or bad we are. That goes for football or basketball. I'm a faithful fan all the way.
Expertise: College Football, Mario Kart, Goofing around, Weather Forecasting
Occupation: Other
Industry: Media
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
AIM:  NebraskaGoonie
MSN: tklanecky@hotmail.com
Yahoo:  tklanecky
Member Since:
11/12/2004
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| Wow has it been awhile. I think I've fallen off the planet when it comes to writing anything when it comes to my thoughts lately. But actually, some very exciting things have been happening in my life and I have some big changes on the way fairly soon.
Back in late February or early March, Kelly and I decided that we wanted to move back home. It seemed like trips back home just weren't enough. We were always running around and could never just settle down. So we prayed about the situation and since then, God has blessed us far beyond anything we deserve. Kelly got a job back at the school she used to teach at in Grand Island. She'll be teaching fifth grade, which is the same class she taught her first year of teaching when they were second graders. Then during our trip home over Easter, we made plans to visit the bank about a loan and maybe look at a few homes with a realtor. We ended out getting a home in Grand Island that weekend and are very excited about settling down.
One piece of the puzzle that was still up in the air was where I would go. Opportunities in meteorology are few and far between in central Nebraska. So I decided I was going to head back to school to finish my teaching degree. So I applied to UNK to get a second bachelors degree. I was hesitant and a little scared about it, because I know I could do it, but not my passion in life. About a month ago, I put in my letter of resignation to my boss, so they could get somebody hired to replace me early. In the process, she asked me if I wanted her to send an e-mail to the news director in Hastings who she knew. So I said sure. Sure enough, a day later he wrote back saying he had an opening he was going to post that afternoon. So I sent a tape along with my resume and cover letter. A few days later, after a conversation, he offered me the job. I didn't even have to interview. So I'll be working weekends in June as the weekend meteorologist. It's a step down from where I am now, but we are excited to be back home and I'm doing what I really enjoy.
I truly know that this was straight from God, because it couldn't have worked out any better. So we'll be moving at the end of May and maybe we can finally settle down for a long period of time.
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| So many things happen in the passing of a year. One year ago, I never
thought I would be in Sioux Falls, South Dakota working as a tv
weatherman. One year ago, I never thought I would have been able to
take care of myself so well, while also taking care of my wife. One
year ago, I never thought I would miss family and friends back home so
much.
Here's what's been going on with me. So I've been in
Sioux Falls a little over 8 months and have a job that I halfway
enjoy. I get to present the weather to viewers all over the Sioux
Empire the way I always wanted to. A few months ago, I got promoted
and so now I present it 5 days a week instead of just on weekends. Of
course, there are the downs that come with any job. I'm still stuck
doing stuff outside of weather at work, which I really don't enjoy a
whole lot, but I just do it to get through it. I'm stuck with a
station that doesn't spend a whole lot of money on it's employees or
it's resources, the latter of which bothers me a lot. You can't
complain about lack of viewers when you don't invest in the employees
or the resources. Finally, they are looking into getting a new studio,
so that is a start. But all in all, I can't complain too much about
that side of things. I'm doing something I've wanted to do since I was
young.
But many thoughts have come into my head over the past
few months that have made me second guess my career choice; mainly
family and friends. Most importantly, that includes my fantastic wife
who has been right there beside me through this all and sacrificed so
much. Over Christmas, we traveled back home the weekend before and
spent time with family. It was such a great time, and it has been
harder each time we go home. About a month from now, it will only get
tougher as we travel home two more times. 8 days ago, Ryan and Jamie
came up to visit, and that just added to how hard it has been. We had
such a great time with them in a friendship that we have really lacked
since moving to Sioux Falls. Don't get me wrong, we have some good
friends here, but it's not quite the same as our tight bond with Ryan
and Jamie.
So back to my career choice and what this all has to
do with that. Well, working in television is difficult due to the lack
of positions and the competition. Not to mention the timing of it
all. I've had the opportunity to work in Lincoln at 10/11, but I'm
under contract until May here. So, in this business, it's pretty hard
to be close to home. In addition to that, the work schedule is tough.
I'm all about the 8-5 workday, now more than ever. That opportunity
would never come to me in television. It's either weekends 2pm-11pm,
weekdays 2pm-11pm, or what I'm doing now (weekdays 2am-whenever). So
with that, I'm stuck with odd sleeping hours, normally two 4 hour
naps. After nearly 3 months, I've discovered how unhealthy that is.
It also affects my time with Kelly, just as my schedule did when I
worked weekends. In television, there is no normal schedule.
So
this has got me thinking, do I really want to continue this for the
next 30+ years. Kelly and I have discussed moving home at the end of
my contract to be closer to family and friends. That would mean me
giving up my career. And in that thought, I don't really think I would
miss it that much. It would be hard giving up something I really
enjoy, but I've decided that family and friends are way more important
than personal enjoyment. But on the good side of things, family and
friends do give me some personal enjoyment anyway. So I think I would
be gaining more than I would be losing.
Well, I have a little bit of time to think about it. Not too mention, a wonderful wife to talk about these things with. | | |
| I can safely say, it's been an awful long time since I've written in here. Since I last wrote, I have been married for 3 months. I've been working for four months. And Nebraska already has it's third game of the year tonight. Married life has had it's great moments and it's struggles. We've adjusted to living together. It took awhile, with living in Sioux Falls and whatnot, but it's getting easier. As for work, it's had it's struggles too. It has been hard working with outdated equipment, but unfortunately, they don't have the money to upgrade. Working weekends has been hard because Kelly and I rarely have time off at the same time. So we are never able to make it home together. We will be going home the first weekend of October for a wedding since I took that weekend off. It also stinks because I can't go to Husker games. Speaking of games, they play #1 USC tonight. That should be a great game.
Anyway, I thought it would be good to update this so everyone. Unfortunately, I need to go back to work this afternoon, so I must end this here. Good Day!
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| So one week from now, I'll be a married man. I am so excited. | | |
| Obviously, I've had many changes over the past month or two and there will be more to come. I'm not saying that any of them are bad, in fact I looked forward to them or am still looking forward to them. I think my latest adjustment has been the toughest to deal with. I always imagined getting a job in Nebraska so I could be close to home. In reality, I'm not too far away from home (only 4 hours). But it has been pretty lonely here in Sioux Falls. I haven't met too many people up here outside of the people at work. They are great, don't get me wrong, but they aren't the type of people that can be you close personal friends. Now that I'm out of college, I've lost that opportunity to find those close friends that you find in college. So it has been a little lonely up here. I'm looking forward to when Kelly and I get married just to have that close personal relationship that I've been missing up here. I'm sure she will feel the same about leaving all that she knows too. After all, she won't know anyone outside of me when she does move up here. I know that this is where the Lord has led us to be, I just don't know what he has in store for out new life in Sioux Falls.
I had my first weekend on the air last weekend. Talk about a reality check. Up until that point, I had only practiced in front of the green screen. There's a lot of acting involved and it's all ad-libbing on my part. I've never been one to be quick on my feet when it comes to speaking. I've put my foot in my mouth so many times in my life and so coming up with something to say on the spot has been very tough. The first weekend was a success, simply because there were no huge errors. I've just gotta stick with it. After all this is what I want to do and I had a lot of fun doing it.
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