There are Advantages to "Losing"

Megamind is one of Stephanie's and my new favorite movies. It's a funny, animated, superhero/supervillain story about, well, it's sort of hard to explain without either a) giving a really vague overview, or b) spoiling the whole plot. Anyway, suffice it to say that it's entertaining and fairly wholesome (watch me look back at this when we have kids and wonder what I was thinking...), a rarity for the current glut of cinematic productions.

Stephanie and I "lost" a few times tonight--we went hunting for a newly published geocache nearby in an attempt to get the "FTF" (first to find) designation, but were thwarted by waning daylight and a creek swollen with the runoff of the last few days' rainfall. We went looking for another one that only had one find on it, but after having our GPSr (the "r" is for "receiver") say we were exactly on top of the logged coordinates and looking for quite a while, we again came up empty handed. We decided to try for one more before calling it a night, but the location was far to busy to make an inconspicuous search, so we gave up for the evening and came home to yummy pasta. We're going to head out first thing in the morning to give it another go; hopefully we'll have more light and less water to work with!

Independence Day Weekend

PwC gave us July 1 off this year, resulting in a four-day weekend to kick off the month of July! One-and-a-half days are already behind us, in which we got the yard mowed, took Samwise (the latest feline addition to the fam) to the vet for his first shots, lunched with Andrea at Porky's, fitted my suit for Ben's wedding, dined with Keri at Olive Garden (and explored 2nd & Charles, a huge discount bookstore), and desserted (not to be confused with deserted) with Rob & Amy at Bruster's. We didn't get back home from our afternoon's explorations until 10:30 or so, and then we finally got in bed around 11:30--not super late, but when combined with the activities and totally abnormal sleep schedules of the last few weeks and a lack of alarms being set, we were out pretty solidly until 10 o'clock this morning, which is the latest we've slept in months.

Having a four-day holiday weekend is simultaneously a boon and a bane: a boon because it grants "extra" time to tie up loose ends and work on projects that have been neglected, time to do things out and about on a weekday that would normally find me at work, and so on; a bane because it can magnify fatigue--with nowhere to be at a certain time of the day, even our aspirations for the days struggle against our bodies' message of "I'm worn out! I need some time to recover!" So here, two and a half hours into the waking hours of our second day of the weekend, we've been up, taken care of the kitties' needs, breakfasted (Stephanie baked some tasty apple walnut muffins and bread on Thursday which we enjoyed this morning), straightened up a few things around the house, fought with the wireless for a while, and I shaved.

The latter may not sound like a big deal, but this is the first time I've shaved (less one trim of my neck and cheeks over a month ago) since the first couple days of April. I purchased a safety razor, shaving brush and soap off Amazon at the end of March, and my order arrived somewhere around April Fool's day. Up until that point, my experience with shaving was limited to electric razors and trimmers, so using a manual shaver was going to be a completely new undertaking. I had learned of the existence of safety razors from an article on Art of Manliness, and since my acute dislike for shaving--though multifaceted--was largely because of the way electric shavers tore up my face and neck, I decided to try this "throwback" method, since one of the claimed benefits was less razor burn because of the fewer blades (one) being used versus modern four- and five-blade razors and the numerous blades used in an electric shaver. Anyway, to make a longish story shorter, I shaved twice with the razor and was quite pleased with the results--especially since it was my first time with anything besides electric. But then I just got lazy again and stopped--for three months. Well, I finally decided that I was getting rather too bushy, and I wanted to use my razor more than twice every few months, so this morning I pulled out my beard trimmer (actually I pulled it out a couple days ago to make sure it was charged up enough to tackle my face jungle), and began methodically reducing my facial hair.

I like taking self-portraits as I shave off my beard; I do it most every time I shave, so there are certainly some repeated styles over time, but it's nonetheless a fun part of the initial trimming stage. So now, as I sit here typing, my face is nearly bare--I used the longest short guard to get everything evened up to a long stubble all over, and tomorrow I'll pull out one of my safety razors (I purchased a vintage Gillette at What's on 2nd? in downtown Birmingham two weeks ago and cleaned it up) and finalize the clean shave. From there, I hope to stay clean clean shaven for at least the rest of the summer. That will be the longest I've ever shaved consistently, so it's going to be pretty different for me. In a way, though, I'm looking forward to it since it will be something different, and we'll see how long I stick with it.

I'm Back!

Sometimes I don't know when to quit (see three consecutive verbose postings about a "last"). Sometimes I quit all too well (see a one year, almost-two-month hiatus from posting altogether).

Now I'm back, at least for the time being. Events in the last year of my life have nearly taken me "there and back again"--from Tuscaloosa to Huntsville to Birmingham, AL. I left my internship for a job and then left that job to take a full-time position back with PwC. My wife and I moved from a "regular" apartment, to an apartment in the in-law's basement, to a house we purchased in March. We found two tiny white kittens, brought them to Huntsville and watched them grow up, moved to Birmingham, took in a stray mother kitty and took care of her and her litter of four kittens (born on my birthday!) for about two and a half months now.

I learned about internal/cost accounting in a real-world, on-the-job situation. I kayaked for the first and second time ever--first 9 miles with my youngest brother, and then approximately 20 miles with one of my best friends (we missed our rendezvous location by several miles and were completely oblivious of it!). I learned how to lay tile. I learned how to drive a "three on the tree" 1970 Chevy pickup. I bought my second car ever (another Volvo of course). My dad got remarried and I was at the wedding up in PA. I found/was directed to an excellent, non-chain coffee place (Angel's Island Coffee in South Huntsville--if you're ever in the area, definitely swing by), which sadly became a moot point when we moved again (for the fifth time in three years!). I built a snowman in Alabama (snow fell in significant amounts on at least three different occasions this past winter). My wife and I bought our first house. My family visited for a week (my second brother for two weeks) earlier this month. I've gotten involved on Art of Manliness, LinkedIn, Yelp and GasBuddy.com (professional networking, reviewing local businesses and tracking gas prices as a local price spotter). I've discovered geocaching, and I actually found my first cache today.

And those are just some of the high points of the last year. Lots of other interesting and fun experiences were sprinkled throughout. I've missed blogging during my absence, but I still like the idea of sharing my thoughts and ideas, so I've returned to give it another go.

Nearing Another "Last" (part iii)

Now that it is May, and the "last" spoken of in the preceding posts is completely over, I should probably finish the thought I started back in that first post.

After a couple of months working in the field of public accounting, it appealed to me much more than I had anticipated from what I knew of the profession from class experience. I still wanted to try my hand at managerial accounting, because that was my initial draw to the subject. This being the case, I was continually torn throughout the internship period, and whenever I talked with folks in the office, I could not give them a solid "yes" to public accounting, although I was enjoying what I did, and found that I did well in the work.
The deliberation between public and private accounting, and whether or not I would desire to accept a full-time position with the firm should it be offered, ran literally up to the wire with my wife and I. The Monday before the Friday I was to wrap up, I had lunch with one of the partners and we talked about my experience to that point, where I stood on plans for post-internship opportunities, and the likelihood of my accepting an offer. Since at that juncture I was more torn between my options than I had been, but I still wanted to get experience in the managerial field, I informed him that I would love to get an offer, but if there were others more strongly committed than I to employment with the firm, that I wanted the deference to go to them.
Such was the case, ultimately; out of four interns in the office, only two offers were able to be extended and despite a last-minute change of mind after a long talk with my wife, the wheels of decision were already whirring along, and it was just a little too late. I completed my final week and wrapped up all of my exit requirements, making sure I bid my farewells about the office before departing one last time. The following Tuesday, there was an office lunch to celebrate surviving busy season, and they invited me to participate in that as well; it was neat to see everyone out of the office for a while, and we chatted over chips, salsa, and Mexican cuisine for a couple hours.
It was an enjoyable end to my time with that group, and although I may have the opportunity to return there eventually, at that point, it was goodbye and a parting of ways.

Nearing Another "Last" (part ii)

To better understand the contributing factors and events surrounding this post, please read the preceding post below.

My tentative course set, I went through the interview process last fall, during my final semester of study at UA. During the course of two-plus years of recruiting events and making contacts at various local and national accounting firms, I had really hit it off with one in particular, and felt I had made a good impression at a few others. When interview season came around, the first step was applying for an interview slot with the various firms. The teachers and internship coordinators on campus recommended applying for seven to ten slots, in the assumption that several would extend an interview offer and the rest would decline your request. I was not interested in doing numerous interviews, nor had I the necessary rapport with that number of firms, so I applied for just four. Three declined me, but the firm that accepted my application to interview was the one I wanted all along anyway.
A week or so later, I was walking briskly across campus, looking sharp with a days-old haircut, a new suit (the first I had ever owned), and a new tie. The interview went smoothly and the conversation was animated, and I walked out fairly confident--although not completely sure--that I would be offered an internship for the following spring. Two weeks later, "call day" had arrived, and firms were allowed to begin calling their interviewees with offers starting at noon. I was in Latinamerican Civilization at that hour on a Friday afternoon, but I informed my teacher I would be expecting a call, probably at some point during the hour of her class. Sure enough, only minutes after twelve o'clock, my phone buzzed in my pocket, and I ducked out to take the call. It was the partner from the firm, and he offered me the internship, which I accepted on the spot.
Now, many months later, that internship I accepted on that warm autumn day is almost over, culminating on what will likely be a pleasant spring day in Birmingham, Alabama. My mindset toward public accounting has been greatly altered by my experience. At the onset of my time, I was very excited to have been extended the opportunity to work for one of the "Big 4" accounting firms, but I was unsure of the profession's fit for me, and as a relatively newly married young man, my wife and future family at large. I knew coming in that, as a tax professional, the weeks and months leading up to the April 15 deadline would demand a great deal of time and dedication and require a lot of work in a very detail-oriented environment. I relished the challenge in work that it offered, but was also chary of the challenge of work-life balance it posed as well. That topic is a popular one among businesses today, each eager to advertise the work-life balance their office promotes, or the perks they extend to their employees regarding the constant juggle of priorities.
In my time, I have been able to see this work-life balance come into play, both in my own family life, and in the lives of the professionals around me in the office. Although "just" an intern, and expected to work at least 40 hours per week, typically Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm, which allowed for a one-hour lunch break, I was able to flex that time to meet the outside pulls for my time. Having an hour commute to and from work, making it into the office right at eight o'clock did not happen very often, especially as my internship progressed and I began working later. Three weeks ago I was in an accident where I was rear-ended on the interstate, a mere three miles from my exit into Birmingham. A little shaken up and sore, and just needing some time to deal with the aftermath, as minor as it was, I was able to stop in at the office, pick up a stack of items to work on, and turn right around and go home for the day, where I was able to deal with some logistical things and work from home for a time as well.
The group at this Birmingham office I was working with was relatively small--about 25 or so individuals, compared with 150 or so in, say, the regional hub in Atlanta--but as such, I was able to work with every person there in some capacity or another, which allowed me to collaborate and build rapport with the team as a whole. Another advantage of the size was the variety of work available to take part in; since there weren't enough people to create specialty groups, everyone did a little bit of everything, and I was no exception. I learned an incredible amount in three months of work through immersion in numerous projects, which catered to my learning-by-doing style. As the internship period wore on, I began to find that I enjoyed the work far more than I was expecting to at the onset, which is better than arriving gung ho and fired up and leaving disappointed and disillusioned. I was a gradual but steady convert to the occupation of public accountancy.

[to be continued]

Nearing Another "Last"

This Friday will be the final day of my internship. As indicated by the lack of posts in the last...period of time...I have been kept busy and productive during the job experience. Today, actually, is exactly three months since I started. The time has passed quickly, especially since the majority of the other intern class left in mid-March, one month ago tomorrow. With their departure, I received any and all assignments flowing down the pipeline as the lone intern in the office. As such, I was able to take on sundry projects that I may not have seen at all, or only seen limited parts if there were other interns with which to divvy up the work.
Thursday, of course, is April 15, "Tax Day," and it has been to this end that I have crunched numbers, prepared templates, completed forms, performed research, and handled deliveries for the last 90-odd days. Due to the variegated nature of my time, I have learned through experience more than all the time I spent in classrooms, studying books and taking notes. Now, some of those notes and a few of those books were helpful to a degree during this time--most notably the writing of research memos in Dr. Schnee's Accounting 471 - Federal Taxation course--but there were indubitably ideas or instruction I had to subconsciously unlearn to better understand the practical application of the knowledge I had in the environment I found myself in.
When I selected accounting as my major, I did not see myself as a tax accountant somewhere down the line, although as I progressed through the class schedule and the semesters, I found more and more that into tax or audit were the directions the Culverhouse School of Accountancy at the University of Alabama usually launched its graduates into, often accepting them back for yet another year to earn a masters in tax or accountancy (audit) before returning them as second graduates to the workforce, where they began their careers as well-educated associates at any number of public accounting firms. What I enjoyed about my two early accounting classes was the order and organization, the practical nature of the practice which allowed the effective directing of a company's financial course. Cost accounting, or managerial accounting, was my favorite course, but for most other students in the accounting program, that was their least favorite class. Agreed, learning 15 different methods of budgeting, nearly every one specific to a certain type of application, was challenging, and it would take a thorough review for me to distinguish and explain each one from another. Nevertheless, it made sense, and it seemed to be a constructive, beneficial application of the knowledge I was receiving.
Despite my leaning toward cost/managerial accounting, internships were not nearly so abundant or advertised in the field, and while I got some experience in the area as a student accounting/business intern at the University Press for nearly two years, a full-time internship in the profession eluded me. As such, I tentatively joined the flow of the rest of the accounting students, plodding through tax, audit, and governmental accounting en route to an internship in public accounting. It was not until very late in the recruiting process that I made up my mind one way or the other between the two major fields (tax or audit), and I eventually decided upon tax, because I liked the class and the process I learned from Dr. Schnee better than the audit class. Not the best way to decide, but without actual experience in either field, it was the best option for me since 1) tax professionals usually do not have to travel out of the office, and 2) the process of tax was more in line with the way I thought and approached things.

[to be continued]

Lists in the Lists

I thought of this topic a while back, more likely than not as I was wending my way along I-20/59, to or fro work or home. Ah yes, I was listening to a broadcast of Focus on the Family, which is, in many respects, a fine production with much wisdom and principles from which to learn. On this particular occasion, the guest speaker had mentioned something about "the 10 such and suches," which started my mental cogs a-whirling.

Lists drive our day-to-day existence in sundry ways, to-do lists likely making the most appearances. Also of note: top-pick-your-number lists of whatever comes to mind, and lists of steps--to succeed, to break a habit, to construct this or that, etc. Be what they may, lists hold a strong draw for their organizational qualities, their ability to break down large tasks or daunting projects into manageable bites, and for record-keeping purposes (it can be a miniature time-travel trip to peruse old lists of whatever, reliving through their lines the events surrounding their authorship).

Anyway, these lists are in the "lists" (as in jousting) so to speak, because they are constantly competing, fighting for time and attention. Multiple to-do lists may exist which conflict with one another, causing issues of priority, top-N lists vie for "top-ness," and each list of how-to claims that the wisdom it unveils and shares is the most compelling and life-changing. Now, before this is assumed to be a list-bashing muse, let me say that I enjoy and employ lists for some of the reasons I listed above: to keep tasks organized and at times to break out unwieldy projects into components more easily wielded.

However, we should not--I should not--let these lists come to control. They may be an aid, but should not be a crutch.