As I approach a year living in Southern California, I still haven't completely come to grips with the fact that I live in Southern California. I'm trying to think back to when I really felt like I lived in Texas. Maybe I never did. I don't know what it is I was expecting.
It takes me back to my time in Texas, the first day of fall semester. I was going to be a PR major and get my degree as quick as I could. Well, then I went to my first class, which was immediately followed by going to my advisor and switching majors. That, and the reality that I was going to have two solid years until graduation. It felt like another set back in my goal of getting to California. It really felt unattainable.
Those were probably the quickest two years of my life.
I don't know where this is going. I actually started writing this blog with the intention of complaining that I haven't been to L.A. since November and that I should be taking more advantage of such a great city that's right at my fingertips. So lets get back to that. The problem, I suppose, is that there's so much to do in Orange County that going to L.A. isn't really necessary. I should really start getting up there more. I mean, I see myself living in L.A. in the next few years, so it would be nice to further familiarize myself with it. And now that I have myself a GPS deal, it would be a lot less stressful and a lot more fun to just drive around and check out points-of-interest.
Recently, a lot of the problem lies with the fact that work is consuming so much of my time. I can't remember the last Saturday I didn't have to work. Probably not since before Christmas break. I can't even remember the last time I was home by 5:30. My DVR is clogging up. Drives me nuts.
Anyways, I think when work gets a little less hectic, I need to get back to the exploring. I can't really complain too much, though. Why? Well, I'm going to San Francisco again for three days next week. I've been there so much since September, it's starting to feel like my second (third?) home.
Ok, time for bed. I gotta fly tomorrow.
Los Angeles, I Hardly Know Ye
26
Another year. Another birthday with no family. Boo hoo. Poor me.
At least I'll get a free lunch out of it at work (hopefully), and my surrogate family I'm living with is making me dinner tomorrow night. Both good things.
My family did celebrate my birthday for me last night though, by singing and lighting a candle for me. Watch the video of them in Minnesota and me in California (sponsored by Apple):
I'm Trying to Study, Really
So I started studying for the CPA exam about six weeks ago. As predicted, it started out well. I was following the schedule for three straight weeks. No problem. It actually seemed like it may take less effort that I originally thought. Well, then I ended up traveling for a couple of weeks straight, including flying on Sunday and working on Saturdays. The weekend was really the time when I got into the "meat" of the material. Once those were taken from me, it screwed up my structuring.
I only have two lectures/chapters remaining in the Audit portion of the study material. In the meantime, I've been reviewing what I've already covered, just to keep it fresh. I think what's going to happen is that I'll be done with the lectures and have gone through the entire book once, and the state accountancy board still will not have sent me my schedule. They're notoriously slow with this type of thing. I really, really, really must have all four parts of this exam taken and passed by next Christmas, or it will be increasingly difficult to fit in time to study and have this thing wrapped up by the next busy season. Especially since I will have more responsibility by then.
If I can take my first exam by the end of May, I think I'll be in good shape.
Still, I feel like I should be studying more. I've always felt that way, though. All through college.
When people would tell me they studied for 8 hours straight on consecutive days, I just don't understand. I don't think I'm smarter than them or that I don't need to study as much, but at some point, I can only go over the notes so many times in a row.
That being said, I'm a little nervous that me feeling over-prepared will actually leave me underprepared. I guess I won't really know how much studying needs to be done until I get the results from that first exam.
Dress for Success
I’m closing in on a year at the firm and I haven’t really bought much for clothes since I started. Back in May of last year I spent $100-$200 on clothes from Ross (Dress for Less) and Kohls, but since then, I’ve maybe bought a shirt or two.
I had to throw out a dress shirt last week because there was this funky discoloring on the collar that wasn’t coming out. I think I’ve had that shirt since 2000 or something, so I suppose it was time.
I couple of my favorite shirts – ones I wear once a week – are starting to wear out. As in, tiny holes have been developing. At this point they’re still unnoticeable, but notice ability is inevitable.
I think I’ve mentioned before the poor state my belt is in. It’s only gotten worse. Well, you can add my black shoes to the list. My heel has pretty much worn through the lining and is probably going to get worse. Why haven’t I replaced them? Because on the outside they look just fine.
That brings me to the deep thought of the day. Aren’t most of us like my belt and my shoes? Torn up on the inside where no one can see what’s going on, but on the outside, everything appears to be fine? Unlike my belt and shoes, our insides cannot be replaced, only repaired…never as good as new. I'm so deep.
Who Works on Saturday?
I guess I do. Ten hours on Saturday. What gives? Deadlines. That's what.
I've had thoughts of lots of different things I wanted to blog about this past week:
Sunday... Oakland A's game...
Wednesday... was amongst all the Olympic torch protesting in San Francisco...
Thursday... San Francisco Giants game...
Friday... private tour of a million dollar car collection...
It was a good week, too bad work had to get in the way.
I could blog about each individually, but I probably won't. I'm just tired of working and need some time to breathe. Thank goodness I'm going to be working locally in the near future. I need to catch up on sleep, all the tv shows on my DVR, studying for the CPA exam, and more sleep.
Did I mention it was 96 degrees here today? Yeah. The family I'm living with was gone for the afternoon and I wasn't sure if it was okay to turn on the a/c, so I went to Target to chill out, literally, of course.
My head is still spinning over the fact that "Shout to the Lord" was sung on American Idol. Uhhh....makes no sense. And the version that says "Jesus" and stuff in it is on iTunes. It's pretty good.
Just Take Me Home!
Today was one of the longer travel days I've experienced in recent memory. We finished up our audit in Tulsa today by 2:30 and went to the airport to catch our 4:30 flight. Well, that got delayed until 5, which was fine because our connecting flight in Houston would still be good. Problem is, we got out onto the tarmac and hey, guess what? Houston has grounded all flights and won't let any flights coming there take off. So we sit on the runway for an hour and half until we can depart. Connection in Houston? Not looking good.
Once we were finally airborne and to Houston, I had a good feeling we might still make our connection. Why? Well, logic told me that everyone going in and out of Houston was delayed also, so our connection might still be good. We get off the plane and find a Continental representative. She tells us our flight leaves in 12 minutes. Crap! Houston is a huge airport and if it's in another terminal, we're screwed. Sure, we could take the next flight, but the problem is, the Orange County airport will not accept flights that arrive after 11pm because of local noise ordinances. That means we'd be rerouted to LA or San Diego and shuttled to Orange County. Ew.
Anyways, so we have 12 minutes. The gate for our Orange County flight is C12. We just got off the plane at C11. Money. We made it.
I was lucky enough to bill 5 hours for fieldwork and 10.5 for travel today. Woohoo! Now I get to go into the office tomorrow and pack for next week because I leave Sunday morning at 8:30 for San Francisco. So much for a weekend.
Is it summer yet?
Tulsa, Oklahoma: I'm Having a Good Time
The only thing I really know about Tulsa is that it’s where Chandler accidentally took a promotion on a later season of ‘Friends’ and only saw Monica on weekends. Useful info.
We’re heading towards the home stretch at Almich & Associates. We’ve pretty much wrapped up one of the big jobs, one is in the midst of finishing, and I have this week and next week before I’m freed up for awhile. Sure, something else will probably be scheduled, but for now, my first busy season is almost complete. Wasn’t I just home for Christmas? Seems like it.
Nicole and I got to Tulsa late Sunday night. Our rental car was out of stock, so we got upgraded to a Jeep Grand Cherokee with leather interior, satellite radio, and a backup camera!! I’m driving in luxury. It’s making me rethink the whole Toyota Yaris for $10,500 once Mable dies. Of course, I’d never ever buy a Chrysler/Ford/Dodge whatever family Jeep is from, but it sure is nice to have for a week.
Speaking of Mable, she’s being taken care of by my landlord Stephen this week. His car is in the shop and I’m out of town, so it worked out good for both of us. His Honda is having its first major repairs in almost 10 years. He calls it bad luck. I call it being lucky. That’s a long time to go without a big car repair bill. Anyways, his commute to work this week will put Mable into the 293,000 range. We’re almost there!!
As Nicole and I got back from lunch yesterday, we were pulling up to our parking spot. I noticed a car backing out in my peripheral vision. I sort of thought it looked like he was going to back into a car parked perpendicular to his. Sure enough. Slow and soft, but definitely crunched. The owner of the hit vehicle comes running out of the school lobby and is furious. It really wasn’t that bad. Although he couldn’t open his door up all the way because of it. Sucks. It was just interesting to watch the whole thing go down, even without hearing what they were saying. I don’t know why I am telling you this.
Last night we went to the local Indian casino. It was lovely. The buffet was sub par, the air was nasty and the winnings were non-existent. I maxed out at $5. Nicole spotted me another $10, which I proceeded to lose. She ended up winning $300 on penny slots, only after I came over and sat by her. She forgave my $10 gambling debt. Thank goodness. I didn’t want her to send her goons after me to break my knees for not paying her back. I still don’t get the whole fascination with gambling.
Vegas casinos are so much nicer. Duh. But the clientele is also completely different in Vegas compared to the Cherokee Casino. I feel like I fit in more when I’m in say…Planet Hollywood or the Bellagio. This place, not so much. I needed to add 50-75 pounds, grow out my hair (in the back), drink some Pabst Blue Ribbon and smoke whatever the cheapest cigarettes are.
I’m just sayin’.
