Over the summer, I spent 3 long, boring months doing a type of accounting that I hate. While there, my co-workers often made fun of my one, true accounting love--tax! Also while I was serving time, I had a couple of supervisors who did not enjoy explaining anything beyond a "30,000 foot overview."
I hate that term by the way.
So, what happened to me? I didn't understand a lot of what I did and I was very unhappy at work. I am used to doing well in school and life in general. I ask questions when I don't understand because I desire to understand! Knowledge is power as Schoolhouse Rock teaches!
Tonight, I was working in the accounting lab and had a student ask me a question. I could tell he wasn't 100% interested in what he was doing, but at least he came here for help, so I decided to explain the concept simply and calmly. The light bulb turned on and he finally understood. He was happy and I was happier to be of service. Another lesson from Davenport has been internalized: helping another person, no matter his/her attitude, will have positive effects sometime in the future. While I would never, ever live or work at that place again, I am more and more thankful for its lessons.
Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
A Few Thoughts
Can you believe it? Two posts in a week? I enjoy writing and thinking. I hope you do too!
So on Monday and Wednesday mornings I work at BYU Laundry where I make deliveries to the MTC and other places around campus (Motion Picture Studio for one, where Haun's Mill in "Legacy" is actually in Provo). Lately, I get to drive to Hobble Creek Canyon near Springville. I love getting paid 1+ hours to sit there. My co-worker, Drew, from Georgia is awesome. His accent and attitude on life is very similar to mine.
So today we were driving and talking about stuff. His girlfriend/fiancee must be similar in thinking to Megan as well. We were talking about wedding rings and he said that she didn't want a diamond wedding ring because she's opposed to the poor labor conditions for African diamond miners. Haha! Awesome. I was originally opposed to the high price, but that is a better reason! Lucky that Megan didn't want one.
He also talked about his roommate "buying" a bunch of toys: truck, PS3, tons of Blu-Rays, Wii, $1600 wedding ring, etc. When I say "buy," I really mean "go into debt!" So it got me thinking...why do people give little notice to someone who acts in this way, putting themselves in bondage for years to come? If they don't give little notice, they call it "setting up your own household." However, if Megan and I live simply and don't go to movies or eat out and save 60% of our paychecks, but then travel often (and pay cash), people say we aren't planning for the future.
Sounds a little funny huh?
So on Monday and Wednesday mornings I work at BYU Laundry where I make deliveries to the MTC and other places around campus (Motion Picture Studio for one, where Haun's Mill in "Legacy" is actually in Provo). Lately, I get to drive to Hobble Creek Canyon near Springville. I love getting paid 1+ hours to sit there. My co-worker, Drew, from Georgia is awesome. His accent and attitude on life is very similar to mine.
So today we were driving and talking about stuff. His girlfriend/fiancee must be similar in thinking to Megan as well. We were talking about wedding rings and he said that she didn't want a diamond wedding ring because she's opposed to the poor labor conditions for African diamond miners. Haha! Awesome. I was originally opposed to the high price, but that is a better reason! Lucky that Megan didn't want one.
He also talked about his roommate "buying" a bunch of toys: truck, PS3, tons of Blu-Rays, Wii, $1600 wedding ring, etc. When I say "buy," I really mean "go into debt!" So it got me thinking...why do people give little notice to someone who acts in this way, putting themselves in bondage for years to come? If they don't give little notice, they call it "setting up your own household." However, if Megan and I live simply and don't go to movies or eat out and save 60% of our paychecks, but then travel often (and pay cash), people say we aren't planning for the future.
Sounds a little funny huh?
Friday, March 26, 2010
The Countdown
So I was reading a buddy's blog and along the side named his favorite blogs listed by last update. Sadly to say, we were at the bottom of the list and felt some shame. I guess I have a hard time writing when I don't think many people will read it, but I like the therapeutic nature of writing about anything.
News in our lives?
1. We became certified scuba divers last night! Megan's professor is an instructor and saved us a bunch of money on the lessons. I'm glad we got it done now instead of waiting to get to Bali and then spending much of our trip in class. Boring! Megan keeps bringing up getting gear and diving at many different places. I love her.
While we were in class, I learned to appreciate the Hawaiian blood in her. She loves swimming and the ocean and has no fear. She grew up swimming next to her dad in the ocean surrounding Maui. I, on the other hand, grew up in the desert and only had basic swimming lessons. I'm not so fearless, but these lessons have helped me to face my fears and calm down! What a great match we are!
2. Megan and I are both TAs this semester. I am the sole TA for 375 students taking their second accounting class at BYU. It's fun and I LOVE teaching, but I dislike grading (at least I get paid!) and I hate!!! whiny students. I am amazed at all the lame excuses I hear.
3. Still not pregnant!
4. Still saving for graduate tuition next year. Megan is wonderful because she has been the one to push for me to put away a part of each paycheck. I wasn't as worried, but I think we have enough to graduate debt free! Not many of my classmates can say that.
5. A month left until we leave for Asia. I have found some awesome places to visit. I would say this will be a once-in-a-lifetime trip, but I'm sure it won't be the last.
6. Megan and I are enjoying collecting bottle tops from Coke products that we find around campus. Each has a code that you enter online for points which are exchanged for free Cokes. Looks like other people will be paying for our beverages and the money we save will go toward traveling!
7. We found a place to live in Portland this summer! We'll be living with another accounting in North Portland! The house is small, but we don't care! We'll have our two dogs, the other lady's dog, a cat, 3 people, and happiness! We can't wait. I have a feeling living in Portland will be a bit more enjoyable than living in Davenport!
I guess that's a good update for now. I know the last few posts have been visually boring, but not much to show in Provo. Have a good day!
News in our lives?
1. We became certified scuba divers last night! Megan's professor is an instructor and saved us a bunch of money on the lessons. I'm glad we got it done now instead of waiting to get to Bali and then spending much of our trip in class. Boring! Megan keeps bringing up getting gear and diving at many different places. I love her.
While we were in class, I learned to appreciate the Hawaiian blood in her. She loves swimming and the ocean and has no fear. She grew up swimming next to her dad in the ocean surrounding Maui. I, on the other hand, grew up in the desert and only had basic swimming lessons. I'm not so fearless, but these lessons have helped me to face my fears and calm down! What a great match we are!
2. Megan and I are both TAs this semester. I am the sole TA for 375 students taking their second accounting class at BYU. It's fun and I LOVE teaching, but I dislike grading (at least I get paid!) and I hate!!! whiny students. I am amazed at all the lame excuses I hear.
3. Still not pregnant!
4. Still saving for graduate tuition next year. Megan is wonderful because she has been the one to push for me to put away a part of each paycheck. I wasn't as worried, but I think we have enough to graduate debt free! Not many of my classmates can say that.
5. A month left until we leave for Asia. I have found some awesome places to visit. I would say this will be a once-in-a-lifetime trip, but I'm sure it won't be the last.
6. Megan and I are enjoying collecting bottle tops from Coke products that we find around campus. Each has a code that you enter online for points which are exchanged for free Cokes. Looks like other people will be paying for our beverages and the money we save will go toward traveling!
7. We found a place to live in Portland this summer! We'll be living with another accounting in North Portland! The house is small, but we don't care! We'll have our two dogs, the other lady's dog, a cat, 3 people, and happiness! We can't wait. I have a feeling living in Portland will be a bit more enjoyable than living in Davenport!
I guess that's a good update for now. I know the last few posts have been visually boring, but not much to show in Provo. Have a good day!
Friday, December 4, 2009
December
Hey everyone! Life is good over here. For Thanksgiving, Megan and I flew down to San Diego to visit my aunt and uncle. My paternal grandparents were there too and my dad flew out from Kansas. I was excited for Megan to get to know my grandparents more since she didn't have a chance to really get to know them when we got married.
We flew down on Wednesday afternoon. I bought the tickets on July 6th. I'll remember this because Megan had been saying how much she wanted to go back to San Diego and I found a one-way ticket for $49 on Southwest. Megan and I had just returned from Toronto the day before and I'm pretty sure I was ticked off to be back at work in Davenport. :)
On the flight, we stopped in Phoenix, but didn't have to get off the airplane. Megan and I moved up to the second row so we wouldn't have to wait for a billion people ahead of us to start moving. In the process, Megan's phone fell out of her pocket. A flight attendant found out and since no one was around, she figured it belonged to someone who got off in Phoenix. We were happy that the phone wasn't lost forever, but Megan was without her phone for 4 or 5 days. I didn't think that was going to be a big deal, but it's hard to contact someone without a cell phone. I would get out of class and think, "I'm going to call Megan to meet up with her." NOPE! It's back now and I'm thankful for the good Southwest Airlines flight attendant.
Wednesday night Megan and I went out to dinner with her trainer who lives in Encinitas. The food was good, but I have a hard time hanging out with rich people. I have always had enough in my life, but I enjoy not being rich.
Thursday was a great day. We went hiking and enjoyed the warm weather. My dad surprised us by flying out. He said he was going to, then couldn't, but then called on Thursday to say, "I'm driving to the airport." Oh yeah, the food was good.
Friday, we went to Orange County. We drove my cousin's 2000 Chevy Impala. We had the oldest car in the whole county. If we had been driving our 2005 Honda Civic, we still would have had the oldest car in Orange County. We ate Chinese food in Irvine. For those who don't know, Irvine is the Chinatown of California. There was an 85C coffee shop there! 85C's are all over in Taiwan, so it was cool to feel like I was back there again.
After lunch, we drove to Newport Beach and walked the pier. We also visited the Newport Beach temple and took pictures from the outside since it was closed. So pretty.
Saturday, we went to the temple for family names my grandparents collected. We did the work for both Mexican and German relatives and had the chance to attend a Spanish session. It seems that we attended the most appropriate session since people did funny things the whole time. Do you think our family members could stand a boring church? No, you have to keep people interested.
Sunday, we flew home, but not before being blessed immensely. We got to the airport and checked in. A message popped up saying, "The flight is over booked, if you don't mind waiting, let your gate agent know." We got through security and I saw a guy standing at the desk waiting for a gate agent too. I thought, "No way this dude is getting what we want." Eventually he got bored and left. I stood there for about half an hour before the lady finally came. She told me someone else was ahead of us in line, but she'd let us know. As it was time to board, she told that other person ahead of us, "Sorry, but we won't be needing your spot." She then looked at me and made a face that said, "Did you hear what I just said?" I was disappointed, but was glad to have a seat. Then the gate agent said to us, "Once I get everyone boarded, I'll print your new tickets." The new tickets came with seating in the exit row! I loved it. On top of that, we each got a $400 credit to book a future flight (Hawaii), plus we got a 50% mileage bonus for the San Diego to SLC flight. Pretty good for only having to wait an extra hour!
All in all, our weekend was a great one.
Sorry this post is so long. My 24th birthday was Wednesday. I had my first accounting group over for my ice cream cake. It's always fun having friends around.
Well, that's it from us!
We flew down on Wednesday afternoon. I bought the tickets on July 6th. I'll remember this because Megan had been saying how much she wanted to go back to San Diego and I found a one-way ticket for $49 on Southwest. Megan and I had just returned from Toronto the day before and I'm pretty sure I was ticked off to be back at work in Davenport. :)
On the flight, we stopped in Phoenix, but didn't have to get off the airplane. Megan and I moved up to the second row so we wouldn't have to wait for a billion people ahead of us to start moving. In the process, Megan's phone fell out of her pocket. A flight attendant found out and since no one was around, she figured it belonged to someone who got off in Phoenix. We were happy that the phone wasn't lost forever, but Megan was without her phone for 4 or 5 days. I didn't think that was going to be a big deal, but it's hard to contact someone without a cell phone. I would get out of class and think, "I'm going to call Megan to meet up with her." NOPE! It's back now and I'm thankful for the good Southwest Airlines flight attendant.
Wednesday night Megan and I went out to dinner with her trainer who lives in Encinitas. The food was good, but I have a hard time hanging out with rich people. I have always had enough in my life, but I enjoy not being rich.
Thursday was a great day. We went hiking and enjoyed the warm weather. My dad surprised us by flying out. He said he was going to, then couldn't, but then called on Thursday to say, "I'm driving to the airport." Oh yeah, the food was good.
Friday, we went to Orange County. We drove my cousin's 2000 Chevy Impala. We had the oldest car in the whole county. If we had been driving our 2005 Honda Civic, we still would have had the oldest car in Orange County. We ate Chinese food in Irvine. For those who don't know, Irvine is the Chinatown of California. There was an 85C coffee shop there! 85C's are all over in Taiwan, so it was cool to feel like I was back there again.
After lunch, we drove to Newport Beach and walked the pier. We also visited the Newport Beach temple and took pictures from the outside since it was closed. So pretty.
Saturday, we went to the temple for family names my grandparents collected. We did the work for both Mexican and German relatives and had the chance to attend a Spanish session. It seems that we attended the most appropriate session since people did funny things the whole time. Do you think our family members could stand a boring church? No, you have to keep people interested.
Sunday, we flew home, but not before being blessed immensely. We got to the airport and checked in. A message popped up saying, "The flight is over booked, if you don't mind waiting, let your gate agent know." We got through security and I saw a guy standing at the desk waiting for a gate agent too. I thought, "No way this dude is getting what we want." Eventually he got bored and left. I stood there for about half an hour before the lady finally came. She told me someone else was ahead of us in line, but she'd let us know. As it was time to board, she told that other person ahead of us, "Sorry, but we won't be needing your spot." She then looked at me and made a face that said, "Did you hear what I just said?" I was disappointed, but was glad to have a seat. Then the gate agent said to us, "Once I get everyone boarded, I'll print your new tickets." The new tickets came with seating in the exit row! I loved it. On top of that, we each got a $400 credit to book a future flight (Hawaii), plus we got a 50% mileage bonus for the San Diego to SLC flight. Pretty good for only having to wait an extra hour!
All in all, our weekend was a great one.
Sorry this post is so long. My 24th birthday was Wednesday. I had my first accounting group over for my ice cream cake. It's always fun having friends around.
Well, that's it from us!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
An Internship Offer
Ladies and Gentlemen (or just Tayler since he's the only one who reads this, I think):
I have been very stressed out this week as the interviews for tax internships came to an end. First Deloitte sent me an email saying, "Sorry, you were near the top of the list, but the economy sucks, etc, etc." I wasn't too worried as I thought I had Ernst and Young in the bag. I knew so many in the office and they liked me, so I knew I'd get at least one offer. I also interviewed at Moss Adams and knew I didn't want to be there. Yes, the office was nice, but I was looking for a different feel. Finally, I loved KPMG because of all the BYU tax guys. I don't feel like being a pioneer as the only Mormon at Moss Adams, so I was interested in KPMG.
So on Friday, I was so antsy I could hardly sleep. I called the E&Y recruiter and she didn't know if I had a job, but told me she'd be shocked if I didn't. I kept telling myself that even if all of them said no, I'd figure something out. I thought about extending our trip to Asia, but then had a feeling that everything would work out. 2 minutes later (literally) I got an email from E&Y saying "No." I knew that meant KPMG was going to be my offer.
I was at work hanging out with Megan when I looked at my phone for any missed calls with 503 area codes (Oregon). There weren't any, so I put it back in my pocket and my phone started ringing with a 503 number on it! I was so excited! The KPMG partner I met with on Thursday offered me an internship. I am so happy to know that we will be in Portland next summer. I will be working on the 37th floor of the Wells Fargo building (see my last post). The views are awesome and I'm glad to know that there will be other BYU guys there.
All in all, I learned that God is in charge. While I liked E&Y, I know He wants me at KPMG. I don't know exactly why yet, but I can tell people I like that KPMG has 10 more vacation days a year than the other firms. :) Isn't it great to know Someone else is looking out for me?
I have been very stressed out this week as the interviews for tax internships came to an end. First Deloitte sent me an email saying, "Sorry, you were near the top of the list, but the economy sucks, etc, etc." I wasn't too worried as I thought I had Ernst and Young in the bag. I knew so many in the office and they liked me, so I knew I'd get at least one offer. I also interviewed at Moss Adams and knew I didn't want to be there. Yes, the office was nice, but I was looking for a different feel. Finally, I loved KPMG because of all the BYU tax guys. I don't feel like being a pioneer as the only Mormon at Moss Adams, so I was interested in KPMG.
So on Friday, I was so antsy I could hardly sleep. I called the E&Y recruiter and she didn't know if I had a job, but told me she'd be shocked if I didn't. I kept telling myself that even if all of them said no, I'd figure something out. I thought about extending our trip to Asia, but then had a feeling that everything would work out. 2 minutes later (literally) I got an email from E&Y saying "No." I knew that meant KPMG was going to be my offer.
I was at work hanging out with Megan when I looked at my phone for any missed calls with 503 area codes (Oregon). There weren't any, so I put it back in my pocket and my phone started ringing with a 503 number on it! I was so excited! The KPMG partner I met with on Thursday offered me an internship. I am so happy to know that we will be in Portland next summer. I will be working on the 37th floor of the Wells Fargo building (see my last post). The views are awesome and I'm glad to know that there will be other BYU guys there.
All in all, I learned that God is in charge. While I liked E&Y, I know He wants me at KPMG. I don't know exactly why yet, but I can tell people I like that KPMG has 10 more vacation days a year than the other firms. :) Isn't it great to know Someone else is looking out for me?
Friday, November 13, 2009
Portland
I was up in Portland this week for on-site interviews. I visited the offices of Ernst and Young, Moss Adams, and KPMG. All three have amazing offices that definitely beat the crappy Davenport Works Office I enjoyed for three months. Hmm, be on the top floor of the Wells Fargo building and enjoy the colors of the trees in Goose Hollow/West Hills and see Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens out the other side of the building or exist on the ground floor of a windowless two story building that would only overlook the parking lot if it had one. Hmm? Let me know guys, which one should I pick?
I really want to know if I have a job next summer. It's kinda killing me to know, but I'll find out soon enough.
Hope everyone is excited for Thanksgiving. We are going to San Diego!
I really want to know if I have a job next summer. It's kinda killing me to know, but I'll find out soon enough.
Hope everyone is excited for Thanksgiving. We are going to San Diego!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
We Are the Champions!
Yeah! First place nationally in the Deloitte Tax Competition! I was so excited when I heard the news yesterday. I often feel like it isn't real. I am glad that everything worked out and we could return honor to the BYU Accounting Program. We were so happy to learn that BYU also got first place in the graduate division! Not too bad at all.
Let me give you a bit of an update on this whole competition. Back in April, my tax professor asked if I wanted to be on the undergraduate team with 3 other guys. I said yes. I studied during the summer, but always felt I should study more. This nagging feeling was in addition to the frustration I felt at work.
Upon returning to school, my group met most Saturday mornings for practice runs with the cases used in previous years' competitions. I hated getting up so early every single day. 8 AM classes Monday-Thursday, 8 AM practice on Saturday, and 8 AM church on Sunday. Geez! Whenever we practiced I felt that we had little chance of winning. Even the night before, a teammate asked, "How do you think we'll do?" I didn't think we'd win, that's for sure. However, the day of the competition changed my mind.
We showed up to the Deloitte office in the Wells Fargo Building and loved the view from Utah's tallest building (I lived in taller buildings in Taiwan, but that's another story). We ate breakfast and started the competition (5 hours). We worked hard and pushed each other and shifted work from overloaded people to others in the group, etc. In the end, I felt that we had never performed as well as we had that day. As my mission president would say, "We left it all on the field." The worst part was waiting 10 days for the results.
They came yesterday: BYU first place. $2,000 to each student, $10,000 to BYU for each time. That means when Choose to Give comes around, I can tell them I gave $2,500 to the School of Accountancy. Don't mind if I do!
I learned several things from this competition: first, wives are awesome. Megan never doubted me or nagged me to study. Encouragement and true love made this possible. Second, good things come out of bad/hard situations. All I heard at John Deere went something like this, "Oh, tax? I hate tax, I can't believe someone would want to do tax." Don't get me started on that. Just remember that I'll be riding elephants in Asia next summer and they'll be working on spreadsheets. Third, surround yourself with positive people and miracles happen!
Life is good, it's as simple as that!
Let me give you a bit of an update on this whole competition. Back in April, my tax professor asked if I wanted to be on the undergraduate team with 3 other guys. I said yes. I studied during the summer, but always felt I should study more. This nagging feeling was in addition to the frustration I felt at work.
Upon returning to school, my group met most Saturday mornings for practice runs with the cases used in previous years' competitions. I hated getting up so early every single day. 8 AM classes Monday-Thursday, 8 AM practice on Saturday, and 8 AM church on Sunday. Geez! Whenever we practiced I felt that we had little chance of winning. Even the night before, a teammate asked, "How do you think we'll do?" I didn't think we'd win, that's for sure. However, the day of the competition changed my mind.
We showed up to the Deloitte office in the Wells Fargo Building and loved the view from Utah's tallest building (I lived in taller buildings in Taiwan, but that's another story). We ate breakfast and started the competition (5 hours). We worked hard and pushed each other and shifted work from overloaded people to others in the group, etc. In the end, I felt that we had never performed as well as we had that day. As my mission president would say, "We left it all on the field." The worst part was waiting 10 days for the results.
They came yesterday: BYU first place. $2,000 to each student, $10,000 to BYU for each time. That means when Choose to Give comes around, I can tell them I gave $2,500 to the School of Accountancy. Don't mind if I do!
I learned several things from this competition: first, wives are awesome. Megan never doubted me or nagged me to study. Encouragement and true love made this possible. Second, good things come out of bad/hard situations. All I heard at John Deere went something like this, "Oh, tax? I hate tax, I can't believe someone would want to do tax." Don't get me started on that. Just remember that I'll be riding elephants in Asia next summer and they'll be working on spreadsheets. Third, surround yourself with positive people and miracles happen!
Life is good, it's as simple as that!
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