My Career

It’s funny how things work out isn’t it? The way one decision leads to a series of new paths, more decisions, more paths and the next thing you know you’re standing somewhere and you’re not quite sure when it happened or how you ended up getting there. It’s one of the best things about life and it’s something I have begun to embrace in the past year. The act of not planning ahead of the next year or even six months or next week. I’m referring to this in a more general sense rather than a serious one. I’m still getting ready to plan out my 401k and retirement plans with my first real paycheck because I don’t want to be living in a box when I’m seventy but as far as planning where I’ll be living in five years or what job I’ll be in, that’s up for grabs.

That being said, I’m currently very pleased to have the outline of a plan for my next step, that step being the rather steep one of entering the real world as an adult. College isn’t the real world, academia is far from anything real and that’s why so many people stay in it for an extended period of time. I love learning, I love school, and I certainly plan on getting my masters, at the very least, in the future but for the love of God I’m ready to move on to the real world. That’s what brings me to the purpose of this post. Yesterday, after a month of strenuous recruiting events, applications and interviews taking me all the way up to San Francisco, I was offered a position as an assurance associate with the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers starting next fall. There’s probably some sort of rule against me publishing this information but right now I’m just too excited to care!

(Nr. Fisherman's Wharf)

I just got back from spending approximately 24 hours up in San Fran, my first real business trip. I hopped on a plan straight out of my managerial midterm and made it to the city by 2pm where I made my way to the Argonaut Hotel near fisherman’s wharf. I took advantage of the location and walked to pier 39 before getting ready for the pre-interview dinner. I met with two current associates who took me to dinner at a swanky restaurant called Chaya on the Embarcadero near the office in the financial district. I walked the mile and a half down Columbus Avenue through North Beach and knew I could live here; there are so many cafes, restaurants and taverns that I had to work very hard in order to pass without peeking my head in or asking for a table. Dinner was great and the company was relaxed and informative, exactly what they’re going for. I had roasted duck; salad and we all split two desserts. I got back to the hotel in time to catch Grey’s Anatomy and tell my parents about dinner briefly before gathering my things together so I wouldn’t be rushed in the morning. The bed was ridiculously comfortable; too bad I didn’t get to enjoy it longer!

(The Sealions of Pier 39)

In the morning I met up with two other Santa Barbara guys in the elevator, which was nice because then I wasn’t going to the office alone. We caught a cab together and made our way to the financial district to the PwC reception on the 20^th floor. The rest of the interviewees were from out of state, which surprised us as we expected other UC people, LA or Berkeley. One of the more charismatic partners gave us a talk about his experiences, we heard about the different industries and opportunities available then about benefits and what it’s like to be a first year associate before being met by our “buddies.” My buddy was Nathan, a first year form Oregon who gave me a quick office tour before escorting me to my three interviews. The important part of the day went by like a flash and by the end of the three half hour interviews I felt like I couldn’t say another word about myself. After that it was time for lunch. Two associates, one of the SB guys and I went together to a Mediterranean restaurant which I think I liked better than the place we went to dinner. The atmosphere was great and there were lots of other people in business suits, it felt very odd to be one of them. During lunch Nathan and Michele, the other associate, told us about life in the office, living in SF, what to expect on the CPA exam and about other benefits. After lunch we returned to the office to pick up our bags and that was that, adios! It went by so fast I wasn’t even sure I really went through the whole process.

Since I had a couple of hours before I needed to head to the airport I settled myself at one of several Starbuck’s on Clay street where I attempted to read a book but couldn’t for the life of me concentrate on the words on the page. I was too fidgety to stay in one place so I reluctantly hauled my bag onto my shoulder and made my way towards the Bay. I passed a cubic fountain/sculpture that I soon realized was the very same place I had played with my friends over a decade ago on our 5^th grade trip to the city. It was absolutely surreal to be walking by it now, wearing my business suit, all grown up. I took some picture of the Bay Bridge walked through the marketplace and then decided it was time to get a cab, didn’t want to get stuck in Friday rush hour.

(3 Embarcadero Center, PwC's office in the Financial District)

Once I made it to the airport I had to make it through a couple of false alarm phone calls before getting the one call that I had been anxiously awaiting. The partner I had interviewed called and after several seconds worth of words that seemed like an eternity she uttered the offer of which I had imagined hundreds of time, “we would like to offer you a position with our firm.” Oh hallelujah, praise Jesus and all those saints! I can’t remember the last time I felt so light hearted. I called mom, then dad at work, grandma and grandpa, my friend Anne who I had been talking to a few minutes earlier. Then I naturally found myself at the terminal bar where I ordered a very large beer in celebration at which point I told the bartender and my fellow bar patrons about my immense happiness, I was too happy to care how odd I probably seemed. It’s still a bit unreal.

So now I’m back in Santa Barbara but I feel different, I have an inner confidence and my heart swells with pride at random times, not in any cocky self-indulgent way just a solid contentment. I’ve been looking at apartment listings online, checking out business clothes online and thinking of all the cool things there are to do in San Francisco. To put it simply, I’m elated and I don’t think the feeling will be going away anytime soon, it’s absolutely wonderful. I’ll leave it there for now but I’m bound to have many adventures to come in the future so I shall leave space for them now. Thanks for reading and thank you for everyone’s support as I’ve gone through this recruiting process!

(The Bay Bridge)

Accounting for Food and Time

I love food and there's nothing more satisfying then getting home from school after a long week that isn't quite over yet and making a beautiful meal. I had time tonight for the first time in a fair few days because I skipped out on Accounting Association (I'll explain in a moment) and thought I deserved a nice healthy meal. Tonight it was, unsurprisingly, baked garlic chicken breast with wild rice and steamed asparagus and squash. I make a variation of this meal every week because I don't have a lot of time it's easy to do a few breasts at a time for a quick heat up meal the following days. Anyway, tonight it was very fulfilling and looked especially appealing displayed on my plate prompting me to share my enthusiasm.

Now the reason for my flurry of busyness and the explanation for my absence at the important networking event that is Accounting Association. This is the season for recruitment so I've joined the mass of job seeking seniors and intern inquiring juniors that are donning business suits and printing resumes as if paper grew on trees, oh wait, it does. For the past three weeks I have been feverishly revising my resume and reworking cover letters for half a dozen different accounting firms in the hopes of being chosen for the coveted on campus first round interviews. It all built up to this past weekend, the most anticipated and nerve wracking for any accounting student, Meet the Firms. A three hour convention style set up at the prestigious Fez Parker Double Tree resort (the Ritz of Santa Barbara) followed by a casual beach BBQ on Saturday afternoon. During this time we're expected to put on a friendly smile, dress impeccably in formal business attire (yes, I do own a business suit) and meet as many people as possible. It's chaotic, i'll tell you that much. I attended the event in my sophomore year but hadn't a clue what I was really getting into and mostly settled for chatting amiably with people and taking advantage of the free goodies. This year I focused on the meeting people and only came home with a small bundle of loot.

I must have done something right because I spent over an hour with Deloitte professionals on Friday evening and then two hours with the professionals from Pricewaterhouse Coopers on Saturday afternoon, which resulted in the scheduling of interviews with both firms for next week. The reason I'm not at Accounting Association tonight? Because Ernst & Young is speaking and they decided I wasn't good enough for them but the way I see it is they weren't good enough for me. I made an executive decision to stay home and work on other things, like cooking and studying, rather than listen to the pumping up of a firm I don't have a future with. Truth be told I really have my heart set on Deloitte or PwC so I'm working my tush off to be prepared for the interviews and hoping for the best. So wish me luck and send your good vibes my way next Wednesday and Thursday for I would surely appreciate it!

England in Santa Barbara

With the weather noticeably darkening over the past couple of days it was inevitable that the rain would descend upon us in a matter of time. Even though I expected it, I still wasn't completely prepared and I am ashamed to admit that instead of braving the wind and pelting drops on my bicycle like countless other poor souls, I alternatively drove the pitiful half mile to campus and paid up for the $8 all day parking pass. It made me feel a bit better to realize I was definitely not the only one doing this and as a reward I made it to my first class on time during which there was a pop quiz that I was miraculously able to answer correctly.

Naturally the presence of the rain makes me think of my dear old England and I wonder why I'm in Santa Barbara when I don't even have the benefit of the beautiful southern california weather? Just something to push past I suppose. Continuing on the theme of England, yesterday was the first informational session for student's hoping to study in the UK next year and naturally I attended the meeting to give my expert opinion on the pros and cons of studying abroad as well as promoting York to the wall as it's often overlooked. And by the number of questions directed to York I feel that I have done my job in making it more widely thought about. I also am holding my first set of office hours at the study abroad office this afternoon where students can drop in and talk to me (and/or whoever else is there) about studying abroad, now isn't that exciting? In the meantime I've been at the library working on a paper (obviously it's going very well as I'm not actually doing it as you can attest to by the very presence of this post). I can only hide from the rain for so long so I really must return my attentions to the tasks at hand while I can. Until next time.

A Festival of Fiddles

Today I woke up with the excitement of a ten year old on Christmas morning for today was the Old Time Fiddlers Convention and Festival in Goleta for which I've been waiting for two whole weeks. Tonight I'm going to bed with more excitement than what I awoke with and that, my friends, is a rare thing.

Held at Stow House, La Patera Ranch in Goleta, the 38th Fiddle Festival was everything I could have imagined and then just a little bit more. The only thing I wish is that my folksy friends in Chico could have been there with me because I know they would have just loved it. However, I went to the festival alone and found that to be pretty great as well because I made an important purchase that may not have happened if I'd been accompanied by others and I also made the acquaintance of a fellow musician and folk music lover. You may be curious as to what this important purchase of mine was and my excitement won't allow me to keep it from you any longer. I am now the proud owner of my very own fiddle. I am absolutely enthralled and can't wait to start really playing (as opposed to the tinkering that I've been doing all evening to the benefit, or annoyance, of my fellow housemates) and start making some real music. I believe strongly in fate and signs and to me this was one of those signs of fate that I couldn't possibly have ignored. I learned as much as I could from the 'fiddle man' from whom I purchased my fiddle about the mechanics of the instrument and then spoke briefly with a professional from the group The Sausage Grinders who imparted his opinion that the most important thing about fiddling is the bowing. That's what'll make the people jig along to the music, and that is exactly what I want. So now I plan on taking a couple of lessons in order to install some proper base before taking off, just my fiddle and me.

The festival was great with loads of music both on stage and in the form of informal sessions scattered around the ranch. That is by far my favorite form of music, a group of people gathering in harmony to create a treat for the ears. Fiddles, banjos, mandolins, guitars, stand up basses, mandolas, and drums along with other instruments I hadn't seen before were accompanying people of all ages and all abilities. It was while watching the Celtic group playing that I stuck up a conversation with my new friend who also plays the guitar, mandolin and has recently picked up the fiddle as well. We ended up talking for the rest of the festival and wandering to the different groups of musicians and ending with the final performance by the Sausage Grinders. When we parted, him for CalPoly and me for IV, we exchanged contact information and then went our separate ways. If only we lived in the same place I could have found myself a jam partner, though San Luis Obispo isn't terribly far away... :)

Now I only wish there were more fiddle festivals but alas I'll have to settle with whatever local gigs I can find starting with an Irish open session at one of the local pubs on Thursday night, maybe I can pick up some tips! Don't fear I'll keep you updated on my progress and perhaps someday in the future you can all hear the beautiful sounds of my fiddle and me.

Blogging Fail...Happy Fall

I had such great intentions. Then it's two months later and I wonder how I've only posted one thing and that wasn't even a proper post but only a description of what I should be posting. And now it's fall. I suppose that's life though, really. Saying you’re going to do something then getting around to it in a leisurely fashion and realizing the leaves are changing (well the light playing on the palm trees is a bit warmer and autumnal). Lately, I've been on top of my responsibilities like white on rice, this blog isn't necessarily a testament to that go-get-'em attitude of mine.

Since the official term (i.e. the beginning of my fourth and final year of university) began I have put together a comprehensive schedule of classes consisting of: Intermediate Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Survey of the Middle East, and Civilization of the High Middle Ages; I've organized a rough plan for the future, which at this point in life is a very big accomplishment, and going along with that theme i've already applied for four full time positions with accounting firms with a few more coming in the next couple weeks. I've assembled a business suit which makes me feel properly grown-up and rather smart. I finally turned in my official petition to double major, basically binding myself into a contract that says I will finish all of my degree requirements by the end of the year, they're very strict when you decide to work extra hard. Funny how that works. I've picked back up with tour guiding, lost my job with the music department (damn budget cuts!), began the process of becoming a volunteer at a local historical house/ranch and signed up to be a Global Intern with the study abroad office. Does that seem like a lot? I hope so. Because I've learned that I really just don't function properly if i'm idle and especially if i'm given too much free time.

This is the last year. The last opportunity I have to be in Santa Barbara with relative freedom of time and more importantly a free spirit (though I don't plan on losing that anytime in the future). I've been making new friends and reconnecting with old ones. I've gotten into a rhythm again after only a couple of backward flowing breakdowns. And to top it all off there's a fiddle festival in Goleta on Sunday that i'm just really excited to go to, isn't that just fantastic?!

Hopefully I'll be with you sooner than the two month hiatus that occurred last time but i'm making no promises as I'm feeling like it'll be a very busy autumn season!

An Introduction

It's come to my attention that, although I still remain a white rose of York at heart, my location has most definitely changed but I still have many thoughts and adventures to share. Hence the creation of my second blog for everyday occurrences; some exciting and some likely not. The point is that I have a lot to say and I'd rather not blemish the lovely facade of my White Rose by posting them on what was exclusively, well almost, a blog on living, traveling and studying abroad. I am currently working on the last few entries from my year away and will be posting them as soon as I get a chance. In the meantime whenever I have some small short observation about life at home and away I will be notifying you here where you can all greedily fight over household computer screens for a read. Unfortunately this won't be one of those exciting posts for I am a busy woman with many tasks to attend to not least of which being the reading for tonight's history section. So I shall bid you adieu until next we meet.
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