Another Week

Here we go, starting another week of school. This one promises to be full of more work than fun activities, but isn't that the point? Still, let's look back on the fun times I had last week to be reminded that there may be more fun times ahead:

1. Accounting Resume-Writing Workshop: A managing director of the local PriceWaterhouseCoopers office individually critiqued our resumes and then offered up many helpful hints about what to include and what not to, particularly when seeking a job in public accounting. My resume is pretty solid; it certainly doesn't hurt that a professional writer helped me put it together.

2. Campus Garden Open House: So my nifty little college started a nifty little organic garden a couple years ago, and this year they added chickens! I stopped by to meet the organizers and volunteer my help in caring for the chickens (since we have eleven of them at home).

3. Casino Night: I stayed late at school on Wednesday to participate in the student government's 'Casino Night'; I played in the Texas Hold 'Em tournament, staying in until about half the players had been eliminated. For quite a lot of the game, I was chip leader at my table. But, as usually happens when I play Hold 'Em, I got kind of bored and started making silly bets to spice things up. I feel good, though, because my stupidest and most costly bet furnished the lone tired professor participating with a ton of chips, getting him back in the game.

4. Meet the Firm Night: A panel of six professionals from different accounting firms, Goldman Sachs, and even the FBI came and spoke at the school. The main point I took away: I need to get a master's degree and my CPA license as soon as possible in order to really work in my chosen field in a capacity that will really suit me. Oh joy.

5. Theater Society Opening Social: Lately I've found I don't enjoy movies or television very much, but live theater continues to intrigue me. Now, I haven't acted since high school and I've only ever been to a hand-full of plays, but it is something that does intrigue me, and, the theater kids are all (as expected) very personable. I enjoyed myself very much getting to know some new people and playing charades.

So there you go...the fun fun times for him. Hopefully I can find some engaging social stuff to do this week in between the homework assignments!

Things I Like: Accounting

I am in the second semester of my junior year as an accounting major, and I after some recent reflection, I'd like to reaffirm my happiness with my selection. Textbooks often refer to accounting as "the language of business", and I think that as a well-established scientific system, it also functions as the rules of business. Knowing the rules enables one to effectively play the game.

When my enlistment in the Marine Corps ended several years ago, I knew that I wanted to do something in business. I had come to this realization when it occurred to me that every job out there belongs to some kind of business. Further, almost everything in life functions like a business, at least on some level or in certain ways. I was pretty ignorant when I started college, and without a lot of direction; "business" is, like I've said, broad and far-reaching. So those first few classes definitely informed my choice, one of which happened to be Financial Accounting 1.

I'll admit, at first I didn't get it. I was perplexed by the double-entry system, wherein every transaction is recorded twice, effecting two different accounts. This is the system of debits and credits...am I losing you already? Further complicating the matter, transactions are recorded in a journal, a chronological list, and then later posted to a ledger, a collection of all the different accounts and their balances. Still not getting it, eh? Okay, so here is the thing - some accounts (usually assets, like cash or a house, and expenses, like your electricity bill) have a debit balance, while others (liabilities, like your mortgage loan; equity, your net worth as an individual or the book value of owners' stakes in a business; and revenues, like your paycheck or sales) have a credit balance. Wow...you sure look confused - I did too!

This is where it all fits together: the entire system is based on the accounting equation, which states that:

Assets = Liabilities + Equity

So...those double entries each effect, in some way, both sides of the equations. Therefore, the equation stays balanced. Okay, so I know that no one except people familiar with accounting have any idea what I'm talking about. But that's okay, I don't think anyone is reading this blog anyway (*wink*). Still, when all of this finally clicked in my head, I knew that I had found my education path and my place in the world of business. Why? Because the equation has to balance. Everything is assigned values, and though these change, the equation stays balanced. You can be relatively sure that everything is at least mostly right if your accounts all balance out.

This is all very basic stuff; I think I have just poorly explained the first two days of class. It gets so much better. These accounts and their balances are used to prepare financial statements, which tell you all sorts of things about how a business (or, say, your personal finances) are operating. You can then do all manner of analysis with the data, giving you even more valuable information. Management and the marketing department can talk all day about pricing strategies and their big new global initiative (and I don't mean to downplay those people and disciplines; they are extremely important), but the financial statements lay it out plainly to see for those who know how to read them. The "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" book series by Robert Kiyosaki, though mostly a giant fluff piece by a hustling snake oil salesman, did contain one great piece of advice: "Learn to think in financial statements". If more businesses stopped to think about exactly how that decision they're making is going to impact not just the bottom line, but the intermediary steps on the financial statements, and how that is going to impact all the various means of analyzing and comparing and projecting...well, I think we'd get far less stupid decisions.

So there you go, world. I like accounting. It works.

Getting my fancy on...

Hello world! How long has it been since I last posted, over two months? Well, that simply won't do, especially considering that I would like to fancy myself as at least an amateurish writer. I'm back in school, so that should provide many fun topics to fill up posts, the first (and not least of which) being men's fashion.

I've always found the suit to be the quintessential male garment, and given my status as a moving-and-shaking student at a prestigious private liberal arts college, I feel well within the bounds of reason wearing one to class. No, not every single day, but certainly every day that offers up any sort of reason. For me, the first couple weeks of the semester are reason enough to show off my wardrobe, letting the kids see firsthand what style and class look like. Then I can dial it back and save the suits for special days, such as classroom presentations, job fairs, and social events.

Okay, honestly, my selection of fine clothing is both small and, well, not that fine. But it is pretty decent for me and my needs, and will surely expand over time. Now I won't continue pretending to be the master of male style, but I will try to update my blog regularly and include the nifty bits of fashion know-how I feel comfortable taking an authoritative stance on.

Welcome to the 2010 Utah Delta Epsilon Chi State Career Developmemt Conference

It's that magical time of year again...when Utah's wackiest business misfits, slickerthanshit future used car salesmen, and well-styled leaders of tomorrow (*ahem*) gather together under the auspice of education to:

*Suffer through an almost unbearably contrived "opening session", wherein the state officers (I am one, sadly) embarrass us all by poorly reading directly from a uniquely uninspired script. Then, after a bathroom and leg-stretching break, a grade-A, class act keynote speaker is brought up...and speaks for about 45 minutes too long.

*Compete in wildly varied business role-playing simulations and presentations (to win medals and glory for ourselves and our schools); there are over twenty events and everyone can choose two. I am doing Financial Service and Financial Statement Analysis.

*Meet exciting business wierdos from all over....Utah.

*Catch hell AGAIN from the Dixie and Weber students about how alcohol should not be consumed by students attending the conference, even after hours.

*And finally, in spite of all the sarcasm and bitterness stated above (which is certainly intentional, but also exaggerated for comedy), the best part is seeing old friends, making new ones, and looking damn good while doing it.

; )

The Tremendous Trample of Thursday!

Oh my what a day!

9:00 AM: Checking out the apartment that I am almost certainly going to move into. There is a totally excellent large living room. Now I have graduated to thinking about, stressing over, and delighting in FURNISHINGS!

12:00 PM: Managerial and Cost Accounting. Oh the fun fun accounting times for him...he was a willful little accountant...

2:30 PM: Carlos, my classmate and friend from grades 1-12, age 5-26 and counting, will arrive via promotional rate flight from Las Vegas.

Delta Epsilon Chi

Okay...so no post yesterday, because frankly, the post describing my battles with Dustin is going to have some fluff in there and a lot of pictures and it is taking a long time.

So...here's the lowdown on the "business club" to which I belong and am going to a conference for all this weekend:

Delta Epsilon Chi (DEX) is the collegiate division of DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America - essentially little clubs all over for high school students interested in business). The organization centers on attend various conferences. The one I am going to today and for this weekend is the "Fall Leadership Conference". I am State Officer, so I won't participate in the activities, but the other students coming from schools all over Utah will be doing two case studies based on real-world business problems that have happened to local companies. Sweet! These events are a lot of fun, especially because students get put into random teams with people they don't know. Hopefully they all get along and learn from each other and maybe even make new friends. They present their case study solutions to judges, who are working business professionals (and I got three of my friends to come down and judge; see you on Saturday!), and get instant feedback.

There are larger national conferences as well, but we'll talk about those later. Don't have much time for a longer post. Keep on rocking in the free world.

Ahhh!

So...school has been keeping me very busy! Hence, no posts in a long time. I will get settled in though, and get some good new posts up soon. I have the other battles from my campaign with Dustin and the tournament to describe, interesting things I am learning at school to rant about, and more.

So....check back soon.

- Valentine out.

Friday Unrelated Information

1. I start next week at Westminster College. Woot! I will be a junior accounting major.

2. Tomorrow is the Mind Games Yearly Classic 3 Warhammer 40k tournament. I have got to get busy this evening finishing my last tank and 3 Marines. Luckily, I have them all well along...otherwise I would be looking at about 10 hours of total modeling work...too much to do tonight!

3. We just finished watching the last of Season 3 of The Mighty Boosh. Seriously, it may be the funniest show ever. Totally random and off the wall. Don't worry, though, I'm a shaman: my mind is like a fortress.