Graduation Weekend Pictures

Last weekend, despite all the highfalutin' purchasing and talk of cameras, there were sadly few pictures taken. My uncle was, however, the dedicated photo-journalist. The many pictures and movies he was taking throughout the weekend left with him, sadly, and I only have a few that my family managed to snap. Above is a panoramic taken at "This is the Place" state park, where we took my aunt Lynn last Friday. Below is the sea of graduates:

I am in the far group, across the aisle. I sat in the fourth row from the front, a couple seats in from the aisle, with a friend who was graduating with an arts administration degree. It was really nice to have a buddy to go through the ceremony with...you rock Shan!

And finally, here I am with my mom (awww!):

"..."

Well I walked in the commencement ceremony on Saturday, had an excellent party, got my band shut down by the cops, moved the party to a friend's house...

...and I am still a little bit too stunned to know what to say.

All I can really put together is: Thank you!

Thank you to everyone who has helped me get so far. Thank you to my family and friends for your kindness and generosity.

I have a lot to do...

Final Finals

As I shuffle around this morning, I am preparing to head up to Westminster College as an undergraduate student for the final time, to take my final final exams. It is pretty surreal. Attending college has been the defining element of my life for the past five years, my primary endeavor after being discharged from the Marine Corps. It has also been quite the struggle, especially these past three years at Westminster. Not because the classes were particularly difficult, although some were, but because other things going on in my life clouded my mind. While performing a repetitive task with which one has some level of skill can still be carried out with some success, even while distracted and unfocused, it is much more involved learning new things in such a state.

I made it!

Still, like I said on my "Last Day of Class" post, I am now entering a new and perhaps even more demanding phase of life: that of the working (hopefully) professional. It is till pretty bleak out there:

These stats seem to suggest that I have only a 74% chance of finding any job, and less than 1/2 of finding a job that actually requires and will utilize my degree. Pretty scary. There is a sunny side, though. This next chart shows that college grads have a lower unemployment rate and greater earnings potential, even if they are a gloomy lot:

Now to push the worries of jobs, salaries, and negative economic outlooks out of my mind and focus on acing these final finals!

Last Day of Class

Yes, that's right. Today is my last day of classes, ever, at least as an undergrad. I am busy finishing up a few last assignments to turn in, nothing too crazy. The VITA Tax office has wrapped up; all told we prepared 175 returns, with just a handful of rejected returns, all of which were corrected and re-filed. We'll be having an end-of-tax-season party tomorrow afternoon, the treat of the professor! After that, I have two final exams on Monday...and then, that is IT!

Woo- Hoo!

Now comes the hard part: finding an employer to hire me and a graduate program to accept me. I am confident that neither will be that big of a problem, but, I am also realistic and expect to have some rejections. I've already discovered the hard way that, unfortunately, I am not considered "Big-4 Accounting Firm" or "Goldman Sachs ultra-corporate" material. Nor do I have the grades to simply step into something awesome like the PhD programs at the local University - did you know that not only are they waiving 100% of tuition and fees for Doctoral Candidates, they are also paying them $20,000 a year? Crazy! But, alas, such heights are not for me I suppose...not yet.

Those worries are at least a little while further out the future, for now, so I'll focus on finishing those assignments, going to class for the last time, and studying for my finals. Wish me luck!

Taxes

They say there are only two constants in life: Death and Taxes!

While I do know a thing or two about death, I know a whole lot about taxes. I ending up taking the 'Personal Income Taxation' class at school twice; the first time through was my first semester after finishing junior college and while my test scores had me set to get a 'B' in the class, I slacked off on a final assignment which caused me to fail. So after a couple of years, I took the class again last semester and scored a solid A- and was regarded by my classmates as the student who best understood the complex issues and concepts of taxation.

So this semester, I signed up for the IRS' Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, a free tax return preparation service offered by the IRS to help so-called low income taxpayers to get their taxes done. I volunteered myself and was confirmed by my classmates as the 'Site Coordinator' for the VITA office we set up at our college. So while I have actually prepared the least number of returns out of all the students working in the office, I still probably have the best overall understanding of the myriad different deductions, credits, forms, and procedures involved in filing a tax return.

Now I need to get my own tax return filed. This is the last week our site will be open, and while I didn't have enough income in 2011 to have to file (oh the life of a starving student), I did have a good chunk of tax withheld that I will be able to get refunded.

So...I've got the taxes pretty well figured out...but this death business, well, I'm not so sure about that!

The End is Nigh

I am nearing completion of my bachelor's degree. This semester is essentially over, and I have only one class to take next semester. I interviewed yesterday at Goldman Sachs for a two-year, guaranteed 20-hour-a-week internship, perfect for some income and experience while working on a master's program.

*Fingers crossed*

I was the best dressed person there; far and away beyond the other applicants and awkwardly outdoing all four different interviewers. Rocking the solid gray suit, the big red power tie, and a crisp white cotton pocket square.

If only their hiring decisions could be based solely on style and poise...

VICTORY!

Good morning, world!

I am proud to announce that last night, I took first place in the college's talent show. There were something like 20 contestants, many of whom also sang and played guitar. How did I stand out? There were two things that really set me apart and, I think, helped push me over the top:

1) I played an original song that I wrote, "Melody Maker," which is coincidentally about writing songs! By portraying myself as a songwriter, and then delivering a solid performance of a decent original work, I demonstrated a depth of talent that went beyond those people simply performing another artist's song.

2) I played harmonica along with guitar, true to singer-songwriter form. This really sizzled.

There were many cheers throughout my performance, not just at the end - a first for me. Also, and I didn't realize this until I was done playing, but this was my largest audience yet, easily over 100 people. Now, maybe there have been times out at the People's Market where there have been more people than that within ear-shot, but these people were all there listening intently, and digging it! This is really a huge boost, one that I surely needed right now. Thanks, everyone!

I'm Tired, World

So I literally just woke up from a nightmare about getting mauled by a pack of wolves. What's worse, I don't need to sit and think "whoa, what does that mean", or seek feedback from some tie-dye skirt clad guru. I know exactly why I had this dream; it was the first thought in my head when I woke up.

I've felt lately like the world is just out to get me.

Let's start with school: I feel totally alienated. Almost everyone at my school is young, so god damn young. Fresh out of high school. And they all seem to know each other, and though I am trying, they don't seem to want to get to know me. Now part of this is my fault. I show up in my suits while they're riding their skateboards around campus; I think the disconnect is fairly clear. They're sitting in a group, getting loud and excited about getting drunk at a party, a party that I desperately want to be invited to, when they get quiet upon suddenly noticing me looking sharp, assuming I'm part of the faculty and that they may have just incriminated themselves. Even the career resource center's business department adviser asks me "why are you all dressed up?" Okay, I get it. Like Conor Oberst said to Amy in the White Coat: "you should look more like us."

Now...Better Living has up and completely stopped talking to me; won't take or return my phone calls, hasn't answered my last few emails, and has even started deleting my comments on her blog. You would think that she had dumped me...oh, wait, she did, but that was last NOVEMBER. We managed, with some early turbulence, to maintain a decent (if distant for my tastes, but hey, that's just me, the dump-ee) friendship. I even recently sent her a note to express my thanks for her graciousness, and my gratitude and happiness that we were able to remain friends. Um...was this yet another fucking case of my being too nice? Was she suddenly weirded out because I wrote in the note that I loved her? Hello, as a friend. And also because, in my world, you don't just stop loving people. Okay, so maybe you do stop talking to them (for some reason), but the love is still there - I sure hope that isn't what started this.

Now, I'm not trying to be bitter. I'm actually trying very, very hard to be positive, hopeful, and optimistic. It just gets hard, especially when it feels like the whole world is after me. I hate to be this wounded animal begging for mercy, but please, call off the wolves.

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!

Getting my Rushmore on

Now that I am back in school, there is a lot more going on in my life to stimulate my mind and occupy my time. However, I am only taking three classes, and there is still a lot of empty space each week. I've decided to fill this with all manner of clubs and activities. I realized at the beginning of this semester that my last year or so at college is really my last chance to make a lot of hip young friends all at once. Now, this wouldn't be such an issue, as I prefer to maintain a small group of close friends whom I am truly devoted to...but, my small cadre of near-and-dears has managed to first implode and then evaporate right out of my life.

So, I am aspiring to get involved on campus, and to get to know others who are as well. This is a difficult task at my school. First of all, I transferred in as a junior, having already earned my associate's degree at the community college. This puts me at a social disadvantage, as my peers have already been going to school together for two or more years. Complicating matters further is the fact that I live off campus. The kids in the dorms even have a term for this, which I find has some derogatory connotations: "commuter". To make things even worse, I am attending a prestigious liberal arts college. The sort of students that go there are, by and large, eccentric weirdos and hipsters. While this is certainly more of my crowd than say, the lunatic sports fans who populate the public university, they aren't the easiest bunch to get to know.

I liken the majority of students at my school to New Yorkers - everyone walks around with their head down, in their own world. If you stop someone and engage with them they will perk up and be very friendly and helpful, but once this interaction is over and done with, they want nothing further to do with you and continue right back on their single-minded path. This is not to say that they are an anti-social bunch, but they are mired in what appears to me to be a rigid system of cliques and coteries, one that is particularly distrusting of outsiders.

I could go on and on (and often do) about how frustrating this is for me, a genuine, direct, no-nonsense person who honestly wants to get to know nice people for who they really are and build lasting friendships with them. Complaining, though, doesn't get anything done, so I have been (and will continue) taking action to get myself involved. I'll wrap up by saying: Look out kids, here I come!

Ahhh! I have felt especially overwhelmed lately. Nothing in particular; I am a bit behind on schoolwork and there are Peoples' Market activities I could be up to, but it isn't really that. I think there is just a lot of apprehension since I (still) don't have internet at home. Also, my apartment has been really cold lately, even with the warm weather.

I am trying to make a daily and weekly schedule and stick to that, I think that will help. Also, I've been trying to go on little walks around my new neighborhood. I would like to switch to either walking, biking, or using public transportation when the weather is nice. I think that will help eat up some of my idle time (the devil for me, always, is my own idle hands), and also help keep me in shape and things.

Okay...gotta put in a solid school day today. I hope you are all out there pulling for me (just a little), I could use the good energy to help push up and out of my little rut I've been in...

Friday Unrelated Information

1. The Peoples' Market is really booked up for music this weekend! We have Misty Rivers scheduled for a long set in the morning, Jose Banillo and everybody from Lutheran Community Services, and Didjeridan may even be there to play his didjeridoo. Of course the house band, Rick, Tiffin, Patrick, and myself will likely play throughout the day. We also have a neat workshop scheduled that day on electric vehicles, starting at 12:30.

2. This weekend, I am going to the Utah Delta Epsion Chi (ΔEX or "DEX") State Officer Retreat. We have a whole day of leadership classes, teambuilding exercises, and the good stuff: decision making. I also get to report on my progress towards starting a ΔEX chapter at Westminster College, where I start as a junior this fall. Woot!

3. I have been talking about the Tau from Warhammer 40k on here, and I think that there may be some unfamiliar readers out there. The Tau are an alien empire in the distant future of the fictional (obviously) Warhammer 40,000 Universe. They control a small but dense piece of space, far from Terra and at the fringe of the Imperium of Man. The Tau have absorbed other species from planets in their empire, all working for "The Greater Good", and have a technology level far beyond that of humans. Consequently, in the game they have many of the best weapons around, and many ways to apply special bonuses to their shooting. As my Blood Angels army is fairly focused on close assault, the Tau get to shoot me up as I try to advance on them, and are usually able to out-maneuver me and delay my assault for several turns if not the whole game. Below is a picture of Josh-from-the-game-store's Tau, from the most recent tournament:





















...and here is a picture from the game, with one of the Tau "Piranhas" advancing on my tactical marines:





















In the game, I eventually shot down both piranhas with that big gun one of my guys is toting, a "multi-melta". However, Josh's Kroot eventually came and took this position over, in what I think was the critical objective that caused me to lose instead of draw. What is a Kroot, you ask? Kroot are one of the main alien species that has joined the Tau empire. I don't have any pictures of Josh's excellently painted Kroot, but here is a picture of mine (they are the guys on the right):




















Okay, folks...have a good weekend! Valentine out.