Busy Season 2k11 . . . j/k! lolz!

Alright. I’ve been meaning to give you readers some type of update or closure or something since I abruptly ceased blogging back in the fall . . . I guess the biggest update from the last few months is I got a new job (cue Hallelujah chorus!!!!). But seriously, public accounting was very good to me the last 5 years, and without it I wouldn’t be in the position I am today. But I am FREAKING PUMPED to be starting 2011 without the dread of another busy season. If I want to take a Friday off to head down to the Fantasy Baseball Draft early, I can. And if I want to take a week off for spring break, I can. And if I want to take a day off to celebrate my sweet baby girl’s birthday, I can (and planning on it!).

It was actually a pretty long process “changing careers” (or rather my career-path) and I feel like I learned a lot through all the networking, interviewing, researching etc. A big hat tip to sites like the HR Capitalist, and anyone else who gave me 15 minutes to pick their brain. Recruiting was always one of my favorite parts of public accounting, and I’d love to share my thoughts/experiences with anyone else who is looking to transition down the road, etc.

Speaking of interviews, here’s reason #381 why my wife is the coolest and I love her to pieces. Back in July, she was leaving to go out of town the day before I had a big interview (not with my current employer, but one I REALLY wanted to work for at the time), so she went to Icing on the Cookie and left me this note:

Isn’t she awesome?

Ok, so I promise not to drone on and on about my job change, but I do have one book recommendation for anyone interested. Check out Strengths Finder 2.0. Basically, the book talks about how we should be focusing on finding work that utilizes our “natural” talents/strengths (and we should be working to improve those strengths), rather than trying to improve upon our weaknesses. Makes sense, seeing you’re more likely to “enjoy” improving on something you’re already inclined/interested in rather than getting frustrated when you’re not “succeeding” at something you probably won’t be able to master in the first place.

The book (and on-line assessment) gives examples of what your strengths might look like in “real-world” situation and gives tips on finding work/careers that utilize those strengths. There are 34 different strengths/talents, and my five (everyone has 5) were Analytical, Input, Learner, Intellection, and Connectedness. I can DEFINITELY see how my current job is fostering the development of these 5 talents and I’m excited to see what the future holds! (not that public accounting wasn’t necessarily doing this, but I digress) . . .

Ok, so I was planning on turning this post into a big 4 month catch-up and maybe talk about my High School reunion or how we went to Disney World/Harry Potter or how I (re)signed up for Twitter, but it’s getting late, and Birmingham is in the middle of a BLIZZARD, so I should probably hit the hay . . . but oh yeah:

War Cam Eagle!

PS - I met Verne Lundquist over Thanksgiving!

We might be Vanilla

Happy April 15th, American Taxpayer . . .

Boom. Roasted.

Have fun at your Tea Parties!! Look out for Sarah Palin (‘s brother and father??)

Take this quarter, go downtown . . .

I really like toothpicks. I think this all started when I saw Uncle Buck when I was little. Remember when they were at the Bowling Alley and that guy was trying to be all cool, flipping the toothpick around in his mouth, and then it got stuck? I was really pumped when I got old enough (or my mouth grew large enough) to be able to do that. Yes, I know this really isn’t all that impressive.

Anyways, I just realized my office keeps a cup of toothpicks in the kitchen. I know I probably look like a red-neck, but I’ve been enjoying chomping on them the last few days. Man, this is an awkward shot of my nose . . .

Happy St. Patrick's Day

aka we're past the Corporate deadline, so let's drink beer at work this afternoon!

I'm also going to Workplay tonight with Jay to catch a screening of Skiptracers. Oh, April 15th is so close, I can almost taste it!

Deep Thoughts

I realized something last week . . . a lot of music blogs (p4k, stereogum, etc.) pretty much all break the same "breaking news" . . .

For instance, today in Google Reader, I read three (I guess this makes four) different articles about the Thermals new single "Now We Can See" (last week it was Eddie Vedder singing U2 at an Arizona Best Western). Does anyone else think that's annoying?

And I really like the Thermals (well, I like their catchy melodies, not so much their post-apocalyptic lyrics)



But thats why I like Food and Photography blogs better . . . you may have similar topics (ingredients, subject matter, lighting tips), but you're not going to read the same thing twice . . .

(yawn)

This post reminds me of that blog Gray mentioned a few months back, The Dullest Blog in the World

Just wanted to warn you. Feel free to navigate away. I won’t get my feelings hurt.

So when I started working at (insert name of firm I currently work for) they gave me an Office Plant to welcome me to the fam. Sounds pretty lame, right?? Actually you’d be surprised how much “life” a small plant brings to a painfully fluorescently-lit, four-walled office (that’s right, no cubes here!). I liked my plant and took pride in the fact I had kept it alive the past 17 months . . . until this week :(

You see, usually I could go a week or so without watering it, let it “die,” then water it again and watch it "come back to life.” Not so this time. I think it has gone through shock and not coming back. Are there any botanist blog stalkers out there? Am I considered an awful plant owner or is 17 months a pretty good run for an office plant??

Wow, I just fell asleep typing this. I’m going home . . .

Sorry, haven't been too Bloggy this week

So enjoy this picture of Tony Perkis . . .

Though I must say, he is a bit . . . over the top!

At the Party

I’m usually pretty late jumping on bandwagons. It seems like 2008 is the “it” year to have a blog (although Gray has been rockin’ one since 2005) and I thought I would join the party.

Why do I have a blog?? Do I have anything that interesting to say?? My wife said I should start a blog called “What I learned on Wikipedia today” since most days I come home with useless trivia or facts on random topics I looked up that day. So I’ll probably post that kind of stuff along with my thoughts on music, food, news, etc. I might even post some pictures, too . . .

Where did “That Much Further ‘Ham” come from?? Good question.

I moved to Birmingham three years ago after “growing up” in Memphis. I really like living here and realize it has a lot more to offer than I thought when I first got here (is that a run-on sentence?).

One of my favourite bands has a song (and album) called “That Much Further West.” You should check it out.

I also really like cooking and food, so I thought ‘Ham would be a clever play on words.

Now that we have that awkward introduction over with, let the blogging begin!

PS - I use quotation marks, exclamation points, and ellipses way more than necessary . . .