Training in Chicago

Earlier this week I was sent to Chicago for a two day government & not-for-profit training. I was excited because I had always wanted to visit Chicago. The day I arrived, a friend of mine at the firm, joined me for a little adventure. We jumped on the subway for what we believed would take us downtown. We were not quite sure when to get off. All we knew was that we both wanted some authentic Chicago style pizza. So when we got to the point where we thought downtown might be, we exited the subway.

To our astonishment, we were right in the heart of downtown.

After wandering aimlessly throughout downtown we finally found a local who could direct us to a really good pizza place. It was the original Pizzeria Uno.

After about an hour and a half after getting off of the subway, we finally found a good pizza place. When we got there they sat us outside along the street, which was really cool because we were able to see all the big city hustle and bustle.

Finally, the pizza arrived and we were blown away. It was delicious and filled me up (which is pretty hard to do with a stomach capacity as large as mine).

By the time our meal was over it was about 9:30pm and we knew we had to find a subway station that could take us back to our hotel. After about a 20 minute walk we finally found the right subway station. On the way back to the hotel, the train stopped for about 15 minutes to let another train pass by. By the time we got back to the hotel it was about 11:00pm. For the next two days I was in a classroom learning from the top Governmental and Not-For-Profit Partner in the entire firm. On Wednesday I flew home and arrived at about 11pm. I was so happy to see my family pick me up at the airport. One of my favorite things is to reunite with those that I love after a trip away from home.

Jon's First Dentist Experience

Yesterday, I took PTO (Paid-Time-Off) to attend a very special event; Jon's first trip to the dentist.

He did such a good job staying still.

In fact, the dentist said that he was the best patient he had had in a month. He even helped the dentist by holding the suction tube during the cleaning.

After it was all over, he was able to pick out glow sticks out of the toy chest. For Jon, luckily, it was a very pleasant experience.

Big Event #3: Family Pictures

A few months ago my talented sister Shelly offered to take our family pictures. We were so excited. And when we saw how they turned out, we were even more excited. My sister did such a great job. She is one of those people that is good at everything she does. Thanks sis!

Family

Jon Reo

Zola Elizabeth

Big Event #2: Busy Season Strikes Again

So the time arrived. The three months every accountant looks forward to and prepares for, busy season. It is the time of the year that separates the men from the mice. A time where efficiency, stress control and technicality are all sought after traits. This year, my busy season began on Saturday, January 16 (and yes, that is my birthday), with a flight to Zurich, Switzerland. I was traveling with an associate of mine to perform an audit over one of my client’s subsidiaries. The flight was long but relaxing. A few hours of the flight were used to plan my course of action for the upcoming week.

Upon arrival, we drove a couple of hours to Fribourg, where we stayed for the next couple of weeks.
When Monday arrived, we hit the ground running. We were trying to be as productive as possible so that we could have enough time to dedicate Saturday as our fun day. After the first couple of days of working long hours, and the adjustment from jet lag, my body was drained. On Wednesday at about 6pm I was fading. So, I did something that I never thought I would do; I downed a 5-Hour Energy Drink. I think the name is a little modest. I would rename it to 11-hour energy because I was working until 5am the next morning. I then only had 1-hour of sleep that night and was still productive the next day. Crazy stuff. Maybe my lack of caffeinated drink consumption contributed to its potency.
So, Saturday arrived and we were excited to finally see the sights.
First, we travelled to Chillon Castle, nestled between a tall mountainside and Geneva Lake.
It was a beautiful sight. The size of the castle was also impressive. It took us about 3 hours to see it all.

Next, we decided to drive to Geneva, the home of the historical protestant reformer, John Calvin. It was such a magnificent city. One of the most beautiful I had ever seen. While we were there we visited St. Pierre Cathedral, where John Calvin preached and where the League of Nations was formed. We also went to the International Museum of the Reformation. On the way out of town we drove by the old United Nations Building. We also decided to cross the border into France, just so that we could say that we did.

We then had a busy week and were able to accomplish what had to be done. The last day we were in Switzerland we drove to Zurich, where our flight would be leaving from the next day. We checked into our hotel (the Marriot) and our rooms were insane. My friend, who booked the rooms, was a Marriott Club Member, so they gave him a good deal and even upgraded his room for free. His room was a corner unit, multiple room suite, with two flat screen TVs, a view of the river running through downtown Zurich, flower pedals on his bed, and a complimentary $200 bottle of champaign. It was crazy!
That night we walked around Zurick, went out to dinner, and looked for gifts for our wives. It is easy to say that Zurich is the neatest city I have ever been in. The buildings were ancient. Off of the main roads were mazes of small alleys. These acted like a large mall with more shops than you could visit. The next morning we were on our flight back to the US, where our families and a couple of months of work were waiting for us. The rest of the engagements that took up the rest of busy season were interesting. A technology manufacturer, a golf course, a clothing line, a furniture manufacturer and a high-end wheel manufacturer took up my entire busy season. After it was all said and done, I look back, and can say that what I learned was invaluable and I was able to grow as a professional.

Big Event #1: Zola Elizabeth Signs (A.K.A. Zoe) Was Born:

Named after the two most influential women in my life (my mother Zola and my wife Elizabeth) Zola Elizabeth Signs (A.K.A. Zoe) was born on June 19th 2009.

The two grandmas were thrilled by the new addition to the Family.

During the pregnancy we were a little worried about how Jon would react to the newest addition to the family. Would he be Jealous? Or, would he welcome her with open arms? Luckily, the second he saw her, he wanted to hold her. He welcomed her and since that time, it is easy to see that although he is almost three years-old, he has already started to watch over her, as an older brother should. This should come in handy several years from now when she enters into the scariest stage in a father’s life; the dating years.

After labor, Elizabeth still looked so incredibly gorgeous. I don’t know how she does it. I am truly the luckiest man in the world. And yeah, lucky is the right word for it; how else could one explain how someone like her married someone like me!

Now little Zoe has grown to be the cutest little girl I have ever seen. But hey, I am not surprised. Just look at my wife.

I am greatly blessed to have little Zoe in my life. When life gets stressful, and I am working at 2 am in the morning to meet a deadline, all I have to do is think about her and Jon, and I am given added strength and determination to carry on.

Disclaimer:

It has been such a long time and so much has happened since I have posted anything, I will need multiple postings just to catch-up.

Here we go……

Bye Bye CPA Exam!

On Saturday I found out that I had passed my last section of the CPA Exam. I got an 83. I was surprised considering I thought I did the worst on that one. But I'll take it happily. No more CPA Exam.

Life Is Beginning to Slow Down

Last Saturday I took my last CPA Exam. I will probably find out my score in about a month so I just have to sit around and wait.

Busy season is now coming to a close and things are starting to slow down. So I am back to the normal business hours, which means I am home by 5:30pm almost every work day. Also, since I have taken my last CPA Exam, I am able to play with my family when I get home instead of studying.

The Last Few Months

The last few months have been quite eventful. These are some of the things that occured:

-Elizabeth and I found out that we are having a baby girl in June.
-Jon now can open and close doors. Sometimes he closes the door so we won't see what trouble he is getting into.
-Jon went to the cabinet and wanted at screw driver. When I got it for him he went to his toy, put the head of the screw driver into a screw and began to twist the screw driver. (I guess he saw Elizabeth take something apart a month earlier.) I think that was so awesome for a 19-month old.
-Jon got his first haircut. He looks so much older without his mullet.
-One night I was at the client's office until 5 am, came home to sleep during rush hour and was back at the client's office at 8 am. It was a blast! Just kidding.
-I also was able to pass my third CPA Exam. So I have one left to study for.
-"Pinky" is now my nickname at work. Its a long story.
-I was able to work the assebly line at one of my clients and made "portable johns" which are solid waste bags. (you know...that you go potty in.) It was really cool to experience what it would be like to work in a factory. However, I am so glad I have an education.
-I have audited a publicly traded technology company in San Diego, a gas pipe fitting manufacturer in Corona, a Furniture Manufacturer (that sell to Costco) less than a mile from the border, and a company that manufactures pee and poop bags in Escondido.

2 Down & 2 To Go

I just wanted to officially announce that I have passed 2 of the four CPA exams. I feel GREAT!

Crazy Saturday

This last Saturday was one of the craziest days I have had in quite a while. First, Elizabeth, Jon and I went to the Wild Animal Park with Elizabeth's twin Kathryn, her husband Ben, and their daughter Kelly. Then, after enduring a few hours in the cold rain at the Animal Park we all decided that we would go over to Julian to eat dinner and buy some apple pie.

So we left the Park and started on our way. When we arrived to Julian the entire town was covered with dense fog. It was also very windy and very very cold. Because we all had just come from a climate that was about 25 degrees cooler, we were not quite equipped for the cold. So we all put on whatever warm clothes we could find in our cars and made due. Elizabeth had a harder time than the rest of us because she was the only one in sandals. So while the rest of us were trying to find a restaurant she was trying to find some shoes to buy. Luckily she found some warm shoes and was able to join us in time to order dinner. After dinner we bought some pies and went on our merry way. By the time we left the misty air turned to ice cold rain. We were glad to be back in our warm car. On the way home we had to travel through thick fog, strong wind and rain. At one point we had to stop because a tree fell on the road and crews had to clear a way for traffic to pass. We soon made it home safely, only to get ready for my work Christmas party.

A couple hours later we arrived to the cocktail party and mingled with my coworkers. The party was held at Epizotes in Del Mar. We had a lot of fun. We chatted, tried some crazy looking food and danced. We left at about 10:40pm and drove up to Encinitas to pick up Jon. We finally arrived home at about 11:30pm. At that time I had to begin my Gospel Doctrine Lesson for the next morning. Eventually I made it to bed. I am not sure on the time but let me just say that I had an awesome nap Sunday afternoon.

There's a First Time for Everything

Yesterday was quite eventful. In my office, just before our office gift exchange/party started I was asked if I would run down to the store and get a gift for someone who had not yet been able to. I then agreed (as its a 1st years duty to basically run all the erands of my superiors). I then went to her cube to await my instructions. She gave me her debit card and told me to buy 25$ worth of alchohal. I turned pale. Then I said that I had never purchased alchohal in my life and that I would have no idea what to buy. She let out a small chuckle before realizing that I was serious. I guess she was one of the few in the office that was not aware of the fact that I do not drink. Luckily there was another 1st year was able to go with me to make sure that I got the good stuff. When we arrived at the store he pointed out to buy. It was "golden schlatter", which is a type of alchohal with flakes of gold that float around in the bottle. I guess the gold cuts your throught as you drink allowing the alchohal to get into your blood stream quicker. The first thought that I had when picking up the bottle was "maybe I can buy another one for myself, filter out the gold and dump the alchohal." It was a very temping thought given the rise in the price of gold over the last few months. I know what you might be thinking; only an accountnat would think of that. But I resisted the temptation and only purchased the one. When I approached the register I swiped the card and the cashier asked to see my ID. I immediately turned pale once again before remembering, "oh yeah, they're asking for my ID for the alchohal, not the debit card." Then I paid for the alchohal and went back to the office.

A few minutes later the party started and it was a lot of fun. The best part was seeing about 50 people get drunk during work hours. It was very entertaining. I am looking forward to the official Christmas Party next weekend.

Life as a Newbie at a CPA Firm

Life the last few months has been exhausting, yet rewarding. I have now been with McGladrey for about two months and it has been great. On my first day I went to Costa Mesa for a new hire orientation. The following week I went to Ontario for New Hire Training. After training I reported back to the San Diego Office were I spent my time studying before being assigned to a client. A couple of weeks later I took my first CPA Exam which was the most difficult exam I had ever taken. Of course it doesn't help that I took the most difficult one first. After I took my exam I was assigned to my first client. It was a publicly traded technology company that has operations in both Switzerland and China. So on my first day at the client I had to talk to the Controller about something I found in my audit. I would never have thought that I would be talking to a corporate executive on my first day. After two 60 hour weeks we finished the Quarterly Review and their financials were released to their investors and creditors. It was so cool to be a part of. I guess I did ok because my In-Charge requested for me to be on the engagement for the Year-End audit of the company. So I could very well work on this client for a very long time. Now I am preparing for my next CPA Exam that I will take next week. But that's not all that I do. I also play beach volleyball during work hours. I mean how hard of a life is that. Last Friday one of my managers got a bunch of us together to play beach volleyball downstairs (from 3:30 to 5 pm). That is just how cool my firm is. Choosing to work for this firm is one of the best decisions I have ever made.

Cabrillo National Monument

Today we decided to do something fun in San Diego fo a change. Elizabeth and I thought that it was time to take advantage of our expensive San Diego rent by seeing the sites. Today we visited Cabrillo National Monument on Point Loma.

Jon and I are on the top of the point overlooking downtown San Diego and Coronado Island.

Here Jon is enjoying the ocean breeze. He likes the way it makes his hair look.

Jon and I infront of the haunted Point Loma Light House. Ooo! Scary!

Elizabeth and Jon infront of the Cabrillo Monument.

Now its Elizabeth's turn to take the picture.

We also went to see the tide pools but we forgot our camera. Elizabeth was being her same old adventurous self by standing on a rock waiting to get splashed by the periodic crashing wave. She was so cute to watch and I wish I could have documented it.