Some thoughts on the week

Here are some random thoughts I have had this week:

Being the person that I am (that being an accounting nerd) I am going to talk about the economy. Honestly, it scares me to think that we are going to be stuck with a $700 BILLION bill for inept corporate executives. Legislatures now want to see more regulation. Don't they understand that government is why we are in this mess in the first place?! Capitalism isn't the problem- corporatism is the issue. And how did we allow these companies get so big? Funny thing is, if you look at the federal government's financial statements, not knowing that it was the government, the normal person would not invest. It is terrible! Regulation is not the answer. Oversight- yes. Regulation- no. We are already in tons of debt and this will push us over the edge. The thing about the market is that if a terrible CEO makes bad decisions, they lose money. The market works. Bailing them out will just increase moral hazard. UGH!

This week has been pretty standard. Classes have been pretty uneventful-which is a good thing I guess! Grad school is a really different experience. It is really unstructured. We don't really have exams. Our classes are really discussion based, which brings our learning to a different level. The internship definitely helped prepare me for the Masters program. I will be thrilled when school is over, though! It will be wonderful to be working and doing what I love. One thing is for sure: I am so glad that this will be my LAST Pullman winter! I am incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful group of friends: Cherise, Shari, all the St. Tommy's girls, and the rest of the MAcc program kiddos. There are some very important people that I miss more every day, though!

What I am looking forward to over the next couple of months:
- Search Retreat (Oct. 10-12)
- Fall TV show premieres! ( yeah, I know- I'm a dork)
-Greta's visit
- Getting to see who our new hires are!
-Halloween!
-The election being OVER
-Getting to see Gordon

Finally- I need ideas for what to be for Halloween. Suggestions?

"The last shall be first and the first shall be last..."

I have to say that this week has been pretty amazing! It started out with a pretty uneventful Monday (except for my mad dash to the post office to get Gordon's cookies in the mail before 5) and really ramped up Tuesday. I was on campus for class until 5:30 and then went back up around 8 for the EY pre-interview social! It is so different being on the other side of interviews this year. It was great getting to know the recruits better and helping them learn what Ernst & Young is all about. For instance, did you know that we were named the NUMBER ONE place to start your career according to Business Week?! I think it was a good sign that almost everyone interviewing stayed late at the social. Wednesday was full of interviews on campus. Shari and I helped out the rest of the team by greeting all of the students interviewing and helping them relax before the big moment. It was great to hang out with Debbie (our awesome recruiter!) all day and show her first hand how fabulous Cougars are! However, I now miss the office even more:(

Tonight was Women's Group, which was really fulfilling. We focus on the upcoming Sunday's Gospel. This week it was Matthew 20:1-16. I am continually amazed at what a great teacher Jesus was/is. The passage talks about a man who owned a vineyard and the workers he hired. He hired a number of men in the morning and then went on to seek out more workers throughout the day. He ends up hiring the last bunch an hour before the day ended. When the work is finished he pays the newest workers a full day's wages. The workers who had been there all day then expected to be paid more, yet they were disapointed when they were also paid a single day's wage. The manager tells them to not be envious. He had promised them a full day's pay and he had been fair. You can really tie it back to the world today. We must understand that it doesn't matter when someone became Christian. Those who were baptized as infants and have known God their whole life are no different than those who accept Him during their final moments. It is so easy to feel entitled to more, or to judge those around us. Only God can judge and His love for us is unconditional. How amazing is that?

Getting a little political...

UHG! I have to say, I am disgusted by this election cycle. While it is right to really investigate what our candidates stand for, I believe that this should be applied to all candidates. People are tearing apart Sarah Palin for things that many male politicians have been guilty of. Where is the vetting of Barack Obama (who would bankrupt this nation more that it is already)?Now, I did laugh a lot at Tina Fey's impersonation, but I do like Sarah Palin. Do I think she is the greatest female politician ever? No. Do I think she would ruin our country? Not necessarily. Here are just a few fact checks:

1. Banning books- she just asked the librarian what they would do if someone asked them to ban a book.
2. Troopergate- she was asked be the state when she took office if there were any threats to her family. She answered yes. After that she and her husband did look into the status of Wooten's employment, but she never flat out asked him to be fired.
3. Abortion- while she is pro-life she does believe that it should be put to the states. Her record show that she has never pushed legislation dealing with morals.
4. Bridge to Nowhere- If the facts change you should be able to change your position without being called a liar when discussing your reform credentials.

I will admit that secrecy within her administration and the earmarks she did take as governor make me want to know more, but can't we do that in a CIVILIZED way? Why is the media nailing her to a cross?I truly believe that the average person is pretty close to center when they really look at the issues.This election has just made people feel like they need to choose a side and fight. We need to focus on what we all have in common- the fact that we want to do what is best for America. I don't know a lot of people who think access to heath care for all is a bad idea- we just differ on our approach to it. I, for one, believe that a free market is the best situation. But I do care about people. We all care about people and want to see our country prosper. I think the biggest issue is that we need to promote a culture of life. In all aspects.

So, there you go. I am so depressed with the way people are behaving in this election that I don't want to listen to it anymore. I will be voting for McCain (because I believe in conservative economic policies and that abortion needs to be defined as what it really is), but I am tired of the mud slinging. Just smile and be happy that we are able to live in a democracy.

Last First Day of School!

Because WSU is on a semester schedule, and I am just crazy enough to go for a Master's, I started my last year of school EVER today! It didn't really hit me until I woke up this morning. It is a weird feeling, I must say. For the past 17 years around this time I have gone through the ritual of buying school supplies, picking out the perfect outfit and making sure your hair is just right. It was almost sad to think that I will never experience that again. Ok, maybe not too sad, but nostalgic none the less! :)

My day started with going to my office hours at 10 A.M. I really tried to get out of that one because my students don't even know when my office hours are yet, but I am always the good one, so I went anyways. Then I met Cherise and Matt for lunch at the newly renovated Compton Union Building on campus. It is beautiful! We had lunch at Carlita's Mexican Grille, one of the new eateries in the CUB. I have to say, I wasn't that impressed :( Those of you who know me well know that I am a total Mexican food snob...what can I say, I'm from Tri-Cities!

After lunch I had sometime to kill before my auditing seminar. Now, I know that doesn't sound like much fun to you, but I am so excited about this class! We are studying fraud and current audit cases! I really think I am going to like grad school. The structure is much more discussion based. The only thing is you have to do the reading or you will be hurting the next class session. Can I just say that I officially feel old? 22 technically isn't THAT old, but when I am on campus now I feel ancient! I am a grad student. That just seems so old! I walk around the halls of Todd and see the new crop of freshmen and can't believe how young they are. They were born in 1990! Any who, you may all start calling me an old hag...

Finally, I am going back to Seattle this weekend! I miss the city so much and I am ready to escape for a weekend. WSU is playing Oklahoma State at Quest Field, so it should be fun- even if we are demolished. I am also super excited because there is someone in particular taking a trip up to Seattle as well that weekend..!

Fight,fight, fight for Washington State!
Win the victory.
Win the day for Crimson and Gray!
Best in the West, we know you'll all do your best,
So, on, on , on , on! Fight till the end!
Honor and glory you must win!
So, fight, fight, fight for Washington State and victory!

Winding Down

I am continually amazed at how fast time goes by. 7 weeks ago I was just starting my internship. I am now approaching my last day! Tomorrow is my last day on the Amazon audit team and then Friday we are all going to Anacortas. I am excited because we will be going sea kayaking! The best part, though, is that I'll be back at EY next September to start full time!! That's right- I have a job! That fact still hasn't sunk in. I just feel so lucky to have a job that I love and can't wait to go to everyday. This summer has just continually gotten better and better:)

Last week all of the EY interns spent two days working on how to make our EY office more eco friendly. Some of you may know that last Tuesday was my birthday, and a group of the interns helped me celebrate! Kendra, Matt, Candace, Jared, Sarah, Karin, Liz, and Henry met me for dinner at The Ram and then we played Truth or Dare Jenga at Kendra's. It is really weird to be 22, I must say.Then we all headed to Orlando, FL on Wednesday to meet with 1700 other interns from across the globe. We spent our time learning about key accounting issues today and improving our team building skills. It was a great opportunity to see what was happening in the firm all over the country and around the world. The best part was getting to meet the CEO, Jim Turley. Or, as we interns like to call him- JDAWG! His vision for the firm is inspiring.

So far this week has been pretty low key, which has been great. I have been watching the Olympics almost religiously! Gymnastics and swimming are probably my favorite events to watch. Shawn Johnson and Michael Phelps are incredible athletes. This evening was fun, though, as Candace and I met for dinner at Taquria Tequila- my favorite Mexican restaurant in Seattle. It was great to have some time for girl talk!

Finally, I start school in 12 days-yikes! I am excited that I am a grad student now, but I don't think it can go fast enough. One more Pullman winter and I am out of there.

Till next time...

My Favorite Things

So, I thought I would take the time to list off some of my favorite things. By reading these you may get to know me a little better, or just confirm your suspicions.

1. Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi
2. the colors pink, green, and orange
3. good Music
4. peanut butter and chocolate
5. finishing a great book
6. Grey's Anatomy
7. playing around with different make-up looks
8. when you meet someone you connect with and can talk for hours, about anything
9. the warm and fuzzy feeling that makes it impossible stop smiling:)
10. dancing
11. singing at the top of my lungs in the car
12. audit/accounting
13. politics
14. when the sun comes out after a cloudy day
15. enjoying a baseball game at the park
16. ice-cream
17. retail/cleaning therapy
18. the Church
19. being comfortable to be who you are
20. LOVE

4th of July and such

I just have to say that I LOVE the 4th of July! Those of you who know me know that I am pretty proud to be from this great country. Not in an ethnocentric way, but I do think America is pretty cool.


Training wasn't' too bad. Although, it was basically a semester of audit in four days! I am a nerd, though, and I loved getting to practice auditing cash and trades receivable! I am now skilled at cross-referencing my work papers! You can totally tell that I am an accounting nerd because I get so excited to learn about EY's Global Audit Methodology!After a week of training I headed up to Mount Vernon to one of my dearest friends, Cherise. We barbaqued, hiked around deception pass, and did a little shopping! Deception Pass is one of the most beautiful areas I've ever seen. The beauty of Washington State continually astounds me. What other state has desert, wheat fields, mountains, beaches, rain forest, and woods? I now just have a few places left on my to do list in WA- San Juan Islands and the Olympic Peninsula!

Tonight is Monday,and that means The Bachelorette! It's the finale, and I am so excited to see who DeAnna picks! I have to say, I am pretty partial to Jason. And by pretty partial, I mean I love him. If she doesn't pick him I am going to look him up. He is from Kirkland! :)

Finally, to end this blog post, I am going to plug John McCain. Check out his speech on energy! I am pretty excited about his chances in the hostile environment toward Republicans.

God Bless!