It's Finally Over

It's been a week and a half since I last posted, and with good reason.  I took my last section of the CPA Exam on Tuesday.  My schedule the week before the exam went something like this: work, eat, sleep, study, repeat.  On the weekend, I knocked out the work part, and added an extra dose(s) of studying.  From Friday at 8 PM to Sunday at midnight, I put in 20+ hours.  I was miserable, it sucked, and it's not something I would want to do again.  It's actually kinda funny, but the more I studied, the more miserable I became, which motivated me to study more.  Because I'm a sado-masochist?  Not exactly.  The more miserable I became, the more motivation I had never to have to study for a CPA Exam again.

Tuesday morning I woke up, got ready, and took the nice 2 hour trip down I-95 to Towson, Maryland to take the exam (see November 10, 2008 post).  I actually forgot to perform my pre-exam routine, which made me nervous about halfway through the trip when I realized my mistake.  O well, I'd have to persevere.  After getting off the exit, I was a little bit nervous that I wouldn't find the test center.  I quickly realized that would not be an issue when I found the test center, tucked neatly into a corporate center, right behind an Applebee's.  For those of you who have taken the CPA Exam, you may realize that this sounds familiar, as every Prometric testing site has a list of prerequisite qualities.

• Located at a "Corporate Center"
• Tucked behind a national restaurant chain (i.e. Applebee's, Friday's, etc)
• Joined by other small businesses that you've never heard of

Since I arrived early, I spent the next 30 minutes cramming for the exam, reviewing all the lovely tax rules, and generally trying to shove as much information into my brain as it could possibly handle.  After having the registration lady chastise me for memorizing my entry code, (you would too if you were checking your scores everyday for 3 months, bitch) I began taking the exam.  Overall, I thought it was pretty difficult, and my lack of proper preparation definitely showed.  I did receive a lot of bullshit questions regarding minor issues that I ignored while studying, which annoyed me throughout the 3 hour exam.  But, I finished up with 7 seconds left and let out a huge sigh of relief when it was over.  I think I passed, but we'll know officially when I get my scores back in a few weeks.  Until then, I'm gonna try not to think about CPA stuff for as long as possible, and by that I mean the rest of my life.

The CPA Exam has been a long, crazy, and often torturous journey.  I began studying May 12 and took my last section November 25.  I took a 2 month break in September and October, and hardly did any studying in that time.  To be honest with you, I'm really surprised at how quickly I was able to study for and take this exam.  I always thought it would take many months to study for the CPA Exam, and I thought it would be more difficult.  I have to admit that the Becker software is fantastic, and I don't know what I would have done without it.  If any of you ever have any questions about the CPA Exam, and how to study for it, I'd be more than happy to answer them.  For now though, I'm just glad to be done.

Song of the Day:  Oasis - Falling Down

PS - Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Burgh Trip Postponed

For those interested, my scheduled trip to Pittsburgh that was supposed to go down this weekend will have to be postponed due to work and CPA exam commitments.  Notice I didn't say cancel, I said postponed, which means I'll be back to the Burgh on the weekend of December 5 or December 12, depending on a few factors.  I'll let you all know when I've made my decision.  My apologies to the countless thousands whose weekend is now ruined by this news.

Song of the Day:  Death Cab for Cutie - Cath

A Trip Back Through Time

Tonight I was flipping through the channels at home before an early night so I can sleep, and wake up to study for the CPA Exam.  Yup, my weekends sure are exciting during CPA studying huh?  But as I was flipping, I stumbled upon Channel 139, yes everyone's favorite, MTV Hitz.  The "z" is to prove to you that the channel is cool.  Anyway, because TRL is going off the air (thank god), MTV Hitz was showing a best of for each year TRL was on the air.  And since TRL was on the air since 1998, I got a nice flashback to a different time.  A time where soundtracks to movies actually mattered, a time of middle school dances, a time when Boy Bands ruled the world, and a time where I was awkward and weird.  Ok, well one of those things is still true, but I'll make you guess which one.

I wanted to share some observations as I was watching these videos that brought me back to my middle school days.  First off, music videos in the late 90s were so much better than the shit that gets put on TV nowadays.  Who doesn't remember the "All the Small Things" video or the "Oops! I Did it Again" video?  These are all classic music videos that we will all probably remember until we die.  Now we have the pleasure of reliving this awkward time of our lives on YouTube anytime we want.  Also, I can't believe how Boy Bands and Bubblegum Pop literally ruled the world at this time.  1999 featured music videos from Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera (yes, she's from Pittsburgh), Destiny's Child, NSync, Backstreet Boys, and 98 Degrees.  Of course, we also had the pleasure of listening to Limp Bizkit if we didn't like the poppy acts mentioned above.  (Please excuse me while I go vomit for an hour).  I would rather listen to the Backstreet Boys on repeat for a week straight than have to listen to "Nookie" even one more time.  

I present to you, the "Then and Now" Section.  You'll realize, the more things change, the more they stay the same...

In 1998, Lance Bass sang in the second biggest boy band in the world and could get any girl he wanted.  In 2008, Lance Bass likes men.  Tough break, dude.

In 1998, Justin Timberlake was considered a huge pussy with a "ramen noodle" haircut.  In 2008, Justin Timberlake is arguably the biggest male pop star in the world, and has street cred with rappers across the board.  This still amazes me.  

In 1998, Britney Spears was the biggest female pop star in the world, and Christina Aguilera was a raving slut.  In 2008, Christina Aguilera is well-respected, and Britney Spears is a crackhead.

In 1998, the Backstreet Boys were the biggest boy band in the world.  In 2008, at the World Series, the Backstreet Boys sang the worst rendition of the national anthem I have ever heard.

Timeout.  Holy shit, I just saw the music video for "Who Let the Dogs Out?"  How did songs like this and "Macarena" get popular in the 90s?  Were people a lot dumber then, or is

 everyone just too freakin' cool nowadays?

In 1998, people had money.  In 2008, everyone is broke.  Ok that's enough comparison for one night.

I will close with some weird observations from the night.

Adrian Grenier was the star of Britney Spears's "Crazy" video.  Yep, Vinny Chase got his start in a Britney Spears video.  That his to knock him down at least 2 or 3 points, right?

Sasha Baron Cohen's "Ali G" character got his start in the "Music" music video by Madonna.  He is in the limo with her at the beginning and is the DJ at the club where all the action takes place.  In the limo towards the end of the video, he asks her a bunch of ridiculous questions and follows up the last response with, "Respek."  Ali G was born in 2000, and almost no one knew it until about 4-5 years later.

The girl in the "I Do" video by 98 Degrees is a straight dime.  No doubt about it, she is amazingly hot.  I recommend you check it out on YouTube.  Turns out it's Ali Larter, who got famous from that "Doritos" commercial in the laundromat.  Remember that?  She is pictured for your viewing pleasure.  Also, Dustin Diamond AKA "Screech" is in the "I Do" video.  How did I not realize this 10 years ago?

Limp Bizkit has an album called "Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water."  How the fuck did these idiots get famous?  Ok seriously, I have an idea.  Fred Durst should be sent to a deserted island that is filled with a whole group of giant speakers that play nothing but the worst of late 90s boy bands for eternity.  In less than a week, he would definitely have committed suicide.  And all would say together, "Good riddance."

I hope you enjoyed this journey back through time.  If you're bored, turn on MTV Hits any time until Sunday at 8PM.  You'll get to experience this wonderful trip yourself.

Song of the Day (a 90s favorite):  NSync featuring Gloria Estefan - Music of the Heart.  Eat your hearts out kids.

Uh-oh. CPA Mishap.

Many of you fine, distinguished readers of this blog (wait, wrong readers, sorry) are somewhat familiar with the CPA examination process.  Due to my lack of sleep over the past few days, I won't get into all my gripes with NASBA and the process, but you only need to understand 2 things for this blog post.  #1:  For each of the 4 sections of the exam, you have to schedule yourself at a Prometric testing site.  There are sites all over the place (2 in Pittsburgh, 1 in Philly, 1 in Conshohocken, and 1 in South Jersey).  #2:  Each section can be taken once per quarter, but you can't test in the last month of each quarter (March, June, September, and December).  This means that I need to take my last section by November 30.  I had planned on taking this section on November 29, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, which would give me 2 solid off days before the exam to review and feel comfortable with the material.

BUT...I came home from the bar Saturday night (Sunday morning) at 3:00 AM and decided now would be a good time to schedule my exam.  I went to sign up for the site in Philly because it's not too far from work, and I wouldn't need to take any off time.  They have no availability the rest of the month.  I think, no big deal, I'll take it in South Jersey.  No actually I won't, because they don't have any availability after the 13th, which is way too early for me.  Then I realize, that because it's the end of the testing period, everyone must have been scheduling for those last few days.  I begin checking test sites like a crack fiend.  All 5 in New Jersey, nothing.  7 sites from Philly to Allentown to Harrisburg in PA, nothing.  1 site in Delaware, nothing.  3 sites in DC, nothing.  3 sites in New York including 1 in Brooklyn, nothing.  At this point, I am ready to go off the deep end, and I think I'm going to have to cram for a week straight and study or take the test in Guam.  How the hell did I let this happen?  I take one last ditch attempt at Maryland, and check out the Towson, Maryland site.  One opening 11:30 AM on Tuesday, November 25.  Give it to me.  After 20 minutes, I finally calm down and go to sleep at 4:10 AM.

So I'll be taking the final portion of the CPA Exam in Towson, Maryland, which is about 2 hours from my house.  I guess it could be worse, because I have almost all of the time I thought I'd have to study, and this will force me to get it done before Thanksgiving, so I can enjoy the holiday.  I'll let you all know how it went after I take it.

Moral of the story:  Don't drink and select your CPA exam time concurrently, and schedule your tests well in advance.

Song of the Day:  The Beatles - Glass Onion

A Historic Night...

Tonight is a historic night for America.  At 11:00 PM, Barack Obama was unofficially elected President of the United States of America.  I am sure this election will evoke feelings of all kinds from hope to hatred throughout this country.  However, through all of those feelings, I hope people can begin to put aside their differences, and begin to make this country great once again.  It would be difficult for anyone, liberal or conservative, to say the country is in better shape than it was 8 years ago.  Of course, not all of the problems we currently face were caused by W. and the people he surrounded himself with.  However, they did very little to mitigate the problems they faced, and in fact, created many new ones along the way.

With that said, it becomes easy to understand the significance of this night.  For the first time in many long years, the people of this country can begin to hope again.  I've started to realize over the past few months what a struggle it is for most people to simply survive on a day-to-day basis.  Some are forced to work long hours, take care of kids on their own, and are still expected to pay ever-increasing bills.  Those people now have hope.  Others are forced to deal with the consequences of not being able to afford health insurance, and aren't sure how they are going to cope with thousands of dollars of medical debt.  Those people now have hope.  Others still leave college with sometimes more than a hundred thousand dollars of debt, and will have to work well into their 40s to repay this debt.  Those people now have hope.  Now, Barack Obama is not going to solve every problem of all citizens of this country.  But at least he serves as a beacon that better days are on the horizon, and they will arrive soon.

For the first time in I can't tell you how long, I am proud to call myself an American.  I hope that the progress of this election continues for many years into the future, and we can one day live in a better world than the sometimes frightening one we live in today.  Congratulations President Obama, this country needs you.

P.S. - Kudos to John McCain.  He gave a very gracious, very inspiring concession speech.  He is a good man.

Pitt v. ND Evokes Odd Feelings

I spent a good portion of my Saturday afternoon watching the Pitt v. Notre Dame game.  For those of you who didn't see it, Pitt beat Notre Dame 36-33 in a 4 overtime game.  We came back from a 14 point halftime deficit, and drove for a game-tying touchdown in the final 2 minutes of the game.  Needless to say, it was a really great game, and I was glad I finally had the opportunity to sit down and catch a Pitt game.  We're bowl eligible for the first time since my freshman year, and a borderline Top 25 team.  Exciting time for Wanny's boys.

However, what really got to me about Saturday's game vs. ND was not the win or the exciting time for Pitt football.  I actually missed college for the first time since I left it 10 weeks ago.  I wondered for a while, "Did I really not miss anything about school in the first 2 and a half months I wasn't there?"  Then I realized, I've been so consumed with starting my new job, the CPA Exam, and the Phillies exciting run through the postseason, that I haven't had time to even think about school.  With things finally slowing down, I had the opportunity Saturday to remember some of the subtleties about school.  If this game occurred on any Saturday in the last 4 years, I would have been watching it in my room, ordered some pizza, celebrated the victory, and then went out to some random party in South O.  To be honest, this game really brought me back to freshman or sophomore year and the good times that I had then (ahh Kappa Sig parties).  Life seemed much simpler, and definitely more care-free.  The weekends were easy; do some homework, watch football, eat dinner, get drunk, and hang out with anyone you want to.  Sounds like a good life to me.

I'm sure there are lots of subtleties about college that I'm ignoring, and I wouldn't wanna live through again, like freshman year roommates, exams, and frat drama.  But I know there are also going to be plenty of days like Saturday, days where I wish I could go back to a different time, with different people, when life was more enjoyable.  I miss you Pitt.