Meet the Family

Meeting family is both an exciting and nerve wracking time. This Thanksgiving I spent roaming the Midwest with my girlfriend meeting all her family, everyone including her sister, aunts, uncles, grandma, cousins, great aunts, and even the nieces.

It was exciting in that there were so many new people to meet, and being as I’m a fairly people oriented person, it was a lot of fun meeting them. They are all very eager to meet me, I can only assume some fairly exaggerated stories were told in order to pave the way for my entrance ;-) We stayed at 3 different family member’s homes and I was shocked at how welcoming and accommodating everyone was. Each of them went above and beyond.

It is also exciting because you are able to learn so much more about the person you are dating, the environment they grew up in, customs they are accostumed to, and they people they learned from. It is an angle you can't get by simply spending time with that person individually.

Still, despite being treated so well, meeting family can be a little stressful. I never try to be someone I’m not, but to some extent it can feel like there are expectations to be met. Other than the “just be yourself” advice, is there anything else that can ease the stresses of meeting family? Overall, I think I handled it well, but it would be interesting to hear what the rest of you think.

Hell Week And What I've Learned

I'm not exactly how else it can be described. I've never enjoyed finals week, but then again I doubt I'm alone on that one. There is just something about staying up until midnight studying and waking up at 5:30 for work and having 0 down time that wears a person out. Luckily, after tomorrow it will be over for 2 months.

As this is the end of the semester, I figured it would be fitting to share with you a couple not-so-academic (as not to overly bore you) tidbits of information I've learned my first semester back at school.

Accounting is a lot like computer science, although not nearly as fun. Both require a lot of number crunching, creative means of handling data, and mechanisms that initially seem bizarre but later seem to be the most intuitive and practical way to solve the problem. That is the kind of stuff that excites me. What pushes computer science ahead of accounting for me is that your work has a tangible product. A running application excites me for some reason more than a stack of reports. Still, if I would have been born in 1940, I would probably be a CPA today.

Strategy is developing what you do well and choosing not to develop the rest. This seems like to some extent it could apply to life as well as business. No one can do everything, and it is important not to try to or you will do nothing well. The most difficult thing is to chose what not to do, and to find ways to build upon your skills. This could mean taking those skills into new places, or applying them in new ways.

I'm heading out on a 10 day Thanksgiving adventure next week to meet my girlfriend's family, so I might not be able to post until Dec 1, but I'm sure I'll have plenty more to update you on then!

College Dining

This week I officially became a college student again! I purchased 4 packs of Ramen noodles for $0.50. Creamy Chicken and Roasted Chicken varieties of course. I figured the best way to really dig into the books would be to dig into the college food. I was right! Maybe it is the malnutrition of the noodles warping my perception of reality, but somehow I feel more studious.

This weekend my step brother is getting married, which happens to be excellent timing since I have finals and papers due next week (please note sarcasm). I seriously am happy for him though and I'm looking forward to the wedding, it is going to be a lot of fun. I'm still not exactly sure where or what is going on, but it will be a fun crowd which is all that matters.

I recently learned that my cousin is going to China to work for 9 months! How cool is that? That is a serious adventure, it is definitely right up her alley. She is going to do great out there. Now if only flights weren't $1,500+ I might actually be able to afford to visit. Oh well, I'm sure she will take at least take a picture of herself in front of the Great Wall, as long as I see that I should be ok with the family right?

A big thanks to all of you as you have been so supportive of my school quest! It has been a major help to know that I have so many people behind me on this endeavor.