Currently Listening The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions By Seu Jorge see related

The following takes place between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.

I had a very strange and eventful hour in Des Moines, Iowa today.  To properly explain the oddity of the events between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., I first need to give a little background information.

I usually fly down to Des Moines on Sunday afternoons in order to be at my client's location bright and early Monday morning.  When I woke up this morning, I logged into Northwest Airlines website to print out my  boarding pass.  I soon found that there was no flight booked for a flight from MSP to DSM.  This seemed a bit strange to me since I usually have all of my flights booked at least one month ahead.  Upon further investigation, I found the flight that I had booked for today.  But apparently when I booked it, I mixed up the departure and destination airport codes, and my flight for today was booked from DSM to MSP.  So after finding out that it would cost nearly $700 dollars to fix my error, I decided to cancel the flight entirely and drive to Des Moines. 

Keep in mind though that I was suddenly on a tighter time schedule, as I had to make it to a television set by 7pm this evening to catch the two-hour season premier of the only television show that I will make time in my schedule to watch: 24.  Fate tried to stop me with a snowstorm in northern Iowa, but thankfully the snow plows were out in full force and I made it to Des Moines by 5:30 p.m.....only to find out that FOX was nowhere to be found on the 100+ channels available on my television. 

A little bit of internet googling provided the reason: a fight between the cable company (Mediacom) and Fox in Des Moines had prompted Mediacom's removal of FOX from their channel lineup (Google "Fox" "Mediacom" "Des Moines" if you're interested in knowing more about this). 

Events occur in real time...

6:01:02

I open up a new socket (or maybe a new web browser page...) and find the nearest Target store: about 10 minutes out.  But due to the fact that no CTU helicopters were available to pick me up, I had to commandeer a vehicle and get to the nearest department store to pick up a VHF-UHF Indoor Antenna,...a device known on the black market as "rabbit ears" or "bunny ears."  Securing this item in the next 59 minutes would allow me to catch 24 in some serious bunny-ear antenna glory.

6:03:08

An informant tells me the Target store is open 'til 9.  More than enough time to make the pickup and make it back before the deadline was up.

6:17:36

Destination reached, but my contact at Target tells me something I should have seen coming...the antenna sets are sold out.  And not just at their store: they are sold out at multiple Target stores in the Des Moines area.  I relay the info back, and am given an alternate pickup location at 41° 32' N, 93° 39' W.  I reach this location in under in five minutes to find out that their operation was cleverly disguised as a department store, operating under the obviously fictitious name of "Wal-Mart."  I went in without backup.

6:24:06

I quickly made my way to the electronics department only to find a man disguised as a "Sales Associate" who smiled at me when I asked about indoor antenna sets.  "All sold out," he said.  I realized then that the antenna set shortage had caught everyone off guard, and the effects were rippling across retail outlets throughout the city.  I shot the guy a glance that would have made Jack Bauer proud, and this guy knew instantly that I meant business. He told me that it might still be possible to get what I needed.  "Across the road...they have a big blue and yellow sign.  You can't miss it.  The word on the street is that they've just gotten a shipment of rabbit-ears in from overseas."  I let him off easy and headed out, hoping that I could make the pickup and make it back before time was up.

6:29:02

I made my way into the third location, and after questioning an "employee" I locate the item.  I try to make my way out of the store, but they inform me that there's a price associated with this item.  I knew I didn't have time for this, so I comply and get in a line, just behind another person who was paying for some sort of digital camera.  It was taking forever.  I thought they were nearly done until the checkout boy asked the lady for her zip code.  Then he asked if she would like an extended service plan.  "No...don't do it," I thought to myself.  "I need to get out of here, and time is wasting away."  She got the service plan.  Minutes were wasting, lives were in jeopardy, and all this person could think about was an overpriced service plan. 

6:38:37

I make it back to the vehicle, and proceed to drive back as fast as possible.  I'm just glad I didn't get pulled over; there was no time to explain to a random cop who I was, what I was doing, and how many people could die if I didn't make it back in time.

6:57:33

I pull into the alley looking for a parking spot, but they were all full.  I go around the block and go down the alley a second time, hoping to find a clue that I had missed on the first try.  And there she was...an unidentified woman standing by a Jeep, sweeping snow off the hood and scraping the windows.  I knew this may be my only opportunity, but she seemed to be in no hurry.  I barely had any time left.  I decided to wait it out, but I knew that this setback would have us cutting the deadline very, very close.   She eventually backed out, and I promptly pulled in.  I put the car into "P" and dashed into the building.  I had made it...barely. 

6:59:59....

Currently Listening Bach: The 6 Unaccompanied Cello Suites see related

The bimonthly posting...

Per feedback from my loyal readers (all three of you) it looks like it is time for my bimonthly update again. 

Unfortunately, not too much has happened since the middle of October. Thanksgiving was a bountiful time of wonderful food.  Typically I attend only one Thanksgiving dinner, but this fall I ended up having a pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving dinner, a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, and a post-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving dinner (the first was with friends from Northwestern, the traditional dinner was with my family, and the third was with more friends from Northwestern).

The weeks following this run of smorgasbords included a lot of exercise to get my flabby-meister body back into shape.  I am proud to announce that I was successful in getting my body into a shape: round.  Round is a shape. 

Work has been going well.  I've gotten to work on a client in Eagan, and after finishing that audit, have since gone back to Des Moines until February, 2007.  We had a work Christmas party last week which was a lot of fun, and a good chance to get to know coworkers outside of the office.

I celebrated Christmas with my family in North Dakota this year, and that went really well.  My parents had family friends over for Christmas dinner, which involved a lot of food, 6 different pies for 7 people, and some afternoon target practice with the AK-47 and the SKS (seriously).

So, for my seriously loyal readers who have made it this far into the post, I have this: 

As many of you probably experienced, holiday get-togethers are full of "What are you up to these days?" types of questions.  I experienced these questions several times over the holidays, and usually respond with answers regarding my:

1)  Living situation

b)  Work situation

III) Dating situation

However, after going through the canned answers on the above topics, some have asked what I've been doing to stay busy outside of work (i.e. hobbies, clubs, etc.)  I realized I'm not really involved in anything of that sort, and I feel kind of boring when I run through the "same-old, same-old" spiel.  So I ask:  Anyone have any cool ideas for a new hobby, club, time-waster, etc?  I am open to suggestions, and also open to more exciting (and possibly fictitious) answers for the above three topics.      

Currently Listening A Collision By David Crowder Band see related

Still breathing...

Contrary to popular belief…I’m still alive.  No, there wasn’t an obituary mistakenly printed in the local newspaper and I haven’t had any recent near-death experiences, but it has been a long time since I’ve last posted.

It’s been a busy August and September, and now we’re apparently into October.  I started my new job as an internal auditor on August 15^th, and am enjoying it thoroughly.  So far I’ve spent nearly as much time in training as I have on an actual engagement with a client, but I’ve learned a lot both in training and on the job.

After a week of training in the Minneapolis office and two weeks at the national new-hire training in Orlando, I felt prepared for my first day on the job, but still didn’t have much of a clue what my job would be like on a day-to-day basis.

My first client engagement started on Sept. 11 at a client in Des Moines, Iowa.  Surprisingly enough, I found out that I would be on this client until Christmans.  I was a little worried at first that I would be stuck in Iowa for 3 straight months, but luckily they let me fly home every weekend so I can still hae some semblance of a life. 

So I pretty much live at the downtown Des Moines Marriott from Sunday-Thursday and make it home to Minneapolis on the weekends. I just realized that my life has taken quite the turn in the past 3 months:

·         I’m done with college (until further notice)

·         I’m traveling every week (mostly just to Des Moines, but also to Chicago, Dallas and Omaha later in Oct.-Nov.)

·         Once I do make it home for the weekend, I pretty much just open the mail, pay bills, do laundry, and sleep

I feel so “adult-ish.”

I’ve recently moved into a house in South Minneapolis and have been enjoying it thoroughly.  I am one of five guys living in the house, and it’s the first time in  five years that I’ve had a room of my own (even though I’m rarely there). 

Now that I’ve gotten settled into my new place and am into the routine at work, life seems to be on “autopilot” for a while until the next big change.  Come to think of it, it’s kind of strange to be in a place in life where I don’t have big changes every 3-4 months (no new semesters to look forward to/dread, no vacations planned, no longer looking toward summer as “three months of freedom”).  Strange. 

Currently Listening Under Cold Blue Stars By Josh Rouse see related

Summer in full swing.

Well, it has been almost a month...about time for an update.  Since June 16th, a few nifty things have happened.  Former AFLBS summer teammate Betsy Parsley became Betsy O'Neil when she married Kevin.  Dave and I went down to the wedding, and stayed (along with Dan and Pip) with my Grandma DeZeeuw.  We had a good time visiting and playing cards.  And of course, after church the next morning the church ladies served some very tasty rhubarb bars and cinnamon bread.  There was no way we were leaving hungry!

For the 4th of July I went up to Paul's place to go water skiing with a bunch of friends from nwc.  Ever since my car accident my back hasn't been as strong, but I was able to get up on skis and go around a bit before getting too sore.  We spent most of the afternoon boating and hanging out on their pontoon.  Then Matt and I went down to Valleyfair for the evening to watch the fireworks.  The show was pretty good, but our view wasn't the best...good times though. 

This past weekend was Kevin S. and Cassie's wedding.  I got to be an usher, (only the second wedding I've ever been in), and it was very well done.  Pastor Dale (Mellgren) did the service and Pastor Haugen gave the message.  It was also kind of fun to catch up with AFLBS'ers that I hadn't seen in a while. 

One of the highlights of the past month occurred yesterday; Dave, John and I went to Duluth to see the Monaco Air Show.  They started out with a couple different acrobatic planes that did some amazing loops, dives, climbs, and some unbelievable maneuvers. 

The show also featured WWII-era planes like the Corsair and the Mustang, a Russian MiG 17 (which saw a lot of use in the Korean war), and some newer jet fighters, including the F-15 Eagle, the F/A-18 Super Hornet, and the Thunderbirds who fly F-16 Fighting Falcons. 

I put on sunscreen when I was at the air show, but still managed to get a bit burned.  <sigh>

But I guess that is just a sign of summer!  This week is supposed to be pretty hot, with highs in the mid-90's through Sunday.  Hot, hot, hot! 

Summer school is quickly coming to an end; I am almost done with my last class, and will be taking my last exam in a couple of weeks.  To say that I am looking forward to being officially done with school would be quite the understatement.

Currently Listening Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness By Coheed & Cambria see related

Trapped in a coffee shop...

Well, its been almost a month...about time for an update.  I'm still taking summer classes, but since my last post I have finished one, and finish another in just a week.  Since my last post, I have also started and finished searching for a job.  I sent out a lot of resumes, and on Monday I got an offer from KPMG (an accounting firm), so I do believe that I will accept that offer.  The process was fast, but pretty intense.  I met with two people from KPMG over lunches a couple weeks ago, and within a weeks time, I had a phone interview and 3 face-to-face interviews with partners/managers that I would be working with.  On Monday, I got a call and an offer to start with KPMG in August.  I have to say that I am pretty excited!

Until then, I will be finishing up summer classes and probably moving into a new place somewhere closer to the downtown area.  This weekend Dave and I are headed down to Kevin and Betsy's wedding, so that should be fun.  Dave, Dan, Pip and I are all going to stay at my grandma's place in Lake Benton, so that should be pretty fun too!  lol.  Good times.

So, like the title says, I really am trapped in a coffee shop right now.  I usually come to the local Dunn Bros. to get a caffeine fix and do the online portion of homework for my summer classes (since they have free wi-fi access), but today it suddenly started pouring outside while I was here.  I ran out to my car to close my windows, and my seats were already soaked!  I grabbed my umbrella and ran back, but by the time I got back inside, I too was soaked. 

Its been two hours, and the rain has yet to let up.  Then it started to lightning and thunder, and the wind has also come up pretty strong.  Maple Grove is suddenly looking more like Florida during hurricane season. 

So, I have been patiently waiting for the rain to stop or at least let up a bit so that I can leave.  (Its almost 8pm and I haven't eaten supper yet...I'm starting to get hungry.)  There are two baristas at this coffee shop, and four customers including myself.  While the baristas have to stay until close, I think the rest of the customers are also waiting for the rain to ease up before leaving.  I almost feel like I'm snowed in, but it's summertime.  Hmmm.  I'm just glad there is a healthy supply of rice krispie bars and biscottis here so we can avoid turning to cannibalism to survive.  (Okay, so that's a bit freaky, but I think I've been scarred ever since I was 10 or 11 when my mom rented the movie "Alive" without knowing that the featured Uruguayan rugby team had to eat their dead to survive a plane crash in the Andes.)   

Well, I think my stomach is winning out....I'm going to make a run for it (Chipotle).

Wish me luck.