Tuesday, June 16, 2009

I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to tell YOU that I hate you...

I came across this post from Ta-Nehisi Coates. There really isn't much for me to say, since I'm not at all surprised by such news anymore. So I guess this post serves merely as a PSA to those who are unaware/forgot:

We are but A GENERATION removed from when this kind of foolishness was a part of legislation. No one woke up after the bill was passed as said "Good heavens, what was I thinking? Colored folks are alright!" That is all

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Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Oh Em Gee & Gee Wizzes Abound

NO ONE thought it appropriate to hold an intervention when I decided to be an Accountant, let alone a CPA??!!

My absence has been due to the OBSCENE amount of work and self-study hours I've been logging in each day. I'm in a 6 week intensive study course and I should've known when the course outline made a note saying "students are strongly encouraged NOT to work full-time/part-time during the course" (read, "when possible eating, sleeping, and bathroom breaks should also be avoided"). However, this is what I must endure to get what I want...so be it.

The pressure is on:
This CPA "Bootcamp", so to speak, is being taught by Becker. However, its partnership with Howard University's School of Business and Center for Accounting Education is very new. One of the Universities professors really campaigned to get a CPA training course onto Howard's campus. In effect, I and the other 23 or 24 students enrolled are actually a part of a pilot program. So passing will not only be a reflection of my performance, but on my alma mater and its subsequent dealings with future partnerships. Yikes. But I've been a clutch player before. My degree says that I held that down pretty well.

Sidebar:
Although a lot of the CPA students are familiar faces from undergrad, its interesting to see how diverse a route some of us have taken or are taking pre- and post- CPA. I was glad to meet a guy who, like me, decided to dabble in the precise opposite of accounting and go into media/design. Talking to him, I discovered that he has a brilliant idea entrepreneurial venture in the works, that when implemented and launched correctly will surely have a great impact on technology, social media, and education. Now if only I weren't going to be broke from this expensive behind exam, I'd definitely invest. (hmmmm)

I digress...my point is, we are ALL multi-faceted and multi-talented. Lately, I've seen an uptick in the thinking that Corporate America is more of a "Start" square on the game board of life, not the the "Win". Most of us are taking the CPA exam because a) we've been signed to a firm and they are footing the bill, b) We are making ourselves more marketable to firm, by lessening the expense in our training, c) Its becoming more necessary to be licensed to move up in responsibility and pay grade, d) we possess a certain degree of insanity, so we do this for fun. But there is a collective sense amongst most of us that we won't be pigeonholed into an industry/line of service. We are more than number crunching, account balancing, spreadsheet sorcerers. Ultimately, I see a host of entrepreneurial movers and shakers amongst my peers....and it makes me proud.