Just the facts, ma’am

So it’s late, and I’m way too tired to make an actual post, so this will be just one prolonged “thoughts at the closing bell”:

• “Sam’s Town” by The Killers =  Much better than given credit for.
• The Pistons are now up 2-0 in the series with the Cavs. Not that it hasn’t been close. If LeBron ever decides just to control an entire game by himself, we’ll be in trouble.
• My thursday night class, Managerial IT, is awful. No, really, it just makes me mad that I’m in there and having to do work for it. Seriously, every time I’m in there, it’s just made me want to be somewhere else.
• My Monday night class, International Management, makes me realize that International business and deal-making is where I want to be.
• Holly has been in Bloomington all week, trying to study hard and get focused for the boards, that are one week away. I’m ready to have her back, the house is not the same without her here. But I know it’s all for the greater good, and she’s gonna kill the boards next week.
• Work could be either REALLY GREAT or just so so for the month, it all depends on the next five or six days. It’ll be interesting, either way.
• The Greenwood office now all knows that I’m heading to law school, though I’m not sure where they found out from. Oh well, it’ll make the leaving easier, that’s for sure.
•  Heading to the Indianapolis 500 with AJ this weekend. I’m looking forward to it, my first one 2 years ago was pretty cool.
• I need to sign up for a 5K soon, I miss having a big physical event to get ready for, and I’m not quite ready for “World Strongest Man” competitions yet. It’s always a Norwegian that wins though, so politics might always keep me out.
• Tell me that everyone has seen where Rosie O’Donnell and Elizabeth Hasselbeck went toe-to-toe this week?? You Tube it, it’s an amazing five minutes of tense action.
• Consensus on immigration, no time table, no major revisions to anything…yeah Dems, you’re really taking Congress by storm, son.

That’s all for now kids, one love to you all.

Why am I here?

Let me start by saying that I have absolutely no objection to being in a meeting that has a purpose for me, or at least holds a shred of relevance for the work or activity I am involved in. That said, every Thursday, I am in meetings that have ZERO relevance to what I’m doing. The manager here in this office (one of the two that I am responsible for) requests my presence, so that I can offer insight in the world of banking. Then, for an hour and a half, I am subjected to the world of home loans and mortgages, listening to a language full of acronyms I don’t understand and conversations I could care less about. At the very end, with everyone itching to leave, I’m hit with, “Real quick, Andrew, do you have anything to add?” And invariably, by that point, my answer is “Nope”.

Did I mention I’m ready to leave?

This week has just rushed by, as I’ve been buried under a barrage of readings and assignments for current summer classes, tasks to complete for the corporate board, and general First Horizon work. I can’t even believe it’s all ready Thursday. I’m ready for the weekend, that is for sure.

This past weekend was actually fairly nice, though it too was busy. With finals over, Holly was able to relax a bit this weekend. Saturday we just got some shopping and running done, and then we went to Dan and Ally’s wedding. It was a really fun time because we got to see the old Spiritual family from Grace. I love those folks. Then Sunday we had church, and Holly’s parents and grandparents came into town for Mother’s Day. We made brunch for them, took them to the zoo, and then went to one of the best places, Buca di Beppo, for dinner.

This coming weekend doesn’t seem as if it will be busy – yet.

Last night, Holly and me went to my Uncle Tom’s place up in Noblesville (about an hour north of downtown Indy), to have dinner with them and my Grandmother. She is in town, and we all wanted to get together. I was a nice time, good dinner, and it was good just to see my Uncle and Aunt Terri again.

Thoughts at the closing bell:

• This San Antonio-Phoenix series is going to be tainted if Phoenix loses (they lost game 5 last night, with their two ridiculous suspensions most likely to blame)
• Tigers are in first, Pistons have dropped two and a row but are still up 3-2 heading back to Detroit, and the Red Wings are up 2-1.
• Paris Hilton’s sentence will actually only result in 23 days of true jail time, because she’s been credited with good behavior, thus each day counts double. Thank goodness, I’ve been so worried about her and how she’ll hold up in the slammer {yes, sarcasm is dripping in the preceding words}
• The Wall Street Journal recently printed an editorial, making the argument that America’s reluctance to use swift and absolute force is what opens it up to situations such as the three kidnapped soldiers. The article referenced that fact that when the world had two superpowers, ourselves and the Soviet Union, that Arab world had two thoughts: You can do whatever you want to the US, but don’t screw with the Soviets. Does our tendency towards diplomacy lead to our own pains? My personal opinion is no, but it is something to toss around in a debate.
• If it’s down to Blake and Jordan, I vote neither. Jordan just doens’t impress me, and Blake WEIRDS ME OUT!

One love to you all, holla.

No, no drama, you don’t want no drama…

When you’re younger, in high school and college, you always assume that as you get older, that peoples little pettiness and childish behaviors will disappear in the “real world”. The last few weeks have proven that too be quite untrue. Yesterday we were told that our team had been realigned. Why? Because for the past month, one of our newest team members has been repeatedly talking behind my bosses back, and in the last two weeks had really stepped up the undermining. So, she took a step, talked to some people, and now he’s on another team. I tried to stay out of it, but when he sent an email to all of us on the team about her last week, I took the step to let him know how unproductive I thought his actions were for the team. Why? Cause I’m leaving soon, I could care less what he thinks of me. Luckily, the team was pretty happy to see my email response, as he had made himself quite unpopular at that point.

The thing that’s amazing is, this guy is 30. At this point in life, shouldn’t you have figured out that talking behind peoples back will NEVER stay behind their back?? How did he not think it would all get back to her. Even more, it was very obvious that he was angleing for a promotion. How on Earth did he think that this was the best way to go about it? I’m 25, and I know better than to think that pulling others down is the best way to raise yourself up. Just simply amazing.

In much happier and less dramatic news, I got all of my grades back, and I got A-’s in both classes that I had finals in last week. That gives me a term GPA of 3.6 and a Cumulative GPA of 3.5 for my MBA career so far. BAM! It would be a pretty great feeling if I could get a graduate GPA that surpasses my undergrad GPA (which, granted, was a none too-hard-to-pass 3.23). Still, this gives me some much needed confidence heading into grad school.

This weekend was pretty calm since Holly is still in study mode. We went to the mall and dinner Friday night so she could take a break. Saturday we hung around the house, I did some cleaning and maintanence work, and then Sat night had some people over to watch the De La Hoya – Mayweather Jr. fight. The quote of the night that had the room rolling was provided by Floyd Mayweather Sr, who may or may not have been drunk – “Hey man…look…blood is thicker than mud” Really? I’m still trying to get a judges ruling on the truthiness of that line.

Thoughts at the closing bell:

• My new Monday night class was slightly depressing, as it is all people from different cohorts than my Aug 06 cohort. So sad, so lonely.
• The Wings are in the Western Conference finals against Anaheim. The Pistons are taking it to the Bulls so far, up 2-0 in the series. Tigers have won eight in a row. Yeah, Lions, I’m STILL waiting…
• Ended up being the top producer in revenue for the month of April on my five person team. Felt pretty good, hopefully will have some good references when leaving here.
• According to Newsweek, everyone wants to be the next Harry S. Truman. My lack of Truman knowledge has led me to realize that I really need to expand my knowledge on a good number of president’s, past Lincoln, Teddy, the Founding Fathers, and those of my lifetime.
• Hearing a lot of good things on “Spider-Man 3″. Also, new “Pirates” comes out in two weeks, should probably watch the second one soon. Yeah, I know, i’m slow to the party.

One love to you all, holla.

One year down…too many to think of to go

Under the breezy cool sky of Indianapolis in May, in the welcoming and comforting environment of the Biergarten at the Rathskellar, my MBA colleagues and I celebrated last night the end of our first official school year as MBA student. Granted, the reprieve won’t be long, as the summer session starts next week. Still, we officially have one year in the books. Last night was the second of the two finals we had this week, Financial Management. For those who have never sat down to calculate a projects cash flows, it’s NPV, determined whether put options should be covered or not…be thankful. Afterwards, I retreated back to the palace to get the house straightened up a bit and help the wife, who unfortunately still has another week of finals (and then boards three weeks after that…geeewwww)

Not that the first year is out of the way, I’ll actually take a year off from the MBA program to focus on first year law school. Then I’ll pick up the year after that doing both. Yes, I’ll be my own business and law library by the time the whole thing is done. It’s all worth it, though (I keep reassuring myself of that).

There has been so much drama going on lately, it seems. There’s College Night Drama going on in Montevallo. There is drama going on here at my work between one of my peers and our boss. They’ve both called me and trying to shore me up to a side. I’m on my bosses side, actually, which helps…since that’s who I’ll need for referrals in the future. Still, I’ve tried to stay fair and somewhat neutral. No need to get mixed up in drama this close to leaving.

Thoughts at the closing bell:

• Looking for a place to go watch the De La Hoya – Mayweather Jr. fight tomorrow night. I actually really enjoy watching boxing, especially a fight this ginormous.
• Wings are at 2-2 with the Sharks. Game Five is tomorrow afternoon. Pistons start soon with the Bulls in Rd Two (a little worried, I am). Tigers swept the O’s, looking a little sharper.
• So we’ve met with an envoy if Syria in Egypt, and maybe soon Iran. We just want to be the world’s best friend, kids, that’s all.
• Mitt Romney looked pretty sharp last night in the Republican debates, I think he’s solidifying my support. I don’t even care that he’s possibly flip-flopped on social issues, I just know that he knows business and economics, and that’s what’s going to advance America in the coming years. Tommy Thompson, on the other hand, made some big populist points about “preventing our jobs from leaving our shores”. Was he at the wrong party debate?
• The Kentucky Derby is tomorrow. Oh to be rich and ridiculous like those in attendance will be.
• Queen Elizabeth II visited the Jamestown colony site today. How many digs of “Yup, but this was of course all before we broke away from England” do you think the guides were able to slip in.

That’s all for now, one love to you all. Holla.