FYI

I will be coming home to Buckner this coming weekend (Feb 1-Feb 4).

Work Life

I work at KPMG in downtown Sacramento as a Tax Associate and instead of driving in crazy traffic, I take the Lightrail train. It's a 45 minute ride and lets me off about 3 blocks from the office. So far, I don't mind it, but I would really enjoy driving myself. Unfortunately, my decision to forgo buying a hybrid and get the gas-guzzler V6 instead has left me with no choice. : )...but its such a pretty car, though, right?!

Anyway, its a really great job and I'm so glad that there are a ton of young people like myself there. I was just saying to Aunt Angela that KPMG should send Parker Swearngin a check for the knowledge I obtained from them that I'm utilizing at my new job. She agrees.

I've been assigned a 'buddy' to help my transition to working for the firm...and she is great! She also lives in Folsom, so we usually meet and ride together.

The only picture I have taken that I can contribute to this post is the following:

This is the cube of someone at work whose birthday happened to be known by all. See all the posti-its?...and the little confetti (from a hole-punch)?? I don't think this complies with the new 'going green' policy. Supposedly, this guy has to keep the decorations up until someone else has a birthday. Yikes. Fun, though!

Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that I spent a week in Chicago attending Tax Fundamentals training. I will try to get some pictures from some colleagues.

The Big Move and The First Week

After deciding to fly to Sacramento instead of drive, I packed as many suitcases as Southwest would let my parents and I check. This is the result:

NINE SUITCASES!!!! Crazy, huh? Yes, and that's what Kyle thought when I finally showed him how many there were.

Getting the suitcases in the Explorer and then the rental car was an adventure in and of itself. Then, trying to get all of the clothing from the suitcases into Kyle's closet and the 4 drawers I had him clear for me was an uphill battle. After many hours and 120 hangers later, I'm finally settled in.

Mom, Dad, Kyle, and I hung out at Kyle's place over the next few days and did some 'move Courtney to CA' stuff. First on the list was: GET A CAR. Since we decided to fly, I didn't have a car here to use and was actually going to get a new one anyway. So, this way, Mac could have my red Saturn to use as her own (after a small payment from the 'rents).

We went to the Saturn dealership first.....and.....after 8 or 9 hours, we finally left. It was probably the longest day I've ever had. I was ready to pay whatever they wanted for the dang car! In the end, I got the perfect vehicle!!!! It's a 2008 black Saturn Vue AWD. Beautiful!

Next on my list was: Insurance. Geico. Done. : )

My first drive into the city to stop by work was quite eventful. The huge storms that rolled through California didn't suit very well with drivers here and all hell broke loose on the roads. On my 30 minute drive to the city, I saw 5 wrecks causing traffic problems. Here, it just rains, but the reaction is the same as snow in MO. So, while driving down the highway--going about 55mph--a truck lost control 3 lanes over from me and ended up flying in front of the car next to me, my car, and then slamming into the median. It was very scary and I think that the truck missed hitting my car by inches!

Because of all the rain, it didn't seem like cliche California--not so sunny. Mom and Dadd will have to come back soon to see the sun!

My work had an outing to Lake Tahoe to go skiing planned for my first day of work, so most everyone in the office would be gone...so my boss decided to invite me. Yeah! KPMG gave everyone a room for the night at Embassy Suites and also two ski lift tickets at Heavenly. Since mom and dadd were out to see me the week before, I convinced them to stay a couple more to go to Tahoe. I'm sure all of you have heard how this went. : ) Needless to say, we all (excluding Kyle) were a little out of shape and it took its toll on our bodies. I think Mom was sore for weeks.