Dallas, Plano, Irving, Los Colinas, Whatever.
I still can’t believe that I finally finished off the spring semester of my junior year. It’s been quite the roller coaster this year (when has it not been?) but it’s definitely been one of my most memorable years thus far.
It’s been pretty nonstop after school ended. Right after my last written final, I went straight home to Houston for my round of office visits with the Big4 Accounting Firms and a Consulting Firm, Protiviti. Insert my 21st birthday weekend in between the interviews.. and right after I finished my office visits, I headed straight for New York for my friend’s graduation from Cornell. I made that trip a week long and headed back into the city shortly afterward where I got to meet up with some friends from high school. As soon as I flew back to Houston, I found myself packing again for Dallas. I’m staying at my cousin’s place this summer and am so thankful about the whole living situation. My cousin’s a lot older than me - married with a baby about to turn 3. We weren’t really ever that close growing up but mama gave her a call during the semester and asked if she’d be willing to bring me in for the summer and she gracefully said yes. And that isn’t even the best part. She lives six minutes (local) from my office that I’ll be working at. SUCH A BLESSING, forreal. I love living here, especially being around the baby, who’s such a brat/cutie all at the same time. Looking forward to establishing a more solid relationship with the cousin this summer as well. =) Oh, I forgot to mention.. my cousin, Doris, married one of the founders of the frat, Omega Phi Gamma. He graduated from UT with a Plan II Honors and Sociology degree. He’s a lawyer now and doing very well for himself and the family, which I’m very appreciative for. He’s not a frat guy though… either that or he just grew out of it. Anyway, living here is going to be a completely different experience. It’s no Austin or Houston - it’s not home.
Well, today marks my two weeks with Archon Group! I’m working in their Investment Accounting Department until August 12th. This would be what I consider my first real world internship so it’s definitely a very exciting time for me right now. I’ve really enjoyed it thus far and the people are really nice. Below’s a picture of my cubicle that they set up for me.
Given that it’s an industry position and not a public accounting one, most of the people that sit on the floor with me are all older.. a lot older. They’re all very family oriented and are always out the door by 5PM to get to their kids at home, which is expected. There are a total of around 40 interns within Archon Group… all in different Departments like IT, Debt Finance, Investment Management, Actuary, Accounting, etc. I’m the only Investment Accounting intern for the summer which is nice because it means that I have no one to compare myself to… something that I tend to do very often and am still trying to work on. The work is boring but the people are great which makes it all the more bearable. I’m working the typical 8AM-5PM job which translates to a good 40 hour week, which I thought was a piece of cake before coming into the summer. After all, my public accounting internship will be around 60-70 hours during busy season. No sweat. However, this 40 hour week is exhausting! I’m tired all morning, tired right after lunch, and tired when I get home. I’m enjoying the learning process of this internship but am not enjoying the working lifestyle. I’m not going to lie, working sucks. It’s draining and it’s not something I’m quite used to yet. Funny how God works - everything that I’ve been striving for, everything that I’ve been working hard towards.. was for a career in Corporate America and now that I’m actually there.. I want to be back in school. Is the grass always greener on the other side? I love the internship & hate working life. I’m hard to understand, forgive me. Hopefully I’ll adjust to this boring lifestyle sooner or later… maybe I should start sleeping even earlier than 12AM..like a grandpa.
…So to celebrate the mark of my 2 weeks here at Archon Group, I decided to go to King Spa tonight. SO WORTH IT. I’ve never felt better after my 4 hour session tonight. It was a little shocking.. but I was already expecting it to be so. The spa/wet area is completely naked. (The guys in one area and the girls in the other) Not something that I was quite used to yet but I got over it. It was like a high school locker room x10000. I’ve never seen so many… anyway. I’m definitely going back - the spa amenities are crazy cool.
I’m tired. Night world. More on the city later.
