Rainin' in the City

As the rain falls outside my window I dread the approaching 18th hour of the day when I must make an appearance at work, well more than an appearance I suppose. I have to make said appearance and then remain, alert and ready to work for an additional 7 hours. All in all work has not been too bad and it pays the bills, mainly rent and alcohol; however, on a rainy evening such as the one approaching, I would much rather curl up in my easy chair and do some reading. Speaking of which, I have been hard at work pecking away at "The World is Flat" and "Utopia," and would now love to share some of my thoughts.

• Utopia: The version I am reading is translated by Clarence H. Miller and so far I have really enjoyed it. It has been a challenge for me. Miller explained in his forward how he wanted to demonstrate the same artistry in English as More first did in Latin. Because of this, it can be a bit tricky to navigate at times; however, the extra time spent is definitely worthwhile. Miller also does a wonderful job footnoting information, and historical references so that everything does not soar far above the reader's head. Anyway, the work is divided into two "books," and I have just finished the first which outlines a dialogue between Thomas More, Peter Giles and Raphael Hythloday (a fictitious philosopher who has traveled to the remote island of Utopia and has a wealth of insight to share). In the first book, Hythloday is trying to convince More and Giles that his insight would not be welcomed by readers. He says that Plato's idea of a philosopher king was because he, Plato, knew that the ruling class would not listen to philosophers unless they, themselves were philosophers. So far, I am really enjoying this book, but I will give my overall impression when I finish.
• The World is Flat: I am about 70 pages into this book which is not extremely far seeing as the book consists of over 550 pages. I bought this book because I had heard a lot of good things about it in my management classes. My brief exposure to it so far, however, convinces me that this is a must read for everyone, regardless of profession, interests or background. This book discusses how certain forces have resulted in the flattening of our world both good and bad. Computers have allowed for instantaneous communication and information sharing between any geographic locations in the world. Technology has also allowed individuals to compete on a more equal playing field like has never been seen before. I will definitely comment more on this book as I read, but as for now, if you get the opportunity to read this book, do it.

If anyone would like discuss either one of these books with me I would be more than happy to do so. I love talking about what I am reading. As for now I think it is time for me to take off. The rain looks like it let up and I still need to make dinner before work. Peace out.

AS

The Continuation of Legacy

It is summer once again, which means that maybe I will start to post again. It becomes very difficult to do so during the school year. A lot has happened since I actually posted anything relevant about my life. I have completed my third year of college and am now living in Minneapolis. I am working as a delivery driver for Erbert and Gerbert's, a clubs and subs franchise. This job is not very exciting but I am making decent money and that is always a good thing. Anyway, on to the more interesting stuff.

I will be graduating in less than a year! What am I going to do? Well I am not really sure. I have three options, maybe even four although the fourth is not very likely. I am a music/management double major; however since I am nearing completion of both of these I am going to pick up some accounting next year. So my options after next year are these.

• I could try to land a job in management through on campus recruiting or other means. This might not be such a bad idea because I would get out into the work force, make some money, and maybe start paying off the loans I have accrued. The problem with this is that entry level management positions such, I could end up working in a place like Target, which was not what I was picturing when I first headed off to college. Also I am not so sure that I actually want to work as a manager. I would much rather get into financial management where I get to play with money and numbers and stuff that actually interests me. This brings me to my second option.
• I could go to grad school in pursuit of my MBA. If I did this I could focus on finance and then try to get into a finance department instead of an entry level management position. This would be nice because I could continue my education, which I do not want to come to an end next year. I could specialize in a field that is a bit more interesting to me, something that I plan on eventually getting to anyway. The downfall to this is obviously money. Not only would I be delaying making any money I would actually be accruing more loans! I do not know if I can afford it, not to mention I have heard that many MBA programs would like an applicant to have some work experience before they will accept their application.
• My third option is going to grad school as an accountant with the ultimate goal of becoming a CPA. I believe that I can take enough accounting classes next year to get accepted in an accounting program. This would be a lot of work, however, it would only take a year after I graduated from Luther so I could get through school and out into the workforce in a year. Again this would cost money but it might very well be worth it. Another downfall is I have only taking a limited amount of accounting to this point, a couple semesters worth. I am not exactly sure how good of an accountant I would make, and it is hard for me to justify depending on my skills as an accountant before I actually develop them. Although still very questionable, this is a possible path for me to take in a year.
• My fourth, final, and least likely option would be going to grad school as a musician. I love playing music and I feel I have become quite good over the past years. I just do not think that this is something I want to create a career around. I really want to keep it as something that I can do as a hobby and continue to develop just not in a professional manner. The problem with this is that by not attending grad school I will never reach my full potential as a musician. As much as I would love to say that I am going to still practice every day, I know I won't. I know that my saxophone will probably end up collecting dust up in the attic until my future son or daughter discovers it and I remember how I used to play saxophone. This scenario scares the hell out of me. Music is such a huge part of my life I do not want it to get shoved to the backburner and possibly even fall behind the stove.

So as for now I am very torn as to what I should or want to end up doing in a year. I feel that my only option is to keep as many of the four options open as possible and see what sort of opportunities present themselves to me over the next year. I am sorry for the long post, but if anyone has any comments/recommendations please feel free to send them my way. I will keep you updated as to how things are going.

Also, I have started to update the rest of the sight such as books that I am reading or have read recently. If anyone would like to discuss any of these I would be more than happy to do so. Let me know!

AS