What I can say, however, is that I would without hesitation take your hand in mine and ask you to be my bride again. I would without question stand at the end of that aisle again, waiting to be your husband. I would endure the hardships – the many moves, the sicknesses, the arguments, and everything else we’ve been through together – all over again in order to have you by my side. You, my love, are worth it. You ground me, encourage me, love me, and laugh with – and at – me. I have watched you develop a relationship with our daughter that is rich with love, laughter, and creativity. The way she looks at you, longs for you, and seeks you out brings such joy to this daddy’s heart. I love you so very much.

Thank you for overlooking my flaws, imperfections, and sinful heart to see a man with whom you desire to build a life. Thank you for being patient with me even when I am impatient. Thank you for being a fighter, for not giving up, and for not allowing failure to be an option. I love you more today than yesterday, and look forward to the abundance of love that I know your future years will bring to my life and our family. You were, are, and will be worth it. So, today, on your 36th birthday, I want you to know that I choose you. I choose us. I love you. Happy Birthday, Love. May it be your best yet, but pale in comparison to those of the future.

After failing REG, life happened. We’ve all been there. We have lofty goals and high expectations, only to have circumstances beyond our control alter those goals and expectations. Such was my life the entire Fall and early Winter of 2011. Not all events were bad. I was offered and accepted a position with the Nashville office of Deloitte Tax beginning in Fall 2012. My wife and I bought and are building a home that we love. My daughter turned 7 and started first grade. I graduated from Belmont University with my Master of Accountancy. But there was also family sickness and difficulties. School deadlines. The list goes on and on. Add to this the fact that I was simply tired. My body was tired and it was letting me know it. Some of you have the capacity to go and go and go. Not me. I used to, but apparently I’ve passed that time when I can survive on very little sleep and expect to function at what is an acceptable level to those who depend on my performance. So, when you combine unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstances with my own inability to keep my life in order, you get a not-so-ideal situation for taking, much less passing, any portions of this exam. But, you are all very aware of these scenarios. A lot of you have much more difficult circumstances than I, yet you find a way to prioritize your time, suck it up, and pass this beast. So, again, no more excuses.

In 2012, I will pass this beast. I will make becoming a CPA a top priority. Not because it is the most important thing in my life, but because passing it will allow me to return my focus to those people that are the most important things in my life. I’ve used Becker for AUD and REG, and since I’ve already invested the money in the materials, I will continue using it for the time being. I will, however, be supplementing it with the NINJA study guides.

Over the course of the next year, I will be posting my study progress on this site. I need to do this so that I can be accountable. It will also provide me a medium through which to document the process. Also, I am a guest blogger at Another71.com, a site started by Jeff Elliott to encourage and propel CPA exam takers around the world toward success. His story is inspiring to many of us because of his dedication to persevere after numerous failures.

So, CPA exam, you have been warned. You will be slayed in 2012. You will be subdued. And you will become an event to be spoken of in the past tense when 2013 rolls around.

Tonight, I, along with about 41 others, will walk across a stage in the Curb Event Center at Belmont University to receive our Masters degrees from the Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business. Some will receive their MBA and some, like myself, a Master of Accountancy. Of these 41, many have become friends, colleagues, confidantes, and teachers. These talented and gifted individuals have taught me about perseverance, loyalty, friendship, and tolerance. I have learned that I can, in fact – contrary to my opinion a year and a half ago – be very good friends with those with whom I have very little in common religiously, culturally, or even (GASP!) politically. I learned that I am capable of passing the CPA exam because I have professors who believe that I am capable of performing at the highest level. I learned that in hindsight, your closest friends are not always who you would have expected them to be. I learned that the professor from whom you received your lowest grades (B’s…in both classes. Ugh.) would be the one to have the greatest impact on your academic and professional career (I’m looking at you, Dr. Young. You made me love taxes. Is that even possible?).

So, tonight, we bid adieu to one another after months of late nights grasping concepts of accounting, business plans, strategic planning, internal controls, finance (vomit), negotiation and mediation, marketing, and much more. We say goodbye to those who have shaped us, challenged us, and taught us lessons that can only be learned in the crucible of challenging thought and discussions with one another. We remember international trips where horizons were broadened, cultural conceptions were challenged, and, let’s face it, fun times were had by all. We celebrate each other’s achievements and look forward to the careers we will embark upon following our time at Massey. We hope that, somehow, our friendships will carry over into our professional careers as we cross paths in the Nashville business community. Above all, we will remember the time we spent at Belmont and the friendships that will endure long after the lessons we learned in the classroom become outdated. For that is what this journey was, and is, all about - People.

So, to those people at Belmont University who have made this last year and a half challenging, grueling, infuriating, tiring, inspirational, and most of all, worth it, I say with the voices of many others, “Thank You.” I am better for having been in your presence during this transformational time of my life. So, if I keep coming back for alumni events, just remember that you have been forewarned: I don’t deal well with change. 

It has been roughly three years since I wrote on a regular basis – and that three year period has been, without question, the most difficult three years of my life. What once flowed freely and with some amount of creativity simply…died. No one event has been the cause, but a myriad of events, decisions, and circumstances that together have come together to form a fire in which I have, hopefully, been tested and found worthy. Full disclosure: I. have. failed. But, that’s none of your business.

The title of the post fairly conveys what will be seen on this site. Seriously, people – my mind is one long, drawn out stream of thoughts that, without training, are impossible to unravel. So, that is what you will find here. I enjoy writing, so this is a place first and foremost for me. You are welcome to read along and, if you choose, create dialogue with your comments (To comment, click on the Comments link under the title of the post). If we’re lucky, maybe we can find some community here with one another. If not, trust me, I’m perfectly content to create it by myself (okay, maybe not – but that’s a post coming soon.)

So, with that, here. we. go.

*Note: The site design itself is still a work in progress. Hopefully you’ll see some aesthetic/design changes soon.