Happy Homecoming

I woke up this morning to watch the Baylor Homecoming Parade, the largest collegiate Homecoming parade in the country, part of the Homecoming celebration that started it all back in 1909.

Seeing the Baylor Family at Homecoming, at its finest, was a very happy thing for this expatriated Texan.  I wish I could have been there - to sing last night at Singspiration, to feel the heat of the bonfire, to watch the parade pass by, to sit with my family at the game against Kansas, to sense the community, the tradition, the Family.

Thanks to the Baylor Chamber of Commerce for the hard work they did, to everyone else who had a hand in Homecoming, to Lori and John for hosting the parade telecast, to everyone who made me feel like I was in Waco this weekend.  I appreciate it very much.

Happy Homecoming.  See you next year.

It’s a job… It’s work… NO! It’s a career!!! (and/or Superman!!!)

I can remember when the start of my career was far, far away – so far away that I had not begun to consider it – further away than the Statue of Liberty was when Fabrizio joked to Jack about being able to see it in Titanic. 

Now I ascend twenty-one floors and work at Five Times Square every day – overlooking the “Crossroads of the World”, working for one of the world’s four largest accountancy firms. 

The view from my desk on the 21st floor of Five Times Square.  

 My first days back at Ernst & Young have been extraordinary.  A day going by without learning is impossible, and that’s the way – uh huh, uh huh – I like it.  The department has graciously welcomed my new colleagues and me.  We, like sponges, soak it in, but we don’t have enough absorbency (send more sponges!).  

The nameplate on my cube.  As you can see, it says, "Scott Neumann".  

I need to give you more information about the department: 

The Department of Professional Practice is the national group charged with knowing everything about accounting and its implications for the firm and for our clients.  Senior managers, called “residents”, are on three-year-long rotations here.  They specialize in specific accounting subjects and industries, publish the equivalent of academic books and papers related to those areas, and consult with audit teams all over the world on technical accounting matters.  Partners, some here permanently and some temporarily, do the same. 

I am obviously neither one of those things.  I am one of seven level-one staff members, called “researchers”, responsible for responding to requests for examples of public filings and for supporting the department in its other endeavors.  The department is divided into seven topical teams to which each of the seven researchers has been assigned.  I am on the generalist team which covers leases, comprehensive income, discontinued operations, accounting changes, oil and gas, and many others.  Even in my brief time here, I have been exposed to the depth and complexity of the accounting standard setting process and to the intellectual curiosity and understanding that surrounds it.  (Seeing a missed call from the Financial Accounting Standards Board was just plain cool.) 

(A missed call from Norwalk, CT, location of the headquarters of the Financial Accounting Standards Board.  Seeing that number between two calls from my mom was funny, cool, and surreal.  Also, "ICE" stands for "in case of an emergency.)

Three out of seven researches have started, including me.  Will Geeslin is from Peachtree City, Georgia, is a graduate of Auburn University, and is working on the business combinations team.  Caitlin Kirio is from Honolulu, Hawaii, is a graduate of the University of Southern California, and is working on the SEC Regulatory Matters team (that is, the Securities and Exchange Commission, not the Southeastern Conference).  We have enjoyed working together and are looking forward to a great year.  The four other researchers are starting in the coming weeks. 

Meanwhile, the researchers from last year are rotating out.  They have been a tremendous help to Will, Caitlin, and me in becoming acclimated to our respective roles.  We owe them! 

The view of Times Square from my desk on the 21st floor  at Five Times Square
The "N" there is the "N" in "Ernst".  

The view of Five Times Square from the intersection of 42nd Street and Broadway
My windows are to the left of the "N" in "Ernst".  

The global nature of this department is striking (and strikingly awesome!).  Not only do I work with folks from all over the United States, I have found myself shoulder-to-shoulder with folks from all over the world:  our global exchange intern is from Quebec City and a capital markets resident is from Tel Aviv, Israel.  I am a few miles from my days at Baylor Line Camp in 2007 when I met non-Texans for the first time, and that is a good thing. 

Being at Ernst & Young isn’t just a job or work.  It is the start of a career about which I am excited and uncertain.  Excited for the possibilities yet uncertain about the direction to which the Lord will lead me.  Through it all though, “I’ll follow my Christ who loves me so / Wherever He leads I’ll go.”  

Welcomed by Familiar Faces

After my first week of classes as a freshman at Baylor, my cousin, Trent, stopped in Waco on his way back to Dallas to have lunch with me.  Even after a meaningful experience at Welcome Week and an encouraging first week of class, I can remember the importance of having a familiar face in Waco in the midst of the unfamiliarity (yet excitement) of my first days in college.  

In the greater unfamiliarity (yet perhaps only matched excitement) of beginning my time in New York City, I also found great meaning and importance in being welcomed by familiar faces during my first days in the city.  

One of those faces materialized immediately.  My dear friend, Jordan Rippy, and one of her colleagues at Ernst &Young invited me to dinner on my first night in the city.  I arrived at my hotel on Thursday at around seven o'clock; within the hour, I was with friends.   We ate at The Breslin, a hotel and dining room famous for its lamb burgers.  With a sort of Scottish hipster atmosphere, The Breslin did not disappoint.  Our waitress was surely an aspiring actress - emotive and gregarious.  I think the Guinness Book of World Records was also present to observe her attempt to set the world record for the most number of times a waitress calls the guests "darlings" in one night.  I suspect she was successful in setting the record.  

On Friday evening, after a full afternoon of ironing (my work clothes were wrinkled from the trip; I could not help thinking of John Travolta saying "I left my iron on" in his Baltimore accent as Edna Turnblad in "Hairspray".),  Cole, my last-year Baylor roommate and great friend, came to the city for the weekend.  He is living in Stamford, Connecticut this summer to complete an internship with an investment banking firm.  

Cole and I ate at S'Mac (standing for "Sarita's Mac and Cheese"), a restaurant in East Village that serves only macaroni and cheese.  The good folks there served us the wrong size portions making it look like we were more ambitious than we really were.  We met a couple of aggies there; it is always nice to see folks from our proud conference.  Oh wait.  

On Saturday, we at breakfast with Jordan on the Upper West Side at a restaurant called "Good Enough to Eat" to gear up for our busy day.  We went to the flagship Apple Store at Central Park South and 5th Avenue, the flagship, five-level Brooks Brothers at 44th and Madison, and Peanut Butter & Co. in Greenwich Village, followed by a trip to the South Street Seaport to pick up our theatre tickets.  

At Peanut Butter & Co., we visited with a lady, Karen, and her nephew, Ryan, about the city.  I explained that I had just moved here for a year, and she took a great interest in me.  We had an engaging conversation.  She was very knowledgable about New York (she lived here when she was my age) and told me that I need to spend time at the skyscraper museum downtown and in the Battery Park area.  She challenged me to "seek and find the real treasures of the city and get passed the tourist stuff".  I will surely do as she told me.  

After our interaction with Karen and with others like her that day, Cole and I both commented about how open New Yorkers are - when you open up to them.  I was and am encouraged by that openness and look forward to taking advantage of it this year.  

On Sunday, we visited the Brooklyn Tabernacle to see the famed Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.  We felt incredibly welcomed by that congregation and had a unique, worshipful experience.  They are giving a free concert this Sunday afternoon; I will be there!  Before Cole departed for Connecticut, we saw "Memphis", a Broadway show about the early days of rock 'n roll and the relationships that surrounded it.  The show was amazing.  I am always excited to go to the theatre, and as I go more and more often, I am exceedingly impressed by the professionalism exhibited in the shows.  It is what keeps me going back!

Monday was my first day at Ernst & Young, but I will publish a second post about my first work week.  I will now fast forward to dinner that night.  My dear friend and beloved Baylor professor, Dr. Marlene Reed, was visiting the city with her daughter, Dr. Rochelle Brunson, another beloved Baylor professor, and granddaughter, Blair.  Dr. Reed selflessly took time out of her family's visit to have dinner with me.  She is thoughtful:  after reading my first blog posting about missing Mexican food, she suggested that we eat at a good Mexican food restaurant in Times Square.  We had a wonderful time of fellowship.  Speaking of being exceedingly impressed, Dr. Reed and her husband, Bill, are two of the most prolific people I have ever met.  Dr. Reed is one of the wisest and best people I know.  Her acts of friendship to me over the years mean the world.  

Just like my cousin's visit to Waco during my first week at Baylor, I will never forget these familiar faces that welcomed me to this place.  I will always be grateful for them and the part they played in my first days in the city.  They are a reminder of my life in Texas and of all the people whom I love most.  They are a reminder of true friendship.  They are a reminder that none of it is going away.