Only for now

As I begin to realize that the ones I love are no longer so accessible, I also begin to place greater importance on spending quality time with those people when I can.  For that reason, it was important that my best friend, Dakota, come to the city on my second weekend here – even if only for a short twelve hours.  

He is living in Washington, D.C. this summer to complete an internship with new student orientation at George Mason University, already fulfilling his calling as a professional in student life.  Dakota and I met when we were students at Baylor Line Camp; when he marries Shannon next summer, I will be his best man. 

He arrived late on Friday night (and ultimately had to leave early on Sunday morning, so we only had about twelve hours of usable time), but we did not let that slow us down.  He, Jordan Rippy, and I ate breakfast at Good Enough to Eat on the Upper West Side – that restaurant is a favorite for out-of-town guests (listen to me talking like I have been here long enough to have had enough guests to say that…). 

After purchasing our theatre tickets downtown at the South Street Seaport, we traversed uptown and rented bikes in Central Park.  Riding around the Central Park Loop was scenic, fun, and challenging.  The natural terrain of Manhattan Island is not the flat, gridded land that has been developed over the last few centuries.  Indeed, the natural terrain is hilly, wooded and can be found in the park.  The roads are closed to vehicle traffic on the weekends which makes biking a (mostly) safe and carefree exercise. 

Jordan, me, and Dakota with with our bikes by our sides and the Bethesda Fountain in the background

A map of Central Park
The "Central Park Loop" is the curved path that "circumscribes" the majority of the park's land.
It is 6.1 miles long, and we considered it worth every mile and every minute.  

When it seemed like the excitement  from the breakfast and the afternoon in the park could not be topped, it was.  The moment we had all been waiting for came at eight o’clock when Avenue Q began.  I had built up the show to Dakota and Jordan and felt invested in their experience.  I wanted it to live up to the hype.  It did.  They loved it.  The clip below of the opening number will give you a taste of its wit, humor, and smart (but perhaps not of its wild inappropriateness).  We all enjoyed the show and considered it time well spent. 

The Avenue Q finale is called “For Now” and discusses how life is mostly temporary.  And it is.  But friendship and our relationships with one another are permanent.  My friendship with Dakota is no different, even if his short trip to New York City was “only for now”. 

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.”