December busyness

Things have been a little busy around the Sewell house the last couple of days. Last week was finals week for me. I only had one though, and it was open note/ open book, so it wasn't anything too terrible. I finished that on Tuesday, so with the way my schedule works out, I have a full 5 weeks off from classes. Then it's just one more semester, the CPA exam, and I'll be set to go. In terms of job stuff, I still haven't heard a peep out of State Farm. I've been told by several people that their HR is pretty ineffective, so I'm not paniking yet. I won't be able to start anywhere until August, so I still have plenty of time.

Mike was in Chicago last week for another training conference for work. He's been going on about 1 trip a month to Chicago for some sort of training. It's all that stuff that they can't teach you in school.

Saturday morning we were up before the sun and at church at 7:15. Our church is the largest one in town, with about 3500 people each Sunday. Last year, they started a program called 'Imagine'. The idea is that we imagine that no one is cold by bringing coats, that no child is without a toy, by bringing toys, and then no one is hungry, by filling food boxes. For three weeks running the church members bring in the different items. This year, we had one big distribution day where people in need could come and get all the different items. Mike and I volunteered to be hosts, which meant that we were matched up with someone and helped them get what they needed. They all had to fill out a registration card when they came in indicating what they needed. It kept it from being a crazy free for all. We started taking people through the line at 8, and by a little after 9, all of the coats were gone. We distributed around 1000 coats. We were completely done by 11:30, and 800 people had gone through the line. All of them received a food box of non-perishables and a ham on their way out the door. When we got to church that morning, those in charge said that one man had showed up at 1AM to wait in his car, and that by 4AM, they were lined up at the doors, which were to open at 7. Keep in mind that we had to get up early to shovel ourselves out, because we got a couple of inches of snow during the night, so these people stood out in the blowing snow for several hours to receive these items. I think instead of us blessing them, we ended up being the ones blessed. Due to the number of people, Mike and I were split up to get more people through more quickly. At one point, he asked what he could pray for for a lady, and after she told him, she asked Mike what she could pray for for him, and then stood right there in the line and prayed. It was a really cool experience and one I want to be involved in again next year.

Sunday we had an open house for some of our friends. We ended up having about 20 people here. I baked a ton last week and was scared that I wouldn't have enough food, but ended up having tons of leftovers. It's hard to plan for that many people, because you never know whether they are going to eat a ton, or just graze. The pics are from the open house, as well as some pics of our house with the lights on it. Mike went out and took a picture while it was snowing one night.

Christmas celebrations start on Saturday, so from then until New Year's is going to be pretty hectic, but tons of fun!

christmas tree

Last weekend, we went with our friends Dan and Angie to cut down our Christmas tree. We had tagged a tree at a local tree farm back in October with them as well. When we tagged the tree, it was literally 90 degrees outside!!! The weather was much better for the cutting. Crisp, but not anywhere close to freezing. Mike had his first go at cutting down a Christmas tree. We haven't gotten the outside lights up yet as it was pretty cold last Sunday. We were planning on doing it tomorrow, but they are calling for a fairly major ice storm to hit us, so we'll see whether or not we get up and outside before the nastiness gets started.

This, that, the other...

I'm due for a post. Thought I'd give you some highlights:

• K and I rode with B and D to meet M, D, M, D, G & P at Petit Jean State Park in AR. Much food was eaten, tales told, and I received three copies of "Taboo" for my birthday.
• Illinois upset #1 Ohio State in football last weekend. Our last home game is this weekend. K and B will forego their tickets so that D and D can go with D and I. Tailgating is a must.
• Applied to take the P.E. exam. I've been studying for this exam for the last 6-8 months and will be studying up til the April '08 test date. This and four years of engineering experience are a requisite of licensure. Whee!
• Planted three trees and named them: Bert, Herbert, and Inglebert. All three are looking healthy.

That's all I know.

LTA, Mike

job and other life updates

It's kinda been a little crazy the last 2 weeks or so. But I'll try and keep it brief.

Two weeks ago, I received the news that my best friend Maggie had passed away. She was diagnosed with lymphoma December 2006 and has been fighting it ever since. She had only called a week before to tell me that she had decided to fore go anymore treatments since there weren't any viable options left. While we all miss her greatly, we know that she is in a better place. She had an amazing faith in God in her short 24 years.

I was also asked to take a pre-employment exam for State Farm. I took and passed that almost 2 weeks ago. The HR department called this morning to ask me to come in for a second interview/office visit/lunch next week. So that will be on Monday, starting at 10am. After that I should hear whether or not I get an offer.

It's coming down to the wire for school this semester. This week before Thanksgiving break is always pretty crazy with papers and exams and whatnot. I've got a big accounting exam tomorrow, a group paper due Thursday, and a rough draft of a group paper due on Friday. After the break I have one more group paper due, and then 3 group presentations based on all these group papers. Sometimes I joke that I'm not really majoring in accounting, but in group work instead. Now you all can see why I say that. I think the only thing I've done individually all semester that counted towards my grade are exams and quizzes. :) And those were all open-note/open-book.

Speaking of that exam, I should probably go crack open the books so I at least have an idea of what is going to be on the exam.... :)

State Farm Update

I heard from State Farm yesterday. They have invited me to take their pre-employment exam before they consider me any further. So that will be sometime in the next two weeks. A couple of people have assured me that it is no big deal at all. I was afraid it was going to be accounting specific and I was going to have to cram 4.5 years of school into 2 weeks of reviewing and studying. But it appears that it is a general type of exam for logical thinking and situational types of things. So I was glad to hear that and not have to panic. When I pass the exam, I don't know for sure what the next step will be. It will likely be a second interview here in Bloomington with higher up people than I interviewed with the first time. That is my guess at least.

an update

Things have been happening, but I never feel like they are worthy of blogging, so I've just waited until we have more interesting things going on.

I've now made it through my first round of midterms. I know, by definition there is only one point during a semester when it is actually the midterm. But my profs don't usually play by those rules. :) Although, I guess in all fairness, the class I have more than one midterm in, I don't have a final exam. So I guess I come out even in the end.

I'm also done with the first round of interviewing. I've interviewed once each with Country Companies and State Farm. Given my conversation with Country, I don't anticipate hearing from them until the spring. They don't want to commit to hiring full time people to start in the summer at this point. State Farm will notify me in a couple of weeks whether or not they want to interview me again. This interview would take place in Bloomington and would likely encompass an office visit as well. This is pretty typical for how recruiting at U of I goes. So, potentially, I could have a job lined up for after I take the CPA by Thanksgiving. But we'll see. I'm not panicking either way.

Mike and I have been enjoying going to Illinois football games, although I'm very glad that it will be cooler tomorrow. Two weeks ago, it was over 90 and it was sold out, so very close quarters. Tomorrow should be a beautiful 73 and sunny. It's also a night game, which will make it even better. Much more the football weather you expect come mid-October. Basketball season will be starting here pretty quickly and we are looking forward to that, even though the team will probably experience quite a few 'growing pains' this year. But we are not fair-weather fans. So we'll be there with our orange on, cheering to our hearts content. :)

It amazes me every year how the calendar for November and December fills up so quickly. We already have so many things going on. We start November off with Mike's birthday and our yearly trip to Arkansas. Then it just gets busier from there. But it will all be fun. I love the holidays and am especially looking forward to this year as we make our own traditions in our new family.

That's about it for now.

job update

I found out this morning that I got an interview with Country that I totally wasn't expecting at all. They told me they were really only going to be interviewing for December graduates. I won't hear whether or not I get an interview with State Farm for a little while yet. But I'm way excited!

All's quiet...

During the course of conversation with a gentleman out at a construction site today, I was asked what my wife and I did. I told him that I was an engineer and my wife was studying to be an accountant. He raised his eyebrows and said, "I'll bet you guys are REAL exciting!"

Perhaps, but that's the way we like it. "Dorky" (the assumed implication) in my book means predictable and consistent - just the way we like it. So what if our DVDs are in alphabetical order? I'll bet we can find 'em faster with our setup than you with yours!

And so we engage in married life - still new and fresh, but with a healthy dose of predicability and consistency. Routines are a good thing, no? I'm very happy with Kristina and she with me. And I spice things up with something unpredictable every so often.

So when people ask how married life is going, I don't have any great stories or adventures to recount; I just try to convey the satisfaction that comes with living with a wonderful woman who loves me and honors me predictably and consistently!

All for now,

the Enginerd

job fair

Well, the U of I fall business fair was yesterday and today. I spoke with Country Insurance yesterday and State Farm Insurance today. Both of those companies are headquartered in Bloomington and are the biggest employers in town. When I spoke with Country, they said they are mainly looking for students who are graduating in December. The recruiter said they would be back in the spring for May graduates, but that right now they didn't know what positions would be available then. She was very positive and said to keep checking the website as well as the Bloomington newspaper for openings. She said they are constantly hiring accountants but that the positions usually need to be filled pretty quickly. So no immediate results on that front, but definitely still positive outlook.

State Farm attended the fair today and that conversation was alot more productive. They are actively looking at May graduates. Also, as I was waiting in line to speak to a recruiter, I noticed the name tag of one of them. I recognized it as the contact a girl in our small group had given me last year when I was looking for an internship. So, I made sure to talk to him and I asked he was the same person. He was, so that helped start the conversation off a little bit. We talked for quite a little while. Basically a mini-interview on the spot. He seemed pleased with my responses, education, and GPA. So we'll see if that pans out. I've got a couple of other smaller places in Bloomington to look into.

So that's the word there. I won't find out for a couple of weeks whether or not a get an interview. On campus interviews are scheduled for the first part of October for both companies. I'll keep everyone posted on the status!

fall is coming

It's starting to set in that fall is definitely on its way. Classes are starting to kick into high gear with assignments and group projects and the first round of exams in just a few short weeks. But I'm not going to think about those yet. The days are getting decidedly shorter. It was almost dark at 7:30 tonight!!! I love the change of seasons, but I'm not looking forward to it being dark before Mike gets off work!

Another sign that fall is coming (or arrived) is that the football season has begun. I always teased Mike that I wasn't ever going to be a golf widow (if you don't believe me, just ask the guy who almost met his maker while Mike was on the course. :), but instead a football widow. The U of I had a great deal on football season tickets for this year due to construction so we, along with Beth and Daniel, got season tickets. The first game was yesterday evening. It was fun, but I'm hoping next time we won't be rained on.

In other news, that doesn't really have a whole lot to do with us, the third baby in our small group was born on Wednesday of this past week. We joined this small group through our church about a year ago and since then there have been 3 babies and 3 weddings!! It's been a very busy year for all of us. We haven't gotten a chance to see him yet, but I'm going to try and stop by sometime this week and meet little Evan.

If we haven't heard from you in awhile, shoot us an email or give us a call. We'd love to catch up!

Reporting in

I better throw in my two cents.
Married life is great. Kristina does everything I tell her to and I don't have to do anything. No, seriously, things are going great. We enjoy hearing home-buying updates from B&D but are thankful we had a home to start out in and didn't have to try and do that right now with everything else we have going on.
Kristina is busy with classes and I'm busy studying for the PE exam. We both keep busy with our small groups and... we stay busy with each other!
Kristina feeds me well and I clean up afterwards.
Both looking forward to a long weekend and getting to see family.

honeymoon pics

For those of you who haven't had the opportunity to see pictures of our honeymoon, I thought I would post a few here. We are super glad we didn't honeymoon last week since Hurricane Dean went right through the area we were in!! We don't have the video of me falling off the horse loaded onto the computer yet, but once that is done, I'm sure Mike will want to post that as well.

jumping on the bandwagon :)

Well, we've given in and decided to start a blog. I won't make any promises about the frequency of updates or how entertaining they will be, but we wanted to keep friends and family up to date with our lives. Actually, we're pretty boring, so don't expect too much. :)

I start my first full week of class this week. I was fortunate enough to arrange my schedule so I only have to drive 2 days a week. Granted, my schedule it pretty lousy. I won't be getting home until really late on Tuesday along with no time for dinner during a 5 hour block of classes. But I figure I make up the time by not having to drive 4 days a week. I've only got 3 classes this semester: a financial reporting accounting class, small business consulting, and employee benefit plans. I'm really looking forward to the last two. I think they are going to be pretty useful. The career fair is coming up at school in a couple of weeks, although I'm not sure how much help it will be. Most of the companies that are coming are from the Chicago area. But we'll see. Ideally, I would like to have a job lined up for after I take the CPA by the time Thanksgiving break rolls around.

My internship went really well this summer. The women I worked for both said to let them know if I needed a reference. I had a couple of weeks off in between the internship and school starting. I decided to attempt to read all 7 of the Harry Potter books before school started. I got through all 7 in two weeks. I was definitely starting to go cross-eyed by the end. But now they aren't competing with the reading assignments I have for school. I was also able to get some scrapbooking done.

Speaking of scrapbooking, I don't have too many pictures of the wedding. The ones the photographer took are just too expensive to cut up and glue to paper. :) So, if you took pictures, please email them to me. My inbox is huge, so don't worry about filling it up with a bunch of pictures.

I think that is all from me.

Kristina