The Unauthorized Biography of Andy Mark

Passport Signing Authority!

Here’s a conversation that you can have with me in a few short months:

Question: “Andy, where can I get my passport signed? I need someone to do it right away and I don’t know who to do it?!?!?!?”

Response: “Don’t worry one bit! I can do that!”

On November 25, I found out that I passed the UFE!!!! It was a huge weight off my shoulders and the 2 months of waiting were finally over! It was such a sweet feeling. It was pretty much one of the most nerve racking things I’ve had happen to me (that is, when I went online to see if I passed), but it was such a relief to see that comment “Competency Achieved”. What does this mean? Well, it means that in a few short months (approximately on June 30, 2007) I will be a Chartered Accountant! It was amazing to look back at the journey (you could almost hear some cheesy themed music taking me back to my first day at university ha-ha). I could go into some nostalgic recall of the past 6 years (4 years university and 2 years post grad) but I’ll spare you the details.

However, I’d like to say that this summer has been a summer of “big” events with the wedding happening in June, writing the UFE, and now this. It feels good to get these events behind us and start looking forward to what’s to come. But, the big question is “what is to come?” I guess we’ll find out when we get there.

So, that was some of the big news this month. Jill and I are doing really well. Jill is ripping it up at college (ripping as in doing really well in her classes) and work has been like the “calm before the storm”. It’s pretty exciting spending our first Christmas together in our home. We went out the other week and bought a tree and all the fixings. However, we realized very quickly, that the $5 Walmart special Christmas tree stand doesn’t have the bang for the buck. Needless to say, after the tree nearly fell down thrice, we needed to go upgrade the tree stand for something a bit more reliable. The tree has also become a fascination for our kittens too as they were introduced to the world of garland, ornaments, tree needles, tree stands, and Christmas lights. It’s a constant search for ornaments that have gone missing in action throughout the apartment.

In addition to the Christmas tree, parts of the season that we’ve also enjoyed are the Christmas parties and get togethers that have taken place. Last weekend, we had our firm’s Christmas party which took place at the Calgary tower. This was definitely a highlight as we were “on top of the town” for the evening. There was great food, great music (Pam Stewart and The Colour of Blues), and great company. It’s always a good time to get to know colleagues out of the office and to meet their significant others. We also headed to what is becoming a Christmas tradition in going to Zoo Lights at the Calgary Zoo. Every year, Jill’s Dad’s church choir sings at the zoo and has a bit of a party afterwards at their place. Last year, we braved -25 degree temperature to going see the lights; however, this year, we were delighted to a much milder experience (only -8 degrees). It was a nice treat!

There are some things that Christmas wouldn’t be the same without (mainly, Bing Crosby somewhat slurring his way through Silver Bells). But, in the season, I hope the Lord finds you well and that you enjoy the love and compassion this season brings.

“Keep warm. Stay cool; and for goodess sake, take care of the ones you love.” Ross Porter

posted by Andy @ 10:18 AM

A few more sleeps… that’s if I can

The past week has been one of those weeks where you have a lot of free time and too much time to think. Let me give you a bit of background… Just over 2 months ago, I wrote the biggest educational exam in my life, the UFE. This exam was for me to obtain my Chartered Accountant (CA) designation. The exam was a grueling 3 day process where the examiners tried to trick us and throw us situations that would jar us. After it was completed, I was drained and exhausted. But, that was just the start of the waiting process.

Over the last 2 months, I haven’t thought a lot about the exam. I’ve been plugging away at work, establishing some extra curricular activities that weren’t in my radar while taking my classes. It has been a really relaxing process just to deal with work and whatnot. However, this past week, the thoughts of the exam have started to creep back into my mind. It first started with a few emails by colleagues who also wrote the exam. Then the questions started to flood my mind… “Did I write enough?”, “I’m sure I hit that indicator…”, “Did I hit every indicator that I needed too?”, etc. After stressing about this for a few days, I realized that there’s nothing I can do about the results of the exam. If I were to do anything about it, that time has past. Now, I just have my thoughts and the occasional drink… But, this week, I’ve been sitting around work and people have started coming up to me, asking me how I feel, my plans for the weekend (and hopefully celebrating, but that still hasn’t phased me. I still plan on doing the regular things in my week. I plan on going golfing tonight, and going out for drinks tomorrow night.

The strange thing too is that I’m starting to become a bit rattled by a simple thing I do everyday… riding the elevator up 27 floors to the lobby of our office. I sit on our reception floor and the successful writers of the UFE take that hallowed elevator ride to be welcomed by cheering staff, managers, and partners. But, it makes me think about that experience. It’s strange how a daily occurrence is becoming a turning point, a large accomplishment, in one’s career.

Looking forward… My parents are coming into town this weekend to hopefully celebrate. It should be a fun time. Plus, my University of Saskatchewan Huskies are playing in the Vanier Cup on Saturday. I totally wish I could be back in Saskatoon for this game. The game promises to be a fight! Last time Laval was in Saskatoon, they lost in the Mitchell Bowl (29-27 I think). But, I’ll hopefully find a TV and a beer on Saturday afternoon to see the old stomping grounds. It’ll be a great day for Saskatoon and hopefully the Huskies football program!

posted by Andy @ 1:34 PM

Hi Ho from the Mark Sickbay

I have to say that the last week was one of the most interesting weeks of our short married lives... Laurence and Kelly (our pastor and his wife) were away in Banff from Monday to Thursday on a "pastor's prayer retreat". Anyway, they needed someone to look after their 2 kids (aged 4 and 18 months). So, Jill and I volunteered to look after them while they were away. I have to say that this was a great eye-openner as to what it takes to have kids! I was looking after the boys on Monday night by myself as Jill was at her practicum. So, after having some issues with finding some food to feed the boys, I was able to get them fed, bathed, and into bed at a reasonable time (8:30). Tuesday was a busy day for both of us.

Then, on Wednesday, it turned out to be a very interesting day. I dropped the kids off at before going to work and picked them up after. What made it partially interesting was that it was a miserable day due to the snow that fell. Anyway, we took the boys to Chuck E. Cheeses for supper and some fun, and then went back to the house. After we put the kids into bed, Jill started feeling sick. Anyway, to make a long story short, we ended up going into the hospital and had to wait 7 hrs before we got a bed! Luckily, we were able to find someone to look after the boys while we were away. Well... it was a true challenge having to look after 2 kids when you're not use to any! Lets just say that this has been a good form of birthcontrol hahaha.

Well, with that note in hand, Jill and I celebrated our 5 month aniversary at home. Luckily, I haven't gotten sick, but we spent it at home resting. Not too much fun, but we hope to plan to do something a touch more fun for our 6 month!

Other news... Riders lost today... that sucks. I ended up getting tickets to the game last weekend here in Calgary and it was such a good time! We were in the endzone with a bunch of SK fans. Buris got heckled a lot which was good, we saw some touchdowns and got some TV time! Too bad the Riders couldn't duplicate their performance this week... Oh well...

Anyway, a few of us at church have started a new "young adult" service at the church that's taking place once a month. We just started this last month and it went pretty good. I'm helping to organize the music and we ended up choosing a song by United called "From the Inside Out". Anyway, it has one line that has kind of haunted me for the last little while. The line is "The art of losing myself In bringing you praise". I just think that it's cool to think that we all have our own way of doing this. It just goes to prove that we are all wired differently. But, I just think that's the coolest line!

Well, less than 2 weeks until the UFE marks come out. I had a dream about it last night. I guess it's all down here from here hahaha. But, I'm sure things will start to get crazy pretty quick...

PEACE

posted by Andy @ 8:22 PM

Back with a Vengance!

Well, after numerous months off, I think I've regained the motivation to start blogging again. I was thinking about whether or not I should start this up again and realized that it was a really good way to keep in touch with people. My old roommate, Bryan Wall, was over on Friday day night and we started talking about the good old days back in Saskatoon. I realize that I just haven't really kept in good touch with people from Saskatoon, not because my 4 years in Saskatoon was horid or anything like that, but just because of the amount of "busyness" in my life and time to get back there and check out the old digs. But, with that now said, I do think of Saskatoon and frequently check out old hotspots of mine on the web (i.e. Lakeview Church, Lydia's, U of S, the Mendal).

Looking back on things, the summer and fall have been a really busy time. They've included:

1. Writing the UFE: The UFE is a 3 day exam that is for my Chartered Accountant (CA) designation. It is the final exam for me in order to get my CA. The exam was quite the challenge. I took the whole summer off to study and get prepared and when things hit, it was like no other practice exam I had written... Also, it doesn't help that I don't find out until November 24 whether I passed it or not...
2. Learning to live with me working and Jill being in school: I have to say that this has really been a learning point! It's not anything bad, but all summer long, Jill and I have been at home and hung out a lot together and just learned "living together" after the wedding. But, with her back in school and me being back at work, it's been really different. I have to say that the biggest thing getting use to is not having to do homework at night. So, my nights are starting to fill up with some things at the church and some volunteering (something I neglected when I was studying at nights).
3. Work: I was off work for about 4 months this summer. This was partly due to taking time off for the wedding and studying as well. So, going back to work was really different. In addition, I switched departments at work. I moved from our Coroporate Audit group which mainly deals with public company audits to our Enterprise group, which deals mainly with our private company audits. It was a big move and a real challenge for me. I've been learning new software which has turned out to be a bitch, but it's slowly coming.
4. Travel for work: Since I've been back at work, I've had to do some travelling. First, I was out at Harrison Hot Springs at the beginning of October for training and then in Seattle a few weeks ago for an audit down there. It was the first time travelling for work as a "married man" and was a different experience... One thing that I'm glad I don't have to do is that I'm not travelling as much with work than if I was to remain in the Corporate audit group...

But, one thing that I'm really excited about is this new young adults service that we have going on at the church (Foothills Alliance). Its been something that we've needed at the church for a long time, but we're finally starting to get it off the ground. We had our first one last weekend and had a pretty good turnout. We had about 40 people. The vision that I'm seeing it be is like "The Upper Room" that I was part of back in Saskatoon. It's some practical teaching and some good music. I'm working on the music with some really good musicians. We've started writing some of our own stuff which is really exciting! But, this is something the church needs and hopefully it'll be able to give the young adults in our church what they need!

In a final note... I have tickets to next Sunday's football game between the Riders and the Stamps. It will definately be a sea of green as the wheat cheifs advance to the Western final! Be sure to cheer on the Riders!!!!!!!!

Peace

posted by Andy @ 9:28 AM

NEW POST!

I do realize that it's been over 2 months since I've stepped foot on this site and decided to update it; but here it goes!

The last two months have been crazy needless to say. Got married on June 10th in Waterton Lakes National Park her in the Wild Rose Country (Alberta that is...). It was great to see a lot of people that I haven't seen in a while as well as catch up with some family that were able to come a long way. Also, I was able to meet a delightful couple from Townsville, Australia; Mark and Shiloh Stillwell. Shiloh is a good friend of Jill's from when she was down there and went to school. Her and her new husband, Mark, were in Canada on their honeymoon as well as took part in the wedding (Shiloh was Jill's Matron of Honour). It was super cool to meet them as well as get to know them over the 3 weeks that they were in the country. Right after the wedding, they ended up taking off back to Australia!

After that, we hopped in our noble steed and headed off for our honeymoon. Well... 11 days, 8 states, and 6.500km later, we finally ended up back in Calgary to our new home. Along the way (our last stop in Lethbridge, we ended up picking up a couple of kittens which rounded out our new family for the time being! But, it was an amazing trip! I have to say though, doing homework on your honeymoon isn't the most fun thing to do. The wedding took place right in the middle of Module 5 of CASB which is the schooling I've been taking for my Chartered Accountant designation. However, I was able to buckle down prior to the wedding and was able to get a few weeks ahead! However, there were revisions that needed to be done throughout the honeymoon, but it wasn't that bad at all. I just had a lot of work waiting for me when we returned home!

After returning home, it was pretty hectic. We had to unpack all the gifts, Jill's stuff, as well as reorganize a lot of things in order to fit our new found items. So, after a few weeks of that, we were finally able to get this done. All in the while, I was finishing up Mod 5. On July long weekend, we ended up playing in a slo-pitch tournement in Olds, AB with my Dad's slo-pitch team out of Caronport/Moose Jaw. It was pretty fun for Jill and I to play with my dad's team. We ended up playing 10 games in 3 days. It was pretty nuts!

After that, we did manage to make it out to the lake to enjoy a few days away from the city. But, to make a long story short, I had an exam on July 15 and right after that, we took off and spent a week at the lake relaxing, wakeboarding, swimming, running, and just relaxing. It turns out that the CASB gods were in my favour hahaha and I made it past Module 5 which makes me nearly eligible to write our final exam (the UFE) this summer! I'm super stoked as this 6 year process of going after my Chartered Accountant designation is near completion! SUPER COOL!


And... well... that takes us to where we are now. It's a bit of a whirlwind, but that's that. The next month plans on being equally busy as I'm in class for the first 2 weeks of August and will be full fledge into studying until the middle of September. We're almost there and hopefully by the end of this process, I'll have the letters "CA" behind my name haha.

On another note, I've been reading a cool book called "Walk On" by Steve Stockman. It's a book about the spiritual revolution of U2 and how, through their music, are relaying a message of love, hope, and peace along with questioning the roles of the traditional church throughout their music. It's a super good read if you're into that.

Anyway, I've posted some more pictures on the flickr sight if you want to check them out. I'll be back soon to update and if you're wanting more, see Jill and my sight at jillandandy.blogspot.com

Peace

posted by Andy @ 8:56 PM

2.5 Weeks and Counting (17 Days and Counting to be Precise)

Well, it's coming up quick! YIKES! It's only 17 more days until the BIG DAY. But, I have to say that the next 17 days are going to be jam packed full of things. In that time, we still have to finalize a few things, get some stuff sorted out, and pick up a lot of stuff! Tonight, Jill's matron of honour entered Canada from Australia with her new husband. They got married last Saturday in Townsville and are honeymooning here in Canada before the wedding. It's super exciting to have them here and it was cool to meet this person whom I've heard so much about!

But, work plans on being super busy in the next few weeks. I've climbed the ranks now and have been "senioring" a few jobs at work. There's nothing really to it, but I just have more responsibility in order to get the file done. So, that's been stressful. Also, I have to get all my stuff packed up, get my time and pay stuff sorted out, write some exams, and get my computer reconfigured all before I leave. The majority of this stuff will happen in the last week though... fun...

It's hard to think that Jill and I have been together for just about a year. It was a year this week that we started hanging out (actually tomorrow night was the night that "sparked" things off). It's nuts to think of all that's happened in a year and to think of all the crazy things that will happen in the next year! But, I'm super cool with it. It has been so much fun (along with its challenges), but I know that the years ahead will be as much, and possibly even more fun that this past year was. A few people have asked me how I'm feeling about the wedding, and I'm pretty calm about it. It was to their surprize that that answer came out. But, I have to say that I'm really calm about it. I'm sure the day before I'm going to be a bit batty, but right now, I feel super cool about it. Yes it is a big decision, but it's also a huge commitment I'm willing to make.

But, it's late and I have a big day of work ahead of me... I'll probably be on in the next few days to update things!

PEACE

posted by Andy @ 12:19 AM

Still Alive!

Well, I know it's been a long time since I've posted on this thing, but I guess that's the way life goes... This past weekend I was in Toronto for Mike Armstrong's wedding. Mike and I go way back to Grade 7 back in Caronport SK. It was there we met and became great friends. But, overall all the years, we've developed a great friendship and it was amazing to see him marry the love of his life (Ang Willis)!

But, the weekend started off with an early flight to TO on Friday morning. One of the most memorable moments was playing 9 holes the morning before the wedding. Mike and I have been golfing together for eons and to have a round with him before his wedding was an excellent way to get prepped for the wedding! Although we both shot horendous scores, we were able to laugh about the numerous rounds we use to play, the hero shots that were made in unreal circumstances and pressure, and just life. Overall, it was a celebration of his life and his life to come!

Throughout the whole weekend, it made me realize how quickly Jill and my wedding is coming up! With less than 6 weeks to go, it's really starting to hit me about what needs to get done as well as how exciting the June 10 weekend is going to be! It's something that's just going to be a lot of fun and will be an awesome party!

Well, that's all for me for now. CASB is starting again this weekend and I'm off for a study session. But, although the next month and a bit are going to be busy, I'll be sure to stop on by and say hi!

Later

posted by Andy @ 4:47 PM