I've been Trippin'

So I've been traveling...a lot. After dropping off the parents, Sim, Coop, and Swan at the airport soon after the new year arrived, I parked my car at SFO's long term parking and hopped on a plane to LA.

My new friend, Karen, and I rented a car and drove down to visit beautiful San Diego the first weekend. It was my first time there and we stayed at the Westin Horton Plaza. It was a great weekend cause it was relaxing but we packed in a lot of sites and activities. This sunset photo was taken near Seaport Village.

We drove along the coast and visited Coronado, Mission Beach, and La Jolla before driving back to LA. Call me a dork, but I like pronouncing "Jolla" like an ignorant Hoosier with a hard "J" and a hard "L". "JOLLA!"

The next weekend, (believe me I do work between weekends), I flew to Phoenix to visit Drew. We went to a bar called Mickey's Hangover that had a nice outdoor patio and another place called the Rusty Saloon. Yes. People were wearing cowboy hats and they played country music. Good times. It's ridiculous that you can sit outside at night and feel like you're indoors in the middle of January.

Thanks to Drew, Sara, and friends for treating me like another member of the group. Too bad the Colts lost. Just like in the movies, our friend Andrea accidentally sat on the TV remote and turned off the tv right as Vanderjagt kicked the last field goal that would have tied the game. Everyone gasped, "AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Oh well, hilarious as it was, he missed it and I was sad. I still don't like to think about the loss.

I hung out with my parents this weekend in LA cause they're taking care of my grandmother while my aunt and uncle take a vacation in Spain. It's always good to see the family and get lectured in Taiwanese by A-ma (grandma).

It's actually been quite beautiful in San Francisco this weekend. After three weeks of being away, I just stand in awe as I look out my bedroom window at the skyline and bay bridge. It's good to be home.

I'll be flying back to Los Angeles early Tuesday morning, while the city lights are still a twinklin'.

Is it really Christmas Already?

My first Christmas in California...it has totally snuck up on me! As you can imagine, I'm not yet accustomed to the warm weather in the months of November AND December. It's 60 degrees today! Yes, for you Californians, that's really nice weather to me for ten days till Xmas. The trees all still have leaves and things are still green. I went out today in jeans and a t-shirt with the windows rolled down! The only difference is that the malls are jam packed and there are holiday decorations all over the place.

Thanksgiving was awesome. Spent lots of time with friends and family.
That's Stumpf, Ashley, Me, Blaire, Byron, Drew, Charles, and Robert. Check my sister's blog for more fun photos.

My Birthday was a couple weeks later and Ali, Kim, Sally, Ray, (work friends) and I went to a tapas restaurant in Venice, CA to celebrate. I also went with Kim to her friend's wedding on a beach in Malibu. It's crazy that you can actually have beautiful weather at the beach in December.



Went bowling at Lucky Strike in Hollywood to celebrate my actual birthday. As Munko said many times that night, "That place was AWESOME!" It was the coolest/nicest bowling alley I've ever been to. Thanks to Bryan, Munko, and Karen for showing me a good time and to all those who called to wish me happiness on the 6th. :)

Munko, Karen, and Me at the LA FTS Holiday Dinner

Went to the Not So Silent Night concert on the 9th featuring Hot Hot Heat, Death Cab for Cutie, and White Stripes. Hot Hot Heat rocked, but I was very disappointed with Death Cab. They just don't sound good live even though I love their latest albums. The White Stripes were good but their set was too short. I think there was some drama behind the scenes between the two band members cause there was a 5 minute break in the middle of the set where no one was on stage. Weird.

Last week we had the San Fran FTS Holiday Dinner at Tallulah with a white elephant gift exchange (Yes, I went to the holiday dinners for both LA and SF). I got a sweet light saber with motion-activated sound effects. There was also a Darth Vader Voice Changer mask that was exchanged quite a few times before Jane, my manager, ended up with it. Freaking HALARIOUS!


Last night was the PwC Holiday Party at the Asian Art Museum. Good times with Eva, Jenna, Johnny, and Rohit, even with the sketchiest limo ride ever. It was fun getting all dressed up...we look gooooood!


Now, I'm back in San Francisco for two weeks. No, I'm not going home for xmas. My parents are flying out on the 24th to visit for a week and Swan, Coop, and Sim are flying on the 28th for a Maastricht crew reunion. I'm psyched! Ok, I think that about catches you up.

Colts, let's focus on the playoffs. Pacers, can't worry about this Artest business anymore. It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time! Where ye at? Where ye at?

Back Below Freezing

Two weekends ago we had the San Francisco DA&I Holiday Party. This was one of the last pictures taken with my camera cause it got dropped. BOO! Oh well. That's my manager Chris in the middle and my friend Lijay on the right. We still had a lot of fun.

I'm in total anticipation of this week. I'm flying to Indy to have a Thanksgiving reunion with my family and friends. We're gonna do it up! I heard there's been snow and it's gets below freezing at night already...wouldn't be Thanksgiving without the cold weather.

In more news, I'm still working in LA. Will be there through all of December except for the holidays. I'm also going to a Death Cab for Cutie and White Stripes concert on Dec. 9. Woohoo! They're not new songs, but check out A Lack of Color by Death Cab and Outsiders by Franz Ferdinand.

The Ritz and Mission: Impossible

It's been three weeks of real work for this guy. The first two weeks, I was getting situated at the office, doing administrative work, and completing some small random tasks.

On the morning of Friday, October 7, I got a phone call from a manager in LA saying, "Hey Eric, did you hear you're gonna be coming down to LA next week?"
"Uhhh, yeah, kinda. For some e-mail extraction project, right?"

"No, that project got pushed back. You're coming for a different project. Go ahead a book a flight for Tuesday morning. You'll be down here for about a month."

I'm thinking, "A month? Suhweet!" I get to fly back to SF on the weekends, or in the case of next weekend, Phoenix! That's right, I'm going to visit Drew next weekend. I'm psyched!

So, my third week was in LA. I stayed downtown at the Westin Bonaventure which was old but nice. This week I am "forced" to stay at...drumroll please...the Ritz-Carlton in Marina Del Ray. That's right. The RITZ! (see pic) There's some sort of conference and every single hotel in and around downtown LA is booked. Not too shabby for me!

Another cool thing for a Hoosier is experiencing Hollywood first hand. They are shooting Mission: Impossible 3 on the street right in front of our office. They were converting street signs and billboards to make it look like Hong Kong. No star sighting yet, but it's pretty exciting. All the LA people are just like, "Ehh, whatever."

Hiking tomorrow in Marin County...

No more DARTS

It was bittersweet finishing DARTS training this past Friday. Yes, we were all excited to leave the Georgia Tech Hotel but we were also sad to all go our separate ways. We spent five weeks together and have become a big family. Andrew, Paul, and David are going back to London, so who know when we'll see them again. Many good memories... There we are, DARTS 2005 minus Meng. WE LOVE MENG!

My roommate Eugene from Philly and Nausher from LA. This is the view from my bedroom the night I returned from ATL.

I don't know what the fireworks were for, but it was cool and LOUD! A nice welcome home present in my honor, I suppose. :)

So for now, I'm back in San Francisco. Tomorrow is my first day at the office. We'll see what happens. Take care.

3.5 Weeks in the Books

We wrapped up the database portion of training yesterday. Today we dove into the computer forensics side of FTS. Both have been very interesting, and I'm excited to get on an actual project.

Without getting too technical, my group does two primary activities in an investigation. On one side, we gather accounting data from a client and analyze the individual entries to see how they affect the financial statements. We look for fraud that is hidden in the data. On the computer forensics side, we investigate and gather evidence that often sits outside of the accounting databases to try to identify fraudulent activity. This involves searching through e-mails, access logs, and retrieving deleted files among other things. Make sense? Most people relate when I tell them it's like CSI without the murders.

While I look forward to actually working in the field, I am having a blast with all my training buddies here in Atlanta. We've been eating big meals at the hotel's buffet and have explored some nearby restaurants that have all been pretty decent. We've been hitting the bars and clubs more often than not. Check out Vision, a cool dance club we went to this Saturday. Good times with the FTS crew!

Needless to say it's a huge bonding and networking experience in addition to the information overload in the classroom. Just one and a half weeks to go and we're done training!

Go Colts!

Cliche, I know, but it really is Hotlanta

Week one is in the books with the Firm. I'm at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center for 4 more weeks (see pic). It sounds long but it's not bad. I'm having a great time. PwC sure does know how to treat its employees. Full course buffets and fun nights at the bars.

I've made some friends and continue to meet new people each day. Too bad we're all in different offices. I knew this coming in, but I'll say it again: the coolest thing about PwC is the people.

We trainees are from all over the country--SF, LA, NY, DC, Chitown, Beantown, Philly, Dallas, and we have some Brits from London. I've become friends with the British guys, and we went to a nearby park and played some barefoot soccer. I'm trying to teach ultimate frisbee now. It's so hot and humid down here, my California buddies can't take it. It's bad, but I'm used to it from growing up in Hoosierland.

I've been exhausted almost everyday, but I've managed to get up and do it all over again the next day. Sorry I haven't been able to keep in touch with you this week; I've been so busy bouncing from training to meals to just hanging out with new friends. This week FTS is starting Data Analysis and Reporting Tools School (DARTS). I'll let you know how that goes.

After 2,301 miles, I'm Golden!

After three and a half days of driving, my dad and I have reached our destination. San Francisco! On the way, we did some site-seeing at Medicine Bow NF, ate some fattie dinners in Kearney, Nebraska and Salt Lake City, Utah. We also, gambled and gorged ourselves at all-you-can-eat meals in Reno, Nevada.

Unpacking was as exciting as it sounds, and I'm still far from settled in. Here was the view from my room today. I still can't believe it.


Today we shopped at Target then had dinner with cousins Eirene and Eugene, Eirene's husband Stephen, and Eirene and Stephen's boy, Alexander, at a tasty Afghan restaurant in San Carlos. Check out the studly kid (10 months).

Painting tomorrow. By the way, Coldplay was the best concert I've ever experienced. Wow! Next entry from ATL.

On The Road Again

In 5 hours, my dad and I will start the 2,600 mile drive to San Francisco, CA. I've just said my goodbyes to some close friends. While my friend, Byron, approaches goodbyes with the saying, "I don't put much into goodbyes because I know I'll see the people I care about again," it's still not easy to think about leaving the place I grew up, and more importantly, leaving my friends and family. I haven't really lived at home in Indy for the past 3 years, but I've always had the comfort of knowing I'll return. Not this time. It makes me wonder what Drew felt when he left for Phoenix, AZ over two months ago.

Enough of that...The car is pretty much packed, and we'll be on the road until Thursday afternoon. Call me and we can chat! The next entry will be in San Francisco or Atlanta!

I'll always be a Hoosier.

A Mischievous Duo

Last night I was able to meet with an old friend from last year's internship. Jason and his lovely wife, Karen, were traveling north through Indianapolis so I took them out to their first Steak 'n' Shake experience to catch up. Jason always manages to crack me up! Fun people like him are the reason I can't wait to work for PwC. Check us out on the Quality Inn Suites king-sized bed. Kinda sketchy, I know. ;)