Midwest Recruiting

Merry Christmas!

from KPMG's Midwest Recruiting Group

(plus a couple extras)

but thanks....

A few pictures from the northwoods winter wonderland and the trip up.

"Don, have you been noticing funny looks from people in the cars passing us?
"No, I haven't. i wonder why they would look at us funny."

but thanks....

Happy Thanksgiving!

one week from Thursday is Thanksgiving. I was listening to a radio station the other day and they were referring to Thanksgiving as the "forgotten holiday." They said people take down their Halloween decorations and hang up the Christmas ones. Thinking back over the past week I was thinking about the errands I was running. Most of the stores had their Halloween decorations on sale and right next to it was a few Thanksgiving things with the Christmas decorations taking over most of the store. The Thanksgiving stuff really was pushed to the side and if you weren't looking for it you could easily miss it. Walking around downtown, Christmas decorations are going up. This weekend is the Festival of Lights parade, basically a start of Christmas celebration. Christmas music has started taking over the airwaves. Now I did learn over the weekend that Thanksgiving was not the peaceful happy-go-lucky dinner between the Pilgrims and Indians that we were taught in school. We've come along way from 1621 to be truly thankful for what we have. Don't let Thanksgiving become the "forgotten holiday". We have a lot to be thankful for these days.

I'm thankful for my family and their health, my friends, my job, the time i can spend with other people, and my church.

What are you thankful for?

Halloween

Friday night my mom threw quite the Halloween bash for the grandsons. Anders was a Minnesota Viking football player and Axel was Tigger.

For dinner we ate mummy dogs and ghost jell-o along with other boring food like green beans.

The boys especially enjoyed eating the mummy dogs.

The dinner ended, after a piece of candy for each boy, with Anders coming over to Axel for a hug and counted to 10 together. Aren't they great brothers?

Winter wonderland

Monday morning i woke up and looked outside. This is what greeted me.

Ok I was in Northern Wisconsin for the weekend but still it's October and I was joking when I said i was hoping to get snowed in over the weekend.

how cute am i?

isn't she cute?

how cute am i?

isn't she cute?

i've been tagged...

Four things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Working at a law firm
2. Living in the North Park neighborhood
3. Owning a car
4. Not dating anyone (hmm? something haven't changed after ten year. sad.)

Four things on my to-do list:
1. Find a condo
2. Find a better paying job
3. See the Cubs win a World Series
4. Go on a date

Four jobs I’ve had:
1. Accounts payable/Receivable
2. Jane of all trade3. Baker’s assistant4. Lifeguard

Four movies I’ve watched more than once:
1. Star Wars (all six of them)
2. All of the Harry Potter Movies
3. Major League
4. Indiana Jones (again all of them)

Four places I’ve lived:
1. Chicago
2. Chicago
3. Jonkoping
4. Chicago

Four places I want to visit:
1. New Zealand
2. Sweden
3. Scotland
4. Prince Edward Island

Four television shows I watch right now:
1. Gray's anatomy
2. two and a half men
3. Sportscenter
4. Lost

Four things you might not know about me:
1. I’m living with my parents while I’m looking for a condo
2. The Cubs make me cry
3. I like Kid Rock (well some of his stuff)
4. I wear the same pair of shoes almost every day at work during the cold months


Four things I like about being married:

(no comment)

Eddie Vedder

Don't let anyone say that it's just a game

For I've seen other teams and it's never the same

When you're born in Chicago you're blessed and you're healed

The first time you walk into Wrigley Field

Our heroes wear pinstripe, heroes in blue

Give us the chance to feel like heroes too

Whether we'll win and if we should lose

We know someday we'll go all the way

Yeah

Someday we'll go all the way

We are one with the Cubs

With the Cubs we're in love

Yeah, hold our head high as the underdogs

We are not fair-weather but foul-weather fans

We're like brothers in arms in the streets and the stands

There's magic in the ivy and the old scoreboard

The same one I stared at as a kid keeping score

In a world full of greed, I could never want more

Than someday we'll go all the way

Yeah

Someday we'll go all the way

Someday we'll go all the way

Yeah

Someday we'll go all the way

Someday we'll go all the way

And here's to the men and the legends we've known

Teaching us faith and giving us hope

United we stand and united we'll fall

Down to our knees the day we win it all

Ernie Banks said "Oh, let's play two"

Or did he mean 200 years

In the same ball park, our diamond, our jewel

The home of our joy and our tears

Keeping traditions and wishes made new

A place where our grandfathers, fathers they grew

A spiritual feeling if I ever knew

And if you ain't been I am sorry for you

And when the day comes with that last winning run

And I'm crying and covered in beer

I'll look to the sky and know I was right

To think someday we'll go all the way

Yeah

Someday we'll go all the way

Someday we'll go all the way

Yeah

Someday we'll go all the way

Someday we'll go all the way

Yeah

written by Eddie Vedder

A Cubs Fan

Rally Day

It's Post Season Rally Day 2008 today. It's beginning to be an annual event for the Cubs. I could handle that. It's a nice fall day, cool but good for standing in a large crowd of people for 45 minutes. Jim Belushi was the emcee for the festivities today. He did a great job. He has to do it every year. Our favorite governor Rod-B spoke, always campaigning, and sounding like the Cubs won the World Series. Mayor "White Sox" Daley spoke too. Of course Ron, Billy, and Ernie were there and a couple of the players popped up at the end. Harry Caray sang the 7th inning stretch and Jim ended the day with a new version of "Go Cubs Go".

"Hey Chicago what do you say... The Cubs are going all the way!"

Post Season. :)

When your short this is how you view the world... Can you see Jim Belushi?

A little bit of confetti to end the rally.

What a great upgrade to the Picasso, don't you think?

Clinch

Go Cubs Go!

Here are a few pictures from the celebration on Saturday.

The "W" flag is flying high over Wrigley.

The final score.

Singing along to "Go Cubs Go!"

the celebration spilled out of the dugout on to the field.

flood

Last weekend the city was drenched in rain. It must have rained for 48 hours straight. Filled the North branch fuller than I've ever seen it. Here are a couple picture (thanks Mrs. Frisk) of the NPU campus, which Burgh and Anderson had to be evacuated Saturday night due to flooding. The students were allowed back into the dorms on Monday. Foster Avenue was closed for four days because of the flooding around the park about a half mile east of Kimball. Crazy!

The foot bridge usually sits several feet about the river, which is about knee to mid-thigh depth at that point.

Chocolate Mug Cake

MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

1 Coffee Mug
4 tablespoons flour (that's plain flour, not self-rising)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
(1 tablespoon of instant coffee as well gives you a Mocha cake!)
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
Small splash of vanilla

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well . Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to share!)

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

magic

Now down to:

20

Julia

Hi! Aren't I cute?

magic

Today is August 27. The Cubs have a magic number. 26 Let the count down begin.

happy!

I got the invoice for my postseason tickets today.

yeah!
:)

This really needs to be the year I get to use all of them. I don't like having a stash of unused World Series tickets lying around.
:(

above the rest...

Derrick Lee is literally a head above the rest.

:)

RBI

Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities

I have been working this year with the Chicago chapter of RBI, which is now a "proud sponsor" of KPMG. it's been a lot of fun. We started out the year with keeping score for the games. There were two a night, one for the junior league and one for the senior league. Sunday, August 3rd RBI was invited to participate in a clinic held at Wrigley field prior to the game versus Pittsburgh. The program invited the winning senior team and the junior all-stars. Of course they needed some extra chaperons from KPMG. A few of us scorekeepers were invited to help out and spend the day with them. It started out early by meeting at the park at 9:00 in the morning. The same time the Cubs were starting to arrive.

The players started out with workouting on the field lead by three of the Cubs coaches; Larry Rothschild, Alan Trammell, and Ivan DeJesus. I sat and watched the pitchers with Larry. It was very interesting to hear him speak to the boys. Then a few of them took turns pitching. I liked how he found good and bad things to tell each boy as they took their turn. Another group practice snagging fly balls up against the ivy and the third group caught grounders and throwing to first base.

All the boys looked like the were enjoying themselves and taking in all in, even a few of the chaperons had big smiles. After 45 minutes of field work, the team settled in to watch Kerry Wood throw two simulated innings, part of his recovery from the nasty blister plaguing him for the last month. The next stop was moving everyone closer to the on-deck circle for pictures and autographs. This was the most exciting part, not just for the team. They sat us down in aisle 116 right next to the dugout. In groups of 3 to 5, they stepped on the field to the on-deck circle for a picture then into the dugout for another picture. Once the team was done, the KPMGers took our spot in line. One overheard comment... "i think they are smiling bigger than the boys." that just made us smile even more. As we sat and waited a few of the players came over to say Hi! and sign autographs.

Derrick Lee

Mark DeRosa
Jim Edmonds
Ryan Theriot

We were even treated to a game a catch... with a football, lead by former quarterback Mark DeRosa. Even Zambrano got in the middle with a stunning intercetion.

After watching batting practice, stretching, and some running drills, we were ready to go in for lunch. We were lead around the park to the Stadium Club. Inside we had a small room to ourselves. I looked at the person next to me and said, "I am ready for a hotdogs." then a Cubs personal stood up and welcomed us to the Stadium Club, he also announced that you will not find the normal stadium food in the club but that we were being treated to a wonderful all-you-can-eat brunch buffet. I have to admit i was a bit sad. I was looking forward to a hotdog and nachos. It was good food. The boys ate their fill, received t-shirts and caps from KPMG, then we escorted them to the final destination to watch the game. What a game it was! They won, even though for a moment things didn't look good when the game was tied in the late innings. But that's what the Cubs do these days, come back from behind. Go Cubs!

Trade rumors

Today is one of baseball's trade deadlines.

My favorite "straight up" trade... Manny Ramirez (Boston Red Sox) for Brett Favre (Green Bay Packers).





I found a picture...

stretch

Well, once again, I did not make it into the top 50 for the Seventh Inning Stretch competition. Voting is on the Cubs web-site if you want to see the ones that made it.

Tell it to the Cubs

The Cubs are running a program for season ticket holders called "Tell it to the Cubs". They sent out an invitation to the season ticket holders asking them if they wanted to participate in a question and answer lunch at Wrigley. As you can imagine the response was high. The first lunch was held back in June. I was not invited to that one. I was, however, privileged to be invited to the last one held yesterday, Wednesday July 23. It's always fun to be in Wrigley on a non-game day.

It was a beautiful day. We were led into the park and herded towards an open concession stand for lunch. They served a modified menu of hotdogs, hamburgers, chips, malt cups, and drinks. I grabbed a hotdog, chips, and a small Pepsi. They had us sitting in sections 130/131. We were in the shade the speakers were in the sun.

It was an open mic-question and answer session. Cranne Kenney introduced others joining him, then lead the discussion after a short welcome. It was interesting to hear what was on people's minds. There were 5 year ticket holders all the way to 35 year ticket holder. Even the owner of the McDonald's across the way was there as a season ticket holder. As each person stepped up to the mic, they gave their name, number of years as a ticket holders, and their section. They weren't told to do this the first person did, so everyone else did.

So what was on the minds of the ticket holders? History of the ballpark was a hot topic, a hall of fame in the new triangle building answered most of those questions. Future upgrades and improvements to the ball park, the triangle building again was a common response. The triangle building was proposed back in 2004/5. It would hold parking, a hall of fame, offices, restaurants, and shops. it would take some of the current offices out of the park to make room for improvements and expansion in the park. The updating the bathrooms and controlling the flow of the traffic in the bathroom was a very hot topic. A few suggestions for special promotions for season ticket holders and other regular attenders were given, including a swipe card for various uses. These were welcomed suggestions and even received a couple "watch your mail this off-season for details" responses. Questions on landmark status, traffic/police/security around the park, sound system, customer relation service, new owner process, replays on the tvs, and upgrading/swapping season tickets. Several people also started out by giving "props" for the way that they handled the up-grades to the park over the years - bleachers, press boxes, lights, and suites. There were a few questions regarding ticket prices and revenue but they were all answered with bringing in a team to compete and win a world series. One suggestion for more revenue would be showing away post-season games in Wrigley. There were a few on-the-spot poles by a show of hands. One was if a jumbo screen could be put up separate from the scoreboard, would you approve? Another was should the "L" flag be raised at the end of game to announce the Cubs lost that game?

All and all it was a very interesting session lasting just over two hours. On our way out we were given a bag of promotion "leftovers". A min-baseball bat, a insulated mug (looking about 20 years old), a webkinz, a build-a-bear cubby, and a Cubs uniform for an American Girl doll.

Summer in Chicago

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away... ok it wasn't that long ago but it seems like it, Ann-Marie and I got it into our heads that we wanted to go to SuperDawg one day. It was so long ago I don't even remember how the topic of conversation started. Upon her return from the motherland, Sweden, we decided to have a lunch together after church the following Sunday. The possibilities were endless... should we stay in and fix something, pick something up and eat-in, or go somewhere. It didn't take too long and I declared "we should go to SuperDawg." The decision was made and the excitement started to build. Who wouldn't be excited about eating a hotdog under a giant hotdog?
It turned out that Sunday was the perfect day to go. It was warm but not too warm, our timing was great. We pulled right into a spot and decided to order and eat in the car. That's half the fun, right?
Of course we had to take time and read the menu, carefully choosing what we wanted before pressing the button to order. It came quickly. We each enjoyed a SuperDawg with fries and a thick chocolate malt. we did giggly at ourselves a few times for being so excited about the visit but it was well worth it. talks about going back ended our meal.

It's one of those fun Chicago places to go. I highly recommend it.

Hiya! and enjoy!

http://www.superdawg.com/

I sang a wrong word

I sang a wrong word. i have to admit it and it's on film. Ok film that was probably erased a minute after i left but it still happened. Friday morning was my try-out for the second annual 7th Inning stretch competition at Wrigley. it was a warm day and I was lucky to be in the first round of singers for the day. This year I heard they only had one day of try-outs with approximately 1,100 people invited to sing. In two days last year that was about the number of people that showed up even though about twice as many were invited. That's what was passed on to us by the escort we had to lead us around Wrigley. He escorted us down into the bowls of Wrigley. There we sat in the stuffy heat of the hallway while we waited to be called. After the first person went, there were technical problems that had to be solved before the next person could sing. We had about 35 minutes to check out our surroundings and chat with each other.

Across the way from us hung the chains they use in-between the innings to smooth out the dirt on the infield.

To the left of me sat stacks and stacks of the "kitty litter" they use on the field to soak up the puddles after a rain delay.

To the right of me sat sandbags and the rakes they used to tidy up the field.

A rather interesting place to sit and wait. Did i mention that it was warm down there? I was glad to have brought some water even though it went fast. Finally it was time to get going again, good thing because we were starting to melt. the next three people went in and came out, then it was my turn. I was warm and a little nervous. I joked with my escort, as we entered the air conditioned room with some showers, and asked if i could take a quick shower. I entered the next room which I learned was the umpires locker room. It was small but had some nice big comfortable looking recliners. I stood up there and started singing... "take me out to the ball game. take me out with the park..." what? what did i just sing? keep singing. keep singing. "I said a wrong word. I'm so sorry. I've never done that." i blurted that out as soon as i was done. "yah you did but you sounded really good while you did it," was one of the judges response. "I'm sure you've noticed that most people who sing don't get the words right. Don't worry about it." The judge asked a couple of questions and then thanks me for singing and i'm on my way. I can't believe i mess-up. I've never done that before. I was hoping to at least make it to the next 50 this year but doubt that will happen now. Even with the extra waiting time I was done and outside by 10:30.

One piece of sad news was announced on the news Friday morning, the young man that won the 7th inning stretch competition passed away. He was battling cancer last year and lost his battle just as the competition for this year was starting. My prayers go out to his family.

Again...

Once again I received an invitation to compete in the 7Th inning stretch competition at Wrigley field. Last year some where between 2,500 and 2,800 people competed in the first round. It was narrowed down to 50, then to 10. I hope this year to make it to the second round of 50. Since I'm not 8, 80, or battling a deadly disease I know I won't make it into the top ten but here's hoping to make it beyond the first round.
My time slot is 9:30 am on Friday, July 18Th. Results can about two or three weeks later, if i remember correctly from last year. I'll keep you posted.

Go Cubs!

Axel and Ahnu

A tale of two brothers...

Look how nicely they can be together. Axel does nothing without making sure Ahnu (Anders) is far away. too cute!