2010 Year in Review

2010 was truly an integral year in the life of Brandon Ball; looking back, I can’t believe I’m sitting where I am today and would have never believed at the start of the year that I would go through so much in one year. Here it is, the balltrain’s super-awesome 2010 year in review.

January- You know how every kid hates the first few days back at school, but then after a couple weeks you’re in the routine of school and you’re used to it so it’s not really that bad? I’ve decided that is the perfect analogy for busy season in public accounting. The first few nights of working til 8-9-10 ish are quite the grind, but after a week or so you get into the routine of it and suddenly you find yourself saying in your head, “It’s not so bad. I can deal with working late into the night every day for the foreseeable future.” I also indirectly experienced a key moment in January and I even posted on it earlier this year. I was working on the BMW audit and one of the accountants there had told me about how in late 2009 he had run a marathon in Greece. I thought that was one of the coolest things I had ever heard. A big accomplishment that he would remember forever and in Greece to boot. Pretty cool if you ask me and it turned out to be an inspiration for me just a short time later.

February/March- Really late January I get onto my main audit IHC. I had previously agreed with a coworker that we were going to lose weight starting January 1^st, but I had done nothing up to that point in any effort to lose any weight. We decide as a team that during the audit we are going to have a weight loss competition. Everybody joins in, records their personal goals, and we decide to eat healthy (read: Subway every day) as much as possible. At the time I weigh in at 260, my all-time high.

So one night I’m sitting at home (it must have been a Saturday or Sunday) and my sister Jackie is over visiting. I tell her about my supposed weight loss goal but how I’m not sure how to start. She picks up my laptop and immediately goes to the signup page for the Salt Lake City Half Marathon in April. For some reason I decide to sign up, and my fate of 2010 being the year of the run is sealed. I start running a few times a week, usually around midnight in the freezing February cold, just a few miles each time around my neighborhood. I also start spending Saturday mornings on “long” runs, which on the first Saturday meant a healthy 3 miles, which felt like forever at the time.

I hurt my foot a couple weeks before the big half marathon and wanted to just bail completely, but I’m convinced by Jackie and my sweet wife to just go for it anyway. I finish if I remember correctly at 2:48. Not a great time but I was at mile 11 when the full marathon winner passed me by so I thought that was pretty good for me.

May- So after the marathon I tell Jackie, “You know, if I kept running for a couple more years I might be ready to run a marathon in a couple years”. So since the St. George Marathon has a 3^rd year guaranteed entry in the lottery, I tell her to sign us up for it, assuming of course this is year one of getting rejected from the lottery. So when the email came titled “Good News from St. George Marathon” I knew I was in trouble! Problem was, Jackie did something wrong on the registration so somehow she was rejected while I got in alone! But I set off to start running and basically every Saturday the entire summer I was out running a “long” run in preparation.

June- We were positive that our daughter would come the same way as Cannon, so we scheduled an inducement a few days after the due date. Thursday June 17^th was the due date, but we went to bed as usual. Next thing I know I’m waking up just after midnight and Rachel is packing a bag. “What are you doing?” “I think my water just broke we need to go to the hospital.” I was totally shocked that she was coming on her own! We had to wake up Cannon and drop him off at my mom’s on the way to the hospital. He was NOT pleased and we could hear his screaming even outside. Lesson: try to not wake your kids up at 1 am and drop them off while they are still not fully awake and disoriented.

So we get to the hospital, and a few short hours later Brooklyn Ball is born! It actually worked out perfectly, just Rachel and I alone for a few hours waiting for our baby, and she’s born before the world wakes up and even knew what was happening. It was a fun experience and went way smoother than the inducement so we were happy all around.

So I took two weeks off after Brooklyn was born. It was supposed to be to relax with my children, but in reality it was to finish our basement. I painted our entire basement in those two weeks and I basically hated the basement by the time I was done. I still feel a little bitterness everytime I walk down there. Lesson- if you are finishing your basement, just pay somebody to paint when you’re that close to the end. We did do some fun things like head to Lagoon and the pool a few times.

On the last day of my time off I got a call that would change my life so to speak. My old friend Simon called me and offered me a job at Backcountry.com. He had worked with me at KPMG and needed somebody to fill a new position opening up. We discussed it a bit and I agreed to meet with him to discuss it more, but I really didn’t feel like I’d end up taking it as I had my mind set on making the big “Manager” level at KPMG. I had even fielded a few other offers previously but had always stayed loyal to KPMG and my original goal out of college. But I did feel good about this job after hearing more so I went down the path of applying and seeing what happened.

July- Once back to the grind, I had this offer in the back of my mind, but it was a slow-developing process and plus, if it didn’t work out, I wasn’t looking to leave KPMG so I wanted to keep doing a good job. Up to Washington I went just like the previous two years. I actually grew to love the Tri-Cities area and even could live there. Beautiful Columbia River, all the stuff you need, good people. The weeks up there were the same as always; eating out at the same restaurants on the same routine every week and working all day. I even snuck in a couple drives up there which I always enjoyed. It’s nice once in a while to pop in some books on tape and go on a long drive. Oregon was the most scenic by far, but I always loved finally seeing the lights of Tremonton on the way back, meaning I was coming back into my familiar territory.

August- I spend a week in Orlando in training and even run into a couple old friends down there that worked in other offices. On the last night there, I get the call with an official offer from Backcountry. I talk it over with Rachel, it feels right, and I accept the next day. What a whirlwind and one of the biggest paradigm shifts I’ve ever experienced. Where coming out of college I was locked in to public accounting for life, suddenly I’m off to work for an outdoor gear company in Park City of all places.

September- I turn 29. I have always loved the movie “City Slickers” and especially the scene where he tells the school kids about growing old “Your 20’s are a blur. You get to your 30’s and you think, ‘What happened to my 20’s?’” Well I’m just about finished with the blur.

October- Marathon day. Truly one of the highlight achievements of the year and my life. Reaching that goal opened my eyes that even things you think you couldn’t do you really can do if you just try and dedicate yourself. I’m hoping I can hone in that dedication on other goals I have for 2011.

November- BYU loses to Utah 17-16 in the final November Holy War for the foreseeable future. Jake Heaps played like a stud and I was pissed the coaches played to settle for a 40+ yard field goal. Weird year for BYU football. Lots of coaching blunders all over the place. Here’s hoping Bronco puts his head on straight and makes better decisions going into Independence.

December- My favorite thing this year was that we went to the Christmas Sing Along downtown at the Energy Solutions Arena. They had an orchestra play the music for everyone to sing along to and Jon Schmidt came out and performed a few songs as well. Really a fun event that I hope we keep going to from here on out.

“Santa” got Cannon a “motor” as he likes to call it. It’s a power-wheels Jeep! I know both Rachel and I ALWAYS had wanted one when we were young. It’s probably more of a summertime gift but he’s rode it a few times so far and loved it, and on the plus side Brooklyn loves going for rides with him too!

So here I am a year later with a new job, a big accomplishment under my belt, and a second kid. Lots of changes, but all good. Instead of toiling away working until past 10 pm every night these next few months, I’ll spend a couple hours in the evening with the kids and on good nights have both them and myself in bed by 10.