**DISCLAIMER: The title and description of this post when I put it on social media sounds very negative; almost like I wish I could change the following situation. This is absolutely NOT the case. I've come to terms that some things need to be sacrificed for more important opportunities that come with going to school and growing up. Any negativity is for creative purposes, used to demonstrate how the Ballhawk half of my personality feels about the changes I have to make. AKA- If you're a recruiter or someone doing my background check, ignore everything I say about work, please!**
This post may seem like it's coming out of the blue for no apparent reason. I don't have much to write about during these cold winter days. However, I have been holding out and hiding something from many of you. Some things have transpired over the last two months that really threw a wrench into my usual baseball life.
I was hoping that something, anything, would change the inevitable and what I knew was coming this summer. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case for me. I loved my job at RBF and thought it was great how it allowed me to go to so many games, but I knew I eventually had to snap out of my fantasy world and peruse more important and beneficial opportunities.
Thanks to everything falling into place, along with my need and desire to do what's best, I was able to get an internship for the upcoming summer. Initially, a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. I had been filling out applications, tweaking my resume, and working on interview skills for quite some time, in hopes of impressing someone and showing them I'm a driven and hard working individual even though I don't have much experience. Everything I worked on paid off. It would have been really hard to sell myself once I graduated (after 5 years, mind you) if I had never been a part of a professional team.
This summer, I'll be working at Plante Moran's Northwest Chicago office in Elgin. They have offices in Chicago, Ohio, and Michigan. They're one of the more successful firms in the country, currently ranked as the 11th largest.
"But Ryan, what about the Big Four?"
Well, I'm not sure I would fit in so well with those guys at this point. With great power comes great responsibility, and the Big Four expect only the best from their employees. Working for one of them may be a career goal in a few years, but I didn't see a reason to subject myself to the stress and responsibility when there were plenty of other firms offering (what I feel) are better opportunities for myself personally. Being the 11th largest is plenty big enough for me. Plante Moran provides all types of financial services in pretty much any industry imaginable, but the position they had open for me was in taxes. My first day is still a long ways away, so I can't really say what I'll be doing specifically. I'm glad with where I fell with them, because I understand taxes better than auditing; the other traditional option for an accounting student's first internship. My interview took place all the way back in November, right before Thanksgiving break. The week before finals, they sent me a great offer, and decided right away I liked their culture and what they wanted to give me. I know I'll be extremely nervous walking in there the first day, but if it's anything like my interview, I'll feel right at home before lunch rolls around.
So what does all this mean? How will Ballhawking be effected? Has your mindset about baseball changed? Will BaseBlog be abandoned?
First of all, I don't start at Plante Moran until June 9th. That little delay between school and work makes a HUGE difference. I'm treating this as a blessing, because my hopes truly would have crushed if I didn't have that buffer time. I'm going to be cramming four months worth of baseball into 31 days.
Instead of seeing it as a shortened season, I want to call it a condensed summer. I still get to do almost everything I hoped. My dad wants to go to Toronto to see the Stanley Cup at the Hockey Hall of Fame again, and kindly worked it around baseball schedules. Because everything played out perfectly, I'll be able to see the Rogers Centre,
as well as Progressive Field in Cleveland on our way home when we make a stop half way. I may even run into Pittsburgh regular
Erik Jabs when I'm there.
I still plan to hit up the regular spots on an abbreviated tour; a couple games with Shawn in Milwaukee (in a renovated outfield patio area that he says is perfect for game homers), a trip or two to the Cell, and obviously my home away from home at Wrigley. Given the circumstances, of what is and what could have been, I'm very happy and relieved that Ballhawking won't come crashing down.
However, everything can't be perfect with the job consuming so much of my time. The biggest disappointment is the cancelling of the trip to Minnesota for The Project. Asking for three days off right in the middle of the summer would just be ridiculous. I'm very bummed, because there was some serious potential in this idea to take off if Shawn and I did everything right. For now, I'm going to keep the big details under wraps for safe keeping in case we could ever use the idea again. As a replacement, I'm also looking at the Twins' weekend series with the White Sox in June to pay Brent a visit up in Eden Prairie. See, not everything has to be completely ruined.
The one thing I'm very worried about is getting to Wrigley enough times. Before any of this happened, I was hoping to make this my number one priority in 2014. Usually I want to get out and experience new parks and cities, but the 100th anniversary festivities are a once in a lifetime chance. I want as many of those commemorative balls as humanly possible. My initial expected numbers took a hit, but I'll still be able to do up to seven games there before I start. Once I DO start working, I'll have two months worth of weekends to keep trying. Those days won't be easy, pretty, or have many empty seats, but I will work myself to death in order to earn these balls.
BaseBlog will still be updated regularly. I'll have less game entries, so I'll sprinkle in a few placeholder topics to pass the time. I anticipate no real holdup in terms of running out of materiel completely. I don't know what I'll post, but I look forward to brianstorming and changing it up a little bit.
Finally, this entire ordeal can be summed up in one word: Opportunity. In 2011, I got more involved in catching balls. In 2012, I adventured to far away lands like St.Louis and New York. Last year, I continued to trek across the Midwest and made plenty of friends along the way while still growing as a Ballhawk. In my 31 days off this upcoming season, I'll be going to three or four games a week, just like the best Ballhawks in the country. Granted, it will only be for a month, but this is great news. It'll be a nice little test run where I don't have to worry about money and spending that much because of the very well paid 40 hour work weeks ahead of me. I can get in the groove of going to the park more frequently than ever before, and drastically improve my skills because of the repetition of my practices and routines; something I've wanted to do from day one. Right now, even when being completely realistic, I have 14 games on my schedule in April and May. It's going to be exhausting....and awesome.
