Mike's Story

My Resume

Toledo, Oregon - Raised in a small town on the Oregon Central Coast

Mt. St. Helens - Avid hiker and historian of Mt. St. helens since 1985

STP - Five time participant in Seattle to Portland bike ride, 200 miles in two days. I ride over 2000 miles annually to keep in good physical fitness and great networking tool.

Bookkeeping Career Institute - In the 2001, I learned manual bookkeeping from the Staff at EBS Associates in a school they started to train future bookkeepers in full cycle bookkeeping.

MLD Accounting - Started my own bookkeeping business in 2003.

H&R Tax Program - Trained at H&R Block in a Tax course that helped me understand the purpose of bookkeeping from the Tax Preparer/CPA perspective.

Quickbooks ProAdvisor - I was a QB ProAdvisor for 5 years before entering PSU

Portland State University - Received three BS degrees (Accounting, Human Resource Management, and Management and Leadership) in four years.

AICPA - Organization in which I will join to gather more education in changing tax law after my formal education is finished.

ORCPA - (Oregon Society of CPA’s) Future member as I reach my ultimate goal of becoming a CPA registered in Oregon.

My Career Path

            My career path started 12 years ago, and these last four years at Portland State University was just one part of this process. I have been a self-employed bookkeeper since 2003, and by coming to Portland State University, I used the time opportunities given to me during the recession of 2008-2009 to complete my formal education and transform by bookkeeping services into a CPA consulting firm.  After finishing my coursework and graduating in December of 2014, I plan on continuing to study for the CPA exam and sit for them in the calendar year 2015.  Following successful completion of the four part exam and the take home ethic exam, I plan on possibly working for a small firm to fulfill the experience piece of the CPA licensing while hopefully still having the ability to work with my own clients part time.  After finishing the CPA licensing requirements, I hope to hire employees slowly as I gain new clients and make connections within the city.  I have a desire to have not only CPA conventional services available, but to offer Human Resource services to the small business community.  

When I began my bookkeeping business, I noticed that not many were open to traveling to the client’s office site to do the work.  I had a niche right away as I was willing and still am willing to travel to the site where the paperwork is.  By offering Human Resource Management services with payroll, I see myself again offering a service that not many give in the accounting realm.  Since I am a Generation X card member, I hope to build a business model that will allow me to not work 60 hr/weeks much more than 10 years into the future.  After that phase is built, I plan on managing my employees more than working on the front lines, which will leave more time to network and have fun with clients and not be doing the everyday accounting forever.  

            By growing a business and managing employees, I see that my future is in Human Resource Management, whether I am an active public accountant or not.  Training and developing employees and those younger is a lifelong practice that no one should stop doing.  Teaching and training the young should be the goal of everyone in business.  When you learn some tangible skill, teaching it to someone else is the right thing to do so that we begin passing on this acquired knowledge before it is lost from society. 

I have been living in Portland Or, for more than a decade, but this is the first time I ever get to see the Burnside bridge open while I am crossing. It was quite fun!
He vivido en Portland Or. por mas de una decada pero esta es la primera vez que me toca esperar a que el puente de Burnside abra y cierre antes de cruzar. Me gusto mucho verlo.

Portland en Otono. Fall in Portland.

One of the funnest things about is the people! !Lo mas divertido en Portland es la gente!

Atole

Atole is one of the most delicious drinks there are. It is made of a little bit of cornstarch, milk and  decadent flavors like strawberry, pecan and coconut. You can buy them or you can make them from scratch which is tricky but thousand times better. The easiest way is making it semi-from scratch which is to add a little bit of the real thing to the store bought powder one can buy anywhere in Mexico. Tonight, we had some pecan atole. So good!

El atole es una de las bebidas más ricas que hay. Se hace con un poquito de fécula de maiz, leche y sabores decadentes como la fresa, la nuez y el coco. Se puede comprar o se puede hacer en casa lo cual es un poco difícil pero muchísimo mejor. La mejor manera de prepararlo es una combinación de lo anterior que consiste en comprar el atole en polvo que se encuentra en cualquier tienda en México y añadirle el sabor que sea. Hoy merendamos atole de nuez. ¡Bien rico!

Enchiladas/Enchiladas

This is the picture of the enchiladas I grew up loving. It is the kind of dish that will slightly change from city to city and even change a lot from state to state. In my hometown, Tulancingo, these are fresh corn tortillas slightly fried in lard or vegetable oil. Green salsa spread over the whole tortilla adding cheese, chopped onion,  shreaded chicken. Some variations may add finelly shreaded lettuce and sour cream. All over town, there's little stands outside homes where you can see the "comal" or grill with the huge frying pan steaming from all the good cooking. These are home made at our dear friend's home. What kind of enchiladas do you know and.or make?

La foto es de las enchiladas que me encantan desde nina. Es el tipo de platillo que cambia un poquito de ciudad a ciudad e incluso cambia bastante de estado a estado. En Tulancingo, de donde soy, se hacen con tortillas de maiz frescas ligeramente fritas en manteca o aceite vegetal. Se embarran con salsa verde sobre toda la tortilla y se agrega queso, cebolla picada y pollo deshebrado. Algunas variantes son  con lechuga finamente picada y/o crema. Por toda la ciudad hay puestecitos afuera de las casas de donde se asoman los comales grandes que estan humeando de la rica comida. Estas enchiladas son hechas en la casa de nuestra querida amiga. ?Que tipo de enchiladas conoces o haces?

Food/Comida

I just want to confess I am gaining weight because I'be been eating all the things I love while vacationing in my home town; no restrictions. I have been visiting friends and just cooking the yummy things I have missed dearly. One of the things I miss the most is the intensity of flavors. Everything tastes better here. I don't know if it's because I am home, where I "learned to eat", where I learned to love cooking and food, or if there is something real in the characteristics of the foods here compared to the ones in Portland, where I love now. Whatever the reason, it's just a joy. I am most of the time so busy cooking and then eating, I just forget to take pics. of my food.

Solo quiero confesar he estado subiendo de peso porque he estado comiendo sin restricciones todas las cosas que me encantan durante estas vacaciones de visita a mi pueblo natal. He estado visitando a amigos y familiares y cocinando todas las cosas ricas que extrano muchisimo. Una de las cosas que extrano mas es la intensidad de los sabores. Todo sabe mejor aqui. No se si es simplemente que estoy de regreso al hogar de mi infancia, en donde "aprendi a comer", en donde aprendi el amor a la cocina y a la comida, os si es que hay algo real en las caracteristicas de la comida aqui comparada con la de Portland, en donde vivo actualmente. Cualquiera que sea la razon, es simplemente un deleite. La mayoria del tiempo me la paso ocupada cocinando y luego comiendo, se me olvida tomar todos de la comida.

A tragic and sad death. Mr. Rodolfo Torre Cantu was killed this morning. He was the candidate to governor for the PRI political party. I am sadden that this is happening in Mexico. Mexico needs all the prayer we can get.

Una muerte tragica y triste. Esta manana el Sr. Rodolfo Torre Cantu fue asesinado. El fue el candidato a gobernador por el PRI. Me da mucha tristeza que esto este sucediendo en Mexico. Mexico necesita tanta oracion como pueda recibir.

traditional food/comida tipica

This day could probably be my gastronomical highlight of the trip. I ate the very things that are so unique in my state in the right setting: a wedding! Rice, lamb broth, lamb (which we call barbacoa) and pork. Absolutely delicious!! Of course with different salsas and cactus salad. It was heaven on this pice of earth called Santiago Tulantepec. Another great thing that happened was the fact that I could go because I am bride's relative. I was not invited and the party organizers were not at all expecting me, however that's one of the beauties of of this Mexican culture. Long gone are the days when weddings lasted three days and people were invited even from the street. However, if you are indeed a relative, you can still just show up and be welcomed with open arms. That's what I call Mexican hospitality.
Probablemente, este dia sea el mas sobresaliente de mi viaje gastronomicamente hablando. Comi precisamente las cosas que son unicas en mi estado y en el lugar perfecto: una boda. Arroz, consome de barbacoa, barbacoa y carnitas. Absolutamente delicioso! Acompanados de sus salsitas y ensalada de nopales, por supuesto. Fue el cielo en este pedacito de tierra llamado Santiago Tulantepec. Otra cosa padrisima que paso fue el hecho de que pude ir a esta boda porque soy parienta de la novia. No me invitaron directamente y de hecho ni los novios ni mis parientes quienes organizaban esperaban verme, pero esta es una de las maravillas de la cultura Mexicana. Ya no existen los dias en que las bodas duraban tres dias y todo el pueblo era invitado, quienfuera que pasara por la calle. Sin embargo, si en verdad eres un pariente, aun puedes asistir inesperadaente a las bodas y ser recibido con brazos abiertos. A esto llamo hospitalidad mexicana.