The logo for Avicii RIP is on the back of my hand representing the sea and sky. I was inspired to get his tattoo based upon watching “The Nights” on YouTube endless times while running on my treadmill. It’s about passion and living everyday like it’s your last.

I passed the American CPA Exam! It is the greatest accomplishment of my life, and I have done a ton of epic shit: BQ Boston Marathon, 5X Ironman/70.3 World Championship finisher, 3:02 marathon PB, Masters of Finance, 50M ultra marathon, travel to 50+ countries, bought my first house at 24yrs old, and lived and worked in 3 countries, just to name a few.

I lived in Alice Springs, Australia from 2011-2017. I married my Aussie wife there and we moved to Tucson, Arizona. We knew soon that our target would be 10 years in the USA. In 2023 I realized I needed. to be accredited if I wanted to progress my career and maintain being a Senior Finance Manager down under. So I applied to the Arizona Board of Accountancy, and was able to sit and sit I did, duh.

Over the next 3 years I studied more than 2,000 hours while working full time and still training across swim, bike, and run of 10+ hours per week. (We dont have kids) 😉

I dealt wuth failure on FAR passing the minimum score of 75 on the 3rd attempt. I failed Audit and passed my 2nd attempt with a 75. I passed Regulation the first time with an 82, and found out yesterday I passed Taxation Compliance and Planning TCP the first time with an 84.

I still need to do more to be a CPA including an Ethics exam, getting a letter of certification on my experience which will also be interesting, and then might not even have enough credit hours which is beyond me right now.

The next stress on top of this was a new job. After 19+ years with Raytheon I joined Amentum and have now been with them for 3 weeks. I had been working this since December 2025 since the hiring manager was who I trained up and a friend who came to my Aussie wedding. It pays to be friendly, pay it forward, and prove yourself as a leader.

Stress 3 is now moving back to Australia and that depends on various elements but hoping for Thanksgiving 2026. My team of mostly Aussies are 16 hours ahead of me and I am already applying what I learned in my CPA studies on top of my prior in country experience.

Stress 4 – The dog and cat which we have already spent $10K to move and will spend another $8K are in final steps that started in January 2026. We will have an official date soon. (still cheaper than a kid)

Stress 5 – Selling the house, the 2 cars, most of our stuff, buying new stuff to bring on our pack-shipment that will take 2 months to arrive.

Stress 6 – Wifey looking for new job in Alice

Stress 7 – Buying a house in Alice. Rentals can be count on one hand and we have pets…

Stress 8 – I just sold my entire nestegg and rolling it over to Fidelity.. it’s a big check. I hope the market goes down the next 2 weeks!

Stress 9 – 2 weeks ago I nearly died as I crashed on my bike at 26MPH somehow not breaking anything. Oh, and apparently both me and wife’s frames are cracked worth around $4,000.

For 2 weeks I have been enjoying time with my Dad and step mom in North Carolina getting totally spoiled. That has been very nice. Ran 18 miles with my 72yr old father over 2 weeks. 🙂

I am lucky. I am very lucky. But I take all that I have and make the most of it with those I can.

You look at Nepal and know that it can all be gone in an instant. There is obly one way to mive, forwards.

Thanks wifey for being so good to me and being my rock! I love you.