This is Only a Test

I was awake just before 530a, and rather than try and slip in another wink or two I thought it smarter to get up and get moving. Downstairs, I glanced out the deck door to confirm the weather. It looked cold and was spitting snow, but no current accumulation. I breezed through my sit-ups and push-ups still a little tense about the day that lied ahead. After a brief stint on the PC enjoying coffee, I headed out with Frankie, who seemed largely unfazed by the cold & snow. It was somewhere near 27 degrees but felt even colder. I’ll take snow and cold any day over rainy and raw. It was after 6a by the time Frankie and I were back inside. I wasted little time moving on to meditation and stretching. The meditation was just what the doctor ordered relative to my test stress. I finished feeling good about the day ahead and focused all my energy on a positive outcome. Stretching went well too. Tuesday I forgot to mention that the finger tips on my right hand went numb while I was doing a specific neck stretch that involves sitting upright while bending my neck back as far as possible. The sensation lasted for a few hours. I was a bit more careful today doing the same pose. Just ahead of 630a I headed upstairs with coffee in hand and the pug trailing right behind. Mindy gave me what I would deem as a disapproving glance as I placed her coffee nearby and then gave her a hug before heading off to prepare for my run. I dressed in my light winter attire, a thin wicking shirt and fleece jacket, & the nhand and ear covers. My goal is to be comfortable in that weight all the way down to the low 20’s. That was when the bitter cold arrives, I can go a little thicker (heavier) to combat the added chill. I dashed off around 635a. By then, the snow was just starting to accumulate on the drive and sidewalk but probably not even a quarter inch. I ran the 4.1 mile loop without any problem and without getting or being too cold. I was comfortable, really. I started Mindy’s Honda as soon as I got back home. Despite having a late start, the kids were both up soon after my return. Bella was a little confused as to why Mindy didn’t wake her sooner. She’d forgotten that it was a late start day. Both she and Jacob were excited about the snow flurries now starting to accumulate on the deck. They were predicting temps topping out near freezing with periods of snow flurries throughout the day. No real or lasting accumulation expected, however. Mindy made fried eggs. I brought my course material to my table space in hopes of reviewing while eating. Although a good idea, turns out, I was never able to make it happen. Bella wanted to play Wii right away. I quickly nixed the idea asking that they wait until I was off to the shower. I wanted some level of peace while enjoying my breakfast. Mindy concurred. She asked the kids to bus home as normal, and reminded them that grandpa was coming over to see them off to school. They both expressed joy. We were expecting dad sometime around 8a. I headed off to the shower just after 730a. After getting ready, I prepared a light lunch including cheese, fruit, and a banana. I started studying from the island around 755a. Dad showed up a few minutes later. Dad interacted quietly with the kids while I studied and sipped coffee. I decided to head out at 815a knowing we’d have a quiet classroom until 10a, a far more serene environment from which to study. I reminded the kids that they needed to head out for the bus at 10a and then wished everyone well before heading off. The snow flurries and clouds started breaking up during my drive north. And by the time I got to Dublin a few peaks of sunshine were already apparent. I headed into New Horizons around 840a, and after spending a few minutes getting situated, I tore into the course material once more. As promised, the classroom remained quiet until 10a, when Steve the instructor went over the day’s agenda. We’d review until noon then break. If desired, we could then choose to test right away or study for a while longer. He only asked that if we intended to test that day that we begin by 3p. The review felt good. Most of the questions and material were right there for me. By the time noon arrived I was ready to test, nervous, but nevertheless ready. I was one of three who threw ourselves to the wolves as soon as possible. Anyone who’s ever taken any type of cert test knows the drill. Quiet, no material, time limit. Steve gave each of us a couple blank sheets of paper and a pencil. He then signed each of us onto a testing machine then left the room. We had 60 minutes to answer 40 questions. For the most part, the questions seemed less confusing than most of the sample test questions, but still quite challenging and requiring a great deal of deductive reasoning. Very few term related questions, if any. Still, I felt like I was in control. I marked roughly ten of the questions for review – a means of going back just to those when finished if time permitted. I finished my first run through the question in about 32 minutes. I then spent another five minutes going back through those that I marked for review. I changed only one or two keeping in mind the golden rule. Go with your first instinct if you’re not sure. For sure, going back and reviewing any further would not have netted me any better results. I went ahead and concluded the test. I failed to mention that it required a 65% to pass, which admittedly sounds simple until you’re the one testing on the material.  The testing program let me know right away that I passed, but only reported that my score was passing and somewhere between 65 – 100%. And quite frankly, I didn’t care what my score was. I passed! That’s all that mattered. Wahoo. Instantly, I felt 40lbs lighter. I encountered Steve in the hallway. He went to print off my results. I was curious, but again wasn’t overtly concerned. He returned a minute later with my certificate and score results. I passed with a 65% on the nose. Wow! No wiggle room. I was a little surprised with the low score but still unfazed. After all, I passed and had my cert. But during my drive home I had to wonder if the one or two questions I changed answers on helped or harmed. I’ll never know. But I do know one thing for sure, the universe was looking out for me. Meanwhile, it was just after 1p. Not only was the class behind me, but I had a few hours to kill. I thought about Xmas shopping but decided to head directly home instead. During my drive I pondered what I would’ve done had I missed the cut by one question. For certain, my day and immediate life would be unfolding far differently. For one, I would be stressing over when I would be able to retest, and then worrying about studying differently to ensure a pass the second time around, not to mention the added non-refundable cost of a 2nd test. Ugh! Just the thought was horrifying. The closest thing that immediately comes to mind is when I CLEP’ed out of the last class in my bachelor’s degree program. At stake there was 6 weeks of freedom. Reflecting back, I just barely eked that one out too. The only difference there was I didn’t get my results back for about a week. At home I felt a huge sense of relief. I walked Frankie out back then ate some cold turkey, but not too much. I noticed a package on our deck. It was the guitar we ordered for Bella – a ¾ sized Yamaha, a Xmas gift. I brought it in and opened the box only to find that it was stowed in yet another box, which I viewed as a good thing. I decided to spend the afternoon backing up all of November’s files on my PC (pics, docs, email, etc). Not only that, but my external HD had long needed a firmware and software upgrade, almost since it was new. I took the time to complete both. That went much smoother than anticipated, which is always a good. It was after 3pm in a hurry. Mindy called & texted sometime between 3-330p. I didn’t answer at first, still engrossed in what I was doing on my PC. Didn’t want to risk making a mistake. I called her after the external hard drive firmware/software upgrade completed fully. It took a while for the external hard drive to back everything up again, making a fresh new copy of all my files. With the rest of my free time I deleted my recycle bin, which was loaded with stuff dating back a full year – 25 gigs worth to be exact, and most of it duplicate photos I deleted during copy/move over. While at it, I updated several other programs that were flagged for updates as well. You might say I gave my PC a long overdue tune-up. Mindy got home just ahead of the kids. No one was happier than her to learn that I passed my test. I understood her rationale. I was a bear to live with. I don’t know how anyone could manage to study and do well with a family going on in the background. Mindy didn’t decide our dinner selection until 430p or so. Honestly, I had lost track of time. Seemed later than it was. In reality, it was still relatively early compared to the time when I usually arrive home. Mindy decided to make spaghetti and meatballs. Dinner wasn’t ready until almost 530p. During the hour or so it took to prepare it, I wrote in my blog and listened to Bella’s daily reading. She read to me for 10 solid minutes. Doing much better. The spaghetti was especially good. I was hungry. Bella enjoyed it too. Jacob, on the other hand, didn’t have any. He ate something else earlier. What, I am not sure.As evening set in, the snow flurries returned. Looking like winter and snow ski season. In fact, I checked both MRM and Holiday Valley websites. Both are in full snow making mode now that the nights are well into the 20s. Won’t be long before we’re skiing! After clean-up, Mindy addressed more Xmas cards, mostly to my family members. I had to supply the addresses. I played on the PC through the kids showers. And during that time I got my blog current with text and pictures. Excellent! Bella asked if there was a football game on. No football tonight. Save for conference championship games and bowls, the college season is about over. Went fast. We tucked the kids into bed at 9p. Afterwards, Mindy and I sat on the sofa where I tuned the TV to the Science Channel and sipped on a Barley’s Xmas ale. I needed nothing more than to veg. Mindy, however, wanted to talk. More specifically, she wanted to talk about my grumpiness. I begged for mercy, needing/wanting to simply relax after that stressful class and test. She eventually agreed to delay any serious conversation, although begrudgingly so. Mindy headed up to bed around 940p. I joined her at 1005p. It was still snowing lightly when I secured the home and tucked Frankie into bed.