Entries Tagged as 'School'

A Few Updates

Mel heard back about the job that she had interviewed for. “Another applicant was chosen” which was disappointing to her, but she still seems hopeful. We will still be moving to the Seattle area, we just won’t be in such a rush. Many of the things that were motivating us to relocate still are factors in spite of this setback. It might actually be a blessing of sorts because it will allow us to be a little more thoughtful and purposeful about the move. I was getting a little worried about having to sell the house in a hurry and possible taking much less than it was worth. Now we can breathe a bit and do this right.

Speaking of the house, my brother Chris who is not only a famous bus model but is also a real estate agent/broker did a “price check” on our home for us recently. It seems the value of our house has increased over $100,000 in the 2 years we have owned it. That is incredible to me and very exciting. It means that if we sell it for near its value we will be able to be completely debt free (I don’t count school loans and car loans since they go on forever) and still have money left for a sizable savings account AND a down payment for our next home!

Finally, I have decide to put school on hold next term while we work all this out. Continuing my education is still a priority for me, but I have learned a few things about myself recently. One is that I don’t manage stress and anxiety all that well, the other is that I function much better in a traditional classroom setting than in a purely online setting. I plan to pursue a more traditional education track when we get to Washington.

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Waiting at the Tire Shop

tires

So I’m sitting here at Les Schwab in Canby waiting for new rear brakes and I thought I would write a quick post to the blog. It has been over a week, after all. I’m writing from my phone, I’m not even sure this is actually going to work. Tell me if you don’t get this.

I’m actually a little surprised that we haven’t had to get the brakes done before now. We’ve got over 50,000 miles on the Honda. This is my second trip to Les Schwab this month. it was time for a new set of tires last week.

I might as well update you on everything else that’s going on while I’m at it. Here are a few headlines:

School is going well so far this term. I have a few more classes than last term, but so far the load is manageable. I may even add a couple more classes. We have been talking about the possibility of a future move to the Seattle area. It’s still just a thought, don’t get all excited yet. There is plenty of work up there for Mel, and I would probably seek a job at Microsoft.

We are hosting Thanksgiving this year for my family, although my brother and his wife and daughter won’t be able to make it. They will be with her family I believe. I’m doing all the cooking this year again including about 12 pies (they aren’t all for us). I really enjoy cooking so it isn’t really the chore that it sounds like. After dinner with my family we are headed up to Mel’s family for a day to spend some time with them. We really don’t get to spend as much time up there as we would like, that’s another reason why a move to Seattle would be nice for us (except for missing my family, but fair is fair I suppose).

That’s about it, really. Not much going on here. If we don’t see you, have a terrific holiday!

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A+ Certified


comptia.jpgI had such a difficult time getting ready to re-take this test! Mel was very helpful and pushed me to keep at it. She was very encouraging when I lost confidence after the initial failure. I feel lucky to have her.

I also feel lucky and happy that I passed the 2nd half of the A+ Certification exam today. Of course … now they are updating the tests in December and I will probably have to start all over again. I wont have to take the new tests for school, but I may need to take it in order to be more competitive in a job search. But not yet, I’m done for now.

This term I will be working on 4 more certification exams that should prepare me for a job change and an increase in salary. I could start looking for work now, but my current qualifications wouldn’t earn me very much.

I’ll keep you posted. Thanks for the kind words of encouragement from all my friends and readers. If you’re interested in seeing what the A+ exam is all about, you can visit CompTIA’s website.

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Oops

ok .. I went in to take the second half of my A+ Certification exam feeling fairly confident. I spent the whole weekend reviewing and even about 3 hours this morning, but I wasnt able to get a passing score. I missed it by 9 points. Thats about 1% short of passing. That’s not even a full question, but since the questions are weighted they add up to a passing or failing score.

I have one more chance to take the exam and have it paid for by my school. I’ll study more this week and try again next monday.

School Update

I just got back from taking the first half of my A+ certification test, the Hardware part. 80 questions asked and I passed. I must admit I was a little worried about it.

Anyway, Operating Systems is next week and that should be fairly easy in comparison. Passing that test will give me the certification I need to move on. Wish me luck!

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12 down, 96 to go

Monday afternoon I took an exam for the Leadership and Professionalism course that is a part of my degree program. It’s a 12 credit course that is all about management theory and practice. I was very excited and relieved to find out this morning that I passed! That was the largest of all my classes and it’s nice to have it out of the way. It’s funny how a 12 credit course can be boiled down to 80 questions.

Anyway … if anyone needs a manager, I’m now qualified.

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