Evie 456
Good morning folks, and a very happy Friday to you all. For many of us, it is the last workday of the week. Today is 14 June 2024.
Yesterday things did not go as planned.
I started off the day by going through my notes and a practice exam from an outfit called MeasureUp that makes practice tests for certifications. That part of it went pretty well. I felt pretty good as I took my laptop down to my oldest daughter’s bedroom which she no longer uses except for the occasions on the weekend when she stays overnight. I have taken my last 7 or 8 exams in that room no problem. But yesterday was no ordinary day.
I downloaded the special browser and started going through the checklist, turning off programs that the special testing browser said might interfere with the test experience. Then the bandwidth test said “no”. I checked my bandwidth with the OpenSpeedTest – pulling 58 Mbps down, and pushing 28, both scores were more than adequate for the exam, but nope, it failed the bandwidth test. Time to change rooms. All of this happened between 12:30 PM and 1:00 PM, with my exam scheduled to start at 1.
I went upstairs and started the process once again. I was able to complete the process, and I saw I was first in the queue to interact with the exam proctor when I got a notice that my session had been revoked. What the…?
I started the process over, and this third time I received a notice that my passcode was no longer valid, so it was time to try again with a fresh download and a fresh code. I get in… and it is now twenty minutes past my appointed time. I get to first in the queue, and then another network interruption, followed by a message that I was no longer first in the queue, I was fifth. I sat and waited.
My proctor eventually came into my session and asked me to open up a call on the computer. I’ll be the first to admit my hearing is not 100%. He audio was filled with static and I could not make out what she was saying, and I said so. While going through and checking my ID and gave me a bit of a hard time about the fact that for 30 years I have gone by Bob in the testing system without any problems, but my ID says “Robert”. By this time I was about an hour and fifteen minutes into the process, a full forty-five minutes late to start my exam, and I expressed my frustration. At that moment, the “Session revoked” message appeared on my screen and I was given the opportunity to reschedule my exam.
I was not very happy. I’m still a little peeved about the way things went down.
I went into the system afterward and started the process of changing my testing name from “Bob” to “Robert”, a name no one calls me. It’s always been a great way to differentiate between people who know me and telemarketers just trying to sell me stuff.
So, I didn’t pass my certification exam yesterday. I didn’t fail it either. I told my wife that I would take care of dinner, and I went to HyVee to engage in their $10 steak special x3. The line was already pretty long when I arrived at 4:45, and the sun was bearing down. One young person just ahead of me was right in there ordering steaks, when I noticed that this person appeared to be sniffing the steaks, getting closer, and closer…
… and then onto the concert. This kid had passed out right in front of me. A couple of other guys helped out, got the young person into a chair, and carried the chair into the air-conditioned grocery store. An ambulance was called. Right by the steak dinner queue, there was a bucket full of sodas on ice, so I grabbed a handful of ice and started to apply the ice to the top of their head and neck.
It wasn’t too long after that the young person barked on their shirt. I’m guessing the heat was just more than this person could handle.
A nice gentleman held my spot in the queue, and I jumped back in after talking to the paramedic about what I witnessed, and they went to work on the young one. That young one did not look good, very pale, but I’m glad the pros got there when they did. I hope the ice helped and didn’t complicate things.
Oh, and on the way home, I was getting ready to make a left turn onto the highway to go home when there was a car accident two cars ahead of me, and everyone behind me started passing on the right-hand side, so I was stuck there for a few on the middle of the intersection before I could swing out and pass the two folks trading insurance information.
So, that’s how my Thursday went.
Today I’ll focus on a more mundane schedule, reviewing my content for next week’s delivery, and if my name-change request goes through, I’ll reschedule my certification exam for next Friday.
This weekend, I will be spending some quality time with the lawn mower, and hopefully, some time with the guys on Sunday.
Until then…
I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.
Peace y’all.
