Mission Accomplished.

Ok, so I passed: 358 out of 400. That which everyone else seemed to know with such certainty has become a reality to me. I beat the odds...only 40% of the people taking the exam pass it on the first try. When I finished the exam I had 20 questions marked for review. I didn't know the answers. So went back and I guessed as carefully as I could, and when I was done, I still had an hour left. And hour! I thought about reviewing my answers, but I spent enough years at Smith to know that second-guessing myself on an exam will only produce negative results. I left the room wondering if I would be getting drunk tonight in celebration or in consolation. In 5 minutes, I had my answer. That 89-90% that had been eluding me in the practice exams happened on the real one. Wow.

So now I've gotten one of my major goals for the year done, finally. I was originally going to take the exam in April, but delayed it, which was a good idea, as my work-related stress was far too high at the time. So in October I'll get the pay increase, 4% or 5% or whatever it is, and then in 5 months I'll get another one. The office will reimburse me for the exam fee for $350.00, so my out-of-pocket expenses, other than the considerable amount of time I have spent reading, will be nil. Joan will be a happy camper, her DVP will be happy with her, and it opens more doors in the company for promotion and or transfer, should I so desire.

Time to go for a drink.