June 16, 2005
Dear Everyone:
So, about 30 years ago, a bunch of Records Managers got together and decided that there should be some sort of certificate that you could earn to prove what a great Records Manager you are. And lo, the Institute of Certified Records Managers (ICRM) was born. They established a bunch of criteria, like how much schooling you’ve had (high school, college degree) and how many years of experience you’ve had in records management. The higher the education, the lower the number of years in records management.
If you meet those qualifications, you can apply to take the CRM Examination. This is a test that is administered only twice a year. It consists of five parts of multiple choice questions, all dealing with certain aspects of Records and Information Management (RIM). And then there is part six, known ominously as “Part Six” because it’s a two-part essay exam. You can take the tests all at once, or spread them out. But you must pass the first five parts before you can take “Part Six”.
Why do we care about the CRM? Because our management has expressed the opinion that all of us Information Analysts should be CRMs. So we’ve formed a “study group” and are preparing to apply for the examination. The next test is in November, but to qualify, you have to get your application in by the first of July. That’s just two weeks away.
So I’m looking in the closet for the big envelope that contains all of my “papers” including the diploma that proves I graduated from Portland State University 32 years ago. And we’re all trying to remember what we’ve done in the past that was good enough for the august ICRM to consider us for examination. (Just working in a file room doesn’t count. You have to have run the whole department, or set up entire filing structures from scratch.)
“Jeannie’s” going to have a fit when she finds out how much “homework” I’m going to have. The whole idea of a “study group” is to divide all the research out and have each person get up to speed on one thing, then report back to the group, complete with notes. I got “management”. Plenty of books written about that. But it will take time away from the “hour per day” that she wants me to spend on the treadmill. And no, I can’t walk on the treadmill and read at the same time.
But enough about that. “Jeannie” and I did go to see Star Wars III, Revenge of the Sith a couple of weekends ago. If you’ve never seen any of the Star Wars movies, this is not the one to start with. If you have invested time in the previous five films, then this one is worth it; but you’ve probably already seen it.
This is where George Lucas ties up all the loose ends and brings everything around back to where it all started, a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. It has all the expected special effects; but strip them away, along with the light saber duels and syntax-impaired platitudes, and it’s Hayden Christensen’s movie. He plays the young knight, full of promise, yet desperate to save his lady love.
Desperate enough to abandon his Jedi teachings and embrace the evil wizard who will lead him down the dark path to his ultimate destruction. It all comes full circle with the birth of the twins, the “death” of Anakin Skywalker and his “resurrection” as Darth Vader (wheeze-hiss, wheeze-hiss). And as for the evil empire, we now realize that, like Napoleon and the Third Reich, the empire lasts less than a generation.
Twenty years or so later, Luke Skywalker will be wielding his first lightsaber, off to rescue the princess. So how come Obi-Wan Kenobi, who’s in his twenties at the end of chapter 3 is in his sixties at the beginning of chapter 4? Life must be hard on that desert planet.
In other news…
I successfully dragged my sorry self out of bed an
hour earlier this week and completed the two days of training to become
a KnowledgePlanet administrator.
As for hardship, one of the trainees was a lady in
Ouch!
Love, as always,
Pete
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