December 14, 2006
Dear Everyone:
(I started this Letter this morning in “Hobby”. Our flight left the gate exactly on time, then sat on the ground for two hours because of fog. That turns a four-hour flight into a six-hour ordeal. On the plus side, I had an aisle seat with no one in the middle, so I count myself fortunate.)
Well, here I am at the “Hobby” airport again,
waiting for the 9:10 to
As for my reason for being here: I worked on a project for “Earnest Techno-geeks Company” (ETC), “Subterranean Department” last summer. The people I worked with all left, for one reason or another, and the new people wanted me to give them “Train the Trainer” instruction. This is more than just a four-hour session. It also includes going over a lot more detail until the new Subject Matter Expert (SME pronounced “smee”) feels “confident” enough to be able to train their local people (engineers, no less!) in how to use the electronic document management system (EDMS).
This time I took a cab from the airport to the hotel. It costs more than twice as much as a shuttle, but it saved me over an hour of time usually spent waiting for the shuttle, then crowding as many people (and luggage) as possible, then traveling all over “Hobby” before getting to my stop. Also, another employee told me it was a “safety issue” to use a taxi rather than a shuttle.
My return to the airport was in a town car with a chauffer. This costs about five dollars more than a taxi (tip included), so I’m giving some thought to calling the car service next time to meet me at the airport. I have little doubt I’ll be coming back to “Hobby” some time in the not too distant future.
But enough about “Hobby”. I got the official letter from the Institute of Certified Records Managers (ICRM) about the exams I took last month. As you may recall, I elected to skip Parts 1 and 2 because that was the morning that I got the news about Mother passing on. But I did take Parts 3, 4 and 5. Each exam consists of 100 multiple-guess questions. You have to get 70 correct answers to pass.
Part 3, I got a 67 (missed it by 3 points!). Part 4, 69 (1 point!) Part 5, I passed!!! Which probably means I got 70 right. They even include an answer sheet showing your answers, along with the correct answer if you were wrong. Only problem is, you don’t have the questions that go with the answers. Example: For Question 16, your answer was E; the correct answer was C.
However, since they take the test away from you after the exam, you don’t really know what the question was, nor what any of the answers were. Not exactly what you’d call intuitive. But it turns out they also give you a sheet that shows the “outline code” for each question. This is a remarkably detailed outline on the ICRM website. So it does give you a clue as to what parts you need to study for the next time.
One of our number actually passed all five parts. He’s currently in a state of shock. Personally, I’m giddy that I passed even one and that only a lot of studying will ensure that I pass at least one again in May.
This is officially the last Letter of this year. Tomorrow is my last day at work, then I’m off for two glorious weeks. So everyone have a safe and happy Holiday of your choice.
Love, as always,
Pete
| Previous | Next |