April 20, 2012
Dear Everyone:
One of the advantages of being unemployed (spelled
r-e-t-i-r-e-d) is that, when I received word of a day-long
Records
Management Seminar, I could immediately decide for myself if I wanted to
attend. No going to “the
boss” with arguments why it would be a “good idea”.
No using precious vacation time.
Just signed up right then.
Of course, I did have to pay for it myself, a
“walloping” $95, but the freedom to choose was worth it.
As was the $25 I paid for parking.
The Seminar was hosted by a law firm on the 19th
floor of an office building in downtown
Oakland and “sponsored” by
numerous vendors, including a construction company from
Silicon Valley.
Not sure how that part happened, but they had a table with useful
green cloth tote bags filled with “freebies” all set up, just in case
any attendees will ever need to contact a construction firm.
After all, you never know…
There were a total of five sessions of an hour and
a bit each. Don’t even
remember what they were, other than the inevitable “preaching to the
choir”. Not that it matters.
I went to the Institute of Certified Records Managers (ICRM)
yesterday and applied for five hours of Continuing Education (CE)
credits. This morning I
found that, not only had the entire Seminar been approved, but they
increased the total hours to 5.5.
So, out of the 100 hours I needed by the end of
this year, I currently have 103.5.
I am, so to speak, ahead of the game.
And those extra three-and-a-half hours won’t go to waste.
I knew that there was a way to “carry forward”, but didn’t know
much more than that until now.
It seems I can “bank” up to 50 hours this year and
carry them into the next five-year cycle.
By that time, 2018, I fully expect to be “officially” retired.
A retired CRM only pays $50 per year for membership (instead of
$200) and has no CE requirement.
So that’s taken care of.
I did wonder if I would know very many people at
the Seminar. I know people
who come to the monthly meetings at the
Mt Diablo Chapter, of course.
I thought I might see a former co-worker who is also a CRM and,
as such, also has the 100 hours per five-year-cycle CE requirement; but
who might not care to spend $95 for five-plus hours of credit.
So imagine my surprise when one of the first people
I saw upon checking in was my former office partner, who now works in
the "Martinez" facility. And
he told me another co-worker was also attending.
We had a lovely chat during the breaks.
In the meantime…
The rash on my arm has completely faded, except for
some slight scarring where the blisters broke out.
The aches and itches seem to be dissipating more or less on their
own schedule. I have hopes
that it will all be over by next week, or so.
By which time I will have figured out what to do
with the construction company’s little blinking (literally) orange
cones, which I found in the tote bag.
And a squeezy “hard hat”.
Can’t have too many of those.
Love, as always,
Pete
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