Certifiable

The view from the 25th floor was quite stunning. The uncharacteristic humidity today put a veil of atmospheric haze around the outskirts of Denver, so that the outlying office towers on Colorado Boulevard were only halfway discernible and the foothills were completely shrouded, leaving only the upswell of Denver's highlands visible. The capitol buildings were right there with the shining dome of the state's and the odd crescent of the county's. I was waiting for the certification exam.

The walking cliché of a secretary had pointed me to this room from her desk. When I first came in, she had an emory board running across her considerable fingernails and was talking on the phone with a friend about health problems. This is where stereotypes come from, people. She ignored me as I waited close by for her to hang up. I waited. I waited some more, and still she gabbed on, not giving me the slightest regard. I tried a few throat clearings, but to no avail. Finally, I leaned over her desk and gave her the eye, finally winning enough regard for her to point me to the waiting area in the test area with the towering view over downtown Denver.

Finally, I got to take the test. It was actually a lot easier than I had expected. Most of the questions were no brainers, and a good deal of the more obscure ones I had luckily picked up during my studying. The ones that got me, however, were the video and audio questions. I just never work with those in Flash. I hazarded good guesses and moved on. I completed the test in about 25 minutes and then went back to review those that I was shaky on. All in all, I came out with an 89% score. The passing grade was 70%, so baby, I am in like Flynn! Thank you, God for your grace and the gift of intelligence, even if it may be limited to taking tests.

This little victory means that RealEyes will pay for me to go to the MAX conference in the end of September, and things will probably go a bit better for me in my review I have next week. Two Adobe certifications in one week! Not too shabby. For immediate effects, it means that I am a heckuva lot less stressed out, and I treated myself to a luxurious celebratory dinner at Racine's. Now, I can enjoy the AIR roadshow tomorrow and the trip to the Sand Dunes without stress. I'm all for it.