Dec 11

Please forgive me. In the past few drawn-out, somewhat blurry days, I went over almost every aspect of 700 pages of certification material. I dedicated somewhere around 25-30 hours to studying the vast space between the front and back covers of this MCTS Training Kit, as well as 6 sets of PowerPoint slides an accompanying set of practice quiz questions for each section. Needless to say, I was a little stressed out, burned out, and overall sleepless this weekend. Mostly disconnected from the outside world, I had little time to relax other than food breaks and mental health walks outside in the cold.

I was worried. I’ve never failed a class before in my life. If I didn’t pass this cert, not only was I going to be short 3.5 credits for graduation, but I was also going to receive my first F in any class, ever. Failure wasn’t an option.

Most importantly, after all this, I managed to pass the certification test! Granted, I barely passed by the hair on my chin, but that’s not important right now. I have my first official certification in the industry! I am now an official Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) in MS SQL Server 2005. I honestly couldn’t be happier. Two more finals to go, and three papers! I can do this! The end is almost in sight!


Dec 7
Combinations
ryan | Uncategorized | December 7, 2007 | No Comments »

Wow, I’ve been slacking on classes lately. It’s starting to catch up with me and I’m realizing how badly I need to get back on track. I have 3 papers due next week and one very large certification test that is hanging above my head, waiting to come down on me like a guillotine. I am going to study relentlessly this weekend. I have to. It’s worrying me that there is a high possibility that I will fail this test, but I have two chances to pass it. So, today marks the first of three days that I will be disconnected from reality.

I’m ready for this quarter to be over already. For some reason, it’s felt like the longest quarter I’ve ever had here. I think it’s because before this quarter started, I spent almost a week completely by myself. No school, no job, no friends, nothing. So, it was a weird way to start off the quarter I suppose. Just the other day I was talking about something that happened last quarter, and I could have sworn it was two quarters ago. Unfortunately, these past 10 weeks have really just gone by really slow.

So I guess what I’m feeling right now is a combination of things. I’m stressed and I’m worn out. I’m feeling unoriginal and a little empty. I’m feeling like I need to chiggity-check myself before I wriggity-wreck myself. Wow, I can’t believe I just said that. I’m not depressed, no no no. Please don’t think I am. I’m just kind of wishing I had someone to share this with.