It's been a while since I've blogged about much of anything, though there's been a lot going on. If you haven't heard, here's a little list of updates and things going on in my life.
1. PMP - I passed my PMP exam on June 5th. I took the prep class for it last year, and a bunch of things got in the way of taking the exam until now. I had one year from Oct 08 to take the exam (after you apply to take the exam you have one year from the acceptance date), so I wasn't in a big hurry, but then I heard they (PMI) were changing the test editions from 3rd to 4th at the end of June, so if I wanted to test to the 3rd edition of the PMBOK, I needed to take the exam asap. I managed to get an exam scheduled before the end of June and studied about 5 out of 7 nights a week for 2.5 weeks to refresh everything I learned last year. I took a couple practice tests and felt pretty confident that I could pass the exam. The exam was at Prometric, a company that offers testing services on computers they have set up in a very controlled environment. The actual exam was pretty tough - I don't do as well reading a computer screen as I do reading paper in front of me. The nice thing about the computer exam is that you know if you passed instantly - no waiting 2-3 weeks for results. It was a huge relief to see the "Congratulations..." screen when I was done. At $405.00 to take the test, I only wanted to take it once - and JPK agreed to pay for it if I passed. So that is finally done. Now I just need to maintain 60 PDUs (Professional Development Units) every 3 years. I can get 5/year from my work as a PM, and I think I found a way to get 5/year as long as I'm an officer in the SCA (it is afterall a non-profit-organization). Guess I'll always be an officer in some capacity now. LOL
2. New Roof - When I talk about our new roof, everone immediately asks if it was from Ike damage. No, it wasn't; it was just an old roof that had developed a few leaks. We replaced it with a new 30 year roof via Southwest Roofing. They did a good job on it, as well as some siding repair. Poor B was home the whole time and had to put up with constant hammering for a couple days. She's also not a morning person, and these crews get started early.
3. New Shower - The shower in the master bath needed repair to the leaking shower pan. To replace the pan, they needed to knock out 4 courses of tile and cut out the drywall. I hated the tile anyway, so decided to replace it all with cultured marble. And hey!, while we've got the walls ripped open, let's replace the single shower head with body sprays! and a hand-held shower! too. Oh, and while we're at it, let's knock the wall between the shower and the tub down to a pony wall (cuz this project just isn't big enough yet). LOL So that's what we did. It's taken quite a while because I did the tear-out work myself, and I could only work on it a little bit at a time. Once I got it all done though, the plumber came in and got the plumbing done and contracted the marble work pretty quickly. Currently, we've just waiting on the glass company. We selected a contractor and they've got the measurements they need. Should be ready within a couple weeks. Yesterday, I finally wiped down EVERYTHING in the bathroom. There was a layer of construction dust over everything. I figured the worst of the construction was finally done so it was a good time to clean. Once the glass is in, we'll just need to get a drywall guy in to patch up a few spots (including the ceiling where I cut the wall out). Miguel de la Treb recommended a guy to me a while back. I'll probably give him a call.
4. A/C - new item - I had a n A/C company come inspect our system. The system works ok, but could be better. We're going to get our vents cleaned out (they really need it!), which I think will help with B's allergies. In time, we'll probably replace the system to a more efficient/powerful system - but we've spent enough on the house for a while now.
5. SPH - I've got about one month left as Star Principal Herald. It's been a great experience. This was the office I set out to hold when I first started in the SCA. It's always a treat to see one of your goals realized. I'm planning a little break from heraldry for a while, but I'm certainly not done with heraldry. There are other offices in the College of Heralds I'd like to hold, and who knows, maybe I'll put in for a Society herald office someday. I'll be serving as Sable Roundel Herald for the next 2 years, which is sort of an advisory position to Star. I'll probably relax and do some heraldic commentary, but that's all I have planned really for heraldry.
6. Because I can't sit still in the SCA, I put in an application for Stargate's Seneschal. There are three applicants, and no decision has been made yet, so there's not much I can say about it just now. I had my interview with Baron Ihon at King's College this past weekend and I think it went very well. My backup plan is to apply for Stargate's Knight Marshal. Sir Godwin is currently the Acting KM, and being his squire, I'm sure he'd be very happy for me to hold that office - he know's I'd take it seriously, which means I'd be getting my butt to practices regularly. We'll see. I just want to refocus my service to the barony again for a while.
7. B is going to Niagara Falls for 3 weeks in July. She's going to help take care of her family while her mom has surgery. It'll be sucky to not have her home, but I certainly can't complain after having spent 4 weeks offshore. It'll be a bit more sucky for the dogs though, since they'll have to be crated while I'm at work. They're used to their Momma being home with them all day. Poor puppies.
That's about it for a brief overview. Some fun, huh? :)
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