Getting Certified

This year I have been studing the Python programming language. I passed two entry level exams (one from Microsoft, the other from the Python Institute). Today was the day for me to take my mid-level exam. I wanted to take the test while on vacation. However the local community college in my vacation town only offers the test once a month. The dates did not line up. So I took the exam near home at bit early.

I scheduled the exam for a day off from work. I chose the earliest possible time. Woke up early today. Shaved my beard so it would not mess with the mask I had to wear. Then I headed to the exam center. I filled my car up with gas first. When I got to the parking lot, there was one other guy parked there. He got out of his truck and went into the building.

I stayed in my car. I did some last minute studying. Then I headed in. The guy from earlier was waiting in the hall. The exam center had not opened yet. They other guy was taking a SANS exam. I told them their training was really expensive. He said he took the training, which provided him with a book he could carry into the exam. He said the GI Bill wsa paying for everyhone.

During the test, I found a couple tricky questions. I think I answered them correctly. However there were a few questions that I actually missed. When I had completed all questions, the exam computer did not tell me score or whether I passed. It said to see the instructor at the front desk. The instructor recognized me from my prior exam, and said I always pass. He sounds like he is getting to know me.

Momoko and I went out for a Mexican lunch to passing of the exam. I now am digging in deep to my Statistics class from an online school. This will allow me to skip the stats course in my college, which is filled with group projects and group grading which I abhor.

Tiny Christmas Tree

This year, Kit Kat was in charge of setting up our Christmas tree. Unfortunately, she was busy completing her graduate program in college. So the tree did not get put up. Momoko then thought the children could stand up a tiny Christmas tree. She said she purchased one for each of the kids in the past.

Little Kat said he gave his tree to Kit Kat. Thought Kit Kat does not remember that, she thought her tree was somewhere in her closet. Once final papers were submitted for the college semester, she looked and found her tree. We had her put it on top of a TV tray in front of the fireplace.

I used this as an opportunity to place my gifts under the tree. Little Kat followed suit the next day. My brother and Momoko later put their gifts under the tree. Momoko put this year's family ornament on top of the tree. It is a mask to symbolize our COVID-19 trials this year.

Just Say No to College Group Projects

I am still trying to get eligible to enroll in a class at Little Kat's 4 year college. In the mean time, I am going to the night school at another local college. I figure while I am waiting, I can sign up for a class at this night school for next spring.

I need to take a statistics class because it is a prerequisite for all the other good classes I want to take. Since I will be out of town in the beginning of the spring, I decided I could only to an online course. I found one such class.

Before enrolling, I spied on the class syllabus from the last semester. I did not like what I saw. They put you in groups and want you to interact with your group to learn stuff together. I am sure that benefits instructors, as they push off the learn to other students. It also benefits slackers, as they can be pulled up by their peers.

Unfortunately for a person like myself, groups are essentially a total waste of time. Nobody has any time for that. I therefore hatched a plan to try to skip this class. When I was an undergraduate originally, I took an engineering statistics class. I hope I can use that to bypass this class.

Scheduling Certification Exams

I had got approval from my boss to take a week off from work to study for and take a certification exam. This was to coincide with a trip I was going to take with Little Kat. Well I figured I had better get my stuff lined up. The exam date is less than a month from now.

I determined which books I wanted to purchase for exam prep. Now I probably don't need all these books to pass the exam. But my company is weird. They only pay for books if they are required to pass an exam. So I guess I need them to pass the exam. Understood?

It would have been easy to just order all the book directly from Amazon. But that would have been one huge package. That is no fun. Instead, I ordered through Amazon. But I bought books from third party sellers. I mostly chose used books to keep the price low. Now I am going to get a ton of packages this month.

The trouble happened when I tried to schedule and pay for my exam. The exam seems to be offered only one time next month. And that day it outside of Little Kat and my trip abroad. So that will not work. Instead I decided to sign up for a test administered close to home the weekend before we take off. The only problem is that I need to study now, instead of the week off work I planned to train.

Coding Python 24x7

I have read through 12 books on the Python computer programming language. They are stacked up on my desk. Around half of them have notes for future programming I need to do based on ideas from the books. Purchasing print books was expensive and also bulky. I have a new plan: read e-books.

My college has access to Safari Online. This is a digital library of almost all the computer books I could ever read. Right now I am going through an e-book that has around 80 projects for me to complete. To get this done in a reasonable time, I am trying to do 8 projects a day. It is challenging.

There are at least 9 other Python e-books that I would like to read. Not sure when I am going to get the time, especially when most of them require you to also write programs along with the reading. It does not help that I am going to school to learn Data Science at the same time as well.

I plan to sit for a Python certification exam in one month. The company will pay for that certification. And if I say I need some books to prepare, they will cover the cost for those too. Therefore I plan to buy 7 more print books at a price of around $200. My boss said that is okay. The company will pick up the tab.