The Wrap-Up

Hi folks, I made it.  I took the CFP again.

Was it hard?  You betcha.  Was it stressful?  Uh-huh.

It was a bit different feeling than last time.  First off, we were in 1 huge room (Ballroom at a hotel) instead of about 6 smaller rooms at the University of Phoenix.  That had it's challenges.  Lots more distractions with people sneezing, coughing, muttering to themselves (sorry fellow test-takers), the air conditioning blasting.  It took longer to pass out tests, gather up tests, etc.  If more than one person had to take a bathroom break, a proctor had to go with you.  Talk about treating us like we're little kids.  But I understand why.

The first day was a doozy, but I actually walked out feeling like I got a good portion of the questions right (or at the very least knew what they were talking about and could make an educated guess on the subject).  I was exhausted, but not ready to drive home and give up.

I was meeting U of A AFA (Anne) for dinner and finding the place was a bit of a challenge because while I had been proactive and mapquested it from the hotel, I hadn't done so from the test figuring I'd be done at 5 pm and could easily drive the 10 minutes to my hotel and back to dinner before 5:45 pm.  Little did I remember that the test didn't get out until 5:30 or so.  Ooops!  And then my phone decided it didn't know how to run it's navigation software so I was stuck.  Finally made it to dinner and had a wonderful time with U of A AFA.  We talked a bit about the test, how she felt on the one she passed, how I was feeling, her recent nuptials and honeymoon, and business.  She was so sweet and not only insisted on buying me dinner, but she brought me a "study goodie bag" full of things like licorice, Vitamin Water, a banana, Reeses, to help me through the next day.  So sweet!  And I heard that my Wildcats beat Memphis (sorry Josh Pastner) in the NCAA tourney, so that made me happy.

J called just as I was leaving U of A AFA and was a bit frazzled.  In all of the drama of finding dinner and U of A AFA, I hadn't called him or my parents and dinner had run a little long.  I got out of the test at 5:30 and here it was 8 pm.  Oops.  They were a little panicked about my whereabouts.  Got them settled and headed for home.

On my way back to the hotel, I stopped at Subway to get lunch for the next day so I wouldn't have to scramble and find lunch in our hour break.  So glad I did because the next day we had to wait for someone who was late and ended up with only about 30 minutes for lunch.

Second day was hard and I'm not gonna lie, there were some questions where I was thinking, "Where did that come from?!" but there were also some that the answer came so easy, I was a bit worried I had missed something.  So that meant re-reading and possibly recalculating to make sure.  I think I did okay.

I've always said that this test doesn't just test your knowledge, but also how well you actually TEST.  And it cracks me up because we have to know tax stuff and law stuff, but in real life we aren't allowed to even really comment on those things.  So know it, and then tell the client, "Please check with your tax adviser or attorney."  Anyway.

I finished strong, I think, and was ready to be out of there.  Chatted with the guy who had been sitting behind me about what he thought and he's sure he didn't pass.  Then headed for home.  I called J to tell him I was done and on my way home, and then chatted up a few others...Schelle, my prof from the first cram course, Meanie Christinie, U of A AFA, and finally my Mom.  She and Dad picked up J and met me at BJ's Brew House for dinner and had a Long Island Iced Tea and Avocado Egg Rolls waiting for me.  (Have I got a great family or what?!).  Finally back home where the dogs and kitty were happy to see me and I was happy to sit and have another drink!

All and all, I think I may have squeaked by this time.  I hope I do anyway.  Angel Ash said to expect a miracle and I keep reminding myself of that fact.  Let's just hope that passing was my miracle!

Now we wait...6-8 weeks.  Possibly worse than the 2ww!

Have a wonderful week Bleaders...I'll blog more, I promise!