Waaaah! Buncha cry babies - quit yer whining already!

Okay, so I am really getting tired of hearing (mostly on the ARE Forum) about how much the ARE sucks, NCARB sucks, Archiflash sucks, Kaplan sucks, Prometrics sucks, EVERYTHING sucks! Hey, kids - guess what? For now, it is what it is and it is what we have to go through to get where we want to be. Right? Is this process perfect? No. Is NCARB the model for efficiency and fairness? No. I could keep going, but we all know what the issues are. What is really interesting to me is that the majority of these complaints come from the under-30 crowd, but I'll save that discussion for another time.

Quite frankly, the best we can do ("we" being those of us going through this masochistic process called taking/passing the ARE) is this: PASS THE DAMN TESTS, BECOME RESPONSIBLE PROFESSIONALS, AND CHANGE THE PARTS OF THE SYSTEM THAT NEED TO BE. Sometimes the best way to implement change is from within.

So, as my sister says, put on your big girl (or boy) panties and get on with it already!

Back in the Saddle

After 6 months of trying to adapt to self-employment, sell a condo, sell a house, find a new house, keep work coming in, move into the new house, and other miscellaneous mishegas I am back on track. Or at least as much as I'll ever be. ARE Round No. 2 is on the schedule. Building Design/Materials & Methods. This week I start studying again. So far, I've just been hitting the Archiflash and Kaplan cards whilst soaking in a hot tub. If the soak doesn't put me to sleep the cards will, so at least I'm catching up on lost zeds!

Given the impending doom, er, change in exam format next spring I plan on blowing through the next 8 exams between now and November. This will give me plenty of time to re-test if (notice, dear husband, that I am now saying IF instead of WHEN) I happen to tank on any given exam. Stupid 6 month rule. One possibility regarding Lateral Forces/General Structures was suggested by a friend of mine who is also going through the ARE. Since these two exams will be combined into one in the new version, it might be worth it to leave these till last. At least if I have to take them in 4.0 I will only have to re-take one. Who knows? These two are the ones I dread and part of me would like to just get them over with.

Oh fiddle dee dee, I'll think about LF/GS tomorrow! Today I must deal with a load of work. And study, of course...

Beer me...

So What's in YOUR Office?

I've had no AC, roaches, carpenter ants, Jekyll/Hyde employers, a desk next to the loo where another employee made rather noisy "deposits" twice a day (like clockwork), abusive clients, and more.

If anyone actually reads this blog, I'd love to hear your stories. C'mon - vent, get it off your chest, leave a comment!

Taking a Leap of Faith - in Myself...

I'm taking a leap. I am entering the world of freelance work and self-employment taxes. Whether or not this decision will create more stress than working in some of the, um, "strange" situations I've worked in will obviously be determined at some point. But somehow I don't think it will.

Anyone need any lines drawn?

1/9th an Architect - Can I Put That on My Business Card?

It finally arrived - that envelope from NY State Ed containing 1/9th my fate...

PASS. Such beautiful words.

I PASSED my first exam!

Eight more to go.

Oh, and as promised, my husband was right, I was wrong, and he can sing the "I was right" song (all along I figured I failed, all along he said he knew I would pass).

And now.... I wait

I survived my first exam - Construction Documents & Services. I looked that evil beast in the eye, and wanted to puke (unfortunately, that beast has 8 more friends). But I didn't. The Prometrics facility was not exactly comfy and cozy. It was warm, stuffy, crowded and had no windows. Prometrics was located in the basement of a building, presumably to prevent test takers from flinging themselves out the windows. The computer equipment wasn't all that either - the refresh rate on the monitor was painful and the mouse kept sticking. But what the hell? I got through it.

It definitely wasn't as horrific as I had anticipated. Quite a few of the questions were almost identical to those in the study materials. After reading all the horror stories on the ARE Forum, I was sure the questions would be so much more complex and confusing than those in Kaplan, Archiflash and Ballast. With that said, I still have absolutely no idea as to how I actually did. I don't know if I failed, I don't know if I passed. I know for sure I screwed up a couple of simple questions (damn ADA, curses on backfill), and there were a few of the annoying "WTF" questions. Despite that, I don't get the overwhelming sense that I failed miserably. Maybe I passed. Maybe not... I guess it's a crap shoot now and could go either way.

So now, I wait. Hopefully not too long - I'm not a good waiter despite many years spent working in restaurants and bars!