200%

Today was the first of two tests in my training class. The grading breaks down to:

Test 1: 25 points
Test 2: 25 points
Presentation: 10 points
Participation: 40 points (8 per day)

I need 80 total points to graduate. The participation and presentation scores are gimmes, so start with 50. Then add the perfect score on the first test (I rock), and all I need to do is show up and write my name on the second test.

The title comes from a policy one of my professors at CBU: if the first person to turn in a test scored 100%, he was awarded a score of 200 / 100. I achieved this on the second test, so for the final I could not make a score that would cause me to fail the class. I only needed about a 15 to get an A.

Since this class is pass / fail, there's no promise of passing, but it's nice to take the pressure off for the last test.

In case it's hard to tell, school is my wheelhouse. I can take classes and pass tests in my sleep. It's not that work is harder than school, but the expectation is different. On a test, there's an answer, and I've spent close to 20 years developing skills to get to that answer. At work, there isn't a single answer. Sometimes, there's no answer at all. I'll develop that skill, too, I'm just not there yet.

I should explain the recent increase in blogging. Part of the reason is that training is different from real work. Real work is governed by all sorts of non-disclosures, classifications, and stories about people being fired for complaining about bosses. Real work is also tiring, and when I get home, I want to leave work at work. Training isn't work. Training doesn't have homework, and like I said, it's in my wheelhouse.

For the record, 4pm isn't 2400 hours; it's 1600 hours. If you're going to try to refer to military time, get it right. More tomorrow.