Have you ever had a day where you felt that the entire world was actively hostile? Well today was one of those days for me. It started out fairly well as I had a good morning, a couple nice cups of coffee. I spent the rest of my morning studying up for the rest of my mortgage agent exam.
Being a parent
The first thing I have to say is that once you become a parent, doing things that used to be easy, like studying or going out for a beer becomes really complicated. If you work from home, like I do, it’s even worse. Plus, my hubby is sick, and I do an awful lot of childcare. Mine is the only income coming in and believe me it’s awfully stressful at times.
It’s pretty fair to say that studying for the exam has been hit and miss. After my son goes to sleep, or during his naps, in between work and writing on this blog and the other writing I do. Plus I’m not good about communicating what I need and my hubby’s not good at reading my mind.
Saving money
So even though when you buy the course they try to sell you a fancy calculator for $100, I’m too cheap. No way am I paying a $100 for a calculator. So…I download the app for my phone. It’s absolutely identical for $4.99. I feel like a genius because I saved $95.
Around 12:00 things get hostile...
So my exam is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. I print off the directions to the testing center with the test instructions. I read Cell Phones, PDA’s etc. are not allowed in the exam. Don’ t forget your fancy $100 calculator. So I call the phone number listed and verify that this is indeed true. I ask the lady, about my fine IPhone app and ask her why I should pay $100 for a calculator. She advises me that they sell them at Staples or the Testing Center might have one. She’s not sure.
Staples
Everyone gets this, I’m sure. You go to a store to look at random stuff and a salesman will ask you every 5 minutes if you need something. If you happen to be in a rush, for instance like if you were one your way to an exam and needed a fancy calculator, the store will be entirely devoid of staff. No one will ask you if you need anything. You will also inevitably be stuck behind a crazy old bat trying to return something she bought on sale last Christmas which she has subsequently lost the receipt for. It will be a $1 item. The cashier will be excruciatingly slow, she’ll make many mistakes and have to call a manager. So that’s how it went for me on my trip to Staples.
So Now You’re Late
Hah! All the way to the place you follow someone’s great grandmother, a new driver and someone out on a Sunday drive on Friday.I even managed to find a couple street lights that were flashing red. Excellent!
Parking
I don’t like paying for parking. (See above reference to me being cheap) I grew up in the wilds of Northern Ontario in a town that did not even have a street light never mind parking meters. I consider paid parking to be a way the City has to rob me of even more money on top of all the property tax, Driver’s Tax, and all the other stupid fees they’ve invented to separate me from my hard earned money. In spite of this I resign myself to paying for parking because I’m late and I don’t have time to find free parking.
Exam
I’m late but just a few minutes and the test hasn’t begun yet. I take out my calculator still in the packaging and the supervisor asks me sarcastically if I want to take it out of the package. I say “No and I was speaking to the lady at the office and she said you might have a spare calculator here” He gives me a calculator…
He then asks me who I am, I tell him, he says ” You’re not registered.” He asks me for proof that I’m supposed to be here and glares at me a little more. I grope around in my purse and fish out the email I printed off earlier. I glare back.
The exam itself is pretty easy. You have 100 multiple choice questions and 3 hours to do it. This pretty much guarantees a minimum score of at least 25%. I have to make it to 60% to pass. Most of the questions are about the rules and have nothing to do with math. I’m good at those and whiz through them. The 20 or so questions related to calculating mortgages fall into one of two categories. Throw away questions which don’t require a calculator and those that do require calculating. I do my best and finish the test in a little over an hour. I’m confident I got more than 60%.
The EXIT
I leave the exam and walk to my van. From far away I can see a parking ticket. I fed the damn meter and I got a ticket anyways. I try to figure out why I got a ticket when I paid for 3 hours and only used one. I look at the ticket. $100 for parking within 3 meters of a fire hydrant. I look for a hydrant. The hydrant is literally up the hill about 20 feet from the curb. It is in line with my vehicle. It’s pretty fair to say that at this point, my head feel like it’s about to explode.
Homecoming
I get home, I tell my hubby about the ticket. I’m pretty cranky, he says he’s tired and retreats to the man cave to rest. I’m not stepping a foot out of this house until this day is over. At some point you need to get smart and realize when your fighting forces way stronger than you are…
I’m supposed to get my results a week from now. I’ll keep you posted.