Standardized Exams

I'm not sure why I've subjected myself to a compressed study regimen that began in October and is scheduled to rush through to March 15th (application deadlines to various Business Schools). Actually, I can probably admit here that I became so frustrated with my dating life - or rather, the disappearance of it - or rather again, the unenticing pool of men that I can select from, or you know what? The men who decided it would be funny, or interesting, or sad, or just plain lovely and evil all the same time, to play games. They never came out the winner, but neither did I... in the grand scheme of things, that is.

This led me to consider goals that I knew I only needed myself to control its fate. Job certification. Pursuit of graduate school. Yeah, it's only two on the list, but holy cow are they monster goals for The-Girl-Who-Gives-Up-When-Things-Get-Frustrating. Remember? I gave up on dating (for now), because it got, well, frustrating. The difference now is that it's just me in the picture, this time. If I give up, it's myself I'm giving up on. Not an entity.

I registered (and paid a whop-load) for the CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor) exam in October of 2011, became a member of ISACA (the organization that creates and validates the certificate), and a good, $600 later, I was on my way to around 20 hours of studying every week... on pace to taking the exam on December 10, 2011. Someone likes to use parentheses.

So yeah, I lightened my wallet and my mall shopping sprees for cute, winter boots, in exchange for blurry vision, insomnia, and the phrase "Sissa" (CISA) being a part of my vocabulary ten too many times a day.

I would say long-story-short, but this is already longer than you wanted to read... nonetheless, I took it last Saturday, going on no sleep for an entire week (I kid you not and exaggerate not). I'm not even certain how I didn't suffer from some sort of a brain malfunction. It was a lot harder than I expected, and the questions were not too familiar even though I had diligently studied ISACA's own sample question pool and gone through each answer and explanation. Maybe the malfunction will appear in my [failed] score. Which by the way, takes 6-8 weeks to receive! It's a scantron, people. We're not waiting for the Mars rover here.