May I Have a Do-Over?

Image found here.

I hinted at a couple of other things happening in my 2013 and here we go with the few more things.

First and foremost, I passed my Medical Billing & Coding course.  In fact, I passed it with an A.  Pretty exciting, right?  Well, I took the course final exam after I had already taken the certification exam and, in spite of that solid A I earned I failed the certification exam.  Now, I could get into the pedagogy and break the course’s curriculum and design point by point.  After all, I do have a degree in education so I sort of know whereof I speak.  However, the point is moot.  I failed the certification exam and now I have two choices:

• Take the exam again in 2013
• Give up altogether

Doesn’t seem like much of a choice, really.  But the 2013 code books will cost me another $170 so I’m going to try to just use the 2012 books I already have, knowing that I will probably end up getting some answers wrong because my books will be outdated.  I have registered to take the exam again on 16 February and if I do not successfully pass this second time then I will use my birthday money to buy the books and take the exam a third time.

I am understandably very disappointed by this turn of events and chose not to tell anyone because there were so many good things happening over the Christmas holidays that I simply refused to put a pall on anyone else’s experiences.

Shira

The same day I was successfully failing the exam, my daughter, Shira, passed her driving test.  She is now a fully licensed driver and getting her ducks in a row to get a car.  This will open doors for her, allowing her to seek employment beyond the limits of the very limited public transportation where we live.  I am thrilled for her and I know it was difficult for her to work through the years of fear her father had planted in her mind when she was too young even for a learner’s permit. 

And two days after I took my certification exam, two days before I would know whether I passed or failed, Marc took the GRE and is well on his way to going to graduate school, with plans to study Japanese translation. 

Marc

I am so proud of both of them for moving their lives forward in directions that will open doors of opportunity and empower them.  How could I possibly do otherwise?

A few weeks ago I posted about my giving Body By You a try with a promise to update on a weekly basis. Then the RAM collapse of 2012 hit followed by the holidays and I just gave up trying to keep up with things for a while.  But a new year is almost upon us/me and I will renew my commitment to the program.  I was finding it good if not altogether challenging.  I went to the forums to see what information I could find there and so far there really isn’t any community support designed for this book but I suspect that the author’s marketing team are on it.  The book is due to be officially released with the new year and I assume there will be a place on the fora, a folder specifically for the women who are using this book and looking for change.  

My hope is to update about once a week, some details about my exercising, maybe the occasional recipe Rob and I have tried, or other things that I feel might be interesting.  Of course, I can only try to follow through on this as, when I initially considered making this a part of my 2013 I assumed I would have passed the certification exam and not have to think about studying for it any longer.

So 2013 promises to be full and I may have to put off some things, like the scrapbooking on weekends, because I’ll be studying (again) for the certification exam.  And because of the studying, I may or may not be as consistent I had hoped to be with my blogging with the new year.  Writing, however, has been put on the back burner as I attempt to learn how to code and I have taken this a step further.  Knowing that I will be reading my many accumulated books, some of which are on writing, I have filed away all of my writing.  Rather than continue revising and rewriting what has already been written and remains unpublished, I’ll start afresh, perhaps write something new, something interesting enough to others that it will not only be read but published.  In 2012, I managed to earn $500 with my editing skills.  It would be nice to earn that much with my creative writing.

My priorities are in place and, if failing the certification exam was a surprise (and believe you me, it was), then I’ll just have to reprioritize until I really can say I have taken the exam and it is behind me.  In the meantime, pardon me if I feel like I’m running in place.