Week report - exam and free time
So, here I am again. Before the exam, I didn’t have much energy to blog, and what was there to tell? Exam preparation can be summed up as: "way too much content in too little time without knowing what would actually be asked."
But now, the exam is over! On Tuesday morning, we finally got it behind us. I have to say, this week was pretty great for me. No, not because of the exam — I don’t think I did particularly well — but in this case, my main goal was simply to pass. Today, I’ll just talk about this week, in order.
Monday, May 24
For once, we were allowed to stay home if we wanted. But I didn’t stay home; instead, I accompanied my wife to her assessment. I had to complete the same assessment before I was allowed to start my retraining as an IT specialist (application development). Since the assessment took place in the same building, we could travel together, and afterward, I went to my classroom to study for the exam.
Of course, almost everyone stayed home. Only three others showed up, and I studied with two of them. That was quite pleasant. At noon, when my wife was done, I left as well, and we went out for lunch. In the evening, I wasn’t too nervous about the exam; instead, I was looking forward to finally getting it over with so I could relax a little.
Tuesday, May 25
We had to get up ridiculously early so I could be at the exam location by 7:30 AM. I rode my bike — it’s not that far for me — and most of my classmates were already there. Of course, we were all more or less tense. I think it went okay, but not outstanding. The time was just barely enough. Even during preparation, it was clear that 90 minutes for the exam would be quite tight.
Afterward, I went for coffee with one of my seatmates (or friend or colleague), and there was a nice selection of muffins, donuts, and similar treats.
Wednesday, May 26
Another optional home office day. I doubt anyone from our class showed up at the IT training center. I certainly didn’t this time. I was looking forward to a free day, and I spent the first half alone at home, only doing things I enjoy. Mostly painting while listening to music, but I also rode my bike for 20 minutes. At least something.
Thursday, May 27
On Thursday, classes were supposed to resume as usual, with IT security — a continuation with two external coaches. Apparently, these two coaches forgot about us and didn’t show up. Not great. We were allowed to go home.
I decided to stay so I could head home with my wife later. Only two other classmates stayed with me in the classroom — one working on applications for an internship, the other doing suspicious experiments in the Windows command line :p. As for me, I played around with JavaScript and occasionally chatted with the others. It turned out to be a really pleasant day.
const canvas = document.getElementById("gameCanvas");
const ctx = canvas.getContext("2d");
const cardBack = new Image();
const cardFront = new Image();
cardBack.src = "/img/cardBack.jpg";
cardFront.src = "/img/samplecard.jpg";
const cards = [
{ x: 50, y: 50, width: 100, height: 150, isFlipped: false },
{ x: 200, y: 50, width: 100, height: 150, isFlipped: false },
{ x: 350, y: 50, width: 100, height: 150, isFlipped: false },
];
Friday, May 28
Friday was a long day. There were no classes, but it was Team Day. In the morning, our class had breakfast together, followed by a generous break, and then blacklight mini-golf was on the agenda. I wasn’t really in the mood for that, but oh well. We had to form groups of four and play through 18 stations, some of which included billiard elements. It was okay. The classmate to my right disappeared quickly afterward, while the one to my left planned to stay. We had a beer together and then picked up my wife.
At 1:30 PM, there was a kind of conference about the current state of the holdings. Participation was optional, and I think only my seatmate, another classmate, and I attended from our class. Plus, my wife, whom we managed to sneak in. There was free food and drinks, and from 4 PM onward, beer was available too. My wife, my seatmate, and I stayed until the very end. The weather was sunny, and the temperatures were warm enough to sit outside by the river. We had a great time.
Saturday, May 29
I had to run some errands and then went cycling. It was my first standard ride of the year. The weather was nice, though there was a strong headwind at times. Once again, I developed a rash — this time it looked a bit different and, interestingly, wasn’t as bad. The itching was tolerable and not so severe that I had to stop and take a break. I was especially surprised since my diet the day before had been rather unhealthy compared to usual — lots of carbs, almost no vegetables, definitely no fruit, and quite a bit of beer. I also hadn’t taken an allergy pill. I hope this means that — by some miracle — I’m on the road to recovery. For now, I’ll wait until my next cycling trip to see how things develop.
