Thursday, March 24, 2016, I awoke
at 6am because I had the routine down pat. I nearly forgot my laptop so I had
to return after getting to the basement level. At least I wasn’t on the metro.
I still managed to board the earlier orange line train to Vienna station.
Creating a buffer was essential since this was the metro. I transferred to the
2B and this time remembered to pull the bell in the right spot to avoid walking
over the bridge. I was the fourth person there. I just prayed that there was
over with so that I could take the test and pass it.
The
instructor started discussing technical debt which was because of my questions.
I was validated because I did not think that I was learning a whole lot the day
before. However, I did admit that doing the user stories, spring and product
backlog activities taught me something. I would give the training that. During
the morning break, I crossed the bridge to the PNC to get Uber driver tip
money. During lunch, I dined on Uncle Julio’s patio (I fell for the trip of
eating all of the chips and salsa. I filled up so much that I couldn’t finish
the fajitas. Hey, I was starving. That chocolate bar wasn’t enough.).
I
returned to training still nursing a headache with no Aleve. I managed to
survive more tangents and rumblings. I went to use the bathroom and boom I was
shut out of the ScrumAlliance CSM exam page. That poor website said that it was
busy. I packed my stuff, ordered an Uber and went on my way. Or so I thought…The
Uber driver missed the Vienna exit. He asked me. I told her that I lived in DC.
I did not know anything about Virginia. We managed to get to Dunn Loring metro.
I did not recognize this Dunn Loring. I stopped going there ever since the
silver line opened because it had Tysons Corner stops. A Smashburger franchise was
built where the old parking lot was. It looked like all of those other planning
communities for middle-middle class people (You would not find a Smashburger or
other franchises in DuPont so that was a couple rungs below but still). I
boarded the orange line returning home. I dropped my bags, reconfigured my
laptop and took the test.
My
test was harder than the questions that my classmates received. Immediately I
started surfing the Internet for scrum help. I found two sites which helped.
Also I grabbed the Scrum Guide. It
was written by scrum’s cofounders so I knew that I was good. I scored 94.3%
(33/35) passing the exam. Immediately I photographed my certificate posting it
on Instagram. I tried uploading it to LinkedIn, but the photo was upside down.
Therefore, I found my digital camera in my black oversized Kate Spade purse and
re-photographed it. LinkedIn liked that one. Afterward, I typed my CSM
announcement posting it on my site. I then copied that to Medium.
I
thought that passing the CSM would be different, at least dinner. In my mind, I
thought I would be dining at Bourbon Steak at the Four Seasons. I dined at
Morton’s steakhouse right after passing the PMP. Nope! Combined the headache,
the misfit Uber driver and the ScrumAlliance’s crashed website, I settled for a
frozen macaroni and cheese dinner from CVS. Hey, at least I was certified! No
one can take CSM away from me! My biggest epiphany was my emotional
intelligence. I did not flip out against the Uber driver. I just got home and
carried on. I did not let that affect my certification exam performance. Now
that was maturity!
I fulfilled this
week’s goal of earning my CSM because I was sick and tired of being sick and
tired in my job search. Immediately after passing, I created a scrum job alert.
There were no less than 20-25 jobs. Also I emailed the three LinkedIn
connections who helped me privately and highlighted their names publicly on my
LinkedIn status. Giving credit and being gracious were essential. I changed my
LinkedIn profile uploading my certificate and adding it to my certifications
list. It was like Christmas and I was opening up a present. After 5 days, I was
finally certified! Next I told my career coach because we had to start working on
integrating this new certification into my personal brand. We had work to do. I
had to write a new story.
Finally, I email
someone who had impacted me. I was telling him that dipping into a specific
fund felt like lack. He said to view this as a business investment since I
filed my LLC. That CC Pace training cost $1295. I viewed it as an investment
instead of a cost. I started this Sunday sick and tired of being sick and
tired. Five days later, I was now a certified Scrum Master. That was an
investment indeed!
