Pass

Well, it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be, but I'm still really glad I studied. There were 165 questions (5 more than they'd said) in two parts. The first part was 83 questions and I was allotted 3 hours for it. The second part was 82 questions, and I was allotted an additional 3 hours. In between the two sections I was allowed a 30 minute break (I could take longer than that but it would cut into my time).

After signing in, they took my picture, then informed me that every square inch of the testing room was covered by their dozen cameras at all times. Then they make me take everything out of my pockets--wallet, keys, cell phone (which had to be turned off), change, guitar picks, chapstick-- and remove my watch. The only things I was allowed to keep with me were my clothes, belt, shoes, wedding ring, and glasses. Next time I'll know which items to write the answers on (you can fit a lot of answers on a belt my size).

The first section was pretty tough. There were a lot of calculation questions, and there were very few questions that I instantly knew the answers to. Of the 83 questions, i was completely sure about 20 or so, somewhat sure about 40, and crossing my fingers on the other 23.

Since I'd only been in there an hour and 15 minutes when my break came up, I decided to just keep plugging away, and was surprised to find the second half much easier. There were about 30-40 that I was sure about, and reasonably sure about most of the rest. And, of course, by the time I got to the last 20 or so I was pretty sure I'd passed anyway so I didn't spend too much time worrying about them.

There were about 40 questions that I would not have known the answer to if I hadn't studied the weeks before, and I was really surprised at how well the things I studied matched up to the test.

I know there are a lot of people who have a hard time taking tests, so in a way I feel bad passing things so easily. However, just so you don't think I'm a total jerk about it, I produced a study guide while I was doing my studying that I plan to share with the other 8 guys that will be taking the test later this year. Maybe that study guide will be the difference between some of them passing or failing. See, I'm not a total arrogant jerk, am I?

Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. It was certainly more of a challenge than I'd anticipated. I'm just glad it's over.