So, Journaling eh?

Yeah,

well the truth is I have about 45 journals that I have started over the course of my lifetime. each one has about 3 pages worth of writing in them... the first day where i declare some dramatic life altering new statement and commit to journaling the new adventure, the second entry where i don't have much to say but i'm trying to stick to my commitment, and a third entry dated several months later saying that a lot has changed and i want to continue with the commitment, then pages and pages of white that mock my failure to stick to the plan....

well this is the fourth entry in my blog, which is like a journal, except instead of not wanting people to read it you try to publicize it as much as possible and get other people to read it through Search Engine Optimization, which is a combination of creating constant new content, maintaining a frequency of popular key words (Obama, Oprah, recession, Comedy, Bored, Money, Laughing Baby, People getting hit with baseball bats) those sorts of things, and links which take you to other people's pages that are trying to accomplish the same thing (Google, microsoft, starbucks, ebay, tonka truck, beanie baby, low cost health care...)

Well today was a great day for me, eventually. In typical dramatic fashion I took something that was pretty basic and turned it into something that was epic. (epic like Star Wards, Lord of the Rings, Telletubbies... etc) Today was the day that I took my Washington State Insurance Agents Exam, on Life and Health insurance. A brutal 4.5 hour exam testing you on general information, federal and state law regarding every facit of life insurance, health insurance, 401k's annuities, endowments, social security, medicare, medicaid, and fair insurance practices. And also of the existence of a top secret agency that it is forbidden for any insurance professional to mention to a potential client at any point during a sale called the ...... oh wait, i should probably not mention it. If you are curious look up the words "insurance guarantee association" in your favorite web browser... such as (google, yahoo, altavista, etc...)

Anyway, i have been in a crash course (40 hour course in 5 days) to learn this information in a hotel room in Portland, 9 hours of class time a day, with 5-6 hours of homework a night (i'm not kidding i didn't even get to watch American Idol, ABC's hit show LOST, or Fringe this week). I also didn't get to see such popular movies as "he's just not that into you" or "taken", nor did i catch the Academy Awards hosted by Hollywood Hunk Hugh Jackman.... (is this getting obnoxious or what?). 

So my test for the exam was at 8a.m. this morning. The exam is timed for 4.5 hours, you have to reserve a slot a week in advance, and they recommend that you get there 30 minutes early to guarantee you will have your paperwork done in time to start on your start time...

So my classmate Jeff calls my room at 540am to get me up. He was so nervous he woke up at 4, couldn't go to sleep, scraped the snow of his car (yes it was snowing this morning) and studied for an hour, and then couldn't wait any longer. I didn't mind, cause i'm such a nice guy so i got dressed and made sure to brew a  pot of coffee, i put it in my travel mug, i grabbed all my paperwork, i grabbed my sales binder for sales school this afternoon, i brushed my teeth, and left my hotel room. Jeff and I left the hotel at 6:20 am. We arrived in Vancouver at the testing facility at 6:45, a full 45 minutes before the recommended 30 minutes prior time. That's right 1hr, 15min early for the test. We went to Burger King, "home of the Whopper™" and Jeff ordered a small coffee...

this is when i freaked out. I didn't have my wallet. I was about to ask Jeff to spot me $5 for breakfast, when i realized i was in a worse situation than having to mooch breakfast.... to take the test you need to have 2 forms of i.d. including a driver's license. I had 0.

The battle between prayer, and profanity raged through my mind as my heart began beating faster than a matador at a bull fight (or a man after 4 red bulls in flight) and i couldn't beleive it. I forgot my wallet. I made coffee, i put on my suit and tie, i grabbed every scrap of paperwork, i had my phone, i even put loose change in my pocket, but had no wallet.....

Jeff asked me what was wrong, i told him, he laughed because he thought it was a sick joke, it was actually a sick truth.... 

Without hesitating he briskly walked out to his car which we had ridden in and said, "let's go." We were going to drive back to Beaverton where our hotel is. It was 6:45 am. We drove in tense silence most of the way back, it was still snowing, but we were making good time. I told him how grateful i was, and how sorry i was. He was tense and nervous, and I was afraid for both of us, that we would not be able to test. We made it back to the hotel at 7:20 am. Based on my calculations and i sped to the front desk, demanded a new room key, sprinted to the 4th floor, flew into my room, grabbed my wallet (turned off the coffee pot full of still hot starbucks® coffee) and ran back down the stairs we might still be able to make it back in time, in theory. 

That theory was crushed as we waited for 10 minutes to enter back on to the freeway at a controlled traffic light. it was 735 when we came to a dead stop in the freeway at the tunnel near i-5. As we came to the end of highway 84, turning onto 205 near the portland airport, the clock struck 7:59. little was said. there was little to say. I offered to pay for Jeff's re-test if we were not allowed to test. He accepted. This meant though at least a full week for both of us without being able to work our new jobs, not to mention that the test costs $80 or so dollars. This was going to be a $160 mistake if we were rejected from the test center. 

We pulled into the testing facility at 8:10. We flew into the room and it was empty, the Lady looked at us, helped us with our paperwork and we were allowed to take our tests. Flustered and in a rush of adrenaline, and stress i labored for almost 3 hours in the testing center. Nerves worse than any I have ever felt. Jeff finished a full 45 minutes before me and left (he had to get back to Seattle, home of Nordstrom, REI, and Amazon.com) I walked out of the test center and recieved my sheet saying 1 simple word... "Pass"

The lady told me we were lucky, that several people had "no-showed" that morning and sometimes if it's full they give away the seats. She also handed me a sticky note from Jeff. It said "Bill, I passed see you around"

I have never been so nerve racked, stressed, relieved, etc. all at the same time before. If I had had breakfast i might have thrown up. All that to say, I am now able to receive my Washington State Insurance License. So, thanks to Jeff, the guy who put his own test, his own job on the line to help me out, and risked a week of not being paid to be a good friend.

That's what insurance is, by the way, it's defined as this simple concept, the practice of taking one person's risk and spreading it out among multiple people to reduce the chance of a large loss to one individual. 

Thanks Jeff.