Last night, I finally put my foot down and decided enough was enough. No more procrastinating for me. I needed to get the CPA ethics exam done, or I would just never get around to it. So, after house dinner (9:15 p.m.) I stretched out on the couch with a tall glass of chocolate milk and proceeded to answer the last 36 questions on the exam.
Fate tried to intervene when Jarrett kicked over my milk... but I wiped it up with a paper towel and refused to be distracted. Around 10:30, I finished the test and literally felt like a moron. It's been about a month since my last spurt of activity, and all it took was an hour and fifteen minutes to get it done. So, giddily, I powered on the laptop to input my answers. But, fate wouldn't be so kind.
The website asked me to register (I did), and then it asked for the serial number and course number for the test I was taking. The course number was plastered all over the book... but the serial number? What is that? Well, I come to find that the serial number was on the scantron form that I probably chucked three months ago (because you can take the test online.) Anyhow, I spent a half-hour tearing through all my papers trying to find this scantron form, but it was nowhere to be found.
This morning, I woke up early and swung by my new place (more on that in a moment) to see if the form was in a box of papers I had brought over yesterday. No joy. Yes, there was some stress, but I remained calm and called the AICPA and explained to them that I had lost the serial number, and could they please give me a replacement.
The very nice and professional sounding call-center person patiently took down all my information, including the invoice number from when I ordered the ethics exam, and she supplied me with a new serial number. After that, it was a breeze to enter my answers online, and presto... I'm a CPA. Feels great!
As to that one-liner about my new place. Yes, I'm in. I swung by late Saturday after my tenant didn't return my calls all day, and found the place completely deserted, and blissfully empty. And when I say empty... I mean empty. No toilet paper, no shower curtain rings, no soap or any of the little things that often get left behind. Just a neat stack of all the mail that the insurance company keeps sending me. About the only thing my tenant left behind was probably two dozen sewing pins embedded in the carpet all over the room.
I took a gazillion photos of just about everything in the apartment, and then a few of me smiling in the kitchen, holding the keys to the place. After capturing the "before" photos, I whipped out the pry bar, utility knife, hammer, and screwdriver, and about three hours later, the carpet had been pulled up, and most of the kitchen tile was up.
On Sunday, I was able to reserve some time on the freight elevator, so I hauled up most of my tools and materials I'll need for the remodeling. I've decided to finish my Murphy Bed inside the apartment, so I brought all of those pieces of wood, as well as the eighteen boxes of flooring. HEAVY.
After lugging everything up to Thunder Keep, I then removed all the carpet and started to bag up the tack stripping and kitchen tile. Most of that is sitting in a garbage bag right now, but there's still some work to be done.
About half an hour before dinner, I left the Keep to get back to the Stone for dinner... but I had left the van hazards on and killed the car battery. Pain in the ass. Fortunately, there were jumper cables in the back, and one of the building tenants gave me a jump. I was late to dinner, but not the end of the world.
So, in summary. I had an eventful weekend, but I am now in my new place, and I'm a CPA. Can't beat that, eh?
