Testing the Limits

 In reading of kden's disappointing trip, and bill's mishap with dentures, it appears I may not be the only blogger friend with rude awakenings, as of late. I suppose this happens to us all, at times. These mishaps of fate that happen for a reason, to teach us something, or to make us pay attention for like situations. kden will better prepare herself for future trips...just in case. bill has made a decision to keep his chops in his pocket, nightstand or mouth...just in case. hub will refrain from consuming bacon...just in case. He doesn't appear to enjoy the propped up position, while sitting at his computer. Ah yes, these lessons we learn through life. These testers of fate we try, though, we probably know better to avoid. We have to reestablish boundaries once in a while, lest we forget our humanness and limits. We often have to get kicked in the pants, or teeth, or gut, to remember these weaknesses. This is rarely a pleasant feeling, this admission of weaknesses or shortcomings. It is a continuous retraining to accept or forgive ourselves of these personal shackles which limit us. We still want to conquer the world, don't we?
 I had my kick of reality the other day. On Friday the 26th, I received a message from the Dept. of Labor & Industries from a gent named Thomas. He wanted me to attend a job assessment on Monday the 29th at 3:30pm. I returned the call and said I'd be glad to go to the assessment as he scheduled, this being left on his voice mail system. I called him again on Monday am to reconfirm, again, only able to leave a voice message. I dressed in appropriate interview attire and finished my mental rehearsing of a job interview. I had even prepared to face a panel of interviewers, and had been practicing question & answer sessions on my own. (A well known trick to gear up for such a deal.) I felt confident and fairly secure in my projected answers.
 There were four other people on sight with me. This was not a regular interview, it was a test! I was not completely surprised to discover this, as I know testing is applied when trying to earn a job with the state. The test...creating documents and spreadsheets from two pages worth of information. The "Staff Memo" was not too difficult. However, when it came time to create an Excel Spreadsheet from a page worth of information, I gawked. They found my weakness! As a supervisor, it wasn't in my routine to create these types of reports, it was generally my job to collect the data the administration needed to create them! Really? Really? It wasn't the type of document I can create easily. Why couldn't it be creating a newsletter? I taught myself the Publisher Programs to do that!
 So, needless to say, I bumbled through it like a giant trying to play miniature golf. Awkward, goofy and not timely. I am sure I failed and despite Thomas stating to us all, he'd be in touch within a few days, I doubt my touch will be golden. This was so embarrassing and such a wake up call. I was so horrified at myself that I came home and watched two hours worth of You Tube videos on creating Excel Spreadsheets. I created a dummy report along with the video, and realized I made the whole process harder on myself than I needed to, and it made me see what a box my past job had kept me in. We had not had training courses on computer programs like this. Skill development courses were rare, too. New program "how to's", were shared briefly and we had to usually, fend for ourselves on learning the implementation of them and ask questions as needed. I did look into local classes and costs for this computer class too. Yikes!
 That evening I spoke to my son and he uplifted my spirits tremendously. I am going to go to Seattle next week for a couple of days and he is going to tutor me on this document creation, while helping him with his business, data entry. His words, "Mom, it will be a win win for both of us. You'll learn real life application of Excel, and it will help me get caught up with my business stuff, and we'll be able to spend some quality time together."  Hopefully, the blow will heal with his help.
 Bringing this weakness to the forefront forces me to accept it, deal with it, learn from it, and strengthen it. Just wish I could have conquered the world without it.