NYC Recap Part 1 *pics*

Dear Diary,

I’m going to attempt to squeeze in an entry before I leave the city this morning and head back to the office.

The primary reason for the trip was a seminar.  It was a certification prep course for Human Resources credentials I’d like to add behind my name  There were three intense days of cramming with an instructor that very much earned whatever they may pay her.  It was exhausting but beneficial (I hope).  We were scheduled to be together 8:30 – 5 M,W,F.  We started early Tuesday and Wednesday once the instructor set the tone.  Breakfast, lunch and snacks were provided but even as we would use the restroom and get food and drink we’d continue learning through sample test questions and explanation from the instructor.  I know it was tiring for me but I have no idea how the instructor kept up her pace and energy like she did.  Amazing! A couple of you have noted with interest in taking this exam through SHRM.  Jane Lewis is the instructor you want for the Cert Prep course.  She has statistics of pass results, pass results with the cert prep course and then pass results with her cert prep and the probability increases with each.  Going out of this I have a decision to make.  Do I do late registration (this week!) and take the Spring exam or enroll later this year and take the exam at the end of the year.  Last night and this morning I’m leaning towards taking it right away while the knowledge is fresh.  I don’t want to lose some of the value of the last few days.  Much of it I use in my daily tasks but there are other aspects (like unions) that I don[t deal with at all.  I just have to rely on what I learned strictly for test taking purposes.  I could have to use it someday but hope not to.  I did complete my app last night but decided to sleep on the decision before submitting and paying.  I have not gone back in this morning.  I have until tomorrow to decide.  I did take a sample test of 100 questions last night and received a passing score.  I have additional learing resources online and in hard copy that I haven’t even tapped yet.  So, I’m thinking if I sign up and then choose to take the test in June I could continue to study in May and WILL pass.  Decisions, decisions…!

I feel really grateful to both my employer and family that I was given the time to get away from the distractions of home and work to just concentrate on the info and test prep.  As I return to the office midday today and then home this evening we’ll see how much catch up I have to do.  Hopefully the boys kept all under control at home.  And I was able to keep up with email at work but that doesn’t mean that my inbox and voicemail aren’t over flowing.  We’ll see….

Anyway, Sunday and then Monday and Tuesday evenings I did some exploring around NYC.  Last night I just grabbed take out, came back to the hotel, took the sample test and tried to decide whether or not to sign up for the spring test.

I’ll start with Sunday’s pics.  According to the pedometer I walked over 12 miles on Sunday.  I took the train into NYC and then a taxi from Penn Station downtown to the hotel.  My room wasn’t ready yet.  It was only about noon.  But, I was able to leave my "cute"case and head out to explore.  I was all the way south in Manhatten.  The hotel is just a couple plocks from the Staten Island Ferry and the Battery Park area.  I walked along South Street towards Pier 17.  I don’t think I’ve been in this exact area before… at least not in between the Ferry and Pier.  There was a very active heliport…  You can see one taking off in this next pic and that is Brooklyn in the background.

A couple ships as I approach Pier 17….

And a Tugboat Crush!

It feels like it has been awhile since I’ve boatcrushed here.  Wait until I get back to Venice…. *swoon*.  I think this is a lightship but I could be wrong…

PIER 17…
This portion wasn’t incredibly hindered by Hurricane Sandy.  I’m assuming it was just high enough above sea level or maybe it had good storm water control BUT there is an immense section outside at the sidewalk level that is still completely closed and the whole area is suffering.  Very sad….

There were some cute shops…
.

As a girl I use to shop at Claire’s a lot.  Not so much anymore.  But this one is closing due to lack of business since so much of the area has closed down due to Sandy.  Everything was at least 75% off.  I found a few novelty items and enjoyed the experience.  I walked away with a similar feeling to when I was 13 and at Seaport Village in San Diego.  Just fun touristy type shopping!

Alright… this isn’t nearly as far as I planned on getting with this but Shutterfly, where I store all my pics, is having technical difficulties.  I wanted to cross sharing this pics and posting this entry off my "to do" list before returning to real life but it wasn’t meant to be this morning. It will have to wait until later…..

Happy Thursday!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
<script type=”text/javascript” charset=”UTF-8″ src=”http://www.librarything.com/widget_get.php?userid=scrpbookr&theID=w63a772d77bfb2abbcd08d0f2088f28b7″&gt;My Library at LibraryThing