MCCCIII

That‘s right I’ve made it past the thirteen hundred mark for posts and seeing as how a bunch of posts are quite wordy that’s something indeed (although I can’t help but wonder if I hadn’t written a single page of a continuing story for each of those posts I would have quite the novel).

In any event, a few posts back I was talking about how there were a couple of things that threw me last week and I‘d be lying if I backpedaled and said they didn’t but, I also noticed I neglected to mention something else that happened recently - something surprising and cool (leastways by me that is).

I was perusing one of the threads in a Flickr group I belong to, specifically Guess Where NYC. A bunch of the people who belong to the group had gotten together an easily blown away the competition in the first annual Panorama Challenge. Although I missed the event (which I’m sorry about but, which is kind of par for the course with me), one of the things mentioned in the discussion post-event was the fact the city apparently licenses people to be Sightseeing Guides.

A person must have a Sightseeing Guide license to guide or direct people to any place or point of public interest. Note: Licensees are required to comply with all relevant laws and rules, including the Consumer Protection Law. For a copy of the actual law regarding this category, call 311 or come in person to the DCA Licensing Center in Manhattan at the address above.

I was a bit amazed at that even though it made a certain level of sense. Still, one of the posters in the thread commented on having taken the test and gotten licensed.

I took the test and it wasn’t too hard. I did no studying, just walked in and took the test. But it did take 3 hours to finish. (The room I was in is used for all license tests, the electricians and plumbers took less than 30 minutes, the sightseeing license testers took 2+ hours.) They sat me down with this humongous binder of questions. Some of the questions were long and rambling, sometimes up to a page. But the good thing is some of the questions lead you to the answer. The hardest thing about the test was the bureaucracy; waiting on line, filling out forms, very painful.

You should take it. You have nothing to lose.

Well for whatever reason, something about the whole taking a test thing tweaked something in me. There have been a couple of times over the past few years where friends have had people come up to visit the city and have asked me if I would show them around and I’ve found it quite enjoyable because it gives me a chance to show off the city and embrace my inner geek. Also, I get the chance to go and check out some things I had been wanting to check out myself.

So, I took the test.

I had to drop off my car for work someplace a few weeks back and spent the day in the city and made it a point to get all my paperwork filled out and to make my way down to where they give these tests. The bureaucracy part of it wasn‘t altogether that bad, the people were pretty nice to me (it’s amazing how just having a modicum of manners will get you very far in any setting where people’s jobs are dealing with the public all day).I just went in with all my forms filled out and my checks and everything so there wasn’t a lot they had to have me do. It only became a matter of sitting for the test.

Now, given the comments in the Guess Where NYC thread I really though the thing was going to be a cakewalk. I don’t know why but I glossed over the part where the guy said it took him three hours and there were 150 questions. When I finally got into the exam room there was another person taking the test in there and she didn’t look all too happy to say the least. I got the impression she had been in there for quite some time and when she did finish she managed to just squeak by and pass with 101 right out of 150 (97 is passing).

So, I sat down and took this thing.

And it was a bitch! I mean, I don’t know what I was expecting but it covered a lot of ground with topics ranging from Museums to Ethnic Cuisines to History to Commercial Traffic laws! There came a point where I realized, for whatever reason, I was taking this thing on a lark - pass or fail I shouldn’t get stressed about it.

So, 150 questions and I haven’t studied for the thing and I went through it and answered everything in the first pass. I figured what the hell, let me just get it over with. If I fail, I fail. I can always take it one more time without paying and I can study for it the next time with a better idea of what the test is about anyway.

I finished it in just under two hours (maybe an hour and fifty minutes), you can do that when you wiz through something without worrying about consequences. I read the questions and gave each answer my best shot.

And I passed!

I didn’t get 90% or anything, but I did manage to get 111 out of 150 right (74%) and as the years pass I come to realize it’s not about being perfect every time out but managing to finish things. So, I finished it!

And now I am licensed as a Sightseeing Guide for the City of New York!

It’s not like I plan to go into the sightseeing business or anything as much as I did it for the bragging rights but, if you need someone to show you the city on a visit, well you know whom to call.