That's a great life story, and was extremely entertaining to read.
I was much like you with my viewpoint on degrees. Being in IT (The practical side vs the theoretical), industry certifications were always more important to me than a college degree. Still, I'm a big fan of having options, and it seems that we all come to a place in life where having a degree opens up a door that we might decide to walk through one day.
Besides... The tests are fun to take. Well.. 99% of them anyway.
