Re: Introducing CCIE #24347!!!

*Congrats Joe, Good job .*
**
*By the way congart. for joining the ipexpert team as well :))*
**
*did you join after this post , or you were one of the team already before
passing the lab so you get all Boot camps and materials from Ipexpert for
free :))*
**
*Regards*

On 5/14/09, Josh Covarrubias <shmokin_at_gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Congrats Joe, well done... excellent read too!
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Josh
> CCIE# 22963
>
> On Tue, May 12, 2009 at 9:46 PM, Pavel Bykov <slidersv_at_gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Congrats Joe!
> >
> > On Tue, May 12, 2009 at 7:42 AM, Joe Astorino <joe_astorino_at_comcast.net
> > >wrote:
> >
> > > Yes, it's official!!!! After a grueling 9 hour wait, most of which was
> in
> > > my
> > > hotel room here in Raleigh, I just got my score report, and I am
> > officially
> > > CCIE #24347!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! The greatest 5 #'s I have ever
> heard!
> > > Keep
> > > in mind, that I am 5.5 beers in at this point as I decided around 10:30
> > > that
> > > no matter what I was having a 6 pack for my troubles hehe. So what can
> I
> > > say?
> > > I guess I will give you my experience today and a little bit about my
> > > preparation.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > I flew into Raleigh Sunday afternoon, and stayed at the Wingate. The
> > > Wingate
> > > came highly recommended by the many that have gone before me, and they
> > were
> > > right on. I can't recommend it enough. They picked me up at the
> airport,
> > > and
> > > took me right to the hotel. When I inquired about where I could walk to
> > > pick
> > > up some redbull for the lab the next day, they DROVE ME to the nearest
> > gas
> > > station like it was just normal. I guess that is the southern
> > love...being
> > > from Detroit, I'm not used to that sort of thing hehe. When I was
> picked
> > up
> > > at
> > > the airport I was told I was the 3rd CCIE candidate being picked up
> that
> > > day...they knew exactly what I was there for, and exactly what to do.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > The lab started at 7:15, and I was told the shuttle from the hotel to
> > Cisco
> > > would leave about 6:30, giving us plenty of time. I woke up at 6:00 AM,
> > > threw
> > > on my jeans and T-shirt (opted against the sweatpants!!!), grabbed my 3
> > > large
> > > size redbulls from the fridge and headed down to the hotel breakfast
> > area.
> > > I
> > > was too nervous to eat a thing. I chatted up the other 2 candidates
> > staying
> > > there and passively sipped a cup of coffee. The other 2 guys were doing
> > > voice,
> > > so there wasn't really much to talk about. The shuttle drove us over to
> > > Cisco
> > > and we were there by 6:45...in total there were about 6 of us waiting
> > > outside...it was the most awkward thing EVER....after some brief
> > > introductions
> > > by a few of us, it was DEAD SILENCE for 30 minutes as we stood outside
> > and
> > > waited for the proctor to show up. Our proctor pulled in about 7:10,
> and
> > > took
> > > us into the lobby where we were ID'd and given our temp stickers and
> rack
> > > numbers. The proctor gave us all the regular instructions and told us
> > > basically where the bathrooms and drinks were, and gave us the general
> > > rules
> > > of the lab (get rid of any macros at the end of the day, save your
> > configs
> > > often, etc...).
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > I sat down at my pod and started in on the OEQ ... the first one threw
> > > me....it seemed very simple. All I can say without breaking NDA is that
> > it
> > > was
> > > some command output and a diagram, and I couldn't place the answer... I
> > > gave
> > > it my best shot and moved on. The other 3 questions were no problem at
> > all,
> > > although later in the day I feared I might have messed up the wording
> of
> > > one
> > > of them....all in all it took me about 5 minutes. Guys, after reading
> all
> > > the
> > > posts and fear regarding this I have to say, IF you have studied
> > properly,
> > > there is nothing to fear!!!
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > I moved on to the lab just like I would any other mock lab I've been
> > doing
> > > for
> > > 10 months....followed the method Jared Scrivener gave us at IPexpert
> > > bootcamp,
> > > which was AWESOME. Yes, I read the entire lab first, which was a good
> > > thing,
> > > because there were things towards the end that definitely effected how
> I
> > > did
> > > other tasks. I made a list of tasks, point values, and notes for every
> > > task. I
> > > redrew the diagram...I made 1 diagram with all my L3 and IGP
> information.
> > > The
> > > BGP diagram they provided was sufficient enough for me, and I didn't
> feel
> > > the
> > > need for a seperate switching diagram. Having initially read through
> the
> > > lab,
> > > I felt pretty good. There were only 2 things I had not done before...it
> > was
> > > just a matter of implementing all the things I had learned and
> practiced
> > > time
> > > and time again, and making sure to pay special attention to detail.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > I was not going for speed...I knew one of my weakest areas was not
> paying
> > > attention to detail enough, so I took my sweet time. I knew I had good
> > > speed
> > > coming in and I'd likely have plently of time.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Just as the proctor called lunch (11:15) I was starting in on multicast
> > and
> > > had full IP reachability, so was feeling pretty good. My personal
> > > experience
> > > on the point system was that all my points added up to 80. At lunch
> time
> > I
> > > had
> > > 42 points and was feeling pretty damn good. Lunch was basically
> > > silent....they
> > > had a pretty decent tasting chicken contraption with soda, water, and
> > > salad.
> > > It was pretty good. I was actually so juiced up on redbull and coffee
> > that
> > > it
> > > didn't really matter, as long as it was food : ) We had to wait through
> > the
> > > whole lunch time that was allotted to us. Actually, the proctor let us
> > > start
> > > working 5 minutes earlier, noting to everyone that we would lose 5
> > minutes
> > > at
> > > the end, which I found fair. I approached the proctor more than anybody
> > > else
> > > in the lab...probably about 4 times. Guys, you are paying $1400 for his
> > > time,
> > > do not be ashamed!!! Most of my questions were just verification of
> > things
> > > to
> > > be 110% sure of what they were asking!
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Later in the day I felt a bit less confident, as I hit my weaker areas
> > > (QoS,
> > > Multicast)... I felt 75% sure on about 75% of these tasks....maybe 85%
> > > sure...like you know you are right or very close to right, but the kind
> > of
> > > thing where you want to look at the solutions guide to double check
> > > yourself.
> > > No solutions guide today gentlemen : ) I completed all the tasks by
> about
> > > 2:00
> > > and started verification, which was SOOOOO important to my success I
> > can't
> > > even explain! I went through task by task and did the appropriate show
> > > commands to prove I had done it right. What I found was suprising. It
> is
> > a
> > > little unnerving to have already marked down points and with 90 minutes
> > to
> > > go
> > > find you have one section broken completely, and a routing loop
> somewhere
> > > else
> > > , as well as about 3 other stupid minor mistakes. Had it not been for
> > > verification I don't know if I would have made it out OK. I wasn't in
> it
> > > for
> > > speed...I stayed until they called time verifying and reverifying with
> my
> > > trusty TCL scripts. At 3:28 the proctor told us we had 2 minutes left
> and
> > > to
> > > save our configs, remove any macros and TCL scripts (which I don't get
> > > because
> > > TCL scripts are not saved), return all the devices to priv exec mode
> and
> > > reboot our PCs. I found it a bit alarming that they didn't say
> something
> > > like
> > > "OK you have 30 minutes left" but just like that BAM , OK you are DONE
> in
> > 2
> > > minutes! Oh well...I got about 75% through re-checking everything.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > I counted up about 68/80 points I thought I had for sure....and I had
> > about
> > > 8
> > > points "on the fence" that I just wasn't sure about...so I felt pretty
> > good
> > > walking out. I felt like I probably had a good shot at it.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > The worst part of my entire day was the waiting game...I am staying the
> > > night
> > > here in Raleigh, and have no car and nothing to do...I coudn't sleep, I
> > > couldn't eat much...I pain stakingly sat here refreshing my email and
> > > watching
> > > TV for about 4 hours....finally I decided to go take a walk. I walked
> > about
> > > a
> > > half mile to a gas station and bought a 6 pack of beer while listening
> to
> > > the
> > > new Dylan album on my iPod. When I got back I killed some time talking
> to
> > a
> > > friend on the phone....right before he hung up the email came in...I
> > > checked
> > > it live on the phone. I HAD PASSED!!! CCIE #24347! Obviously, I
> couldn't
> > > even
> > > describe how I felt, but it was a great experience to share with a
> > friend!
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Wow this is getting long, so let me tell you a bit about my
> preparation.
> > I
> > > am
> > > a straight forward kind of guy and I am not on here to promote any
> > company
> > > over another, just to tell you my experiences. As far as vendors go, I
> > uses
> > > STRICTLY the workbooks and blended learning solution from IPEXPERT.
> Their
> > > blended learning solution came with all 3 of their workbooks (1
> > technology
> > > focuses, and 2 workbooks of full scale labs), as well as the full Scott
> > > Morris
> > > Video On Demand / Audio on Demand series (When Scott was still with
> > > IPexpert.)
> > > This was my bread and butter guys. I passed my written at the end of
> > July,
> > > 2008 and immediately started on the material. I read most of the usual
> > > recommended books cover to cover, and really tried to grasp the
> > > concepts...I
> > > went through the entire video on demand, and listened to the audio
> > portion
> > > countless times. In fact, my wife even does here Scott Morris
> > impersonation
> > > now : ) Thats how you know you have a keeper hehe....Anyways, I worked
> > > through
> > > these labs with all my heart and soul for 10 months. I got involved in
> > the
> > > various communities, and I can't say enough about them. Groupstudy
> > > especially...there are so many guys on here that you can learn from, it
> > is
> > > just awesome!
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Just when I thought I was ready, I booked an IPexpert 5 day instructor
> > led
> > > bootcamp just to touch up my weak areas and hope that it would be
> mostly
> > > review and a confidence builder. I did this 2 weeks before my lab date,
> > and
> > > it
> > > was well worth it. You can read my review of that that I posted earlier
> > as
> > > well. Jared Scrivener was our instructor and he was at the top of his
> > > game...just a really great experience for me.
> > >
> > > Going into the lab I felt confident...coming out of the lab I can
> > honestly
> > > say
> > > I was exteremely well prepared.
> > >
> > > And now the obligatory thank you section : )
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Big thanks goes out to -- Scott Morris -- Dude, no matter what shirt
> you
> > > were
> > > wearing you were ALWAYS willing to help me with my issues, and I can't
> > say
> > > enough about how much I appreciate that. Weather it was a question on a
> > lab
> > > you had authored at previous jobs, or an annoying IOS bug I was
> > struggling
> > > with, you helped me. Even when you had moved on professionally, you
> gave
> > me
> > > honest and productive support. Yes, your voice is forever etched in my
> > > brain
> > > from the VoD and we know you don't pay for therapy!!!
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Huge thanks to Jared Scrivener, Tyson Scott, Mike Down, Sean Orr, Wayne
> > > Lawson
> > > and the ENTIRE IPexpert team, who have been with me from start to
> finish.
> > > These guys have been just awesome...from Mike and Sean in sales, to
> Tyson
> > > and
> > > Jared with the technical material. It's been a fun and good experience!
> I
> > > got
> > > what I expected -- world class training, support, and customer service,
> > and
> > > THAT is hard to find these days! A special thanks personally to Jared
> for
> > > his
> > > excellent teaching methods, and willingness to go the extra mile time
> and
> > > time
> > > again, and for giving his students personal 1-1 support!
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Huge thanks to cciejourney, the guy that runs our blog at
> sunpenguin.net
> > !
> > > Carl, I couldn't have done it without you buddy, and you WILL get your
> > > digits
> > > soon man! We will all still be here pulling for you, and don't forget
> it!
> > > Carl
> > > was nice enough to give me a login here, and a place to dump my
> thoughts.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Group Study and the OSL -- You guys have been my life for the past 10
> > > months...I'd read the threads every day, and hopefully I helped a few
> > > people
> > > along the way. It is so awesome to have a community of people just like
> > me,
> > > willing to help just because well, we love it and enjoy giving back to
> > the
> > > community. Special thanks to Scott, Narbik, Anthony, Petr, and so many
> > > others
> > > that have chimed in. Bryan B, who achieved his CCIE # just a month or
> so
> > > before me...we were study partners and bounced things off each other
> all
> > > the
> > > time...good times! Thanks to everybody that helped me along directly or
> > > indirectly weather I mention you by name or not.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Last but certainly not least, my family and friends for their
> unwavering
> > > support over the past 10 months and ESPECIALLY my new beautiful wife
> > Beth.
> > > I
> > > know everybody says this and I know when I read these threads it was
> > > usually
> > > the part I said "yeah right" and moved on but seriously...they have
> given
> > > up
> > > SO much to support me and let me pursue my dream. There were many times
> I
> > > had
> > > to come home from work, eat dinner, and by 6:00 PM tell my wife
> > goodnight,
> > > I
> > > won't see you until tomorrow after work because I have to study 6:00 -
> > 2:00
> > > tonight, or do a mock lab, or read the docCD or whatever...to my
> friends,
> > > congratulations I am back : ) I have not had time to do many of the
> > things
> > > I
> > > used to like to do lately, and now I am looking forward to hanging out
> > > more.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > I guess thats it guys...I know this was long, and thansk for anything
> > that
> > > got
> > > through the whole thing...this whole post is sort of stream of
> > consiousness
> > > at
> > > this point. The CCIE is doable, but like many before me have said, you
> > have
> > > to
> > > seriously want it, and put in the time, effort, and sacrifice to
> achieve
> > > it.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > - Joe Astorino, CCIE #24347
> > >
> > >
> > > "He not busy being born is busy dying" -- Dylan
> > >
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> > >
> > >
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> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Pavel Bykov
> > ----------------
> > Don't forget to help stopping the braindumps, use of which reduces value
> of
> > your certifications. Sign the petition at http://www.stopbraindumps.com/
> >
> >
> > Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net
> >
> > _______________________________________________________________________
> > Subscription information may be found at:
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>
>
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Received on Thu May 14 2009 - 13:08:28 ART