Re: PASSED R&S (with kids!)

Again - well done and well deserved!

--
Marko Milivojevic - CCIE #18427
Senior Technical Instructor - IPexpert
FREE CCIE training: http://bit.ly/vLecture
Mailto: markom_at_ipexpert.com
Telephone: +1.810.326.1444
Web: http://www.ipexpert.com/
On Fri, Dec 10, 2010 at 16:26, Muzammil Malick <malickmuz_at_gmail.com> wrote:
> Haha so much excitement,
>
> 27703 !!
>
> On 10 December 2010 21:22, Marko Milivojevic <markom_at_ipexpert.com> wrote:
>> Well done mate! You forgot to tell us the magic number :-)
>>
>> --
>> Marko Milivojevic - CCIE #18427
>> Senior Technical Instructor - IPexpert
>>
>> FREE CCIE training: http://bit.ly/vLecture
>>
>> Mailto: markom_at_ipexpert.com
>> Telephone: +1.810.326.1444
>> Web: http://www.ipexpert.com/
>>
>> On Fri, Dec 10, 2010 at 16:16, Muzammil Malick <malickmuz_at_gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Hey Everyone
>>>
>>> Apologies in advance for the essay!!!
>>>
>>> I cant believe my journey is finally over. I took the R&S lab
>>> yesterday and found out today that I passed.
>>> CCIE should come with a warning "CCIE study is hazardous to your life
>>> if you have a wife and kids"
>>>
>>> My journey began in January 2009 when i began preparing for my
>>> written, my study was based purely on
>>> reading lots of books and making lots of notes. I used the Cisco Press
>>> R&S Certification Guide and TCP/IP Vol 1 and 2.
>>> At the time of studying I was working away from home and so I had lots
>>> of free time to study whilst my wife took care of my 2 year
>>> old son and I would visit them on the weekends.
>>> I passed the written mid 2009 and it was around the time when v4
>>> blueprint was announced. So I decided to book myself a date
>>> for the v4 exam and work aggressively towards it. I took the first day
>>> that v4 was introduced in Brussels.
>>>
>>> Now from here on in I would just like to say that what I did was
>>> probably not something you would want to follow if you are preparing.
>>> It was a learning experience for me!!
>>>
>>> I began by studying the Doc CD in detail! I worked through all the
>>> blueprint sections and read lots of RFCs, books, blogs, Internet and
>>> made sure
>>> I knew all the commands for all technologies relevant to the blueprint
>>> and understood how they worked.
>>> This included 3 hours every evening, and entire weekends labbing all
>>> the technologies using the DOC CD as a guide. I made notes on all
>>> these commands
>>> and technologies.
>>> I did this for 6 months all the way to my lab date in October.
>>> My first attempt was an eye opener. I had OEQs which I failed but
>>> kicked myself later. My troubleshooting was miserable and my config
>>> was even worse.
>>> Overall I came out of the exam and decided that I could definitely
>>> pass but I had a lot more work to do.
>>>
>>> This is where the problems started. I had found a flat near work and
>>> my wife and son moved in with me and my wife was expecting in November
>>> 2009.
>>> I knew it would be tough to take the lab again in this period and so I
>>> was forced to take a break. My second son was born on December 1st and
>>> I did not start
>>> studying again till February so I had a fair few months out of the game.
>>>
>>> Now I will say that between the time I took my next B attempt and
>>> yesterday's I have taken a "few" attempts. I wont go into them but
>>> what I will say is that my study pattern changed
>>> drastically throughout the year and I think it is this change that
>>> enabled me to pass.
>>>
>>> When I started studying again I focussed my attention on INE Vol 1 and
>>> made sure I knew the technologies inside out. This reinforced the
>>> notes that I had taken in my first 6 months of
>>> studying and taught me loads. It also helped me fill in a lot of gaps
>>> I had. I still kept my focus around the DOC CD and at no point did I
>>> ever do a full 8 hour lab at home.
>>> I focussed my attention on mini scenarios making sure I understood the
>>> technologies and command inside out.
>>>
>>> During my last couple of attempts I came to understand one important
>>> thing and it was a post that Narbik made on GS that nailed this down
>>> for me.
>>> Cisco don't want you to do ninja tasks! There were a few questions
>>> that cropped up on my attempts that I still do not know the answer to,
>>> to this day. However I know that if you know
>>> the fundamentals, these cannot stop you from passing.
>>> From my failed attempts I learned that I didn't understand the basics
>>> well enough, and I could not implement them at speed.
>>> So in the last couple of months I trimmed my study down to doing very
>>> simple labs and making sure I could do all the "simple" things fast.
>>> This year was like torture for me. I had to spend loads of time away
>>> from my wife, son and new born baby. My wife has endured endless
>>> nights looking after them both whilst I locked myself away to study.
>>>
>>> Thank you Darling!!
>>>
>>> There were times where I seriously just wanted to pack it all in and
>>> call it a day and just accept that it wasn't meant to be but I have
>>> amazing friends and and amazing family (wife!!) who kept me going!
>>>
>>> I arrived in Brussels (from UK) the night before my exam and stayed at
>>> the NH Hotel. Didn't sleep very well due to feeling a little ill and
>>> got up feeling a bit crap! The lab started on time and to my shock I
>>> spent 20 minutes
>>> on the 2nd trouble ticket. I could not for the life of me figure it
>>> out! But as soon as it clicked I was well on my way. I still managed
>>> to finish with 15 minutes to spare after having checked everything. I
>>> solved all tickets.
>>> I moved on to config which generally went well. There were a few tasks
>>> where I just did not know the answer to but I knew that I could get
>>> the majority of points elsewhere so I went after them at speed.
>>> I read the questions down to the "word" to make sure I was doing them
>>> correctly. I ended up using the full 8 hours because one of my routers
>>> played up during the middle of the exam. Had to reload a couple of
>>> times
>>> but it sorted itself out eventually! (was a bit of a nightmare but I
>>> guess it can happen). Went home feeling less than confident because I
>>> didn't get as much time as I would have wanted to check everything
>>> over because of
>>> the router problem. I was driving home from airport and convinced
>>> myself that I had failed! Got home 11pm and results weren't posted,
>>> checked at 4am today and there it was, a PASS!
>>> I couldn't believe it and kept refreshing and closing down browser and
>>> restarting until I was finally sure and I woke my family and told
>>> them!
>>>
>>> I just want to say a special thank you to all the following, some of
>>> who dont even know me but unknowingly have helped me through a reply
>>> to my postings, past posting, blog or God knows what:
>>>
>>> Marko, Scott M, Narbik, Carlos Mendioroz, Tyson S, Brian M, Brian D,
>>> Kambiz, Bob Sinclair, Paul Negron, Anthony Sequeira, Gary Baker, and
>>> just a general thank you to everyone on the list!
>>>
>>> Thank you
>>>
>>> Muzammil Malick
>>>
>>>
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