Re: PASSED R&S (with kids!)

Congrats man!!!!! This is probably one of the best stories I have ever
read on here!

On Friday, December 10, 2010, Paul Negron <negron.paul_at_gmail.com> wrote:
> Well Done!!
>
> You did ALL the work!
>
> You are right in giving credit to your wife and children for the sacrifices
> they made.
>
> No one can take it away from you.
>
> Congratulations. Sincerely.
>
> Paul
> --
> Paul Negron
> CCIE# 14856 CCSI# 22752
> Senior Technical Instructor
> www.micronicstraining.com
>
>
>
>> From: Muzammil Malick <malickmuz_at_gmail.com>
>> Reply-To: Muzammil Malick <malickmuz_at_gmail.com>
>> Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2010 21:16:04 +0000
>> To: <ccielab_at_groupstudy.com>
>> Subject: PASSED R&S (with kids!)
>>
>> 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 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

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Received on Fri Dec 10 2010 - 19:56:14 ART