Re: PASSED R&S (with kids!)

Congrats, you won that day champ!
Good details on preparation.

-- 
Cheers!
Raghava
"It's choice - not chance - that determines your destiny"
On Sat, Dec 11, 2010 at 6:26 AM, Dark Fiber <darkfiber08_at_gmail.com> wrote:
> 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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