RE: Another horse made it to the finish line .... CCIE 29703 :)

That is a very inspiring post Abdullah. Well done and a big congratulations
you have earned it!

-Aaron.

-----Original Message-----
From: nobody_at_groupstudy.com [mailto:nobody_at_groupstudy.com] On Behalf Of
Abdullah Al-Malki
Sent: Tuesday, 16 August 2011 11:08 AM
To: ccielab
Subject: Another horse made it to the finish line .... CCIE 29703 :)

Hi fellows,
At last my dream came to truth :)
I passed my CCIE lab R&S three weeks back :)

Thanks to ALLAH Almighty!

It was a quite tough ride but at the end you feel that it deserves all the
time spent and the sleepless nights and the pressure all the way to pass the
lab.

My journey had its ups and downs.
It included reading books, blogs (INE blog, Packet Life, IOS hints and many
many others), labbing for more than 800 hours.
I am sure the number is greater than that !
I did several workbooks that included 360, INE and Narbik's

I did a lot of my own labs on particular technologies.
I used both GNS3 and rack rental

On April this year, I attended a bootcamp with Narbik and it was the best
training I have ever had in this journey towards the CCIE .
I cannot describe the whole bootcamp experience in short lines but it was
the most wonderful, beneficial and enjoyable training that I had.
It really did enhance my knowledge in areas that I expected myself to be
good at it.
I hated QoS and Multicast for example for a long time.
But when I did the bootcamp and labbed them, I felt that things are much
simpler.
By the way, for those who hate long training like me, you will notice that
the whole day goes and you still have the energy to carry on!
The bootcamp is a great mix between knowledge and fun that I never saw
before....

I did an attempt after the bootcamp. I passed the configuration but failed
the TS part.

After that I realized I need more practice on TS.
I got Narbik TS workbook.
By the end of the 8th lab I felt that yes I can do the lab right now!
Bring it on :)
I did the lab on 26th of July and this time when I finished the
troubleshooting I felt confident that I am going to make it.

And that what happened !
Yesssss!!!!!!

when I saw it on Cisco website I started jumping and dancing like crazy in
the hotel room :)
what a great feeling !

----
I would like to thank everyone who helped me achieve this goal.
In particular, I would like to thank Narbik for being very helpful and
inspirational to me and to many other CCIE candidates.
I still remember all the great experinces in Dubai bootcamp and of course
all the WOW moments.
Thank you so much Narbik !
Thank you all guys in GS.
The CCIE comunity is one of the best in terms of sharing knowledge and
positive interaction.
In particular I want to thank Scott Morris on his helpful contribution
especially in CLN.
By the way Scott, I did your advice and became Evil but the problem is that
I am stuck with being Evil even after getting the CCIE :)
(SIE = Stuck In Evil)
I would like to thank by name My very dear friends and brothers Ali Al-Asiri
and Ahmed Al-Shehri for their support and encoragement.
Very Big Thanks to my parents for their support and prayers all the way.
Their prayers are the real secret in my success!
May Allah bless you and protect you and grant you all happiness!
Of course I cannot end the post before thanking my wife for her support
during my journey.
Thank you so much Umm_Khalid and May Allah bless you :)
Thanks,
Abdullah Al-Malki
CCIE 29703
Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net