Re: OT: Pass November 18

Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On Fri, Dec 2, 2011 at 11:18 PM, Steven Blasiol <steven.blasiol_at_gmail.com>wrote:

> 2 weeks ago on November 18 I passed my CCIE RS at RTP. I wanted to write
> something about my journey and thank the people who have helped me along
> the way. I began studying in January of 2010. During that time I read the
> CCIE Study Guide (Odom et al), TCP/IP Vol 1 and 2 as well as the Cisco
> Documentation Guides and Internet Routing Architectures (Halabi). All the
> while I was labbing to see these technologies at work.
>
> In August of 2010 I passed my written and I was feeling really good. I
> thought the lab would be a walk in the park and all I needed to do was get
> some more time in labbing. How naove? That same month I attended the
> CCBOOTCAMP CIERS 1 course. I learned a great deal from the course and
> really hammered home many of the concepts that I had been struggling with.
> I
> returned home and began doing the CCBOOTCAMP material.
>
> After finishing with CCBOOTCAMP s material I purchased Micronic s Advanced
> Routing and Switching workbooks. I loved these books I must have gone
> through each volume 4 times front to back and doing other sections over and
> over. This material really lends itself well to GNS3 and allows you to
> really hone in on a very specific topic.
>
> In January of 2011 I made my first attempt. I did not expect to pass and I
> didn t. I came home and continued through the CCBOOTCAMP, Micronic s and
> IPExpert material (IPExpert is another excellent resource). I also signed
> up for the INE All-Access-Pass and went through the Videos-on-Demand. I
> think that the monthly INE pass is a must for CCIE Candidates. The INE
> Blog was also a huge go-to when I was having problems with a particular
> technology.
>
> In June I sat the lab again fail but getting better. In August I attended
> the Netmaster s CIERS 2 course taught by Bruce Caslow. This was an
> excellent course; a very challenging but excellent course. I also began
> attending the Live Online Group Mentoring provided by Netmaster s. If you
> can t make it to a Netmaster s course you should at least get into the LOGM
> sessions.
> I spent between August and the end of September doing all of the Cisco 360
> graded labs. I did several of them multiple times. I would study during
> the week, take an exam on the weekend and study the exam the next
> week rinse and repeat. At the end of September I sat the lab again failed,
> but I knew I was in striking distance. The next month and a half are a
> blur. I averaged more hours those months than any time since I had begun.
> I
> spent a lot of time on Advanced Services and Troubleshooting (this is where
> I was hurting). I was also traveling for work which made things even more
> difficult.
> The final count on study hours is: 1479 (with additional time spent
> reading)
>
> Then November 18th came and I got my number 31895.
>
> Thanks to all of the people who have assisted me over the last 2 years
> (nearly). Especially all of the vendors, the developers of GNS3 (I can't
> imagine what it was like before GNS3), the administrators of Group Study,
> my friend Ernest McCaleb who motivated me and was ALWAYS available to
> answer questions (even stupid ones), my co-worker Christian Hunter who is
> going through this right now and helped me fill in many gaps, and everyone
> else along the way. Also a special thank you to my wife who has endured a
> less than ideal life for too long. It is funny to think about, but when I
> got my CCNA I thought I was brilliant, when I got my CCNP I thought I was
> untouchable and now that I have my CCIE I feel very humbled.
>
> --
> Steven M. Blasiol
>
> --Confidence is stain they can't wipe off...-Lil Wayne
>
>
> Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net
>
> _______________________________________________________________________
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-- 
Ojo Oluwaseyi O. CEng,FBCS
CITP,MNSE,MCPN,MNCS,CRISC,EDRP,CEI,LPT,CCSI#33076.
Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net