Status Update: 11 February – 02 March

It’s been a long time since I have penned a status update.  I’ve been absolutely overwhelmed at work.  We have an annual “freeze period” that coincides with our company’s busiest time of the year (I have no idea what we’re so busy doing, I just push ones and zeros).  This means that at the end of the calendar year we have a nice 4 – 6 week period in which only emergency changes can be made.  The bad part is that as soon as the freeze is done we get bombarded with work.  I’m just starting to dig out of that mess.

My lab time has dropped off over the last couple of weeks for two reasons: I am exhausted after long hours in the office, and I have decided to make another pass through the IEATC lessons.  I really need to solidify my understanding of the technologies on the lab.  So far I’ve gone over stuff that I’m really good at (Frame Relay and Switching).  Even though these are the technologies that I am strongest in, I still (re)discover bits and pieces in the IEATC videos.  I will try to get through most of OSPF this week.  Next week will be the technologies that I am weakest in (BGP, Multicast, and IPv6).

I’m getting “lab withdrawal” symptoms, so I will be interspersing some of the Volume III labs with the IEATC this weekend.  I hope to complete all of the IEATC lessons by the end of next week.  The week after that (17 – 23 March) I have dubbed “Labapalooza”.  I am taking the week off from work and will be attempting to complete as many of the Volume II and III labs as I can during that week.

My lab date has changed yet again.  I will be attending the Internetwork Expert Mock Lab Workshop in Reno from 16 – 20 June.  As I mentioned in this post, I will schedule my lab date 28 days past the end of the workshop.  My new target date is 21 July.  While I am bummed that this new dates means that I am going to lose a good chunk of my summer to my CCIE pursuit, it does mean that I get more time to study. 

Scheduling the Mock Lab Workshop has left my “CCIE Wish List” nearly empty.  The only thing that I will definitely be purchasing between now and my exam is the Cisco Assessor labs.  Other than that, I may try to pick up a lab book from another vendor (just to get the experience of a different topology/testing style).  I may also pick up a mock lab from another vendor for the same reasons.  Those two things will depend on my funds and perceived necessity at the time.

I’m disappointed that I dropped the ball on posting weekly status updates for the last couple of weeks.  I use these updates to motivate/guide myself.  If I take the time to write them up and post them, then it makes me that more inclined to do what I’ve laid out.

Anyhoo…here are my goals for the remainder of this week: Finish up (at least) the first week OSPF videos.  Redo the first 3 Volume III labs.

Days Until Lab:	137
Days Until Mock Lab 1:	20
Days Until Mock Lab Workshop:	102
Readiness (1 to 10):	2
Lab Hours This Week	0
Study Hours This Week (estimate):	15