Back from Brussels, and not at all happy.

You might even say I'm "pi$$ed". Not by any means on any one related to the ccie lab, but at myself. Why? because I've tricked myself into believing I knew what I was doing.

I've simply been blinded by believing I knew how to configure a million different features and settings in CUCM and CUCME. And for what? Only to fail because of some "stupid" error.

The first time I sat the lab, I realized I didn't have enough configuration skills. And I was really pressed for time when I ran into a few bugs. Instead of waiting 30 days, i spent 2 months trying to prepare for the second attempt.

This time I thought I had it all covered. Only to sit down at a desk where there was a lot pre-configured (and wrongfully so, to test me, the candidate) for me to troubleshoot. This came as a surprise to me. Here I am, having prepared so well for configuring the systems, I really did not know where to look for answers on some of the tasks. I could argue the lab is somewhat artificial, and in a real life scenario I would either call a colleague of mine or simply just "Google" it. But such is the nature of the ccie lab. It's not like the real world.....

I am obviously not really ready for the ccie lab just yet, but close. And on a lucky day, I might even have passed it. So where does this leave me? I've spent most of my spare time on reading and testing for the past 6 months. It was truly disappointing when I realized how I had failed. I am really tired and fed up with it all. but at the same time, I can't just give it up, can I?

I will take a break over the summer and, as I tweeted some time ago, "..rethink my life". Then I'll try to negotiate a deal with the family (and work) to really go in deep for a few intense week before I'll resit the lab. I know I have the skills, I know I have the knowledge, I just lack the practice and speed. (I'll obviously have to do some troubleshooting labs ;)