11th MVP Award Rewarded

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I am actually on vacation, but as I sit here under the summer sun, toes in the pool and a cold drink within reach, I have been waiting for that email confirming that I’ve been awarded my 11th Microsoft MVP Award! As last year, I am being awarded in both the Teams and Copilot category. To say I’m humbled would be an understatement. Being part of the global Microsoft MVP community for over a decade now has been an incredible journey, filled with learning, sharing, speaking, and connecting with passionate technologists from every corner of the world. What is the Microsoft MVP Award? The Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award is given to technology experts who share their knowledge and real-world expertise with communities. With fewer than 4,000 MVPs worldwide, it’s an honor to be part of such a vibrant and dedicated group. MVPs contribute through speaking engagements, writing, open-source contributions, and helping others online and offline. You can learn more about the progra...

Back from Brussels, and not at all happy.

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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 ;)