For an update... I'm building speed. I'm building knowledge. Will I build enough of each to pass? Will I get just the right test at just the right moment that it all gels and ...

Okay. I dunno. I've met a number of CCIEs. They don't know everything about everything off the top of their head. But when they sat for the test, they knew enough about enough to get enough points to pass. Maybe that will happen to me.

The only other alternative is that I would be (gasp) -average-.... That's not the end of the world. In fact, most people are average - by definition. Of course, I would like to pass the first time. Of course, I am putting forth a lot of effort to learn as much as I can and keep it as sharp and at the end of my fingers as possible. But I am also human.

No matter which way the tree falls, I will come back and study. Perhaps not as hard, fast and furious as I have been of late... but I will still be watching the videos and working the labs. If I pass, it will be the Security material. If not, it will be the Routing and Switching material. So it's all the same, just a different flavor.

I have to admit that I have seen quite a bit of improvement as this process is unfolding. And I have to admit - I get a thrill when I fix an issue or configure something and test...and it pings!!!!! No, really, I don't need to back off the espresso. For those that aren't this kind of nerdy...when you ping from a router, you don't get the same feedback as from the command prompt. At the router, when you ping a dot = not and ! is great! So when you ping and it's reachable, you get " !!!!! " Do that a few hundred times and Pavlov says that when you see the ping (!) it's a wonderful thing.

Yeah - today was the first day I woke up with butterflies in my stomach. What's strange is that it wasn't a -dread- type of butterflies, but more of an "excited" type of butterflies. Despite everything - I'm just really looking forward to taking a shot at this lab.

One of the things I'm doing for prep is becoming comfortable with this in every way possible. I'm not only doing labs when I'm at my top form. I'm not only doing labs in any one way. I'm not only connecting to the remote labs in any one way. This way, no matter what, I will only see the material and not the environment/circumstance that may be unfamiliar. I sat at my kitchen table with a laptop. I built a rack and went the console route. I did some labs at my computer desk. I did them in the morning when I was fresh and at night when I wasn't so fresh. I wanted to do some while I was exhausted. And this past weekend, when I came down with a fever, I sat in bed with my laptop and kept going. Was it because I'm SuperWoman or Hercules? HELL NO. I felt like shit and I barely got anything done. But I got _something_ done. And I showed myself that - no matter what - I can configure anywhere and any time. [I can configure in a box. I can configure with a fox. (somebody get Dr Seuss outta my head here)]

So I'm reaching for as many comforts as I can get and take with me to the test. I'll let you know how that all works for me next week...

These words of wisdom apply here. I don't have to get _every_ troubleshooting scenario and _every_ configuration scenario 100% perfect. I need to get the ones on the TEST right. I can make all the typos and misconfigs I need to in order to learn. Now is the time to shake them all out. I get absolutely nothing for getting these workbooks correct. My gain is in the _learning_ and the awareness and the ah-ha moments that I'm seeing in these exercises.

I'm also encouraged by my increase in speed. I'm increasing in some areas...in others, not so much. But it's getting so familiar and _comfortable_ that it's okay to go faster. I'm also looking at ways to combine tasks so I don't have to keep going back and forth. While I'm on SW2 configuring this, I might as well configure that. These are the things that I'm now seeing from the constant practice.

One of the unintended side-effects of this is that I'm getting much faster on the IGP and BGP. Think about it. I bust into the scenario - and I'm going along at a good clip. That's the part that's getting faster and familiar. Much of it seems to be variations on a theme. So then I hit something that slows me. Maybe it's a typo or a misconfig or something that I don't really understand as well as I want to, so I slow down to delve into it. Usually it's at the point where I only have an hour and a half left where I look at the lab and think - oh shit - and bust hump to get as much configured as I can before the terminal disappears. So that's how I'm getting faster at my "opening" and "endgame"... the middle-game....hmmm... needs work (or coffee).

Since I have one lab per day - and I'm coming to the end of the 10 labs in each workbook, I'm looking for things I want to work on or reinforce during rack time. One of my weak areas is IPv6. We don't use it at work, so I don't get daily exposure to it. Or perhaps while I'm going through Vol 2, I might see a scenario or lab that I would like to work on or practice. I'm sure I won't run out of ideas or scenarios. You really get a lot to work with on these workbooks.

So tonight's lab was Workbook 4 Lab 6. It has a strange little mixture of a lot of items. I enjoyed hitting some of the more distant items - core dumps, ntp, ftp... etc. The SWITCH configuration kinda threw me...

It was an Etherchannel Tunnel. I must have been getting used to being spoon-fed since normally you see them mention how things are set up. Now on the later labs you have to look. The "Baseline" for this lab was one paragraph that basically said - the diagram rules. No discussion of how the Layer 2 is set up and the only hint of a switch config was the measley port channel from SW3 to SW4 on the diagram. There wasn't even a heading for layer 2 - the first ticket went right to EIGRP - which really wasn't an EIGRP issue and required the switches to be looked at, digested and fixed. Wow. It was interesting.

So then I moved on and eventually came upon a IPv6 ticket. I went along with the solutions guide and did everything they said to do that should have fixed the problem. Oh yeah...but that would have fixed it if I was on Rack 1. So I went over all the IPv6 addresses and made sure they had the embedded IPv4 address for my rack. It still didn't work. I moved on. Luckily, I finished somewhat early. I could have just gone off and relaxed (and I did consider that option), but that IPv6 thing was nagging at my brain. So I went back to finish that off. I looked at the documentation and probably read more on IPv6 than I intended to this evening. I even pulled out the IPv6 study guide. Then I used my old friend Notepad. I took ALL 4 tunnel configs and pasted them into Notepad. Once they were listed, I noticed that R6 did not have the tunnel source line. Once I put that in...Bust My Buttons...it worked!

Attention to detail. Yes, it's required.

I'm seeing a lot of pink elephants patterns in some of the scenarios. And I'm seeing a lot of parallels with learning chess. I remember when I first started learning chess - going to chess clubs and watching and listening while those with much more experience showed how to tackle this or that problem. It gets really really confusing when they go down one path...then back up to show a variation. It made my head spin. Again, while I was working my way through the first workbook, they did the same thing. Configure this in this manner...okay I followed that. Now, undo this and configure it with this kind of ...wait, [Lou Costello voice] Now you're just tryin' to confuse me. What's the fella's name on first? (No, What is on second, Who's on first.) [/Lou Costello voice] However, now these twists, turns and backtracks are starting to become 'normal' and I'm finding it easier to remember these things as variations on a common theme.

So a lot of things are becoming 'normal' for me and that's a good thing. The "setup" of my console sessions - this is natural now. I look at the 8 key and think SW2 now. Sure, I know some people are going to hear that and tell me how SecureCRT is so much better - and you can do tabs. Yes, I know this. I've been watching hours of those tabs in the INE videos. However... this is what I'm going with. Sessions. They're everywhere. And the options on the exam are pretty much outlined here: Web-based Exam Delivery System. So from what I'm seeing in this video, the two options are: a central access server with console sessions or clicking on the topology map for individual sessions. Practice in the way you will be tested as much as possible. So, again...sessions.

I've gotten through some labs on all 4 workbooks, so now I'm ready for some hard-core repetition to 'drill' the material into my being. This type of learning has to be done in layers. With the intense 11 hour back-to-back sessions this week, I'm seeing myself change and grow in a way that is noticable. And it's interesting that sometimes I'll work on something all day long...go to sleep...and when I wake up I can feel like I know it better. [Yeah, maybe I'm doing practice labs in my dreams?]

One of the things I need to do is speed up my pace. But that will come with time and practice. What I have found is that the first few labs of each workbook, I use to ease into the material. Although the labs are designed to be completed in two hours (or others in 4-6), I pick one and work my way through it no matter how long it takes. I don't expect myself to know everything about everything. But on these, I force myself to do them through what I know and what I look up in the documentation. This is getting me VERY familiar with where things are in that space. Once I get a couple done like that, I have to get used to speed and configuring. So the next few labs of the workbook I use to time myself. If I can't get a trouble ticket right away (within 5-10 min) I look at the solutions and configure it as shown and move on. I want to train myself not to get stuck on something. After a couple of those, I'm ready to go at it myself and I'm doing it somewhat close to the target times. For the config labs, I'm working out a solution and checking it before I confirm it with the solutions guide. [Oh, it so helps to have multiple computers and multiple monitors to use for this.]

Another thing that has been helpful -- access to motivational videos. Sometimes while I'm waiting for the configs to load on the rack (this takes 15 min), I'll pop over to BraveHeart Women TV and watch one of their 10 min videos. Another trick is to put on a video in another room. I use the ones I've already seen (so it doesn't distract) and really liked. I make sure it's at a level where I can barely hear it (so it doesn't distract) and hope the motivational message sinks into my subconscious (like a subliminal). There are plenty of these in the Safari Library (safaribooksonline). My favorites are in the series called "The Next Level" from Dr. Ellie Drake (of BraveHeart Women.com) -- especially the ones about Transitions, Creating New Experiences, and Dynamics of Attracting Effortlessly. If you have a subscription, it's really worth taking a look at those - especially with respect to taking this exam.

Well - now some slots opened up. I jumped on them. I just finished a 12 am (midnight) to 5:30am rack that I scheduled ...just because I could. I took yet another week of vaca to study. And it looks like I'm going to make that week worthwhile. Because, yes, more slots opened up. So now for the rest of the week - Tues, Wed, Thurs and Fri - I have rack time from noon to midnight. Then I take a break on Sat and Sun with only one measly 6 to midnight rack per day.

However, I have to say that it IS worth it to get rack time. I can see the difference already. And I'm building speed, accuracy and confidence. I finally finished up the troubleshooting labs and did a config lab. I've been putting them off - and now I don't see why since I'm rolling through them for the most part.

Well I don't have much time left before my next rack session. I better get some sleep.

Yeah, I booked back-to-back sessions on the INE racks for today and tomorrow. I found out that if you do so, you get that extra half hour between sessions... so, yeah, no break for 11.5 hours. Not easy.

But on the good side, I could actually see a difference from the start to end of such a long session. I actually learned a thing or two and started getting some of the troubleshooting tickets.

I debated rescheduling the second half of tomorrow. This was a very rough and tiring long day. But with only a month to go, I think I really need to push myself. But I'm not going to set up any more like this. It really is pushing the envelope to do doubles.

Update: If you want your rack time to be contiguous, you need to schedule it on the same click and hope you get the same rack. When I had back-to-back sessions on the same rack, I stayed logged in. When I had two sessions - one on Rack 22 and the other on Rack 14 - well, after 5.5 hrs the first rack became unavailable and I had to wait the half hour before the next session was ready.

And - this double session thing isn't for everyone or every type of study. I felt I got something out of an extended session (more than 5.5 hrs), but not so much after a certain point. It's good if you want to do a timed 8 hr practice TS section and Config section Lab and then waste the last few hours. Personally, I think the single sessions are better (more focused) and I'm using them to do 2 TS labs or 1 config lab.

I haven't scheduled any Graded Mock Labs yet. I'm looking at that maybe sometime in early March (after my week of staycation study).

Of course, as you can see - I also have a local "in person" rack at home. Yeah, it's in my KITCHEN. [Priorities, ya know.] But I am fortunate enough to be able to use both. INE started running a special on Rack Rental Tokens where you can get tokens for half price. Not sure how long they are going to run that special, but I now have as many as I can use between now and my first attempt at the real lab (thanks to the speedy IRS that processes early returns fast).

I'm feeling like I need both racks. The rack I have at home is always available and I can practice whatever I want on it. However, that "always available" is also its drawback. I know I won't have physical access to the rack at the test. So I need to be comfortable with that in every way possible. I also need to feel the pressure of a timed environment. When your 5.5 hour block is up, the telnet screen disappears. So you need to work your magic before the terminal disappears. In my local rack, I could go over the time and not know until I'm done. Well, how far did I really go before time ran out?

One of the other benefits of rack rental is the ability to load the preconfigured scenarios through the control panel. This is especially important when doing the Troubleshooting labs. If you use this, you don't SEE the configuration that you're loading. It's more like the "real-world"/"real-lab" environment.

A word about the scheduling - you're scheduling up against other people. I was a bit discouraged when I found that most of the rack time that I wanted was gone. So I scheduled around it. I had a few hundred tokens left and only spots here and there on the weekends. However, a few days later, when I went to double check on my first rack slot, I found there were suddenly a whole bunch of slots that had opened up! Someone must have rescheduled something and now there were just the slots I needed. So don't look once and write it off - or postpone scheduling the time you want. Set it up in advance (so you get the times and dates that you want) and if you don't get what you want, check back often. People procrastinate. When they put things off, they have to reschedule. They might open a spot right where you need it at any time.

Another item of note on scheduling. If you're looking to maximize your tokens -- you'll see that some slots (during the week) are less than the ones on the weekend. If you schedule far enough in advance, you can do your rack practice during the week and use the weekends for reading the reference material, watching the INE videos or actually having a life... And, like I said above, check the schedule often. If you look, last minute scheduling is also at a cut rate. You just can't count on it being available. But if you've got tokens and you don't have plans, check the schedule and see if you can slide into an open rack at the last minute.

And of course, plan your rack time. Know ahead of time what lab scenario or workbook section you want to work on before the rack appointment. One of the ways I've managed to keep the cost reasonable is that I practice the technologies (Workbook I) using my local rack. I save the rack time for lab scenarios - to maximize their impact.

Well - here's my first shot at a back-to-back session. This should be interesting. I have a rack from noon to 5:30 (local) and then from 6pm to 11:30 (local). Then I have the same setup again for tomorrow (I took the day off to study). Originally I only had a slot for noon to 5:30pm tomorrow, so I took the day off. The three other slots (along with one yesterday afternoon) opened up after my first round of scheduling. Fortunately, these are the only two back-to-back slots that I have scheduled. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing. I guess I'll find out today.

Posted - June 26, 2011
"I passed the written test (for the second time) on 24 Nov 2011." (in the future)
...
"So my 'drop dead' date is May 2013 for attempting the lab."

I had the month part correct - but not the year. Although in my head while I was writing it, May 2013 was this coming May. Perhaps 2012 is like the missing 13th floor in many tall buildings. I just skipped it.

To post a correction and update:
(copied from the Certification Tracking page)
Mar 18, 2009 Exam (350-001) CCIE Routing and Switching - Passed
Nov 24, 2010 Exam (350-001) CCIE Routing and Switching - Passed

From my first "Pass" of the test, I had until Sep 18, 2010 to attempt the lab. Instead of preparing for the lab, I studied for and attained my CCSP certification. So I had to take the Written test again.

From my current "Pass" of the test, I have until 24 May, 2012 to attempt the lab.
I am currently scheduled for the lab on 12 March 2012.

If I pass it - Oh, Happy Day! (and on to the next challenge)... However, just showing up for the exam means I really have not just 8 hours to pass the lab, but really it gives me until 24 Nov, 2013 to pass the exam. Of course, that would include another $1500 for another sitting (or more), but it's a funny way to look at it. Yeah, funny as in "ha ha" funny. Well, the $1500 isn't ha ha funny, but it's a bit of construct comedy. IT CALMS ME. I notice that if I think about the 37 days until the test, I get tense. When I think about the fact that showing up for this means I really have until the end of next year to pass, the calm returns. Luckily, I'm not one that says "there's plenty of time, I can put it off." When I start something early, I tend to say, "there's plenty of time, let me start on something now. No matter how big it is, I have plenty of time to complete it, so I -can- tackle the big stuff." Framing. It works in marketing - and for tests.

Another thing that I noticed when I went to the Certification Tracker:
Oct 2, 1999 Exam (640-407) CCNA - Passed

Wow. I have been Cisco Certified since 1999! I remember that time of my life. I had already worked at a small ISP and an IT contractor. At the time, I was a newly minted MCSE NT 4.0 and was in charge of a bunch of servers, and a handful of network devices. Soon after getting my CCNA, the "network guy" that was responsible for my site and one other site decided to leave. I was sent to my first firewall class. It was for IBM's eNetworks Firewall on AIX. Yes, AIX. In fact, IBM's hardened version of AIX. Luckily it was not my first venture outside the Windows world. I had already been introduced to Red Hat Linux at the ISP (courtesy of the "shell server" we provided and the nice guy that ran that server). Yeah, I've been using Red Hat Linux since before the split when it went to Enterprise/Fedora. Not that I'm an expert at it, but I'm not afraid of any *nix. I've dealt with many flavors of it both for production and play. I'm currently running a Fedora workstation and an Ubuntu laptop. I'm also on XP Pro (work laptop), Vista, and Win7. This is in addition to the CatOS, IOS and NX-OS on the network gear.

Sometimes you have to take a moment to realize all you've learned. Once you see how much you've already learned, it seems like a cake walk to learn even more, no matter how advanced or intimidating it may seem at first blush. And if you look at what you know and how it relates to what you're trying to learn, it starts to look like a natural extension of your present state.

And presently I have the best tools for accomplishing my goal. I have a rack at my disposal (at my apartment). I can practice any lab at any time. I just need to turn on the power and it is available. I will be getting some rack tokens towards the end of the month and getting some remote rack time towards the end of my studies to practice on time and get used to the feel of a remote rack. I also currently have the All-Access Pass at INE. Access to every last streamed video on the site. Access to Boot Camps, Advanced Technology Classes and Deep Dives. And I already have Workbook I and Workbook II. According to INE, the people that use their materials take an average of 1.7 times to pass the lab.

So it's time to end this post and get back to the videos and command line. Since I'm posting in my other CCIE Studies blog, it may be some time before another update here. But I will be back.

UPDATE: I looked on the INE Rack Rental page and saw the rentals filling up - so I grabbed some tokens and scheduled some racks. I now have 10 Rack Rentals spread out between tomorrow and the lab exam. I can use my rack for practice and going through the Workbook I exercises. I will use the 10 for full-blown timed labs. So today will be study -and- prep for the first rack appointment. With a 6 hour block, I should be able to do 3 sets of troubleshooting - which is what I'm focusing on this weekend. INE has 10 Troubleshooting Labs in Workbook II and another 10 in Workbook IV. The hard part will be deciding which ones I want to do on the INE racks.

Oh...and while I was at it, I grabbed the All-Access Workbook bundles for R&S and Security. AWESOME.

Out of 27 recorded games, so far I have seen:

1.e4 e5 - The Open Games - 13 games

1.d4 d5 - The Closed Games - 8 games

1. everything else - 6 games

In this post, I will only cover the Open Games. The Closed games and "everything else" will be in another post.

Almost half of the Open Games can be covered in two openings:

RUY LOPEZ - 2 games

1.e4 e5
2.Nf3 Nc6
3.Bb5

This is a very old and popular opening. It is really one that I should know and understand.

In the Ruy Lopez, White creates a potential pin of the d-pawn or Knight and starts an attack immediately, while simultaneously preparing to castle. White generally directs pressure on Black's e-pawn and tries to prepare for a pawn on d4. It's known that Black's best reply on move 3 is a6, which attacks White's attacking bishop. After that, White can back up (Ba4 - tuck the Bishop) or exchange pieces (Bxc6).

In the two games I have (both played as Black), I played the recommended a6, and the response was Ba4. Out of the two games, I won after chasing the Bishop back with 4. .. b5 and lost with the passive 4. .. Nf6. It's interesting to note that I still played Nf6 in the won game, but only after I had chased the Bishop back one more time.

PHILIDOR DEFENSE - 4 games

1.e4 e5
2.Nf3 d6

I saw this three times as Black and once as White. I won two as Black, lost as White and this was the game where I had my only Draw (Stalemate). The major difference between this and the Ruy Lopez is 2. .. d6 > and since I was black 3 times with this opening, it appears that this is something I'm doing to bring about this one. Well, if I'm going to use this opening, I may as well learn it and understand its nature.

The Black fortress is solid. White should not wait before attacking it, because Black can play 3. .. f5 if White plays a passive move, which would definitely equalize. The best move is probably 3. d4. White threatens a queen exchange with dxe5 dxe5 Qxd8+ Kxd8 and Black can forget about castling. It puts pressure on the center and Black fortress may collapse at any time. Another possibility is 3. Bc4 leading to a more positional game, playable for both camps.

Interestingly enough, none of us played 3. d4 and none of us played 3. Bc4, either. Half of the time, we went for 3. Bb5+ right away. Perhaps that is an amateur mind at work - feeling as though you have an upper hand by being able to check first. But looking at the board - I really like Bc4 better. I can see myself playing it as White. I would have a hard time playing d4 - since it's such a confrontational move. The queen exchange happens IF dxe5 - but what if it doesn't? A simple 3. .. exd4 changes that dynamic. Or another option would be 3. .. f6 - which allows you : 4. dxe5 fxe5 - and that leaves a front gap for White and an open King's flank for Black. But it does not exchange Queens.

So as White in this situation, I would like to remember to play 3. Bc4 as White. As Black, I have a number of choices to answer 3. d4. I would like to remember to play 3. .. exd4 , 3. .. f6 , or 3. .. f5. I'm not sure which one of those options I could use to a better advantage. I guess I will need to revisit this after playing that combination a few times and seeing the outcome.

The other two games went in a different direction. One was played 3. Nc3 and the other was played 3. c3. I answered the Knight move with a threat from my Bishop 3. .. Bg4 and my opponent found the 4. Bc4 move that should have been move 3. The other game - 3. c3 was answered with 3. .. Nf6 4. Qc2 Be7. It looked like he was setting something up, but whatever he had in mind didn't materialize.

OTHER OPEN GAMES - 7 games

My suspicion is that these 'other' Open Games are basically 'botched' openings. I say this because to start, two of them are "Mate in 8" games. I would especially like to find where I went wrong on those games! Both times I was Black, so this appears to be some setup/trap that I ran full-force into.

Game 1 - King's Gambit

1. e4 e5
2. f4 ... EEEK! This is where I faltered here. This was an unexpected move and my lack of experience left me without an idea of how to properly answer this one.
2. .. f6 DOH! Okay - so this is where I blundered.
3. Bc4 Bc5
4. fxe5 fxe5
5. Qh5+ g6
6. Qxe5+ Qe7
7. Qxh8 Kf8
8. Qxg8#

Now that I know it's the King's Gambit:

This opening was the most popular opening in the 1800s. White offers a pawn in exchange for rapid development. It's rarely seen now at the master level; according to Keene it's been found that Black can obtain a reasonable position (giving nothing for White's pawn).

Yeah, right. Black (me) choked and died on this one.

There are two main branches, depending on whether or not Black plays 2... exf4: the King's Gambit Accepted (KGA) and the King's Gambit Declined (KGD).

In Wikipedia, if you accept the Gambit, there are about 16 different Gambits and other continuations listed. If you decline the gambit, there are 3 ways (Countergambits) to do so.

Panteldakis Countergambit 1. e4 e5 2. f4 f5

This is dubious because 2. exf5 with the threat of Qh5+ gives White a good game.

Falkbeer Countergambit
1. e4 e5
2. f4 d5
3. exd5 e4

Black sacrifices a pawn in return for quick and easy development. It was once considered good for Black and scored well, but White obtains some advantage with the response 4.d3!, and the line fell out of favour after the 1930s.

Nimzowitsch Countergambit
1. e4 e5
2. f4 d5
3. exd5 c6

Black is not concerned about pawns and aims for early piece activity. White has a better pawn structure and prospects of a better endgame. The main line continues 4.Nc3 exf4 5.Nf3 Bd6 6.d4 Ne7 7.dxc6 Nbxc6, giving positions analogous to the Modern Variation of the gambit accepted.

The Classical Defense to decline the gambit is 2. .. Bc5, the "classical" KGD. This seems a bit easier for me to play. I'm not sure I could remember d5 instead of f6 or f5 instead of f6. I could easily confuse them. But to remember "Freddie isn't ready" (don't move on the F file right away) and use the Bishop. Well, that just follows better for me. That leaves the pawn on f7 - so the Queen can't check with h5 or pin with h5 and then gobble up my pawn and Bishop. Queen to h5 could be met with Queen to e7 - protecting the center pawn and the Bishop. If the Queen went for any of the 3 pawns she can reach, she would be captured - or exchanged evenly.

Game 2 - Botched opening > Mate in 8

1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bc4 d5 <--- Here's where I lost this game.
4. exd5 Nd4
5. O-O Nxf3+
6. Qxf3 Bc5
7. d6 cxd6
8. Qxf7#

This could have been any number of openings if I hadn't botched it with 3. .. d5.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Italian Game
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 Giuoco Piano
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Evans Gambit
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Be7 Hungarian Defense
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 Two Knights Defense

Then I played the same person as above -- again, as Black and won! However, I actually correctly used the Giuoco Piano opening - which seems to have worked for me.

The next game reviewed looked strange at first. However, if you realize that White's 2nd and 3rd moves in reverse order - make this actually the Three Knights Opening.

1. e4 e5
2. Nc3 Nc6
3. Nf3

Black usually plays 3...Bb4 or 3...g6. The game will then typically continue 3...Bb4 4.Nd5 or 3...g6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nd5. The Three Knights is almost never seen at master level nowadays, as Black players have sought more active tries, even within the Four Knights.

In my case, I played (as Black) 3. .. Bb4 and lost. However, I know I lost in the middle game or endgame. At least for this one I made it out of the opening alive.

And the next game reviewed can say the same. It was a properly played Four Knights Opening. I was White in this game, and lost. I would probably have to dig much deeper to find out where I went wrong in this game, but I know it was not in the opening.

1. e4 e5
2. Nc3 Nf6
3. Nf3 Nc6
4. Bb5 a6
5. Bc4 Bc5
6. O-O O-O

If I remember correctly, this was one of my favorite games. It was challenging and seemed to go on forever. I felt that I was evenly matched in this game and enjoyed the play.

The next game reviewed looked like it might be another transposed opening - and if you look closely, it transposes into the Italian Game.

1. e4 e5
2. Bc4 Nc6
3. Nf3 d6

Unlike the move 2.Nf3, which attacks Black's e-pawn and therefore limits Black's possible responses to some extent, the Bishop's Opening allows Black a wide range of second move alternatives. Fortunately, none of them are especially good. But White should be prepared to face them from time to time, especially in club or blitz play.

However, once I played Nc6 and he played Nf3, we had an Italian game on our hands. The other Italian game (above) was the one I lost in 8 moves. I played 3. .. d5 for that train wreck. This time I played 3. .. d6. If I remember correctly, I was just trying to get the Bishop out with that move. Again, this looks like a game that was lost further down the page. So, I'm somewhat satisfied with d6, but again, want to either push my Bishops out or get my Knights activated.

The last Open game reviewed used the Portuguese Opening. Wow. I was White. I didn't really know I was using that opening - I guess I was just trying to do something different?

1. e4 e5
2. Bb5

The Portuguese is an uncommon opening. In contrast to the Ruy Lopez (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5), by delaying Nf3 White leaves the f-pawn free to move and retains the possibility of playing f4. The trade-off is that White's lack of pressure on e5 leaves Black with a freer hand.

[Since I was playing against Joel in that game... I shouldn't have given him such a free hand.]

So that covers my Open Games so far. I was glad to realize that the unknowns weren't botched openings. Two turned out to be transposed openings and three turned out to just be openings that I didn't recognize.

The charts have long since disappeared and all I have left is a 3 X 5 card with the approximations of the cycles. This may someday be helpful to someone. I'm putting it on my blog so that it doesn't disappear. I don't have a description of eacy cycle, but they look pretty self-descriptive. Not really sure where this comes from or the person's name who created the chart for me.

Cleansing ends 9 days after the birthdate. Each cycle (except for the first) lasts for 7 weeks and 3 days. Cleansing lasts for 7 weeks and 4 days.

CLEANSING

NEW BEGINNINGS

SCATTERED ENERGY

GOALS

CREATIVITY

SUCCESS

NETWORKING

The rack is almost complete. *GASP* I had no idea I was so close. I went through each device - they are all now reachable from the Access Server. Not all have every interface at the initial configuration, but most of it has been entered.

I had to do a little alteration. Sometimes the S0/1 in the INE diagram is actually S0/0 based on what I have and what's connected, but that's not all that important. However, I do realize that it can lead to confusion. So as I'm verifying all my connections, I'm also diagramming the lab configuration.

I was able to move a Network Module from BB3 to BB1 and it all just fell into place. I currently have exactly enough serial interfaces to connect everything. Well, everything except the Frame Relay switch.

This morning I ordered two modules for the 4500 that I'm using as a FR switch. I need 3 more serial interfaces on that device and this will give me 8. Cost less than $30 for the modules. Then I found that I need at least 3 more cables (DTE to DCE) to connect the routers to the FR switch. I just bought 4 of them - for about $50. I have to admit - I'm a bit shocked. I really thought I needed a few hundred in equipment - or would need to scrounge around for quite a bit in old equipment piles to get what I needed. I think if I knew I was that close, I might have been a bit more motivated to start back on it.

Just so I don't forget or lose sight of it -- I passed the written test (for the second time) on 24 Nov 2011.

You must make an initial attempt of the CCIE lab exam within 18 months of passing the CCIE written exam. If you do not pass the lab exam within three years of passing the written exam, you must retake the written exam before being allowed to attempt the lab exam again.

So my 'drop dead' date is May 2013 for attempting the lab. My goal is to take it sometime before 24 Nov. That gives me about 5 months to get through all the material. Actually - when I look at it - I have about two weeks of learning/honing my skills that needs to be done. All the rest is building confidence. At $1400 per attempt (just for the test itself), you really gotta be confident that you have a chance of passing before you lay down that credit card.

I'm glad that I procrastinated enough to not have to deal with the 'open-ended' questions. They really sounded like something that was a bit too ambiguous and subjective. I'm looking forward to the trouble-shooting section. Regardless of how hard the actual material is, the environment (working a ticket) is something that is very familiar to me. I do a lot more troubleshooting than building from scratch. Most of what I work with is already existing infrastructure that is being modified or optimized in some way. Or -- it's broke and I gotta fix it...

I will probably still need more workbooks from INE before all is said and done. But - that can wait until I get through the two workbooks I already purchased. BTW -- great job INE! Once you purchase something - if it upgrades, you get to download the newest version - without any additional fees.

Hopefully my updates here (and in my Notes blog) will be more frequent now that I'm starting to buckle down and get this done.

All the ethernet connections are done and working. The switch and router configs have been reset and I have all the reverse telnet shortcuts in place. Left to do is configure BB1, BB2, BB3 and the Frame Relay switch. Once those connections are up, I'm ready to tackle any of the modules.

This is the part that's going to be hard and take courage. I need to keep focused on learning and practicing as much as possible. I have to keep pushing myself forward - even if it's just a little bit or just one module.

I think I need a theme song...

It was smaller than I imagined. I guess you can't take a sample of 1 (night) and extrapolate very well, but it seems like there are less players on the weeknight than there were at MetroWest Chess Club. But then again, the commute to MWC is a bear and not really feasible.

I lucked out and was able to play due to an odd number of players in the tournament. Well, I'm not sure anyone else would have called it 'luck'... I played someone twice my rating. Of course, I lost. But I really gave him a good run for it - until I made a goofball mistake. Hopefully if I keep playing and learning, I'll make fewer of them.

One of the things I noticed is that I got sort of lost at the endgame. I felt that if I knew endgames better, I could have done much more with that game. However, I don't really think I'm ready to move on from studying openings yet. I know that with a good opening you can set yourself up for a better position in the middle and endgames. So I know that the more I put into openings, the easier it will be later.

I need to start learning the 'classic' openings. I waste a bit too much time thinking through positions that have been played and analyzed to death. I need to know that if my opponent moves a certain piece in response, he/she is trying to use the "x" opening versus my "y" opening and how that normally plays out and what the "book" response should be to it. The beginning of the game should be much more swift than I play it. The "meat" of the game should be the middlegame (if one exists) or the endgame. The opening should be rote - but that only comes from memorization and recognition of patterns. Practice - practice - practice.

So it may not be total tech/rack domination, but it was really nice to step back and say, hey - I did what I set out to do ... in the time I set out to do it. It was pretty straightforward and went smoothly. There are a number of things that you do so rarely that it's really hard to remember the order or the 'trick' to it. But there seemed to be no loss of skill and dexterity. And I didn't get flustered and confused, either. That was surprising. I had to take what I had and pretty much 'adapt' it to fit the environment. Sometimes S0/2 is now S0/2/0 or S0/1 is now S0/0 ... and it all works. [So far] Hopefully I can get it set up and organized by the end of the week. I realize that I will need to draw a new diagram to show the correct interface nomenclature and connections, but that's good practice.

I may need to scout / scrounge up some extra materials, but that should really be minimal. I should at least know what else I need by the week's end.

I'm out of excuses. Or at least, I'm tired of them. After a year of not smoking, I'm finally used to it (a bit) - or at least I'm used to being a miserable ex-smoker now. Yes, I will be taking a vacation this summer, but I really can't afford to wait until that's over to start up again. Sure, I'm concerned that I'll start studying and then it'll all be forgotten at Disney... But I can see this is going to be a slow start - so I better start now.

My lab at work is still half-baked. Most of the LAN connections are up, but the frame-relay switch has not been connected yet. I'm not sure how many devices actually have the "initial" configs or still need to be wiped and reconfigured. There's still much work to be done before it's ready for working a full-blown lab. I've worked some of the switching labs, but that was a while ago and the lab rack has been dismantled and moved (twice) since then.

There are not that many devices in the lab. This stuff is not hard. What's hard is finding the dedicated time to do this. I've tried things like : get up one hour earlier and dedicate that hour to study. What ends up happening is that I often find myself exhausted and taking back that one hour. I've also tried : stay at work one hour extra and dedicate that hour to study. But that often ends up in staying just to do more work and never getting to study. "Oh, you're still here? Let me ask you about...." And finding time on the weekends - well, that's when you have birthday parties, holidays, etc....

So there's really never any 'slow' time when things aren't happening. There's never any 'extra' energy looking for a place to burn off. Like my quitting smoking, I just have to accept that I will have to push to get time and push even harder to get the energy.

I have been talking to a couple of CCIEs and CCIE candidates. I've found that to be very helpful. The people I've spoken with seem to have taken a similar path to my own. There's the push through to the Written exam and an initial surge towards the lab. This iniital surge tends to result in burnout. The burnout produces a one year hiatus. This is right around the time when the written exam expires. So you retake the Written and work on finding a way to the lab.

So far, I've heard two success stories. The first one got fed up with the retake of the written and lack of time - he decided to take the bootcamp route. The second one decided to make a personal sacrifice. He just started working 5 hrs a day during the week and all weekend long on just studying and practicing until he was ready. He didn't mention how long that lasted - and he is scheduled to take the lab in another month and a half.

I don't know - maybe I just needed to have someone else confirm that this is a struggle. But, it made me feel better. I decided to quit mentally beating myself for not completing it the first time around. I've considered the Bootcamp route, but that's not feasible at this time. I can't afford the camp, I can't afford the time off of work. I've also considered - well, actually I tried - the personal sacrifice route. That's when I ended up so sick that I gave in to quitting smoking. If I end up sick again, I don't have anything to give up except my health. What I need is a third option. I haven't found it yet, but I know I need it and I'll keep looking until I find it.

One of the recent things I've done to solve this problem was to read a book on motivation. It gave quite a few good ideas. One of the takeaways was : It's hard to be motivated when you're confused. You need to clear out the unnecessary and focus. Focus leads to motivation.

One of the suggestions is to turn off the news programs. I used to listen to NPR all the time. And there were quite a few 'interest' stories that used to be carried on the program. Notice that I am using the past tense. Either the 'bad news' is so plentiful that there isn't any time, or NPR has gone the route of sensationalized programming. Regardless, I now see how that saps my energy.

So to motivate, I've been downloading podcasts. I had started listening to them in the car a while ago. Some of the Cisco podcasts are just fluffy marketing stuff. I got a bit frustrated with that. I wanted to be able to -learn- something while driving to work. However, I think that may be asking a bit too much. I probably could read some notes into an mp3 file and create a study cast. But that would just help me remember things. That helps on a written test - or with material that needs to be memorized. For the lab, not so much. But it would help keep me oriented towards my studies.

How effective it might be - well, that will be in the next post...