official... i am a ccna...

finally... what a struggle... so much information, so many books, videos, tests, you name it, forums, good advice, bad advice, and it all comes down to an hour or so spent in a quiet room, alone against yourself...  the countless hours spent poring over material that you've studied a hundred times before, just hoping to unlock a secret that you might have missed the last time... it's anti-climactic in the end... sad, almost...

time to press on because it only begins again ...  on to voice and ccnp switch, those things i couldn't reasonably do without getting past the first hurdle because i believed then as i believe now that one has no business going to the next plateau without surmounting the first...

the breadth of material for composite ccna is daunting,  just considering Odom's two massive volumes alone, and all the rest... i treated myself to jeremy cioara's ccna voice at the bookstore yesterday... i took the single copy and was amazed at the numerous ccna titles on the shelf, and very little else of the more advanced material...  i was simply grateful that i wasn't there to pick up yet another ccna book... i've read so many

what i learned;

that i could in fact study for 12 to 15 hours in a day, for days in a row, for weeks at a time...
that single minded purpose is your best friend...
that having a lab is good...
that gns3 is a blessing for those who cannot afford a lab...
that active study is the best way for me...
that investing in a lab is precious...
that a meaningful prayer will help...

and having a network cat like michael is ok too... and a girlfriend who believed in me when i didn't believe in myself...

next...