Slowly coming back – So, what´s up!?

After some personal issues, I´m slowly coming back to my normal routine of work, study, work, study, over and over again!

So, what changed so far in the CCIE World, in my preparation, in anything else regarding my studies?!

CCIE is now reaching version 4.0, with some news, good for some of us, bad for the others, anyway… Vendors are updating their products ASAP, and some of us finally discovered the small letters in the called “Investment Protection Program”, is it fair?! In my opinion it is, but for sure, if that was really explicit when I made my choice, I would NEVER (and let me say again NEVER) get it. It looks like the “Fantastic” workbook that expires after 12 months!

Their products are AWESOME, a “must have” but when I signed for it, I wanted to be updated to any changes for the CCIE, that´s why I bought an End-to-End solution, but, again… It´s fair, they´re spending time and efforts updating the materials, but please… be a bit more specific when describing the “Investment Protection” policy, stating that the “Products” inside the “End-to-End” program are protected and not the program itself… (and please, do not ask me which vendor it was, I can tell you which vendor it wasn´t if you ask me). Again, the products are great, but the self-called “investment protection” program wasn´t very clear. It´s fair to charge in my opinion, if that was explicit explained in the website… (Old stuff, but I still mad with it).

Internetwork Expert is updating their Volume I Workbook, they´ve also released the Volume IV (Troubleshooting) workbook, with just a few labs, but those look great!

Also, anyone checked IPExpert Volume I after the updates?! Very nice! I´m working on it right now, expect some reviews soon!

One thing that made me really happy was to see Joe Astorino joining IPExpert! He´s the man! An example to be followed! Few months of hard study and dedication, he got his digits and “upgraded” his career forever in my opinion! CONGRATULATIONS buddy! :)

It seens Narbik is also out with his new Workbook, another friend of mine (Nickelby Thane) is very excited with that! I may join him if I make up my mind and actually get Narbik´s workbook (it looks I´m going for it and with the new Cisco Press CCIE Certification Guide 4.0 those will be the last thing I´ll buy for my CCIE Preparation).

One thing I will try to do, I´ll keep most of my time on the Workbooks and Books, and less time on Videos, CoDs. Those are really nice, and I´ll use it as a reference, when I have some difficults, but not as my primary resource. I plan to study each topic, each protocol like this:

- Read about it (OSPF for example) in any Book (like Doyle);

- Watch the Video-on-Demand and listen to the MP3 files for the topic in question;

- Do the Volume I labs regarding this specific technology;

I think this is a good aproach, not all the time reading, not all the time on the workbooks and not all the time on the videos, just learning each topic at a time, with reading and hands-on.

Anyway! I´ll keep you posted of my progress, and also publish any reviews, tips and advices while I´m doing that! Just give me a couple days to organize everything!

Talk to you soon!

Cheers!

A CCIE Widow’s Request

CCIE # 5804 was one of the very few CCIEs in Alaska. I met him at Networkers in 2008 the month before his death. I did not find out about his passing until March of 2009 when a friend and co-worker sent me a message about him after seeing his picture on my blog. I had exchanged emails with him prior to Cisco Live 2008 so when we met I was pleased to make the acquaintance of one of only 4 CCIEs in Alaska that I knew of. After Cisco shut down the NASCAR Grille CCIE party, I hosted a bunch of CCIEs at the Hard Rock Café near there at Universal Studios Orlando. The band Modest Mouse was just finishing their last set for the night and we had a few beers together along with seven or eight other CCIEs. The other guys were from Holland, Texas and a few other places. But Dave and I talked a lot that evening and I am happy now, looking back that I had that chance.

At the end of August 2009 I received this email from Lee Gahm, Dave’s wife;

Dear Eman,
My name is Lee, I am Dave's wife.  Tonight I spoke with his parents and they told me about what you had written and I looked it up.  I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to share your kind words about Dave.  The proudest day in his life was when he passed his CCIE test.  Actually we were all very proud.  Dave LOVED his job and by what I could tell he was very good at it.  I miss the middle of the night calls from his work..I never understood a single word he said but I was always impressed.  His trips to those conventions were always important to him.  He was proud to be a "techno geek". He was looking forward to the next CCIE gathering as he was going to speak.
I am not ready yet but I will be putting together a memory book for Abby.  I would be grateful if you and some of the others would share some of your memories or stories about Dave with me.  If you have any other pictures too, I would love to have them.  I know his parents would like to see them also.
He truly was doing something that he loved.  I was so fortunate to speak to him the night before and could hear the happiness in his voice.
Sincerely,
Lee

So I am posting this so that anyone who knew CCIE # 5804, Dave Gahm will share in photos or in writing their experiences with Dave. CCIEs have a way of influencing others across borders so I am happy to help Mrs. Gahm and Dave’s parents in gathering what I can through this medium Dave loved so much.

If you have anything you would like to share about Dave Gahm please respond to eman@ccieflyer.com

Thanks