Izack Vail, CCIE #23787

I am so happy right now I can't stand it! I am happy for the validation that this pass brings for all these months of hard work. I am happy because I will finally get to spend some time with my friends and family. But... I am most happy that I can stop studying all the time! I want to thank IE so much for everything. You guys are truly an amazing team! You have an amazing product and a real dedication and passion for this stuff. It was truly an honor! I took my written exam right about the middle of August. I began studying for the written at the beginning of May, so I have been at this for about 10 or 11 months. I took my first attempt about a month ago and came pretty close but obviously didn't pass. I was really worried about the short answer questions because they hadn't been implemented yet on my last attempt. Fear of the unknown! I have to say that they were a bit of a let down. The questions I got did not seem difficult to me. I didn't spend more than 5 minutes answering them. I spent the last 2 weeks studying nothing but theory. I read Anthony's CCIE R & S Quick Reference sheets, I read several of the core chapters from Odom's book and I read the Summary pages for all the core technologies from the Cisco Site. I felt overly prepared and I was. The exam felt like a breeze this time but it also felt like a breeze last time. I really felt like I didn't have any questions on the technologies this time though, where last time I did feel that way in a couple areas. I think that studying the theory over the last couple weeks really helped fill in a few areas that I didn't realize I was weak in. I really moaned and groaned about the theory questions when they were anounced but I think it may have actually been beneficial for me. Anyway, good luck to all you guys who have a date coming up! You will probably see me back here in a few months getting ready for the Security track.