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Blog: 10 Days to go…Last Mock Lab Done!

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“Knowing is not enough. We must apply.” -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

I just finished Mock Lab 7 which is the hardest of the Mock Labs. I should probably rephrase that…it is the Mock Lab with the highest difficulty rating. I actually thought this one was easier than Mock Lab 4 (which is the spawn of satan! lol). I answered everything. There were plenty of tricky questions but each question was fairly independent of the others so if you stuffed one up, it didn’t really effect any other question. Couple of things I had to figure out because I had never done before, but that is where the DocCD really helped.

I am glad that I spent a great deal of yesterday going through Internetwork Expert’s DocCD reading list. It may be a little out of date, but it made sure I could locate everything I needed to. I usually allocate 40mins to 1 hour for diagramming, reading and making notes before I start my mock labs. I spent about 30 minutes on this Mock Lab. I made sure I had the DocCD section of each tricky part open in a browser tab before I started the sections (even if I thought I knew them). This really helped speed wise. I usually also make notes about which tasks will possibly interfere with other tasks. This one didn’t have as many as the previous ones. I’ll let you know how I went with an update.

I have 10 study days now till my lab. I have 6 hour lab rentals everyday which will help. Here is a breakdown of what I am planning to do:

  • Sunday 27th April – Day Off (Still taking Sundays off. I really need this!)
  • Monday 28th April – Redo Mock Lab 7.
  • Tuesday 29th April – Redo Mock Lab 5.
  • Wednesday 30th April – Redo Mock Lab 6.
  • Thursday 1st May – Redo Mock Lab 4.
  • Friday 2nd May – Redo CCIE Assesor A. Review previous Mock Labs.
  • Saturday 3rd May – Redo CCIE Assesor B. Review previous Mock Labs.
  • Sunday 4th May – Day Off – or light study…
  • Monday 5th May – Review Notes, COD, previous mock lab notes.
  • Tuesday 6th May- Fly off to Sydey. Review COD, notes, try and sleep
  • Wednesday 7th May – LAB DAY!

I am starting to feel the pressure a little bit this close to the exam day. I have worked so hard for the last year for this, and to be honest I am pretty exhausted. I have learned so much over the past year. It’s definitely made me a better teacher and engineer. It has taken a pretty significant toll on my health (more on that later!), and my wife has had to endure it as well. That’s the thing about CCIE. When you decide to do it, you have to take into consideration all the people around you and how it will effect them. I am looking forward to finally getting those digits, so I can have my life back! :)

Discussion

10 comments for “Blog: 10 Days to go…Last Mock Lab Done!”

  1. hi Arden,

    IE has 7 mock lab , Question is which mock lab do you ask CCIE candidate to purchase? should we go for all or choose selective ones…..

    Regards
    Amit

    Posted by amit | April 26, 2008, 10:12 pm
  2. @Amit: I did Mock Labs 4,5,6 and 7. They are designed to be done in the last month of preparation before your lab. I would highly recommend them.

    Posted by Arden Packeer | April 27, 2008, 6:53 am
  3. Hello Arden..
    So you recomend to take the mock labs 4,5,6,7 the month before you are taking the lab….so I will say one mock lab each week…. My question to you is….Are these 4 labs overlapping or each labs have a total different task and if there is any repetition on taks from eithe other mock labs are these task aks in a different way and the final answer/approach are different ?

    Thanks and Good luck the 7 (actually is a good number if you are a beliver)….

    Posted by Juan Blanco | April 27, 2008, 10:28 pm
  4. All the best…

    Expect a call from me in 173 hours time ;)

    Posted by n00b13 | April 30, 2008, 2:22 pm
  5. Go Ards!!

    Tech boys know that you will nail this just like everything else you do!!

    Best of luck mate!!

    Dave

    Posted by Dave Clarke | April 30, 2008, 2:54 pm
  6. [...] good luck to Arden Packeer next [...]

    Posted by CCIE Mixer and “Congratulations to Ethan Banks CCIE #20655″ « Richard Bannister’s CCIE Blog | April 30, 2008, 9:08 pm
  7. Go, Go Arden Go

    Best of the Luck mate!

    Posted by Victor Cappuccio | April 30, 2008, 9:26 pm
  8. Go Ards!, Your the man, And all the Excom boys know it.

    I’m making sure my visit to melbourne is after your lab so you have plenty of time to drink scotch :)

    Best of luck champ.

    Posted by joshie! | May 1, 2008, 10:23 pm
  9. Hi Arden,

    Sorry for my prolonged absense without checking in – I’ve been traveling extensively again.

    I read your entries regarding the Cisco Assessors. I must say that you did very, very well. Did you click on the link that shows how your score compares to the average? If so, then you already know just how impressive those scores really are. The grading scripts (Assessor A in particular) leave much to be desired. Also, lacking access to a proctor to clarify task language easily accounts for probably 10 to 20 points that you’ll lay claim to in Sydney.

    Let me just close by wishing you the best next week. I personally found the pressure of everyone telling me that they just somehow knew I would pass to be very distracting (appreciated, but distracting nevertheless), so I’ll resist that urge completely. I hope that your travels go well, that your hotel is comfortable, that you sleep a little, and that you are blessed with a cooperative proctor (of whom I would suggest that you ask lots and lots of well-reasoned clarifying questions — sage advice that I am merely passing along).

    Best,

    Scott

    Posted by Scott Vermillion | May 2, 2008, 3:27 pm
  10. Arden,

    I have no doubt that in the lead up to this your preparations have been all inclusive!

    Inevitably, you will emerge victorious over the evil CCIE and leave it broken and bloodied corpse as your plaything for you are …. NINJA!!!

    Posted by Adam | May 3, 2008, 2:22 pm

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