CCNA and Xsi!

What does a Cisco CCNA certification and a Canon Rebel Xsi have in common? Me. =)

Yesterday, after much preparation and study, I passed my Cisco Certified Network Administrator certification exam. I wish that the certification was for life because I do not want to take it again. Many tests are easy to study for. You download some test prep and your off. The problem with this exam is that they give you broken networks that you need to fix. They give you a scenario and make you think about it. It's a difficult test, but it is also easy if you prepare well (I didn't think I was going to pass on the first attempt). Another key to passing this test is to relax the evening before you take it. For me, I spent the evening at a Diamondbacks game. Tiffany and I sat in the nose-bleed section and watched the D-Backs shutout the Giants.

After passing my exam, I drove to my local Best Buy to purchase a new camera (Canon Rebel Xsi). For those of you that know me well, this is a treat that I have been saving for and hoping for. For the past 4 years, I have been shooting pictures with the Fuji S5000. At last count, we had taken over 35,000 pictures with that camera. I had a growing list of features that I desired and this camera had them all. Now, I just need to get into a better habit of updating my flickr page... =)

As always, all glory is due to God. He has blessed us in many ways over the years. Most of all, he has blessed us with salvation through His Son. We are humbled that he has chosen us to serve Him in life. We hope that this camera and certification will be used for His glory!!

CCDA!

I passed my certification exam for CCDA (Cisco Certified Design Associate) today!! This test is the easier of the two that I am presently studying for. Next week, I hope to take my CCNA exam (Cisco Certified Network Associate)!

On top of these two certifications, I recently found out that my company wants to pay for me to get me CCDP (Cisco Certified Design Professional) and MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer)! They need a certain number of people to be certified in order to sell certain equipment, so they asked me to be one of them.

These certifications will round out the video conferencing and audio visual certifications that I already have.

I am very grateful to be working for a company that is willing to invest in employees like this!