Life is what it is, failing is always a shadow flying all over you, so it may happen.

Central Europe cold wave. Cold AF.

Flight was good. No delays despite the air controllers strike in Spain. What a pre-exam weekend, crazy as hell. Whishing it to no one.

Land at Brussels International Airport, first problem. Switch on my mobile phone, no cell signal even I have roaming activated. Sweet, no communications at all. Trying to take a taxi to the NH Brussels Airport Hotel was not easy either. Drivers did not want to do so short rides, same than in Spain, 5 min rides are not profitable enough, they miss people that need longer rides to Brussels downtown or something.

Did I mention the cold wave? No thermometers in the street but at least 5 or 6 Celsius under. Everything had snow, dark as the wolf’s mouth. It was 19:20 in December that gets dark in the afternoon.

NH, is expensive, too much. 20€ for a breakfast? Are you shitting me? Room was comfy and big, windows did not open, so if you want to smoke you have to go to the street. Better like this, otherwise the room would not get warm again for sure.

Exam day I arrive 15 minutes before, and what for? To get cold for 20 damn minutes as they did not open the building doors until 8:05 or more. We could see the lobby and the messhall from outside, there were only 3 candidates counting me out there.

We come in and the receptionist asks for our IDs. Checks our names in a list and ticks our names in the entry log. She gaves us a sticker with some sort of RFID chip that beeps when you get into a restricted area. Sticker says “Guest. To be escorted”. Guest? For real? With 1300 euros of exam price? Funny.

Once in the waiting room I look at everything I could. The other 5 candidates were looking to their feet, worried faces all around.

5 minutes later the Proctor comes in. In his 30s with a keyring labeled CCIE, ok cool, we already noticed it, no need to show off. He escorts us to the class with only desks and computers, racks are in a close room and we can see them through a glass wall. Leds blinking in the dark.

We get assigned a computer for each one of us. One seat for Security track, 2 for Voice -along with 6 or 7 phones each, and all the rest for Routing and Switching. Instructions, don’t do that or you fail, don’t do ths or you fail, don’t do this either or you fail too. Everything looks designed to fail.

Exam starts. I am not going to break the NDA so I will only say that the topology and task list is given to you in a ring binder, each sheet comes with plastic skin. You can separate sheets to have the topology in one side and the task you are working on on the the other. You get also a couple of empty sheets and 2 pencils. You have to give all this back as they count every sheet you give. If you miss something, of course, you fail.

Well, ACME screen, flat 21". Some desktop shortcuts to the devices with SecureCRT and the user is completely restricted. You can’t change the keyboard layout so I was completely screw for a good while. When you get used to a keyboard layout and all of a sudden you get a different one, your typing speed goes down to ant level.

At around 12am we get escorted to the messhall by the proctor. He gives us restaurant tickets and in around 20 minutes, not counting in the exam global time, you can eat from a very simple catering.

Back to it, end of exam.

Overall impression was good. After lunch we had 3 proctors. Exam was not complex, even when I failed I had the feeling it was very doable. My main problem was to lose whole picture. I got things one way at the beginning and when the exam went forward I realized I had to change the entire design of the firewall side, so I lost around 2 hours redoing and testing back everything I had configured continued working. 2 hours you don’t have and that are very VERY valuable.

On the bright side no I now the chair color. Seriously, now my exam prep is completely different. I changed my study plan and my lab practices too.

Hopefully I will be more lucky next time.

P.S. During the lunch, chatting with proctor he said something like an omen. I passed on my second time too.