As the New Year approaches, some thoughts....

I've just been surfing and have come across quite a few of my old friends from way back in the days of OG Sk8ing. Big names like Harry Jumonji, "Big Jim" Moore, and Bruno Musso. These were some of the trendsetters and pathmakers of the NYC skating world back in the '80's and '90's. They made skating what it is now, whether they acknowledge it or not. And I was a witness to all of it, and documented a small bit of it for posterity's sake. What is covered by ESPN now, was done in the darkness of back alleys and abandoned warehouses back then. Then, we were chased by agents of the law, and now these new breeders are chased by agents of the Global Media. No matter what, the message remains the same: "Skate Free or DIE!!!" We lived by an anarchist code, we rode hard and took no prisoners. We did what we had to do, and sometimes we paid a heavy price, either with our sanity, our flesh, or mosttimes both. I still look at my board in the corner and think back to those warm summer days when we had the music in our ears, the wind in our faces, and the asphalt under our wheels. So I wish this new generation of skaters all the best, and hope they keep the old traditions alive and well. Shred hard, shred fast, shred deep. Later.

On the eve of celebration...

It's Tuesday, and tonight I will be celebrating another milestone in my life with some friends. This has been a good year, with the passing of my A+, my pending Net+ cert exam forthcoming, and a renewed passion for photography that I can barely keep contained. I've been busy on the work front, with many new projects and a renewed energy. I've also been learning new areas in my field, such as programming laguages, and a desire to be a system admin. Before, I didn't have the focus and direction, and I was just happy to be working at all. Now, I know where I can go and how far I can take it, and it gives me new hope for the future. I don't dwell on the problems  of my past, or the problems of others. I'm just trying to get from A to B without too much drama, and don't you think we could all use a little less of that in our lives?  I also want to include links to some web sites which I think are important, and may help some of you out there.

Well, that's enough out of me. More to come soon....

Life on life's terms: Preview "On the eve of celebration..."

Life on life's terms: Preview "On the eve of celebration..."

One down, One to go...

Last weekend I passed the A+ essentials, and it went smoothly. I didn't score as high as I wanted but the fact that I passed still stands. For almost three years I cringed at the thought of taking a test, but now I understand that I was afraid of nothing but myself. As I write now, I'm studying for the next half, which I will take - and pass- in two weeks. It's really exciting how focused I am for this test. I'm really looking forward to the next two weeks, and I'm sure that I'll come out of it with a full A+ certification. That's all for now, stay tuned....

Update for Study...

As I return, I finished my week with a short term project at Zurich of North America. I will be assisting them with a rollout deployment, and hopefully it may turn into a longer gig. In regards to my studying, I finally have a nice groove and I feel confident, moreso than I have at any other time. I plan to register my test date for the following weekend, as I now work from 8 am to 5 pm. I also hope to start getting a regular schedule for my meetings, as I have not attended in some time. It's really wonderful to feel how good life is when so many things come together and do so effortlessly. Yesterday my wife and I had a good day shopping down at Fairway, and then having late lunch at Dinosaur Barbeque. Afterwards we walked back, and on the way home stopped in the Park to relax a little more. It truly was a great day. Although we missed one friends birthday party and a Rocky Horror Show reunion, we just enjoyed being with each other, which helped me to become more focused on my studies. I think I will keep this momentum up long enough to get my Net+ certification, and maybe my Linux+ as well. What a great way to end the year. I'm still keeping in touch with my old schoolmates, and also with some old friends whom I thought may have been dead. One of them just found out that he'll be a daddy in February, which is great. I really hope to accomplish all my goals this year, as I keep promising myself and others that I will. Sometimes you either shit or get off the pot.

Well that all for now, more to come...

Another day, another dolla'...

Today was another day down at the office. finished up some of the setups we couldn't complete last night, did some tweaking of others, and made sure that we had everything running well. Found out another tech just passed his Essentials, so now I'm really getting gung-ho about passing. I'm taking everything seriously, even how I rest. As for books, I'm taking that even more so. That's enough for now, more to come later...

Stepping up schedule...

I've decided to up the schedule for my A+, and then right after cram for my Net+. Been catching up with friends on fb and linkedin, but i've gotten back on track now and pushing forward. I can't wait for the tests to finish and then I can get back to meetings. I've also restarted my server+ studies, but that will wait until next year. I've also been following this new photographer named Gabe, and his work is really good, which is surprising for someone who's only been shooting for six months. He's really going to go far if he keeps up the work he's been doing lately. Now all i have to do is work on my own skills in that area in between study sets. My wife is really pushing me to get my certs, and she's been really supportive for so long, she's really been a trooper through all of this. On the better side of things, I have two projects coming up, one short-term (only two weeks), and the other will start shortly thereafter and last for six months to a year or more. Thank goodness for the IT industry upswing in recent months, let's hope for more opportunities and jobs. These days you have to choose your career track carefully, and get as much training in that field as you can. Just getting certs isn't enough, you have to make sure that you have the knowledge to back it up. These days too many newbies think that if they just download a few braindumps, and some practice tests, and then they'll ace a couple of tests and land the juicy paycheck. Unfortunately, too many of them forget that you also need to know WHY something is the way it is, not just that it is. Not just what is EIGRP, but why, and the reasons behind it's applications. This is the reason why so many opportunities get taken away from legitimate  techs with something to offer, and are given to hacks who don't know jacksh*t. I guess that's why it's taken me so long to go for this cert, I want to be taken seriously and to know my skills.

Well, that's enough jawjacking for now, time to get back to studying. More to come soon...

June 2 - A+ Study

Well, it's now the 2nd of June. I have decided to also incorporate some house cleaning with my studies. I feel that as I clean the house, I also clean out any blockage with my concentration. Yesterday I worked on the Bathroom, and did some shopping for household items. It helped a little, in that I was able to sort out what materials I wanted to study most, and which would assist me in preparation for the test. I also think that I may study some of my other areas, such as Lightroom & Aperture, also Photoshop & QuarkXpress. I feel that if I put in two hours for each, I can treat each day as a work in progress, much like a job. Today i'm also going to follow up on some other job related items, see if they've panned out or not. If not, i'll just have to keep plugging away until something comes my way. I really think that things will happen this summer that'll go in my favor, and if I just keep to the course I really think it will all work out.

More to come later...

Memorial Relaxation...

Hey Folks,

Today I and my wife plan to enjoy Memorial Day by shooting on down to Coney Island, take some shots, enjoy some sun. This whole weekend has been sort of slipping since I had oral surgery on Friday, and they yanked out two teeth (one infected for quite some time), and I decided to take it easy and give myself some time to relax and heal. Beginning tomorrow though, we're back on the accelerated schedule as this is the first of June, and I must take the test at the end of this month, as I have been promising to just about everyone that I would. I wonder if I'll have this much trouble when I study for my MCSE and then my CCNA. Probably, but if I can just get through this test first. So from here on in I will be blogging daily about my study schedule and habits, hopefully to help someone else with the same problems studying for a test.

Will talk to you tomorrow....

Kinda grey day...

Woke up this morning, a little sore from the Mets game last night. They spanked the Phillies, which bodes well for the season so far. Today I will use the practice tests for the first part of the morning, then move on to reading the chapters and some old class notes. Like I said, I have everything I need to study for this test, I just need to apply myself to the task at hand. I also plan to keep checking the tech blogs and video sites (YouTube.com, freeaplus.com, professormesser.com, etc.), and really make some headway into the studies.

More to come as we continue...

Further along the path...

Well, today I rifled through all the materials that i've collected and came across another suite of practice tests. I was a little tired and overwhelmed after having come home from work (6-11), and finally had to take a nap. I'm up now so i'm gonna try to get some work done. Going to the Mets game tonight with Liz, so theres quite a bit to do before I leave to meet her. I also still have to repair my AOpen desktop and put in more RAM into my custom tower, see if I can increase the power. Have also been considering installing a bigger HDD, maybe 750GB, or even 1TB. That would really be something, but all that comes in behind studying for the exam. Today is the 26th of May, and I'm stil trying to keep to my original deadline of the end of June. Will have to step up studying times, return to 6:30 am until 10:00 am in order to get back on track. That's all for now, more to come....

In Pursuit of That A+

This will be my daily post of my studies for A+ Certification. I have now been at this task for the last two years, I have yet to attempt to take this test. Now, some people would say, "Just take the damn test already", and I'm tempted to do just that. But since i've begun studying, the test has undergone a few changes, thus urging me to change as well. I hope that this blog will serve as a guide for others as well as a diary for myself, if for no other reason just to keep me sane. There will be more to come over the coming weeks, as my target date is June 23 - 25 of this year. I have not been able to nail down any one system of study, so I just try everything at hand and hope that something catches and takes hold. Until next post,...