I need to try to get some sleep tonight!
Author: Mitch Garvis
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Day 1321
As predicted, I got through the class with flying colours. My level of exhaustion is pretty high though. I tried to sleep last night but I don’t know if I really fell off into slumber. Yes, i rested – I stayed in bed for at least five hours before getting up to prepare for my class. I hope I will get some sleep this afternoon… otherwise tonight’s class will be a bit of a challenge.
Have a great day!
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Day 1320
Labour Day. I am going to spend most of the day relaxing although I do have to go out in the evening. I keep my promises… even when it means that I am going to be exhausted for my class. I will get through it.
Yes, at 1:00am I will be online ready to teach. I begin a two-week (less a day) stint of teaching my overseas classes, which will then be followed by a week of teaching in my own time zone. It will be a busy few weeks, but I am glad I will be working a lot. It keeps me out of trouble.
I did not sleep well last night. I honestly do not know why, but I will try to get a good nap in this afternoon. I know that when I finish my class tomorrow I will be exhausted and should get a good solid few hours of sleep.
Have a great day!
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Day 1319
Sunday of the long weekend, and the last day of August. Tomorrow is Labour Day, and the unofficial end of the summer. What a season it has been.
My summer has been far more productive than I thought it would be. For one thing, I did a lot more teaching than I had expected. Yes, most of my classes are booked within a week or two before the start date, but summers are usually slow. The fact that I taught three complete week-long classes and had five more days of 1- and 3-day classes since June 30 means that it was a very productive summer. However, if we add to that the fact that I have passed four certification exams since June 15 (including three major ones) and this summer vaults to the high end of productive and successful.
While I consider my weight loss a complete shambles, I still weigh 22 lbs. less than I did on July 1… had my supplier not run out of meal replacements I know that I would be much further ahead… but here I am. I would rather be 22 lbs. less than two months ago than exactly where I was… or worse.
In some respects the summer was a resounding success. Do I wish my life had not fallen apart? Yes… but that had nothing to do with the summer. Life is what it is… and I am going to continue to slog along. The last three certifications that I earned – SecurityX (Advanced Security Practitioner), Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect (Expert), and Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) – are going to mean a huge boost to my career; the classes that I can teach are more in demand at the higher level, and the daily rate is much higher, and when I do decide to take a job (when my whole situation starts to stabilize) I will be worth a lot (with a much higher demand). At least there’s that.
I certainly do not have all of my ducks in a row… but at least I have a lot of them lined up. What is next? I don’t know… but one thing I can say is that my life is never boring. Just once I wish it were.
Have a great long weekend folks.
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Day 1317
If you are wondering why I have been so distracted these last few days, let me assure you that it was not because I was being lazy. The following came up (one externally, one internally) since Tuesday:
- Because I am teaching the Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect course next week, I decided that I wanted the certification. A brief explanation: The course is Microsoft’s SC-100, which corresponds directly to the exam of the same number. This will be the second time that I am teaching the class, and I passed the exam a few months ago in advance of teaching it. However, after I passed the exam, I realized that I had not earned the certification – I had only passed the exam. The certification requires one of three or four other exams. Okay, that’s fine… I’d get around to it. Well, Tuesday I decided to book one of the other exams for today at noon. That exam is SC-300: Microsoft Identity and Access Administrator. I spent most of the last three days studying for that exam.
- In the meantime, one of the training companies that I do a lot of work for called me sometime over the last couple of days and asked if I would be willing to learn another course (Cloud Security Alliance’s Certificate of Competence in Zero Trust) so that I could take the exam sometime in advance of teaching it the week after next. The courseware is only 340 pages.
So yes, I have been working my furry little tail off. This afternoon I passed the exam (yay). One of the training brokers that I do a lot of work for had asked me five minutes before I sat down for the exam if I would send my latest curriculum vitae, and so before I did… I edited it to add this new certification, as well as the one that I earned a few weeks ago, to it.
I had just pressed Send on the email when I saw another email come into my box. I immediately re-emailed him to tell him to delete it. After five weeks of waiting, I received at that very moment the confirmation of my ISC2 Certified Information Security Professional (CISSP) credential. I had been waiting eagerly for that, and I re-did my CV and resent the email.
I have neither gained nor lost significant weight this week. The status quo is better than regression; next week I need to start losing weight again.
Have a great day folks!
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Day 1314
I was wrong… I don’t feel like writing today, although I did write a proposal which was helpful.
