unfortunately...the bouncer was bigger than I had first thought. :P

So, first thing being placed first...though that is likely more logic than I should use in one place at one time online...I went in to take the CCENT test shortly after my last blog post. I obviously did pretty poorly...thankfully, my version of pretty poorly is a score that passes by a rather nice margin in Cisco's parlance. 844 out of 1000 is okay, only 804 is needed to pass, but the thing I feel a bit proud of is that I got the 844 via my retained knowledge...because I did not study for the test. Sure, I could have studied, and maybe could have gotten a little better. The thing is, that wouldn't have been a true representation of what I know, its not like you can cram before each day of work. This way, I know that I am good enough, even without practice, to be a networking engineer.

Word has apparently gotten around, as I have told a few people I thought might be interested I passed, and I have gotten a number of fingers pointing me towards job openings at various places. This, though rather nice, is a bit troubling...as I did not plan on working heavily during this summer (figuring it would be my last even remotely free one), but now have the chance to make lots of money, and gain experience. Now I'm between a rock (my plans of some traveling and fun) and a hard-place (working, making money, and getting into an apartment with a good friend, or two, of mine).

Thankfully my life isn't all rock and hard-places lately, and I've been having a heck of allot more fun...at the expense of a wee bit less studying. :roll: I actually managed to place second in one of the local pool tournaments, and I've still been having a fair amount of fun with small wagers at the college. (a tip, do NOT bet against me in billiards)

( I think) I've managed to pick up a copy of Hellgate London...I know it got a bad rap, but I've played the demo to hell and back, and it seems like something I'd really like. The main unfortunate casuality of college has been gaming, as the PC I normally played on is not here with me...and thus I will have to wait to play Hellgate, on a good note, it has pushed me to find free (and therefore less likely to need highpowered hardware) games online.

One of the gems I have stumbled upon is Wesnoth. It is a simple, turn-based, fantasy strategy game. You play it on a hex-board with one of a number of factions, each having similar, but different, unit selections. The main fun seems to stem from persistance in matches (and across whole campaigns) with units gaining in experience with each fight and kill, and becoming stronger units (with branching paths) over time. Its nice to think that you actually get to mold your army to what you want...from balanced forces to extremes like all-cavalry armies. Additionally, it forces you to protect and heal your higher end units, because you can't just turn around and replace them like in other games. Most certainly worth a look if you like strategy games.

Anyways, enough ranting and raving for now, maybe next time I can regale you with a tale of drunken delight. (no, I wasn't drunk, a guy I know...drunk barely even covers it :P)

"Little Johnny was a chemist, now he is no more, for what he thought was H2O, was H2SO4." - Someone...wish I knew