Thursday, December 23, 2010

CISSP results

I got my results for the CISSP exam several weeks ago. Now I'm just waiting to put my endorsement paperwork in because I'm right on the borderline for the amount of experience... :(

I also took the CISA exam this December, so I was busy studying for that. There is a ton of overlap in material, but there's more of an emphasis on governance and audit.Hopefully I have good news at the end of January.It seems it takes then 6 weeks for results.

A lot of my colleagues have asked me how I had studied for the CISSP like what study materials did I use, what practice questions did I use, and were the practice questions similar to the the exam. Perhaps I should put together a couple of posts on that....:)

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

CISSP results and reward

I got my CISSP results yesterday.....drumroll please....And I passed! I promised myself that I'd reward myself with an iPad that I'd use as an e-book for me to study for the CISA this winter and for all the other stuff that people use the iPad for.

Monday, October 18, 2010

CISSP results....still waiting

I'm still waiting on my results for my CISSP exam. It's been just more than 4 weeks and I should be getting them any day now. Hopefully I will have something to celebrate.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

I'm Free!

Took the CISSP exam on Saturday. It took me 4 hours with probably 45 minutes of review time.  But now I can actually do more interesting/enjoyable things with my time.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Exam certs are like marathons

With my CISSP exam coming up this weekend, I was thinking about the exam. I realized that preparing for the exam itself is very similar to training for a marathon. Granted I've only done one marathon but the experience has stayed with me (for better or for worse)
  • A marathon training plan is typically 18 weeks ~4.5 months with a decent amount of conditioning.
    Exam prep takes 18+ weeks of consistent studying.
  • With a marathon, never ever ignore your long run. It is what helps you get ready for the full race distance.
    With the exam, taking multiple full length exams will help you get a feel for the types of questions and the amount of questions and help you ration your time.
  • Most marathon training plans have the last 2 weeks as taper weeks with low mileage. My last two weeks before the exam have been relatively light so as to not stress myself out too much.
  • Commitment-Both obviously take lots of commitment to do well with.
  • Relief-once you're done you feel so relieved.

If I go any further, I'll just be stretching the analogy.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

39 Days left till CISSP

There are 38 days left till I take the CISSP. Its not that the material is hard that has me worried, but that there's so much of it. And between life, work, and studying it's hard to make sure I don't take a detour and get lost in between the various large chunks of important things.

If you're studying for the CISSP I'd recommend using the website cccure.org. Its a great resource for practice questions.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

IT Risk position update

I've been in this role for roughly 3 months now and I'm enjoying it so far. It's kept me challenged and busy the entire time. In my prior roles, I haven't had that. I'm also studying for the CISSP, so that's eating up my free time, but I think it's a worthwhile investment. I've been involved with everything from reports development to working with vendors on security solutions. So this is a great position for a 20 something person that has an interest in IT Risk.

The confusion now is what direction do I want to go in. I mean do I want to focus on governance, resilience, or risk consulting?

That's the next question

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

HTC Droid Incredible

I've had my Droid Incredible for a couple of days so far. And so far it's been just that. Incredible. It's been pretty easy to use and set up/personalize.

I've been installing apps slowly-
  • foxyring-to turn off the ringer automatically at night
  • Meebo
  • Goggles
  • flixster-movies
  • google voice locations
  • layer
  • radardroid lite
  • shazam
  • urban spoon
  • wapedia
  • amazon
  • key ring
  • chicago transit tracker
More thoughts to come later

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

HTC Incredible

I ordered my HTC Incredible last week Monday afternoon. But unfortunately I haven't been able to find out if it's been shipped or when it will ship.

Thanks Verizon.

Friday, May 7, 2010

UPDATE:Transition to new role

So I started my new role about 3 weeks ago, and so far so good. I'm already getting exposure to the regular issues of the department like IT asset management, vulnerability and audit reporting, working with/pestering PMs on audit issue remediation.

 I'm also working through my transition plan. I did that after reading the First 90 Days. The book talks about how to be successful in any sort of new role.

A few books that I'm reading or in the process of reading that I have found to be interesting/helpful are:
  • The First 90 Days - Watkins, Harvard Business Press
  • The 7C's of Consulting- Mick Cope (e-book available on Safari/O'Reilly)
  • Managing the Unexpected, Weick, Sutcliffe, Jossey-Bass, part of the University of Michigan Business School Series
  • several Harvard Business Review readings such as
    Reclaim Your job-Ghosal and Bruch
    Managing your Boss -Gabarro and Kotter
    Managing One's Self-Drucker
Also it looks like I'm going to be taking the CISSP and the CISA by the end of the year. So I'm going to have a very, very busy year.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

my GTD/organization system

I think the most important way to understand an organization system is to map it out and figure out the gaps.

Tools
  • Cell phone-alarm clock, calendar for major events
  • Google calendar-Whenever I get a calendar invite on Lotus Notes at work, I post it to my Google Calendar so I can see what my week or day looks like when I'm not at work.
  • mind maps (software and hand drawn)  these are my to do lists and references. If I'm listening to a podcast and hear about a cool band or think of something that I need to do, then I add it to the mind map. I much prefer the hand drawn mindmap, but for storage and organization it becomes challenging so from time to time, I incorporate my hand drawn mind maps to a massive mind map done in Freemind. 
  • Post it notes-this is for the one-off additional info that doesn't need to make it to a page i.e. a reminder or a phone number with call in number for a conference call.
  • Dry erase board at home for major/critical to-do items
  • Blank paper to to-do list quick turnover items-tasks that will be complete that day. 
  • Color-highlighters/color ink to accent items in the to-do list. I try to only stick to a few colors or the colors themselves can become a distraction. 

Monday, April 12, 2010

Google Reader:Sort by magic

I noticed Sort by Magic as an option a couple of weeks ago.

Helps me get through my Greader feeds quicker. Saving stuff I want to read later and allowing me to skim headlines/articles on that I don't want to dig deeper in. allowing me to spend less time reading while reading more.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Transition to new role

I'm transitioning to a new role within my company. I'm moving from the application development area where I work as a Business Analyst to an IT Risk Management role within the same company. This is the field/career path that I really want to get into; but is very different from what I'm doing currently.

I'm excited but a bit scared. Because I'm a 20 something, and I'll be working with people that have a lot more experience than me and consulting on projects for them. I'm just afraid I won't be taken seriously, I guess that means I will have to work twice as hard to be effective.

My old manager has been very supportive of me making this change, but she's sad to see me leave after coming onto the project about 1 year ago.

My new manager is having me put together my transition plan based off of someone that recently joined the group and the organization and tweak it according to my needs. He also had me read a couple of books: The First 90 Days and Career Warfare. I highly recommend The First 90 Days, though Career Warfare is a much easier read.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Shamrock Shuffle

I ran Shamrock Shuffle last weekend. It wasn't as cold as last year. Also the route was a little different, it didn't take us around lower Wacker Drive. My biggest worry for this race was that I was going to go out too fast being in Corral A. But my biggest problem was in fueling. I had 1/2 a banana an hour before the race so I cramped during the entire race. I should have known that was going to happen. My splits were 7:03, 7:25, 7:23, 7:17. I'm going off of my official splits as opposed to the splits from my Garmin watch. Since we went under bridges, and the Aon Center,  I occasionally lost GPS signal.

I ended up running a 36:28, a PR by over 2 minutes. Not bad considering I didn't run a ton over the winter, especially after going to India.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Not happy with phone

So I'm pissed off with my phone. It turns off randomly. It once turned off when I was taking down a number. I guess it gives me the excuse of getting a new phone. I'm looking at either the Motorola Droid or the HTC Eris. I'm leaning towards the Droid because it's got a faster processor and Verizon just released Android 2.1 for it, which is the newest firmware. :) 

Friday, March 12, 2010

Stereogum: indie music reviews and news

I just discovered Stereogum for my indie music news, reviews, and samples from the comments of a Gizmodo article. I'm checking it out, but I don't know how it compares to Pitchfork for national level news, but I'll keep y'all posted.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Fast Track blogging

I'm now going to be blogging at the Fast Track Racing Team's Unofficial Blog (here).

Let's just hope I have the time to keep up with both.

Shoe review: Saucony Fastwitch4

I was debating between buying Saucony's Fastwitch4's or their lighter A3 shoes. The store I tried them on at didn't carry the A3, so I wouldn't be able to try them on before ordering, but they had the Fastwitch4's. The one thing that concerns me especially with racing flats is the width of my feet. I don't wear wides, but I'm almost right on the border. So sizing would have been tricky. When I tried them on and got on the treadmill at the store, the fit was awesome, they had a decent amount of support and were light.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Hustle up the hancock

I recently did Hustle up the Hancock (Feb 28th) in Chicago. It's a stair climb to the top of the Hancock Tower.

I did it in 17:55. I feel okay about my time, but I think I should have at least done it in 16:20 or so. I got stuck behind some people around the 40th floor. Also I'd only really been training for about a month-one of my friends wasn't able to do it, so I took over for them.


Image credit (Flickr:Globetrotter 2000)

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

How would I describe myself

I saw this posted on twitter (Nerds, Dorks, Geeks, and cool dudes.) While I found the article interesting it doesn't have enough classification to people that are experts or obsessed with a given field, have the brains, and the social skills so they don't fall flat on their face interacting with people on a given basis.

As I was reading the article, I was trying to figure out where I applied in the whole mess. The best way I'd describe myself is someone that is :
  1. Into sports-granted I don't compete or watch the usual sports regularly. I like running and playing Ultimate Frisbee. I'm not even that fast of a runner, but I am getting faster.
  2. I think I'm smart and I'm told I'm pretty smart, but I'm never quite sure (see Imposter Syndrome). I love reading and learning about random topics. I also like sharing whatever I learn (maven)
  3. I'm pretty fashionable for a guy. I consider myself a metrosexual, but I'm not effeminately fashionable.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Reading list

I just subscribed to GQ, something I've been meaning to do for a long time. I actually had been trying to decide between Details, Esquire, and GQ. All of them are similar but have subtle differences. I saw a deal on GQ for a 2 year subscription. Amazon made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

I love reading both online and in-print. I actually prefer print. I find large amounts of text on a screen are hard on the eyes. I think that's the appeal of the Nook and the Kindle.

Monday, January 18, 2010

New Years Resolutions

  1. Running more-I'd like to PR at the 8k and Half Marathon distance
  2. doing my CISSP
  3. Practice my German more-There are immersion groups in the area and use pen pals in a German speaking country (letternet.de)
  4. keep in better contact with relatives and past connections from old jobs and stuff
  5. build a better relationship with my fraternity chapter and the graduate advisory group
  6. invest more aggressively
  7. Use Kiva more
  8. Blog more frequently
  9. Get organized
  10. Get into hardware hacking and diy electronics projects
I came up with these several weeks ago but I just finalized them.