Passed!

Woohooo! I didn't get a stellar score (765), but I passed and it was with a fair enough margin, so I'm pleased.

I used
- CBT Nuggets videos - very good to get a base knowledge, and gave me some background info on Mac networks which came in very handy on the exam
- Anthony Chiarella's "Network+ Self Study Guide" - I read this as my intro to networking; very light book and good for someone just starting out on the subject matter; used it as a precursor to my "big heavy" book which was...
- Tamara Dean's "Network+ 2005 In Depth" - I liked this book a lot. It went into more detail (hence the "In Depth" part of the title) and was great for helping me to understand the topics better. I bought the "kit" which included flashcards (barely used them but they would be good for beginners) & practice exams (which didn't work right & wouldn't update on my Vista machines, phooey!)
- study guides & practice exams from Techexams.net & ProProfs (from users & the site itself)

On the test today, I seriously got questions from all over the objectives, and even a couple (2-3) that I swear weren't on the objectives, but hey what can ya do. You name it, I got a question on it. Mac, Unix, Novell, Windows, cables, connectors, protocols, ports, subnetting & IP addressing, tools, network diagnostics, troubleshooting different NOS's & different physical connection types, etc. I really think I got at least one question from every single sub-topic in the objectives.

The first half was tough, and I marked a LOT of questions to review. I was surprised at some of the questions, even muttering "WHAAA..." during the exam. Thankfully, I was alone for those parts of the exam, so no one else was in the room to see me making funny faces at the screen & talking to myself a little!

I did have "company" during the last quarter or so of my exam, and it made me want to put a new rule on the "certification exam etiquette list" (if there is such a thing): DO NOT WEAR PERFUME WHEN YOU GO FOR AN EXAM! I happen to be allergic to most perfumes (headaches, nausea, fun!) and so I started to gag a bit when two women walked into the very very very small testing room (3 desks), each of them wearing gobs of perfume. One was a site employee, one was a student. Pleh. It stunk in there, and I finished up as quickly as I could to get away from the stank. I used my scarf as a face mask & plowed through the rest of the test.

Anywho, thanks to those who wished me luck. Next for me is probably 290/291 so I can complete MCSA 2003, but I'm taking some time off to bask in the certifiable goodness before I start studying again...

On to the celebrations!!