In the end though it might be wise to hedge a bit and at least buy some of your options as you go if you believe the company is worth something eventually.
I was stunned by just how many of the long-time employees had no understanding of stock options. One was actually flabbergasted to learn that each funding round was creating new shares and diluting the value of existing ones; he thought the founders were selling their own shares to raise the money!
The ignorance was due in part to the company being in a region where startups and stock options are not common. Another big factor was willful deception by the founders, who had been promising to start the IPO process for three years, and frequently estimated that their IPO valuation would be equivalent to Facebook's.
However, and I don't know how to put this more kindly, but I can't help but wonder if you understood how options work while employed at the company?
A simple technique to avoid having to quickly come up with a lump sum is to set aside enough money to excercise your options as you accumulate them.
In this case putting aside $4,250/year earmarked for exercising your stock options would have allowed you to save the $34k required.