Archive
It’s Been a Strange Two Years
My last post on this blog was almost two years ago. That was coming out of PASS Summit 2019 and my last post recounted how much I enjoyed that experience. It was about the same time that we started hearing news of the COVID-19 virus. In late February 2020, I had the pleasure of attending SQL Saturday Tampa. It was a wonderful time. Sadly, it would be my last SQL Saturday.
The lockdown resulting from COVID-19 led to the demise of PASS. I won't go into detail here, but the lack of an in-person conference reduced revenue streams to the point that PASS was forced to declare bankruptcy. The day PASS ceased to exist was a sad one, but as many have said, PASS isn't the community, the community members are.
I have been incredibly fortunate to be a part of that community for 10 years. My involvement has provided immeasurable benefits, both personally and professionally. I have gotten jobs, presented across the country, and become friends with amazing people.
It is those benefits that have driven me to give back to the community. I've received so much -- and I'd never be able to pay it all back, but I'm sure going to try. The past two years have been strange and difficult in a lot of ways. Not being able to join the community in person is one of the most hardest things.
I am planning to become more active in the last days of 2021 and hope to hit my stride at the start of 2022. Watch this blog for posts and my first foray into video presentation.
I hope you are surviving and thriving in these strange times and hope to meet in person in the near future.
Big News, Part 2
I've been selected to present on Tools to Make Multi-Object Administration Easier at SQL Saturday 211 on April 13th. Many thanks to Ted Krueger (b|t) and the rest of the SQL Saturday Chicago folks. If you live in the Chicago area, I highly recommend registering. It is a free day of SQL Server training and is an excellent opportunity to meet other members of the SQL Server family.
At my first SQL Saturday in 2011, I was fortunate enough to attend Jes Borland's presentation Make Your Voice Heard! This was the first time I realized I might have something to offer the community. Two years later, I've been blogging for a year and am 2 months away from my first and second SQL Saturday presentations. Thanks Jes!
Life Gets in the Way and Upcoming Posts
As I've blogged before, Jes Borland (b|t) is the person who convinced me that I could write my own blog. When I told her I started she said, "Don't get down on yourself if life gets in the way of posting." Well, life has gotten in the way. I started a new job two weeks ago. After 13 years with my previous company, the last 5 as a DBA, it has been a big change. While I am tremendously grateful to my former colleagues for their help and support through the years, I am looking forward to the new challenge.
My new office is in the old Daily News Building, across the Chicago River from the Lyric Opera. The best part of the location is I can take the train to work, giving me an hour and a half of reading time every day. Here is the view from my train platform going home:
I will be posting about my experiences at my fourth PASS Summit next week. I've volunteered to host a group of first-time attendees and am really looking forward to it. If you are a first-timer, you can find some great information here.
If you are going to be in Seattle the Monday before the PASS Summit, I highly recommend registering for SQL in the City Seattle. I attended the event in Chicago and really enjoyed it. It is a free event sponsored by Redgate software. As a result, all of the presentations were Redgate-centric. However, each of the presenters I saw spoke about their topic (data and backup compression, maintenance, lifecycle management) from a general perspective and then drilled into Redgate Tools.
If you are attending the PASS Summit and see me, be sure and say hello. For all of the great technical content available, it is the strength of the community that keeps me coming back.
Chicago Data Professionals
