Voice of the DBA

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.

Today’s tip is to look for things that bring you a sense of awe and wonder.

I was lucky enough to be in Lake Tahoe recently.

We live in Colorado, and the drive from Reno to Tahoe looks a lot like Colorado, albeit with taller trees, the lake area is very different from anything we have.

While me and the team I coach were enjoying the view, I was in awe of the size of the lake, the mountains rising around us, and the whitecaps in the lake on a windy April afternoon. Truly an amazing part of nature.

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.

Today’s tip is to be grateful for the little things.

I went to the Van Gogh experience last fall. It looked interesting to me and when I mentioned it, my wife bought tickets. It was a fantastic time and for someone that isn’t all that interested in art, I felt the cost and time were well worth the experience.

Since then I’ve downloaded some wallpaper and use it on my desktop. Actually, I have three monitors, so I choose a couple pictures, a work from Van Gogh, and the coping calendar as rotating backgrounds.

The fact I can do that, I can leave up a piece of art on my desktop, and that we have amazing creative artists that produce work for us is something for which I am very grateful.

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.

Today’s tip is to what values are important to you? Find ways to use them today.

I value hard work, openness and honesty, service, and kindness. I used all of these recently in a few ways.

Hard work – I had a few days off, and a slack day, but I needed to make up some work. Both because I believe in being a professional and because I have a lot to do lately before travel. I guess it also counts that I have a 2nd job as a youth sports coach, so I spend a lot of time over the winter doing that. Sometimes going from 7am to 10pm on practice days.

Openness and Honesty – Not a fun job, but I’ve had to deal with some Code of Conduct issues with SQL Saturday. I decided to be an adult and inform a couple of people personally that they were not welcome at any events. That day sucked, but I think being open and honest is important.

Service – I think we all ought to volunteer and help others where and when we can. I’ve been mentoring a few people in different ways to help with their careers. I continue to try and run SQL Saturday, which eats up some of my personal time, but I think it’s important to help the SQL Community move forward.

Kindness – A couple people, family and friends, have had some tough times. Some they’ve brought on themselves. I am only here to listen and support them. I try to show kindness and not judgment more often than not. I wish I did this all the time, but I don’t know I’ve learned how to do that.