Voice of the DBA

Tag: life

  • A Few Days Off in Space Country

    The new Star Wars film opens today, and while I won’t see it then, perhaps I’ll get to it early next week in the shadow of the US space program.

    My middle son is in his last year of high school before he goes off to college and as his birthday present in 2015, I’m taking him down to Florida and Cape Canaveral for 4 days. We leave early tommorrow, not returning to Denver until late Tuesday.

    A couple days of vacation for me, and hopefully some memories for my son. He was there a long time ago, at 2, so he doesn’t remember much. However he’s interested in flight and space, and looking to study aeronautical engineering in college, so this is a treat for him. In fact, when we were talking about where to take him, his eyes lit up when I suggested this trip.

    It will be an interesting trip, with the chance to visit the Kennedy Space Center, meet an astronaut, and study some of the history of US space travel in person.

    I’m also excited to go. Not that I want to go into space, at least not until they get artificial gravity, but I find the subject fascinating and I felt rushed the last time I visited. It will be nice to be able to spend time and not hurry around as we get the chance to vacation together.

    Enjoy your weekend, and I’ll see you briefly next week before I close down for the year.

  • Graduation – An Exciting Day

    It’s quite an exciting day for me today. My oldest son graduated college this morning, finishing his Bachelor’s degree and beginning the next phase of his life.

    I’m quite proud of him and just wanted to put a few memories of him down related to data. He was the first kid in our household to seriously use a computer for school, and while his younger siblings are much more comfortable with computing than he is, we had some good times.

    • Setting up a networked computer and trying to limit access to various topics and sites on the Internet (a complete fail, BTW)
    • Reinstalling OSes for him after various viruses or other sites rendered computers unusable.
    • Discovering all my bandwidth was gone as my son found the wonders if BitTorrent.
    • Buying him a computer for Christmas, the first time I’d done that for someone.
    • Helping him learn some SQL as he studied GIS in college.

    It’s been an amazing time watching him grow, learn, and mature into an adult.

  • Thankful in November

    I’m taking a short break from technical talk today to spend a few minutes thinking about life. My wife started the Thankfulness challenge in November, and while I didn’t participate, I’ve been thinking about life as I watch her posts.

    This is a career and learning blog, and much of my life has been about growing my career. However I’ve also had many things outside of my career that are important to me and occupy much of my time. My wife, my kids, my health and fitness, and various hobbies keep me busy, not to mention occasionally filling in as the ranch hand for my wife. I even got some unexpected, but very appreciated thanks this week.

    However there is something that I was amazed by this week. The outpouring of support for my call to make a #sqlwish come true was incredible. I was truly touched that so many people came together and donated money that allowed us to raise the entire amount in a day. Not even a day. This is one of those things that makes me think the SQL Server community, the #sqlfamily, is truly a special and amazing thing.

    Life is Hard

    I do struggle at times with the overall load. I struggle with stress at times. I have plenty of guilt when I’m away from home and something happens. I definitely find that I don’t always have the time I’d like for myself amid all the chaos in life.

    However I’m very lucky. I have a wonderful wife I love dearly. I have three kids, well two kids and an adult child, that are all healthy and successful in life. I have a good job that I enjoy. My family is financially secure. We don’t really have any complaints, and I definitely appreciate all that I have. I truly do try to stop and think about the amazing times I’ve had. I use Timehop to revisit memories in my life. I stop as I travel and reflect on the good and bad I see, while considering how I can leave the world a little better than what I found.

    I wrote about a fundraiser yesterday, trying to make a #sqlwish come true. I can’t imagine for a moment how my life would be different, or how much things would change if someone in my family were sick. I can’t really imagine the situation, and my heart goes out to Lucy and her family.

    As great as it’s been to make the wish come true, I also would like you to reflect a moment on the good things in your life. Your family, your health, your beliefs, the people around you, I’m sure there is some good around you. Stop for a minute and give thanks.

    I do hope that all of you reading this are well, and you are able to create a great career doing something you love. I will help where I can, and hopefully SQLServerCentral does that. However I know that life isn’t always easy or smooth. I hope that when you experience tough times that you have someone to help pull you through. If you really need an ear, the #sqlfamily is great. On Twitter, or in our wild and wacky thread, there are plenty willing to listen.

  • Make a #SQLWish Come True

    A few weeks ago I was sitting in Farestart at the annual Friends of Redgate dinner when my eyes teared up. The waiter was explaining the mission of the organization, and I was proud that Redgate chooses to support them. However I was also touched that people choosing to help others when there is so much pain, strife, and suffering in the world. I’m glad the speech was short or I would have had a wet napkin.

    I have been lucky in life. I’ve had career success, my family is healthy, and we really don’t have any problems in the world. The difficulties we have are really minor annoyances compared to what so many must deal with. I suspect many of you are in similar situations, working in technology and making a good living. However not that’s not the case for everyone.

    We have a prominent member of the #sqlfamily whose child, Lucy, has been sick with a life threatening illness. Mark Broadbent has spent the last few years volunteering his time, helping with the user group and SQL Saturday in Cambridge, UK. He has volunteered to speak and write about SQL Server. I would venture to guess that some portion of you have been helped by Mark’s willingness to share his knowledge. At the same time Mark and his wife, Lorraine, have been dealing with Lucy’s struggles at home.

    I’d like to make a wish come true for Lucy and her family. Lucy loves Disney, and I’d like to send the entire family to Walt Disney World in Florida. This is a gift, a gift for a person in our community, a gift that will bring some joy after all they’ve been through.

    I’m asking you to join me. I’m asking you to donate funds to help us bring the Broadbents from their home in the UK to the US for a vacation, for a break from the strife in their lives. Lucy is doing well, but she has a long road ahead, and I’d like to bring some joy to a little one that didn’t deserve the struggles she’s faced. I’m asking you to show some love for a member of the #sqlfamily that could really use it.

    I’ve set up a fundraiser on YouCaring.com, and started off the donations with $200 of my own money. I rarely attach my name to donations, but in this case, I’m hoping to inspire a few of you to join me in trying to raise the $15,000 this will cost.

    Whatever you can give is appreciated. $5, the cost of a coffee, or maybe the $10 cost of a quick lunch, or more if I’ve touched you. Maybe a few of you might even get your company wants to participate. Every bit helps, and we’d very much appreciate your generosity.

    I’m asking you to pause in your life when you read this. Imagine your child were sick, or a niece or nephew, or even the child of a good friend. Imagine the worry about the child’s future. Imagine the stress from bills and the struggles as you try to somehow work while a child suffers at home or in the hospital.

     

    Now reflect on your good fortune.

     

    Join me in showing the world just how amazing the #sqlfamily can be and make Lucy’s #sqlwish come true.

    View the fundraiser at Youcaring

    UPDATE: Thank you very much for your support. We achieved our goal in one day and I’m am so proud of the #sqlfamily out there. On behalf of the Broadbents, thank you for your generosity and support.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcast

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