Voice of the DBA

Tag: life

  • A Lost Day

    I’m not sure what happened, but I had some sort of stomach bug yesterday. I was up throughout the night in the wee hours of Monday with cramps in my stomach or intestines and feeling miserable. Slightly better at 7:30am, I got up and tried to work. Even made some coffee, got a large glass of water and then realized at 9 that I couldn’t work. Lots of painful cramps, and I’d only managed a few sips of coffee and decided to go back to bed.

    I could have tried to work some, but it was a struggle to concentrate on anything, so I lay in bed, reading a bit, but mostly trying to sleep away my misery. With a long weekend coming up (6 day holiday) and then a trip to the UK the following weekend for SQL in the City, I didn’t need this. In fact, I couldn’t really spare the day as I need to prep SQLServerCentral for my time away along with reviewing and editing my presentation.

    However life gets in the way. I could have stressed and tried to work last night, but I decided that I needed to get better and rest, and I did get to spend a little time with my little girl. She was happy to watch a movie and snuggle in the afternoon with Dad, and so I tried to enjoy that.

    Work isn’t smooth. It has bumps, there are times that I need to work long hours to get things done, working late into the night or the weekends. So I’ve learned to relax and not worry about those days that I need a break as well.  Finding that balance in work and life is important, and health is one of those areas that I think work needs to take a backseat to.

  • Life is Short

    Dave McIntosh, RIP

    I woke up on Easter morning to an email. A good friend, someone I’ve known for years as a fellow parent in both Girl and Boy Scouts, had

    passed away on Saturday in a plane crash. It was shocking news, made even more sad knowing his family had been present and had seen the crash. My friend, David McIntosh, is survived by his wife and four children and may he rest in peace.

    Over the last few years I have written quite a bit on taking charge of your career, on making an effort to improve your technical skills, and learning to better market yourself. My goal has been to inspire and motivate others to pursue a vocation they enjoy.  I have noted many times that life is too short to take a crappy job, and if you find yourself in such a situation, take steps to make a change.

    Along the way I hav

    e also tried to caution people to find a balance in their lives. Remember that while you invest for the future, you should also live for today.

    Enjoy your life, and embrace it. Smell the roses, and look for the positive side to situations.

    Life can be short. I was reminded of that this weekend in a shocking way.  I hope that you all enjoy long, healthy, successful , and happy lives. I also hope that you remember to appreciate and enjoy the good parts of your lives every day.

    Steve Jones

    My apologies for the lack of a podcast today. The audio and video podcasts will return tomorrow.

  • Enjoy Your Life

    A sad weekend, and shocking news Sunday morning. I was out running errands when I checked email and found out a friend had been killed in a plane crash on Saturday afternoon. He was a Boy Scout and Girl Scout leader, someone who I have gotten to know quite well, our kids have played together, and we’ve camped at various events together, sharing lots of cooking duties and conversations. He was one of the people I know very well from Scouts. My heart goes out to his family, who were present at the airfield when the plane crashed. I couldn’t imagine being there to see my spouse die.

    I was in a bit of a daze yesterday morning, and tired to work through the day, helping them to enjoy an Easter holiday, but it was hard. Tia and I talked about it quite a bit, and were both grateful and thankful for all we have.

    A few days earlier, I had watched this short piece from a man that survived the Hudson River crash last year. It’s worth 5 minutes of your life, and it resonates with me, more so than it did last week.

    Three things I learned while my plane crashed

     

    My wife and I have talked bout dying a few times, and being prepared. I have lived a great life, and I’m comfortable with experiencing and achieving so much in my 43 years on Earth. I don’t want to die, and I’d like to see my kids grow up and have families, but I think I’ve had a great life so far with few regrets.

    I’d like to do more things in my life, and I’d like to go places and experience new things. I invest for the future, in different parts of my life, but I seek to enjoy myself as much as I can each day. I strive for a balance.

    My editorial today talked about my loss, and tried to remind people that life is short. We should look for that balance, and enjoy our lives as much as we can. As mentioned in the video, don’t try to be right as often as you try to be happy. If you want to improve a part of your life, whether that’s family, career, or something else, start taking the steps to make that improvement. It might take time, but today is the first day of the rest of your life, and it’s a good time to start going in the direction you want to go.

  • Work Isn’t the Most Important Thing

    brokenpipe_cI had quite an adventure today, away from work. We had a pipe freeze in the house, a sick kid, and then a plumber call when the pipe broke. All in all, with school closed and kids home, I haven’t gotten much work done. My wife ended up also missing a bunch of work at a busy time. I leave for Cleveland Friday morning, so it’s already a short week and that adds to the stress.

    But that happens. Life gets in the way of work, and there are times you need to let things go. I know there are friends that have gotten off of work this week because of the weather, and I’ve had companies close. When I lived in Virginia, we closed the office sometimes with hurricanes or strong storms, helping employees to manage their lives outside of work. I’ve helped hang plywood and even get boats out of the water in preparation for the storm.

    I think that a part of what business has to include is social responsibility. It can come with benefits like goodwill that come from donating back to schools, but I think that the highest level of profit you can make is not the way business should be run. You should consider what helps your employees, what helps your community, and what is the best way to integrate your company into the world outside of your profit.

    Hopefully your employer understands that.