Voice of the DBA

Tag: speaking

  • Saying No – Feb 28 and Mar 28

    I hate skipping events. If I could, I’d go to all SQL Saturdays each year, but I can’t make them all, and I can’t travel every weekend. I can’t really travel two weeks in a row as it puts stress on my and my family, and with our busy lives, it takes me away from the precious little time I have with them.

    This year I’ve already missed the annual trip to Albuquerque. It comes up on Feb 7, but I’ll be flying back from the UK that day, so I can’t make it. I’m disappointed as the drive down, a day of skiing at Taos, and seeing the wonderful hosts in New Mexico is something I look forward to. Hopefully I’ll go back in 2015.

    I’ve also got two other dates that are out. My apologies as I’ve told a few people I’d try to make their events, but I can’t travel on Feb 28 or Mar 28. That means I’m not going to make:

    I’d say I’m missing Vienna as well, and if I could, I’d go there and ski, but I was tempted by Pordeone and a weekend with my wife in Italy. However I have a few kid events, and my trip to SQL Bits involves a stay into the following week, so adding 3-4 more days isn’t something I can (or want to) do.

    In March, my kids are on vacation and with some family coming into town, I can’t travel then, either.

    This year seems to have a strange schedule to it. Not many events spread out, with most of them being bunched up into a few dates this spring. That limits my flexibility, but that’s a me problem, not anyone else’s issue. However it does mean that I don’t get to see as much of the amazing SQL Server community this spring. As of now, I don’t have any SQL Saturdays in the first quarter.

    I’m still planning April and May, and I’m hoping to get to a few other events. I’m also hoping we’ll see a few more SQL Saturdays pop up and I’ll still get to 10 this year.

  • SQL Bits XIV

    I’m heading back to London for SQL Bits XIV in March. This is my favorite conference, and I’m excited and honored to be selected to present.

    This year the conference goes to four days, and it’s an amazing set of sessions being offered at a very reasonable price. You can get a full day of expert level training on Wednesday and Thursday if you like. Friday is very low cost, and Saturday is free. Thursday also has a few side sessions if you’d like to attend a variety of different things during the day.

    I’ll be presenting Thur afternoon and Friday afternoon if you’d like to see me, but please feel free to stop my, shake my hand, and say hi at any time. I should be at the venue early Thur and the rest of the conference until Sat late afternoon. My sessions hare:

    • Branding Yourself for a Dream Job – Thur, 4:00pm
    • Get Testing with tSQLt – Friday, 5:00pm.

    That doesn’t leave me a lot of time for Friday night’s preparations, so perhaps I’ll preview my costume early.

    Superheroes

    One of the best parts of SQL Bits is that there is a themed party every Friday night, and everyone’s invited to have fun. I participated in the medieval theme a few years ago, but wasn’t ready for Steampunk last fall.

    However I’m ready for 2015. I’ve ordered a costume, with time to change something if things aren’t fitting properly.

    I’m excited to see what people choose, and it should be great fun in London this March.

    This really is a great event. Lots to learn, lots of fun, and a casual atmosphere that I rarely see elsewhere. I thank the SQL Bits team for their hospitality and I look forward to another first class event.

  • Speaking Stats

    I was updating my speaking schedule and CV, trying to get an idea of what might be planned for 2015. As I was doing so, I decided to do a quick count of events and talks to see where I was last year. Last year was tough, and I need to find a way to better balance life and travel in 2015.

    What I found surprised me. While I attended 26 events and gave 46 talks, that was down from the previous year. The numbers are:

    Year Events Talks
    2008 2 2
    2009 2 2
    2010 7 10
    2011 13 21
    2012 17 33
    2013 30 54
    2014 26 45

    I found 2014 to be a hard travel year, with quite a few trips out of town. However I think the main problem was that much of my travel was compressed. I didn’t travel for a few long stretches, including a 6 week stretch when I had surgery, which meant that other travel was compacted into a few short periods. Sept and Oct were particularly hard.

    I was surprised at how few events I’d had in 2010 and prior. I would have thought my load increased more linearly, but it hadn’t. Certainly in 2010, my daughter was still in elementary school, my wife was working full time for a corporation and traveling quite a bit, my middle son was starting middle school, and my oldest was graduating. 2011 freed up some time, and made it easier for me to travel. 2012 was the year when my life left her job, making things much easier for me to schedule trips.

    I suspect 2015 will be more like 2014, though I hope to spread the travel out. I’ll be speaking in at least one new country, which is exciting for me.

  • SQL Konferenz

    I’ve spoken at lots of events, but all in the US and the UK. Next year I get my first talk outside of those locations, going to the SQL Server Konferenz near Frankfurt, Germany.

    The agenda is up, and I’ll be talking testing and tSQLt there, and it’s cool to see my name up there. I’m also glad to see the UK flag there to note I’ll be presenting in English.

    konferenz

    Fingers crossed that things go well.