Voice of the DBA

Tag: travel

  • On the Road at SQL Bits

    I may try to blog, but I know this is a busy week. I’m leaving today for England and SQL Bits. Actually I fly to London and then spend a day there before training across to Wales with colleagues.

    By my CV, this is my seventh trip to SQL Bits, and I’m excited to go back. It is my favorite conference, and I love that I can see friends from all over the world. The Summit in Seattle and MVP Summit also get worldwide attendees, but Bits gets a neat mix of many speakers and attendees I don’t see elsewhere.

    I’ll try to post some pix and notes from the event, though I know it will be a busy week.

  • A Big Year for Travel

    I do tend to travel a good amount as my kids have gotten older. The pandemic slowed things for a year, but only then. Someone remarked on this year being a lot of trips, and it has been. Not the most ever, but the most fun ever.

    I decided to look at the travel numbers for the last few years, and see how this compares. Here are my trip numbers, for both business and personal, as best as I can tell.

    • 2013- 18
    • 2014 -17
    • 2015 – 17
    • 2016 – 16
    • 2017 – 15
    • 2018 – 20
    • 2019 – 23
    • 2020 – 1 (Las Vegas for my wife’s birthday, as the pandemic was starting)
    • 2021 – 11
    • 2022 – 23

    Looking at this, 2022 ties the biggest year, but it didn’t feel as bad as 2013-2105.I don’t have exact numbers, but I know I was closer to 30 trips those years and felt more burned out.

    I think because we have some fantastic vacations (Bruge, Hawaii, Venice, Lisbon) plus 3 volleyball trips and 3 trips to see my daughter in college.

    Hopefully 2023 will turn out to be just as big and exciting with more places that we’ll visit and enjoy.

  • The Last Trip of 2022

    It’s the last trip for me today. I head to the UK for a few work things and then my wife is coming over to take a quick vacation to Portugal.

    A hard life, I know.

    In any case, I’m excited to go back to the UK and see colleagues and friends. Should be an exciting two weeks for me out of the country.

  • Off to the Summit and SQL Saturday Oregon

    I’m traveling this morning. My second to last trip of the year, and another long one. Today through the 20th I’ll be in Portland and Seattle.

    First is Portland, where I’m seeing lots of friends and speaking at SQL Saturday Oregon & SW Washington 2022. I have been to Portland for a few SQL Saturdays, and I’m glad to see one coming back to the area. This was one of the first locations for SQL Saturdays back in 2009, and they’ve had quite a few since then.

    Then a first time event for me, the #sqltrain. A few years ago Chris Hyde and a few others decided to go to Portland for the SQL Saturday before the Summit and then take the train up to Seattle. I’ve never done this, usually because I avoided long trips when my kids were kids. However, this time I am excited to join the ride up Sunday.

    Sunday night through the following Sunday are in Seattle for the Data Community Summit. It’s a busy week for me and I have a lot of small speaking things, so I’m going to be running around a bit and rehearsing. With a pre-con on Tuesday, I’m going to be reviewing things Sun and Mon, as well as working on the day 2 keynote. When I’m not working on stuff, I hope to be in the Community Zone to talk about SQL Saturday and general community stuff with whoever walks by.

    Fri night through Sun my wife is coming, so I’m looking forward to a dinner out and a night over on Bainbridge Island as a mini-vacation.