Voice of the DBA

Tag: travel

Memories from SQL Saturday Orlando 2021

A few memories from this past weekend, during the first live SQL Saturday event in the US this year.

I’ve had plenty of plane flights this year, actually this was my 10th trip in 2021. However, most of those have been for personal reasons and with my wife. This was one of the few my myself, and the first where I was flying to an event by myself. I spent a few minutes reflecting on how often I’ve done this, how my first SQL Saturday was in Orlando, and how much I’ve missed this.

The morning of the event, I drove over from across the street. It was lightly raining, and while I knew roughly where things were, I’ve missed seeing these signs.

An older logo, but this still works. This brings back memories of setting up for the evnet in Denver, and being glad that we had signs arrows pointing both ways and trying to get sorted out to put the right sign in the right spot to point to the event. We messed that up a few times.

Registration was quiet. I am a little sad about that, but I understand a few things. Likely some people were busy with kids, thinking about Halloween the next day (or that night). Some were nervous or not ready for events, and some thought this was virtual. All fine with me.

Glad to see @sqlgene there.

The rooms were small, and a minor hiccup. The screen fabric was supposed to tape up, but the fabric walls didn’t work. Fortunately, the hotel had magnets. Who knew, the walls were steel.

I had never met Jean Joseph, but I was impressed with his efforts this year to help the community. He ran a Data Saturday, then did the Future Data Driven event. I was impressed with his work, effort, and enthusiasm.

A real pleasure to meet him in person.

There were a few vendors there, but it was good to see the interaction. Even with a smaller crowd, it seemed that plenty of people stopped by to chat with them. Shawn Myers here, from Tintri, talking with Patrick, one of the attendees.

It was great to see friends from the past. Jamey Johnston drove down and joined us to deliver a Power BI and Row Level Security talk.

I got to talk with him a bit as well. Jamey is a friend and one of the few people I’ve hung out with away from events. We have had a couple ski trips together and are hoping to get another one this season.

I had the chance to also catch up with Kendal Van Dyke, Microsoft employee, and a friend I’d see both in Florida and Colorado at times. It’s been too long and I was glad to see Kendal come and support the event.

Catching up with fellow speakers is always a pleasure. I don’t know when I last saw Kevin Feasel in person, but I do remember sitting in the top of a double decker bus in Cambridge with him, driving to an after event dinner a few years ago, and I miss the chances to sit and chat with him and others.

Aaron Cutshall is another speaker I’ve run into all over the country and I have no idea when the last time was, but it has definitely been too long.

I caught up with fellow SQL Saturday board member, Taiob Ali as well, and I loved his excitement about the event. Hopefully I’ll get the chance to come see him at an event in Boston sometime in 2022.

I missed taking a picture with Rob Volk, and I’m sorry. He is a dear friend that I’ve literally seen all over the world. The US, Europe, the UK, and Australia as well. We got the chance to have breakfast Sunday morning before I left, and as usual, it was another memorial few moments, too short, but very enjoyable.

I also updated the About page on SQL Saturday, as I realized Rob had crossed 100 events as a speaker. Contrats to him!!!! Please let him know as he’s volunteered his time and effort to teach and inspire people all over the world.

A quick trip, Friday afternoon to Sunday morning, and a nice view as I left Orlando. I enjoy taking pictures coming in and out of cities, and then seeing if I can recognize them years later when they pop up at memories.

Another great set of memories, and inspirational to think about going this more often in the future. A few people were excited about the future and looking forward to helping more events come about in 2022.

November 2, 2021
A Live Conference Experience at Data Minds Connect 2021

Last week I was privileged to attend a live conference in Belgium. dataMinds Connect 2021 took place in Mechelen, just outside of Brussels. I had submitted months ago, was accepted, but didn’t know I’d actually get to go until late September. However, I was glad I went.

A Normal Experience

I’ve been able to live parts of my life across the last year, but many things were limited in some way. Either I couldn’t do some activity I expected, or everyone was masked and separated. I’m grateful for what I could do, even with restrictions, but I’ve missed the world since 2019. The exception for me was a volleyball tournament in Orlando in June. It was a busy convention center without masks; the type of event I went to regularly the last few years.

dataMinds Connect 2021 was the first normal work event I’d attended since SQL Saturday #910 in Slovenia. This was a good sized event, 400+ people, and it felt good. People were interacting with each other, able to shake hands, see each other talking, and recognizing faces was a great experience.

I enjoyed being able to chat with people in person, watch body language, meet new friends and see ones that I’ve missed.

There were multiple sessions during the day, with 15 minute breaks for coffee or a snack. I got to speak in front of a good crowd, was able to see their reactions to my talk, and interact with them.

Communication and COVID Rules

I’ve had this event on my schedule for months, and I was happy with the way it was handled. Benni De Jaere (@BenniDeJagere) had emailed early with information on the event, venue, travel, and accommodations. A few months ago he contacted me again, asking if I was coming and giving guidance on the local restrictions.

Just before the event, we got another long email with all the details of what we needed to be concerned about, how to get tested, quarantine rules, etc.

While the event did not publish a specific policy, they did note they were deferring to local regulations. Since those can change, and even government sites can struggle to keep coordinated, this was fine for me. Grant (@gfritchey) and I were communicating, trying to decide the rules we needed to follow. I went through the border first, so I let him know about my experience and how to find the testing center and then our plans for quarantine.

Foreign travelers needed to be tested and show vaccine proof. From there, the city where the event was held (Mechelen) was fairly open. Brussels was more restricted, and I wore masks and abided by their rules while there.

I understand some people being concerned about safety under this pandemic. I don’t expect events to act differently than their local area. If they do, then they need their specific restrictions published. If not, then we are old enough to check the local guidelines and decide if those are acceptable to us.

Overall

I think Benni and his crew did a great job of setting up and running an event. Almost no one has done this in 18 months, and despite the delay, they smoothly handled a large crowd of people at entry and throughout the day.

I thoroughly enjoyed the event, the people, and the area. I had never been to Belgium before, but it’s on my list as a place to come back to in the future, hopefully at another dataMinds Connect.

October 25, 2021
Crossing Borders

I’m about to cross a country border for the first time in almost two years. I last left the United States in December 2019. Today I’m flying to Belgium for Data Minds Connect and then to the UK for some work in the office.

I’ll be in and out of touch for the next week as I adjust to travel, moving around, and a strange schedule. After being either in my home office or the Redgate Pasadena office for the last 22 months, I’m finally working and traveling to a different environment.

Next week the blog will be quiet, other than coping tips, as I navigate a familiar, but somewhat forgotten world.

Hopefully I have packed everything in my laptop bag, but if not, I’m sure I can purchase what I need.

Glad to be back to traveling, even with restrictions and hassles.

October 7, 2021
Missing SQL Bits

This week is SQL Bits week, which is taking place virtually over in the UK. Things are planned for UK time, and speakers are accommodating them. I had a webinar earlier in the with Grant at 930am my time, 1130 his. This was after he’d completed a 7.5 hour precon for Bits. He’s quite dedicated to both the company and sharing with others.

For a number of years, SQL Bits was the conference I looked forward to, planned on attending, and made sure to get submit early and promote my session. This is my favorite conference, and while I do enjoy going to most of them, I have always felt Bits, run by community members, was special, fun, and a highlight of my year.

Once again, I’m missing the event, and especially missing the chance to see and chat with lots of friends. The last couple years Bits has been in the March/April time frame, conflicting with my coaching commitments in the US. This year I had hoped the move to September would allow me to go, but alas, the UK is still in a lockdown, and I can’t spend 14 days in quarantine.

As I see the tweets and pictures from friends that are participating, I realize how much I miss the event and the interaction with others in the #sqlfamily. It’s sad to not have any events to go to, but I especially miss SQL Bits this year.

I don’t know what the future will bring, and I hope that Bits will survive this difficult time. I also hope that they find a way to get back to a live event, whether in 2021 or 2022. I’m already mentally marking my calendar, and hoping I can find a way to go back.

A few fun memories:

October 2, 2020