Today’s post is the third of five detailing what I’m looking forward to about the SQLskills Performance Tuning event next week. Now, when I registered for the class initially, I was simply thinking about all the knowledge I would gain. What I didn’t consider were all the people from the SQL Community that I would get to see.
My favorite peeps
I knew I would be spending the week with Yanni Robel ( b | t ). Yanni is a good friend that I met last year on SQLCruise, and we will be spending some quality time together this week and in October, when we are in Portland for SQLSaturday #92 and the Portland Half Marathon, then back in Seattle for the PASS Summit. From the beginning I was very excited to share the training experience with Yanni. Yanni is an amazing person, and it is inspiring to just be around her. We will even get to spend some time together outside of class on Sunday, which will be an awesome way to start the week.
A couple months ago I realized that some other SQL Community friends would be at the training, notably Klaus Aschenbrenner ( b | t ) and Argenis Fernandez ( b | t ). Since then I’ve also “met” Meher Malakapalli ( t ) and Martin Catherall ( b | t ) via Twitter (Martin is coming all the way from New Zealand!). I look forward to getting to know all of them better, and of course I will be asking more about what they do in their every day jobs.
Sidebar: Knowing what people do every day really interests me. So if I ever meet you and ask you, I really want to know. Even though many people in the SQL Community have the title of DBA, the responsibilities of a DBA vary by person and company. Understanding what people do day in and day out has value to me, I’m not just making conversation when I ask!
Another friend of mine, Jimmy May ( b | t ), lives in Seattle and we have been chatting about trying to get together while I’m there for training. I met Jimmy last fall at the Summit and he is a great person – one of those people that I feel fortunate to know. I hope we get the chance to go out to dinner (maybe tour the SQLCAT lab?!?!?!).
It all sounds great so far, right? It gets better. Three other friends will be in town for some of the time that I’m there! I don’t know all the details as to why, but Denny Cherry ( b | t ), Allan Hirt ( b | t ) and my Summit co-presenter Mike Walsh ( b | t ) will be in Seattle, too. Oh, and let’s not forget Robert Davis ( b | t ) and Nicholas Cain ( b | t ), they both live in the Seattle area. Can it get any better? Well, I suppose the Summit is better because then nearly everyone is there, but for a training class, it’s fantastic!
I am so looking forward to seeing all my SQL peeps – catching up with friends and getting to know new people. (If I missed anyone, I apologize, I’ve been trying to keep track!) I have stated, repeatedly, that the SQL Community is an amazing group. Next week just drives that point home to me. I know some remarkable individuals in the community; people who are not just really smart and passionate about SQL Server, but people who I like simply for who they are…I cannot wait to see them.
Is it Sunday yet?
SQL peeps
Looking forward to it!