In past years I have typically done a daily update from the PASS conference, highlighting the sessions attended, things learned, etc. This is my fifth straight PASS conference, and the more times I attend, the different it gets. As such, this time around there was little to no time available for blogging. My days were filled from start to finish, roughly sixteen (or more) hours of keynotes, sessions, networking, social events, etc.
This year marked the first year that I noticed a shift in how my day progressed. Essentially, no matter what I was doing, there was at least one or two other things I either wanted to do or someone expected me to do. One of those things would be blogging. I wanted to blog, but could not squeeze in the time in the morning, as I was asked to sit in the front row and felt it would be rude to bury my face in my laptop. Yes, tweeting was okay, in my judgement.
So, for most of the week I found myself in two places at once. I would attend sessions being given by first time speakers that I wanted to support, despite there being a more popular speaker or a topic more in line with my interests. I had to miss one session in order to prepare for my own session, which also meant missing sessions while I was speaking! At night there would be two or three social events that overlapped. And there was also the constant campaigning, which all seems to be for naught right about now.
Between the election, my presentation, and all the networking, it left little time for attending some of the sessions I most wanted to see. Fortunately, as a full conference attendee, I never have to miss a thing because I can watch a recording of every presentation. While it does not compare to being there live, it is better than having to split time between two (or more) talks in the same time slot.
I believe my network doubled in size from last year. I remember how at the end of the conference in Denver I felt I had about thirty close associates in PASS that I could drop an email to and get back a response. As I write this blog I can count an additional thirty that I have met in the past seven days. More than a handful were the result of my participation in Twitter, others were the result of campaigning, some from the Quest CAB, the breakfast panel I participated in as well, and from campaigning. Oh, and there was the time I ordered sixteen shots of Jager…twice…and that really gets you noticed in a room full of DBA’s.
During the week I was able to meet Donald Farmer. Donald Farmer! And Buck Woody! I think I may have given them one of my MOO cards, but i wish I could have given them a sticker. The people that you get to interact and talk geek with for five or more days is unmatched, in my opinion. I liked how Buck Woody joked that he used to be a developer, but then he learned to read so they made him a DBA.
If there was one person to blame for all of this, it is Brent Ozar. Because of Brent, I had complete strangers come up to me and say things like “Hi, I follow you on Twitter.” Sure, it can be creepy, like you are being stalked or something worse, but at times it also made me feel like a Rock Star, just as Brent talks about. I remember how a handful of times I would come out of the hotel elevator, see a familiar face or two, say ‘hello’, and get back a response of ‘good morning, Tom’. How the heck did all these people know my name? Oh, right, I have managed to raise my visible profile. With that comes greater scrutiny as I will be living in a fishbowl. I had better learn to behave.
And while I lost out on making the board again this year, I do plan on running again next year. In fact, I had more than one person approach me and tell me they wanted me to run again, including one of the winners, Andy Warren. I had a LOT of fun with the process this year, so losing was not as difficult this time around. Then again, maybe I am just getting used to losing? And yes, Susan Lucci did eventually win, but it took nineteen tries and twenty one years. I am not that patient.
I will run again, which means if people thought that SQLBatman was going away, they were wrong. I love this conference. The people that attend are the reason I come back each year. And I will keep coming back, and keep running for the board, and increasing my network with each passing year. And one day I will be honored to serve the PASS community as a member of the board of directors.
One day.
Not today though. Even SQLBatman needs to sleep.
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