This past weekend I went down to Raleigh to participate in the SQLSaturday event there and wanted to give a quick recap of the event.
First things first, getting in and out of Raleigh this past weekend was quite easy. How easy? Well, on the way down I connected through Atlanta. I arrived at gate B13, walked across the aisle to gate B14 where my connection was already boarding, handed my boarding pass and was in my seat in less than three minutes from walking off my other plane. That’s how easy it was for my travel this past weekend. Heck, I was even upgraded to first class on the last leg home Saturday night.
My hotel in Raleigh was across from some place named Fat Daddy’s, so you just knew I was going to head in there at some point. I met up with Grant Fritchey (blog | twitter) and we found our way inside where we grabbed a beer and some fried okra (hey, it’s still a vegetable, right?) Grant and I had not seen each other since May despite my presenting at *his* user group back in August. No, I’m not bitter. Anyway, Grant and I spent time getting caught up on a lot of things and then we headed back to the hotel to meet up with everyone else heading to the speaker dinner.
The speaker dinner was nicer than I expected. Great atmosphere, good food, a fixed menu for us to choose from, and great conversation at the table. I learned two things that night. First, Geoff Hiten made it clear that I am much more interesting online than in person. So, for all of you reading this, you’re getting the best part of me (apparently). Second, I also learned than when it comes to car racing you only ever need to take left turns. If you ever turn to the right then it is either immediately following your victory or it is not a real racing event.
The event itself the next day seemed to go off without a hitch. The facilities themselves were not conducive for mingling, it was a lot of narrow hallways that twisted and turned. I found myself splitting time between the sponsor room, the speaker room, and talking with people in the tight hallways. I met Janice Lee (blog | twitter) who asked for me to sign her copy of DBA Survivor right before my talk started. The talk itself seemed to go well enough but I have yet to get any feedback.
After the talk was done it was time for me to get home. I arrived at my house just before 1AM and was already looking forward to Kansas City.
