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#ThankfulThursday

I’ve been a lousy blogger lately, and I apologize for that. I wish I could promise to do better, but life keeps moving, and things have been quite busy. However, I believe this topic is important, so I’ve decided to take a moment to share this post.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to participate in a couple of panels at the Redgate Summit in Atlanta. It was a great experience, mainly because I got to spend time with friends in the SQL community.The Redgate product suites have continued to evolve and grow and continue to impress me.

During dinner that night, I sat next to my good friend Tim Radney. Our conversation turned to Brian Moran, another friend who passed away a few years ago. As we reminisced, we realized how influential Brian and others in the community had been in our professional growth.

It struck us that we don’t express gratitude often enough for our professional communities. So, Tim suggested we do something about it. His idea? Let’s start a blog series, similar to the T-SQL Tuesday series. But I thought, why not keep it even simpler?  Thus, we’re committing to #ThankfulThursday as a hashtag on LinkedIn.

Feel free to join us! Let’s lift each other up and celebrate those who’ve shaped our journeys.

2024-03-14 by Uncategorized 0

Been a weird year….

And you’re probably going to see a ton of retrospective posts going live soon from a variety of authors. I’m struggling to write… well, anything…. That being said, I’ve had a few key successes over the last year.

  1. Presented several times virtually, particularly as a Friend of Red Gate. DevOps Enterprise Summit, PASS Summit, and DPS. I also presented for Georgia DAMA and for the Nashville SQL Saturday (my last in-person presentation).
  2. Job is good; learning lots of new stuff with Powershell and OCtopus Deploy, as well as Azure DevOps.
  3. We got an awesome dog. Meet Conway.

Of course, lots of other stuff happened too. COVID decimated travel plans, and as most of you are aware, it killed an organization that I’ve been a long-time member of (PASS). It also cancelled the SQLSaturday Atlanta for 2020, perhaps indefinitely.

Top it off with some health stuff, and frankly, I’m exhausted. However, I do have this urge to make the most out of the next year, and the only way I know how to do that, is to get back in the habit of writing.

More to come.

2020-12-27 by Uncategorized 0

#DOES20 Reflections

I usually try to write these Three Things I’ve Learned posts at the end of each day of a conference, but this is a little different. This is the first multi-day virtual training event I’ve been to, and because it’s virtual, there’s no travel. Which means my day begins on EDT, and the conference starts (and ends) on PDT. Makes for a very long day.

That being said, I love this conference: DevOps Enterprise Summit 2020 continues to push me to think abstractly about technological problems, and grounds me again in looking at cultural issues within my organization. These are the three things that have resonated with me (so far):

  1. I’ve got to do more to make the pain visible across the organization. Lots of folks have stressed the necessity of communication across teams, disciplines, and to the upper management, and that’s really sticking out to me. I think we’ve done a decent job of complaining, but we haven’t done the best job of proposing better ways of solving problems.
  2. I need to celebrate my team’s victories more. My team works hard, and there are moments when they feel forgotten in the grand scheme of things, particularly when other teams are holding them back. I need to make sure that they realize how much change they’ve promoted, and how far we’ve come as an organization.
  3. Set the Vision, but focus on the first step. A few years ago when I started us on this journey, I laid out a vision, and I need to revisit that. A lot has changed, including both targets we hit, and goals that are no longer on the roadmap. I need to make sure that I frame each step along the way in terms of the value it brings to the service we’re offering.

Virtual conferences are a different kind of fatigue; it’s been rough staying focused. I think I’m going to write another blog post to describe what’s worked for me, and what I’ll do differently in the future.

Back to learning; 3 more hours to go today 🙂

2020-10-14 by Uncategorized 0

#DOES2020 starts tomorrow

This is one of my favorite conferences, and obviously COVID-19 changes everything. It’ll be interesting to see how going online changes the tone of the conversation. One big benefit is that the cost is definitely lower while the quality of the content is expected to be the same; I miss traveling, though.

I know most folks have done a virtual conference this year and have already mastered the Zoom burnout, but I’m a little concerned about. I’m going to try and beat it by staying engaged with a co-worker who is also attended. I also plan on live-tweeting and or blogging as it comes.

Getting my learn on.

2020-10-12 by Uncategorized 0

Guest of @RedGate at #DOES20

Haven’t blogged in a bit, and I definitely need to get back to writing. However, just wanted to post a quick note that I’m super excited to be presenting a guest session with RedGate Software‘s Grant Fritchey at the DevOps Enterprise Summit. I’m very excited about this for multiple reasons:

  1. I love this conference; DOES is very inspirational, and there are lots of great speakers and content. It’s focused more on the technical goals than the actual tools, so it’s a good fit for where i am career wise.
  2. I love RedGate Software. Their company is simply an amazing producer of tools for the database community, and they’ve been very supportive of #sqlfamily and #sqlSaturdays for a long time. I’m stoked that they’re expanding their reach.
  3. Grant‘s ok. (Really, he’s a great guy and a lot of fun to talk to).

See y’all in virtual Vegas. Registration for the conference is half-price through August 31; it’s a great deal at $325.

2020-08-13 by Uncategorized 0

Three Phrases I’m Eliminating From My Vocabulary

“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” – Luke 6:45

Been doing a lot of reflecting lately on my goals in life, and I realized that I complain. A lot. Complaining is good when it leads to change (i.e. complaining about your sibling to your mom MAY cause their behavior to change), but complaints without action just lead to bitterness. I don’t want to be bitter, so I’ve recently started getting rid of these three phrases.

“I didn’t have enough time.”

Variants of this include “I didn’t get everything done I wanted to do”, “I’m not blogging enough”, “my career’s not as far along as it should be”, and “I didn’t make MVP again? Bummer”. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not making excuses for not completing things; I’m just trying to figure out ways to not complain about it. There’s never enough time in the day to do everything, and I completed what I spent time on. If I’m not satisfied with the outcome, it’s because I made the wrong choice, not that I didn’t have enough time. The trick is to figure out what I want and choose the right path.

“I’m fat.”

My clothes don’t fit right, and I’m sitting here at a table writing this blog and polishing off a bag of Doritos. To me, exercise is waddling my way from the fridge to my chair, and I wonder why I struggle with my weight? Again, complaints without action do nothing but make you bitter. I’m reading on Facebook about how several of my friends are turning to activity to drop weight and become healthy, happy, people. Maybe the first step is to quit reading Facebook.

“I’m tired.”

Variant of phrase two, but not quite the same thing. To me, fatigue has become a synonym for boredom. Instead of enjoying the moment, I spend 15 minutes complaining about how much work it was to get involved in the moment, and I miss half of the fun. It’s natural to be tired, but it should never stand in the way of getting the most out of life.

Summary

Again, I’m not necessarily to the point of taking action to correct all of the deficiencies in my life; I am, however, just about done with griping and moaning. Life is what you make of it, and I want to make more out of mine.

2015-06-09 by Health Professional Development SQLServerPedia Syndication Uncategorized 0

resolution check-up

Wrapping up April, and thought I’d touch base with myself (“Hello, me!”) and see how I’m doing on my resolutions:

Professional

Technical Skills

  • I want to learn something new every month.  My goal is to tackle something challenging, and be able to understand the ins and outs of it within 30 days.  For example, I want to finish tackling XML (including XSD’s) in SQL Server.

Meh.  This month sucked.  I had both my personal and my work computer blow up, and adding in the wedding planning stuff, I fell way off track here.  Time for a kickstart.

  • I want to upgrade my certifications by the end of the year; I’ve been dancing around the MCITP exams for a while, and I need to finish them.

The good news about having a work computer down is that I actually spent some time studying for these.  I need to find more time, but I’d love to finish the first one up by the end of next month.  Studying for the Database Development one made me realize that there’s a lot of features I don’t know as well as I thought I did.

Presentation

  • I want to make at least 6 technical presentations by the end of the year; last year, I managed to eke out 8, but given some of the recent changes in my personal life (see below), I think 6 is reasonable.

Did two presentations at Columbia, SC SQLSaturday, and they both went well.  I’ll be presenting at the Data Architect’s Virtual Chapter’s meeting in May, and I’m submitting abstracts for PASS Summit.

  • I will blog at least once a month about some technical topic (see the first bullet point under technical skills).

<crickets>

Management

  • I will understand the SCRUM methodology, and learn how to implement it with my team at work.  Although I’m not a team leader, I AM the Senior Database Architect, and I need to code less, and teach more.  This is my year to do so.

OK, so I’m a scrum leader, but I haven’t really focused on stepping up in my current position.

Personal

Health

  • I’m getting married again this year, and I want to look good for my new wife.  I also want to avoid long-term health issues.  I was losing weight last year (until I started dating), and I want to get back on track.  I’d like to lose 50 lbs by October.

Dropped 10 lbs, and plateued.  Sigh. This one is hard.

  • I have apnea, and I’ve been horrible about using my CPAP on a regular basis.  I will use it regularly.

I’m actually doing pretty good with this one; I need more hours of sleep, but the sleep I get now is good.

  • I need to exercise more, so I will find 20 minutes a day to do SOMETHING, even if it’s just walking around the office for 20 minutes.

<crickets>

  • I will drink at least 8 glasses of water per day.

Does Diet Coke count as water?  Working on it.

Spiritual

  • I’ve slacked off in my religious activities; my faith was nourished by church attendance during my divorce, and I need to start growing again.  I will find a new church in the next two months (my old church is too far to drive on a regular basis), and become a regular attendee.

Boy, did I bomb this one!  Tried a few places, and then wedding showers, vacations, etc, hit.  This one may have to wait until after the wedding.

  • I choose to absorb the goodness from people who love me, and I will reject the poison from those who do not.  I will focus on the important things in life (like my kids, and my future bride), and worry less about the unimportant things (like who’s mowing the grass).

I gave up reading certain blogs for Lent, and I feel much better.  I’ve also learned where my breaking point is, and when to walk away.  I’m happy, and more importantly, I’ve started to recognize when I’m unhappy, and I DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

Social

  • I will listen more to my children, my family, and my friends.  I will find ways to let them know I love them.

I’m getting pretty good at this.

  • I will nurture my own friendships; while I love my fiance’s friends and family, I want to bring more to the table than just me.

I’ve touched base with old friends, but haven’t really found the time to make new ones.

Financial

  • My divorce pulled me way off course.  While I’m a long way from being out of debt, I will continue to make strides in that area.  I will pay off at least one credit card ahead of schedule.

I’m paying off a debt on Monday, and I am VERY excited about that; granted, I’ve got a long way to go, but it feels good.

  • I will save more; I plan to find ways to cut costs (like taking advantage of coupons, and eating out less).

Doing OK with this; need to be more aggressive about it.

 

So, it looks like I’m hitting about 50-50; doing well in some areas, and falling behind in others.  Time to step up my game a bit.

2011-04-29 by Uncategorized 0