July 1, 2011. Dang. It’s a gorgeous summer morning here in Wisconsin. With the amazing first half of the year I’ve had, I’m looking forward to the second half even more.
Normally, this time of the year I’d say something like, “I can’t believe how fast this year is flying by!” But this year, things are different. I’ve been busy, but I’ve taken breaks too. I’ve been able to enjoy my successes, and learn from the failures.
How awesome has 2011 been so far?
Blogging:
I have written a couple very solid, in-depth technical blogs. I’m proud of them. But I’m not blogging a lot. This week, I realized why: I’ve been trying to blog about things I have no interest in. That was dumb. I love SSRS, and T-SQL, and solving problems. I was trying to write blogs about BULK INSERT and FILESTREAM. Why?
My focus for the next quarter is shifting. I want one blog a week. I’m going to shoot for one high-quality, in-depth technical blog a month. I also want one “I learned this and its awesome!” post. I want to keep writing about community projects I’m working on, presentations I’ve given, etc.
Presenting:
I am in love. I would stand up in front of a room of people and teach every day if I could. In April, I presented for MADPASS, and in June I gave a presentation at SQL Saturday 75.
Goal count: 2 of 3 user groups, 2 of 3 SQL Saturdays, and 1 other event (24 HOP). I’ve even surpassed my own expectations for the year. Read on for more…
Attend PASS Summit:
Not only am I attending PASS Summit, I’M SPEAKING. Me! Jes!
Seattle: you’ve been warned!
Cool community projects:
For the first time, I volunteered for the PASS Program Committee. I was on the speaker review team for PASS Summit. That was a very interesting, enlightening and fulfulling task. I highly recommend volunteering with PASS in some capacity. They have a role to fit almost any interest. You’ll meet and get to work with some great people, too.
I’m very involved with MADPASS. We’re holding our first official elections in August, and I’m running for the Director of Communications post. I have great ideas to grow the group, the speaker pool, the local talent, and the reach of our group.
The PASS WIT virtual chapter is hard at work on planning the WIT lunch for PASS Summit. I’m excited that I will get to moderate the excellent panel. Yet another reason I’m looking forward to October!
Have I said “no”? Yes! I have turned down a couple of opportunities that came my way because I didn’t have the time and energy. And you know what? People didn’t say, “Jes, I’m never speaking to you again. You’ve disappointed me forever.” No, the world did not end. It was liberating.
Help Others:
Quoting myself from my first-quarter review: I hope I am doing this, every single day.
Help Myself:
I took it upon myself to learn about filegroups, and am putting together another presentation on this. I also have been studying XEvents, and will be teaching my team at work about them, then working on a presentation. I learn so much every week. I still need to reschedule my certification exam, though.
Running:
My feet are on fire! I ran my first half marathon in April. This was one of the sweetest moments of my life. It was horrible weather, but I still completed the race and met all my goals. Since then, I’ve relaxed a little bit, running just one 5K. I’m gearing up for another 5K in a month, then Warrior Dash, then another half marathon. I love running. It is The Thing That Keeps Me Sane.
I am at 300+ miles for the year, well on my way to reaching my goal of 500.
I also got the opportunity to help a friend, Steve Jones, celebrate his 1000th straight day of running. That was a lot of fun.
Coming up in July: my two year run-aversary. I hope you’ll join me for a run on Wednesday, July 13!
So Far…So Good
This year keeps getting better and better. I didn’t think anything could beat 2010, but 2011 is proving me wrong. I can’t thank my friends and family enough for supporting me while I do all this crazy stuff. I have to thank the people that are reading my blogs and attending my sessions for giving me a reason to keep going. And I definitely have to thank the SQL community for being so damn awesome.
Jes Borland is a Premier Field Engineer - SQL Server for Microsoft, where she is a trusted technical adviser, deep technical support, and teacher for her customers. Her experience as a DBA, consultant, and 5-time Data Platform MVP allow her to help the business and the IT teams reach their goals. She has worked with SQL Server as a developer, report writer, DBA, and consultant. Her favorite topics are administration, automation, and performance. She frequently presents at user groups, SQL Saturdays, and other community events. She is also an avid runner and chef.
