Month: October 2013

PASS Summit 2013 Roundup — The Adventures of a First Timer

Wow, what a ride.  For the past year, attending various SQL Saturday and other events, I’ve heard the whisperings of PASS Summit in sessions and hallways.  This past week, it finally arrived and at last I had the opportunity to attend my first PASS Summit.

The whispers couldn’t possibly prepare me for what a truly amazing and motivational experience it was!  Summit was a non-stop week of connecting, learning, and sharing combined with a lot of fun and #sqlfamily that can only be rivaled by future summits (since all of my fellow first timers which I spoke to are now also completely hooked on the event)

I registered for PASS Summit 2013 all the way back in December of 2012.  It’s a bit of a gamble that something won’t come up when you register nearly a year in advance, but by registering that early, you can get some pretty deep discounts on Early Bird registration.  Plus, since you’re now invested, you can build anticipation and look forward to the event for almost an entire year!  Early Bird Registration for 2014 goes until December 6th this year, so I’ll probably do the same again.

Monday– Prep!  I took the day off from work to get things done before heading out of town for the week.  I’d heard from multiple people that you don’t sleep during Summit, so I planned to head to bed early so I’d start the week well rested.  I finished packing and went to bed a little after 1 am.  Whoops, so much for that.

Tuesday – I got up bright and early to begin my drive from Duluth, GA to Charlotte.  My goal was to arrive in Charlotte just early enough to get parked and checked in in time for the First Timer’s “Get to Know Your Community” meeting.  I planned to hit a couple of notable geocaches along the way, making for a longer but leisurely drive.

Ultimately, I took a bit too long on the drive up and I missed the First Timers “Get to Know Your Community” session, but I made it just in time for the First Timers Orientation session.  The orientation session was great and I was very happy to see so many well-known vets (sporting their stylish propeller beanies) in the crowd supporting us first timers.

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Preparing for PASS Summit 2013 — My First Time!

Being a regular attendee of SQL Saturday events in the Southeast, I frequently hear murmurs of PASS Summit and what a great thing it is.

With a little bit of luck it turns out that this year, for the first time in years its being held outside its usual home in Seattle, WA in the not-too-distant city of Charlotte, NC.  Seems like a sign to me!

PASS Summit is a BIG conference!  As such, there are a lot of moving parts in order to get prepared.  The PASS Connect page offers a great “one-stop” link resource for many of the major items:

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