Yes, I was super excited when my boss picked me to go for the PASS Summit 2011, but nothing could really prepare me for the magnitude of the event. I was lucky enough to be able to attend a pre-con on Tuesday, so I landed in Sea-Tac on Monday evening and couldn't help but compare it to Lambert-St.Louis. Went for the networking dinner that night at Lowell's - had the best Alaskan Salmon of my life & of-course met a ton of SQL professionals.
Next up on Tuesday was my very first full day pre-con, which left my brain completely saturated with the mind-blowing new features in SQL Server 2008 R2 & 2012. The welcome reception was truly a Red Carpet event for us first timers, we literally walked in on a Red carpet !
The next 3 days of the main event were a constant buzz of activity, full of key-note speeches , sessions , vendor demos, raffles and networking events. I not only learned a ton of cool technology from the experts, but also mingled with database professionals from Ukraine, Indonesia, Belarus, India & Netherlands ! And then there was the party at Gameworks...... I don't remember the last time I played so much Air Hockey and flight simulation !
I did manage to find some time to visit the Public market, specifically to shop at Chukar Cherries and Market Spice, where I found the most exquisite green tea. We even got to see the Occupy Wall Street rally there ! Before I knew it, four happening days had passed and it was time to head back home. I now understand why people want to keep going back to the PASS Summit year after year. I sincerely thank the SQL community for this summit .I bid farewell to all my SQL friends at the summit and I am hoping to meet some of them again at SQLSaturday #101 in Kansas City.
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