This is my second trip to Seattle for the annual bash. Last year I was a newbie. I did not know too many people. I did sign up for a Big brother to show me the ropes. Unfortunately my big brother (Jack) could not make it for the summit due to family emergency. The folks were all very friendly; therefore I did not miss my Big brother too much. I met some great folks last year. I was able to meet some very smart folks from SSC. One of them was Jeff Moden (this year’s exceptional DBA winner) and we hit off pretty well. We had tons of fun. He is a great guy. If you all have not met him yet, I recommend you to go and have chat with him. This year too I am hoping that I can hang around with him and get valuable tips. My only regret from last year was that I was not able to meet Steve Jones of SSC. I was standing right next to him at the bar the first night but I was not sure if it was him. Now I know how to recognize him. He is a tall dude with a cowboy hat wearing a Friday shirt. If I see someone like that, I am going up to him and introduce myself.
This year the trip is bit different. I am a Big Brother of eight first timers. I am looking forward in meeting them in person. I hope I will be able to help them with their queries. Till now I have been able to provide them with lots of information. It is going to be a fun week.

Since I am a volunteer of the program committee, I will be working till the summit starts because of the fact that not every one of the presenters has submitted their presentations yet. We will be working till the last moment to get everything done. Once the summit starts we will wind down slowly. I am hoping to meet Lori, John and Tim. They have done a great job with this program.

I will also have the chance to meet with my colleagues of NomCom in person. We have been working together for couple of months already. Every one of them is passionate for the PASS organization. Wayne, who is the leader of this little group, is a very well organized person. It is a pleasure working with him. At last I will be able to meet Jack. He was just awarded MVP status. Thomas LaRock and Bradley are great folks to work with. We have a tough job ahead of us. It will be a great experience.

I am also planning on promoting the SQL Saturday number 103 when I am at Pass. This event will be held on our beautiful island. I am hoping that I can get more people to come to our island for this event. It is good for the economy of the island as well.

My flight is at 7:30 AM on Sunday and I still have not started packing yet. This is one of my main problems. I leave the packing till the last moment and I am sure I will forget something. Anyways, I have my flight ticket, hotel confirmation, Summit confirmation and the brochures for promoting SQL Saturday in my laptop shoulder kit. These are the main things I need. The rest I can manage.

Hope to see you all at the summit in couple of days.