This week, I’m attending two different summit events in the Seattle area.  On Sunday through Tuesday, I’ll be participating in the Microsoft MVP Summit in Bellevue, Washington.  For the remainder of the week, I’ll be attending and presenting at the PASS Summit in Seattle.  Although there is much I won’t be sharing (especially at the beginning of the week), I’m going to blog each day to share my travel tales and any non-NDA information I can.

Today is Day 0, the day on which I’m traveling from Dallas to Seattle and getting checked into my hotel.  There aren’t any official summit events taking place today, but I expect there will be plenty of goings-on to discuss.

06:45am: The day gets started with a text from my friend Ryan Adams.  He’s my ride to the airport, and he’s just pulled up out front.  My body reminds me that it’s quite early.  I’ve just come back yesterday from a trip to visit a client on the east coast, and couple the time difference with a short night of sleep and I’m still quite groggy.  First stop: coffee.

09:30am: After a brief delay, I’m onboard.  There’s a dog barking. On the plane.  This could be a long flight.

10:30am: The dog finally stopped barking.  I reminded myself that the thing I’m most excited about, even more than the excellent technical sessions, is the fact that I’ll be spending the next week with scores of treasured friends and colleagues.  This inspired me to crank out a new blog post: Five people you should meet at the PASS Summit.

11:30am: Arrived at SEATAC and met up with Reeves Smith, where he, Ryan, and me took the train back to downtown Seattle.

02:00pm: After dropping stuff off at the hotel, we’re meeting up with Carlos Bossy, one of my favorite Denver people, and decide to get some lunch at Lowell’s in the Pike Place Market.

03:00pm: Back at the Sheraton, we bump into Rob Farley and chat with him for a while.  We learn that he has a twin brother, which is both delightful and frightening.

05:30pm: It’s hard to believe that I’ve been in town for six hours and I’m only just now making it to the Tap House.  Hanging out with Mark Vaillancourt, Kerry Tyler, Tamera Clark, Brad Ball, and others.

07:15pm: Lots more SQL folks are arriving at Tap House.  A game of billiards has erupted.  There’s talk of SQL Karaoke later.

09:15pm: And SQL Karaoke has begun.  It’s a crowded house here at Bush Garden, with a big birthday party, a smaller but louder bachelorette party, and various Saturday night people.

10:30pm: Fatigue sets in all of a sudden, and I’m headed back to the room (and for the first time in #sqlkaraoke history, I’m the first person to leave).  This must be the earliest I’ve retired to my room at a summit week since the infamous PASS Summit of 2005.  I’m looking forward to a decent night of sleep and a great day tomorrow at the MVP Summit.