Words: 798
Time to read: ~ 4 minutes
T-SQL Tuesday, the brainchild of Adam Machanic ( or cinahcaM madA? | blog | twitter ) , this month is hosted by the singular Ewald Cress ( blog | twitter ). If phrases were steamrollers and the only available space was the head of a pin, this man would still be able to turn them.
I also think that this is a great topic for a TSQL Tuesday, opening it up to all levels of bloggers from beginners to powerhouses.
For this TSQL Tuesday, I’m going to talk about my “gatekeepers”. The people who were there at the little milestones in my life, the “champagne moments” that so often aren’t celebrated. These people have been the cause and the catalysts for the meager accomplishments that I have achieved and the works that I have done today.
Please direct all anger and strongly worded emails to them…
The Past…
Back in the olden days, before I knew that there was a difference between MySQL and MSSQL, I was a SQL Support Engineer for a young company that did not have a fulltime DBA.
When performance hit the fan, as it surpisingly does with no DBA, we got a consultant in to help us out. That consultant saw an enthusiasm for SQL Server in me that he nutured. He helped me to define a path in Junior DBA-ism.
Unfortunately, the DBA is not on social media but I still want to say thanks to Neil Abrahams for embodying the spirit of SQL Family before I knew it existed!
He also tried to introduce me to PowerShell when it was still version 2 but I said I wouldn’t be interested in it…thankfully he’s not on Social Media or I would be eating my words!
The Present…
The reason that this blog exists is thanks to Kenneth Fisher ( blog | twitter ). A voracious blogger himself, it was reading his daily blog posts and a random chat on twitter that turned into the final push into blogging.
Thanks Kenneth, for helping me realize I use way too many commas for my own good… ,
Knowing me, the most likely reason that you found this blog post is because I’ve been blasting the twitter-waves about it. You should probably know the person responsible for that.
I’ve had twitter for a while but like most things when I start, I stayed on the sidelines and just observed … until I stumbled across a thread from Andy Mallon ( blog | twitter ).
Andy has a great demeanour, especially online, that is at the same time inclusive and knowledgeable. It took no effort, tension, or thought to reply to that thread and get started online socialising with the SQL Family.
I’ve been active on Twitter since then. Again with no effort or tension but mainly no thought… I can only apologise for that
The Future…
Looking ahead, I have some people that I would like to thank.
Arun Sirpal ( blog | twitter ) for helping me realise that, even if you don’t think so yourself, you are creating content that is of great use and you should keep going.
It’s thanks to Arun that I know what a “blobeater” is
Constantine Kokkinos ( blog | twitter ) for helping me realize that it is never too late to become a newbie at something. That you have to start off in the forest of Noob-ness before you can ascend to the mountains of Expertise.
Also to always check if the phone is charged, mine or anyone elses…
Raul Gonzalez ( blog | twitter ) for helping me realise that, while there may not be a thing as too much knowledge, all the knowledge in the world is not going to help unless you know how to apply it.
I credit Raul with slowly changing me from a blog post warrior to someone with actual experience
Jason Squires ( twitter ), who has a blog now, and Kevin Hill ( blog | twitter ) for helping me realize the amazingly undervalued and over-whelming precious joy that can be found in helping out. Without them, I doubt I would be as active as I am on Slack and probably be a lot more anxious than I already am.
Jason is always ready to engage on whatever you want and/or need & Kevin trained me in the subtle ways of “The Link”
SQL Family…
Cheers to the gatekeepers who, knowingly or not, have helped and pushed me in some way, shape, or form.
To everyone else, all the SQL Family, the dbatools, the MVPs, and beyond, to everyone I interact with everyday, I still want to say thank you. Even though I admire you and learn from you all everyday, I couldn’t write a blog post long enough to express it; the names to thank would grow larger faster than I could type.
Plus you’ve contributed to my good habits, while the above have influenced my bad 🙂
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