Community and Events on Cathrine Wilhelmsen

Speaking about Microsoft Fabric at MsBIP Denmark

Wed, 10 Apr 2024 17:00:00 +0200

On Monday, April 15th, 2024, I will be speaking alongside Scott Sewell at Microsoft BI Professionals Denmark (MsBIP) 🥳

Scott will be talking about the topics closest to his heart: Dynamics 365 and Dataverse, and their integration into Microsoft Fabric. I’m actually really excited that I get to attend his talk, because one of my clients are getting close to migrating from Synapse, Synapse Link for Dataverse and Power BI into Fabric! 🤩

And I will be talking about the topics closest to my heart: Data Factory in Fabric 🥰 Read more about our topics below.

My awesome coworkers in Evidi Denmark are hosting the meeting in the AI Innovation House in Vejle. We’ll be hanging out in Quantum, a really cool 360° room! 🤯 I’m excited to hang out with my team during the day, and meeting the community during the evening. This is going to be a great day!

You can find all the information on the MsBIP page for Meeting #82. I hope you were able to sign up and that I get to meet you there!

Speaking about Microsoft Fabric at AdaCon 2023

Tue, 03 Oct 2023 16:55:00 +0200

On Tuesday, October 10th, 2023, I will be speaking at AdaCon 2023 🥳

The amazing Patricia Aas started the Ada Lovelace Day mini-conference in 2019. Back then, there were a few large Women In Tech groups and events in Norway, but they mainly celebrated women in management and leadership positions in tech-focused companies. Patricia wanted to celebrate Women doing Tech, and created the mini-conference to give coders, developers, engineers and everyone else working hands-on with tech an arena to share their knowledge. This year, the event has been rebranded to AdaCon and expanded to celebrate all groups that are underrepresented in tech 👏🏻

I will be presenting a session called Website Analytics in My Pocket using Microsoft Fabric. This is a brand new session, and I’m super excited to finally be able to play around with Power BI! 🤓

You can find the schedule and full agenda on the AdaCon website. This is going to be an important and inspiring day full of learning, so I hope to see you there! 💙

Participating in the Microsoft Fabric AMA (Ask Me Anything) hosted by MDPUG Norway

Mon, 19 Jun 2023 12:00:00 +0200

On Wednesday, June 21st, 2023, I will be participating in the Microsoft Fabric AMA (Ask Me Anything) hosted by Microsoft Data Platform User Group Norway.

Microsoft Fabric was launched in public preview in May. It was called the greatest invention since SQL Server and promises to simplify analytics for everyone. Microsoft used Build, one of its flagship events, to launch Microsoft Fabric to much fanfare - and surrounded by lots of hype. But is the hype real?

Speaking at Data Platform WIT/DEI Mental Health and Wellness Day 2023

Tue, 02 May 2023 07:00:00 +0200

On Friday, May 5th, 2023, I will be speaking at the Data Platform WIT/DEI Mental Health and Wellness Day. This is a free, virtual, all-day event for anyone working in technology. Topics range from dealing with stress, burnout, depression or chronic pain, to working in tech as a queer or neurodiverse person.

I will be presenting a session called Stressed, Depressed, or Burned Out? The Warning Signs You Shouldn’t Ignore. This is a deeply personal session based on my own experiences from the past decade, and it’s one of the few sessions I can’t and don’t want to rehearse. It won’t be an hour of incoherent rambling (don’t worry! 😉) but it will be fairly raw and unfiltered.

You can find the schedule and full agenda on the Data Platform Women in Tech website.

Your event needs a Code of Conduct. You need a plan and process for enforcing it. Here's why.

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 14:30:00 +0100

Imagine that you are organizing an event. You have been working for months to make it the best possible experience for everyone, the big day is finally here, speakers are ready to deliver their sessions, and attendees are starting to walk through the doors. Everything is finally coming together! Then you hear that one of your attendees has a history of stalking and harassing someone who is already at your event.

What do you do?

How would you handle a sensitive and difficult situation at your event?

I want you to think about this for a minute. Be completely honest with yourself.

Would you immediately take action? Would you know exactly how to handle the situation, what to do, who to talk to? Would you approach the offender? What would you say? Would you hear them out? Ask them to leave? How would you respond if they deny everything? If they tell you that the victim is lying and trying to ruin their life? If they tell you that they are the real victim? What if they cause a scene? Do you have on-site security to ask for assistance? Would you notify the victim? What would you tell them? Where would you go for privacy? What support would you offer? How would you follow up during and after the event if they are visibly scared or upset? How would you ensure their safety inside and outside the venue? Who would be taking care of your tasks while you are handling the situation?

Would you be handling the situation at all?

Training Day at SQLBits 2022: Data Integration using Azure Data Factory or Azure Synapse Analytics

Wed, 08 Dec 2021 14:50:00 +0100

Are you new to Azure Data Factory or Azure Synapse Analytics? Maybe you’re an expert SSIS developer wondering how to take that first step into Azure? Do you feel a little overwhelmed by all the possible ways you can move and transform data these days? Join me at the ExCeL London on Tuesday, March 8th, 2022! I will be delivering a training day at SQLBits 2022 called Beginner’s Guide to Data Integration using Azure Data Factory or Azure Synapse Analytics 🥳

My goal is to help kickstart your journey as an Azure Data Engineer, and for all of us to have a great and safe day of learning and networking. SQLBits are taking covid safety seriously by requiring proof of vaccination / tests, wearing masks, and ensuring proper spacing between seats. I will be there in-person and hope you will be able to join us too!

(Oh, and if you want to get the most out of your week at SQLBits? Check out Paul Andrew’s training day on Wednesday called Azure Data Integration Pipelines - Advanced Design and Delivery 🤓)

Speaking (in Norwegian!) at MVP Dagen 2021

Mon, 25 Oct 2021 21:40:00 +0200

On Wednesday, November 17th, 2021, I will be speaking at MVP Dagen 2021! This is a free event where attendees can learn tips and tricks and get updates about Microsoft technologies from Norwegian MVPs.

There are several reasons why this is a very special event to me. It will be my first in-person event since February 2020, and I’m really looking forward to seeing and hanging out with fellow speakers and attendees again! It covers a wide variety of topics so I get to learn about cool things outside my regular data bubble. And… I will be delivering a session in Norwegian… about PowerPoint… Whaaat!? 🤯😁

I will be presenting a brand new session called Bli en PowerPoint (Slide Master)-mester på 1-2-3! (It roughly translates to something like Becoming a PowerPoint (Slide Master) Master in 3 Simple Steps!) It’s a 40-minute mostly demo-based session on how to make PowerPoint work for you instead of against you.

Why am I presenting a session on PowerPoint, though? Excellent question! Johan Ludvig Brattås (@intoleranse) had already submitted a great session called Azure Synapse + Power BI + Purview = True that I want to attend, and I reeeaaally didn’t want to compete with him for a speaking slot. Since attendees will have wildly different backgrounds and expertises, I decided to submit a session on a topic that most are familiar with. So! I chose something I feel like a know a thing or two about: creating slide decks with minimal effort.

Guesting the Anniversary Show of Rockin' The Code World with dotNetDave!

Tue, 28 Sep 2021 10:00:00 +0200

On Saturday, October 2nd, I’m guesting the anniversay show of Rockin’ The Code World with dotNetDave 🥳 The show starts at 10:00 AM PST / 19:00 CEST and we’ll be talking about things like Azure Data, blogging, career development, and maybe even a little bit about keeping up in a fast-paced world. Yay! I hope you’ll tune in 🤓

I Can't Keep Up! Turning Discomfort into Personal Growth in a Fast-Paced World

Wed, 08 Sep 2021 21:52:00 +0200

I delivered my first ever keynote at Data Saturday Oslo 2021, called “I can’t keep up!” - Turning Discomfort into Personal Growth in a Fast-Paced World. We decided to record it, and it has now been published on the brand new Data Saturday Oslo YouTube channel. Yay! 🤓

Keynote at Data Saturday Oslo 2021

Thu, 26 Aug 2021 09:10:00 +0200

On Saturday, September 4th, 2021, I will deliver the keynote at Data Saturday Oslo 2021: “I can’t keep up!” - Turning Discomfort into Personal Growth in a Fast-Paced World. My feelings can be summarized in this series of emojis: 😱🤩🤯🤓🥳 I’m freaking out, absolutely honored, can’t really believe this is real, super excited, and very much looking forward to it!

Ask the Experts: Data Integration in Azure Synapse Analytics (at Data Toboggan 2021)

Wed, 02 Jun 2021 11:55:33 +0200

On Saturday, June 12th, 2021, I will be moderating an Ask the Experts session at Data Toboggan! This is a free event focusing on Azure Synapse Analytics. There are over twenty sessions and lightning talks scheduled, covering topics such as architecture, performance, tools, data integration, machine learning and much more.

If you have any questions about Data Integration in Azure Synapse Analytics (or Azure Data Factory), join us! You don’t want to miss this session 🤓

Speaking at Global Azure Norway 2021

Mon, 12 Apr 2021 10:20:24 +0200

On Friday, April 16th, 2021, I will be speaking at Global Azure Norway! Global Azure is a virtual 3-day event where communities from around the world organize live streams that are open for everyone to join. All the live streams add up to one global event with more than 500 speakers and sessions, so you should be able to find something interesting 🤓

I will be presenting my session called Pipeline and Data Flows: Introduction to Data Integration in Azure Synapse Analytics. Do you want to learn about something else? You can find all the worldwide sessions on the Global Azure website, or the local sessions on the Global Azure Norway website.

Speaking at Data Toboggan 2021

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 10:55:35 +0100

On Saturday, January 30th, 2021, I will be speaking at the first Data Toboggan event! This is a free event focusing on Azure Synapse Analytics. There are 14 sessions scheduled in 12 hours, covering topics such as data integration, machine learning, data warehousing, data governance, and more. Join us 🤓

I will be presenting a session called Pipelines and Data Flows: Introduction to Data Integration in Azure Synapse Analytics.

Biml Tips and Tricks (SQLBits 2019 Session Recording)

Thu, 15 Aug 2019 16:33:31 +0200

At SQLBits 2019, I presented my Biml Tips and Tricks: Not Just for SSIS Packages! session. The session recording has been available for many months, but I only just now realized I never blogged abut it 😊 You can view the slide deck on my SlideShare and download my Biml Demos if you want to dig into my code examples.

Biml Tips and Tricks: Not Just for SSIS Packages! Session Recording

Watch the full video on the SQLBits website:

You can increase or decrease the speed, enable closed captioning, and even download the video for offline viewing.

(If you want a laugh, I recommend watching in 2x speed with the not-quite-accurate captions. You’ll see gems like “This is Bemmel. Tips and tricks not just for exercise packages!” 🤣)

Tips for Improving Your Presentation Skills (DataGrillen 2019 Session Recording)

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 15:13:40 +0200

At DataGrillen 2019, I presented a session called Uhms and Bunny Hands: Tips for Improving Your Presentation Skills. The wonderful Amanda Debler (@texmandie) was kind enough to record it, yay! 🥳

The session recording is now available on YouTube, and the slide deck is available on SlideShare.

Tips for Improving Your Presentation Skills - Session Recording

Watch the session recording on YouTube:

(As this was an unplanned session recording, we didn’t have any microphones. The sound quality could be better, but I decided to share this video anyway. I hope it can still be useful for others!)

Technical Accomplishments and Happy Memories (T-SQL Tuesday #112)

Tue, 12 Mar 2019 20:00:29 +0100

The March 2019 edition of T-SQL Tuesday is hosted by Shane O’Neill (@SOZDBA). This month, Shane wants us to share our cookies. Wait… what? Yes! Cookies 🍪 In this analogy, cookies are accomplishments or memories you can look back on when things get tough. Something that will give you an energy kick to keep you going when you think you’re completely done.

I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on this since the topic was announced. My cookie jar definitely consists of two types of cookies: technical and non-technical. There are more of the latter, which I believe is a good thing 😊

In this post, I’ll highlight some of the technical accomplishments I’m proud of, and share some of my happy memories that always make me smile. (I mean pictures. I will share lots and lots of pictures.)

Why I'm a Business Intelligence Consultant (T-SQL Tuesday #111)

Tue, 12 Feb 2019 22:18:18 +0100

This month’s T-SQL Tuesday is hosted by Andy Leonard (@AndyLeonard). Andy wants to know what is our “why”, or why we do what we do. Before I can answer the why, I will briefly explain the what 😊 I work as a Business Intelligence consultant, focusing on Data Warehousing, Data Integration, and Data Visualization.

The short answer to “why?” is because the work is both challenging and rewarding. As a Business Intelligence consultant, I get to use all my skills from programming to design. I get to satisfy my instinctive need to group, organize, and sort things when working with data. Then I get to make things shiny and pretty. Finally, I get to work with other people, learn about their industries, and help them do their jobs better.

The long answer is… longer 😅 I absolutely love my job now, but I ended up in the world of data completely accidentally. I’ve gone from Web Development to Graphic Design to Interactive Design to Java Programming to SharePoint Development to Data Warehouse Architecture to Community Evangelizing… And now I’m here 🤓 (Phew!) So why am I a Business Intelligence consultant?

TENK Tech Camp 2018 - Experiences Volunteering

Tue, 21 Aug 2018 20:06:13 +0200

TENK Tech Camp 2018 was a 2-day event for teenage girls who are interested in technology and science. On August 9-10th, 2018, over 200 girls gathered at Teknisk Museum (Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology) in Oslo, Norway to attend workshops about coding, hacking, artificial intelligence, chatbots, design thinking, app development, web development - and rocket engineering!

Collecting Geeky Norwegian Humor (T-SQL Tuesday #99)

Tue, 13 Feb 2018 17:38:05 +0100

T-SQL Tuesday #99 is hosted by Aaron Bertrand (@AaronBertrand) and the topic is Dealer’s Choice. What does that mean? Aaron wanted us to choose between two topics: write about something we are passionate about outside the SQL Server community, or write about T-SQL bad habits and best practices. I’m too afraid to argue with Aaron, so I chose the first option 😅

But what did I want to write about? Truth be told, I’m pretty boring. I don’t have any real hobbies outside of tech, just a few interests. I first considered writing about hiking. I need to disconnect completely once in a while, and my favorite way of doing that is to get sweaty while walking for hours up a mountain or waterfall. My Instagram (@cathrinesqueee) is my highlight reel, full of pictures and happy memories from my trips.

However, instead of embedding all the pictures that are already on Instagram, I decided to write about something completely different. Something obscure. Something fun and geeky from way before I got involved in the SQL Server community. Something from my good old teenage fangirling days…

I'm a Microsoft Ignite Community Reporter!

Mon, 04 Sep 2017 16:14:40 +0200

For this year’s Microsoft Ignite, 10 MVPs have been invited by Microsoft to cover the event live throughout the week. I’m very excited and honored to announce that I’m one of this year’s Community Reporters! 🥳 As a Community Reporter, I will share news and updates by blogging, tweeting, reporting live, interviewing speakers and attendees, and posting pictures and videos of what’s happening on the ground in Orlando.

Get to know the Community Reporters

Click on the links below to read each Community Reporter’s introduction blog post, learn more about them, and see where you can follow them on social media. If you’re on Twitter, you can find everyone in the msignitelive list.

Top row from left to right:
Alistair Pugin (Office Servers & Services MVP)
Cathrine Wilhelmsen (Data Platform MVP) <- Hey mom, look, it’s me! :)
Christian Buckley (Office Servers & Services MVP)
Darrell Webster (Office Servers & Services MVP)
Dux Raymond Sy (Office Servers & Services MVP)

Bottom row from left to right:
Harjit Dhaliwal (Windows and Devices for IT MVP)
Laura Rogers (Office Servers & Services MVP)
Magnus Mårtensson (Microsoft Azure MVP)
Sue Hanley (Office Servers & Services MVP)
Tom Arbuthnot (Office Servers & Services MVP)

3 Mistakes I Made While Presenting Remotely

Wed, 29 Mar 2017 12:55:13 +0200

Two years ago I wrote about my experiences presenting a webinar for the first time. I learned a lot that day, and it helped me prepare for presenting remotely. But, a webinar is not the same as a remote presentation. And as much as you prepare and rehearse, you just won’t be prepared for every little thing that might happen until you’ve experienced them. Here are 3 of my mistakes you don’t want to make if you’re planning to start presenting remotely 😅

Biml in Belgium at SQL Server Days 2015

Tue, 06 Oct 2015 19:32:36 +0200

Last week I visited Belgium for the first time to attend and speak at my first SQL Server Days 2015. It was a truly great event, and I would like to say a huge thank you to the organizers and volunteers for making it a wonderful couple of days for speakers and attendees!

The venue was spectacular, but unfortunately none of my pictures do it justice. Take a look at the great pictures on the SQL Server Days Facebook page instead. I loved the huge open area in the middle where everyone could meet during breaks, and I was so happy there was unlimited coffee and chocolate! 🤩 The rooms were all unique and fun to present in. One room looked like a library, another like a bar, and I presented in the room that was decorated like a train station - with trains in it!

SQLSaturday Oslo 2015 Summary and Pictures

Wed, 09 Sep 2015 17:33:14 +0200

Thank you for making SQLSaturday Oslo 2015 a huge success!

After many months and countless hours of planning, it’s hard to believe that the second SQLSaturday in Oslo is over. It was a huge success thanks to all our organizers, speakers, volunteers, sponsors and attendees - thank you! I’m so proud of everything we accomplished, and I hope everyone had a great time 🤓

I'm a Microsoft SQL Server MVP

Tue, 21 Jul 2015 20:09:02 +0200

I spent most of July 1st relaxing in the sun, reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and enjoying my vacation. I spent the rest of July 1st reading, re-reading and re-re-reading the e-mail I received from Microsoft congratulating me with my first MVP Award.

On July 1st 2015, I became a Microsoft SQL Server MVP (Most Valuable Professional) in Norway.

SQLCruise Mediterranean 2015

Wed, 08 Jul 2015 20:00:06 +0200

Happy SQLCruisers!

SQLCruise - Learn. Network. Relax. Grow… Just add water.

I recently attended my first SQLCruise, and trying to summarize a week full of experiences is difficult. Let me skip straight to the important part:

Did I learn anything?
Yes

Was it worth it?
Yes!

Would I attend again?
YES!

🤓😁🥳

Presenting a webinar for the first time

Wed, 01 Apr 2015 16:00:05 +0200

Presenting online is a completely different experience than presenting in-person. When you present online you lose the interaction with the audience, you are unable to read body language or facial expressions to see if they are interested or bored out of their minds, and you get absolutely no feedback on whether or not they understand what you are trying to explain. You have to trust yourself, talk to a screen for an hour, and hope that the technology does not suddenly decide to throw a tantrum and stop working for no reason.

I recently presented a webinar for the first time. It went quite well, but there are many things I want to do better next time. Writing down what I learned will help me improve my own presentation skills and slide decks, but I also hope it can help other new speakers prepare for their first webinar.

Volunteering and Speaking at SQLBits XIV

Tue, 10 Mar 2015 21:47:18 +0100

SQLBits XIV Superhero Edition was my first SQLBits experience, and it was a truly amazing week! I want to start with a massive thank you to the organizers: Darren Green, Simon Sabin, James Rowland-Jones, Chris Testa-O’Neill, Allan Mitchell, Jonathan Allen and Annette Allen. You did one heck of a job to make this the best conference in the universe! 👏🏻 I also want to say thank you to all the sponsors, volunteers and speakers who made this a great event. And to all the attendees, I hope you had a blast and that I’ll see you again next year!

SQLKonferenz 2015

Fri, 06 Feb 2015 18:21:53 +0100

I spent the past couple of days in Darmstadt, Germany for SQLKonferenz 2015 (Deutsche SQL Server Konferenz 2015). This was the first time I spoke at a conference (not a SQLSaturday), and it was an absolutely amazing experience. I want to thank PASS Deutschland for doing a fantastic job to make this a great event!

The one thing I would like to have changed is that I should have learned German before going to Darmstadt 😅 The quality of speakers, sessions and topics covered was very impressive, and there were many sessions in German that I wanted to see. But I can’t complain at all, I got to see some great sessions and have learned new things that I look forward to trying.

Tribal Awards 2014 - Best New Community Voice!

Tue, 20 Jan 2015 21:00:12 +0100

I won! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

And huge congratulations to Andy, Ginger, Oz and Luan for being nominated, you all deserved it! 🤗

Winning the 2014 Tribal Award for Best New Community Voice means more to me than I can explain. 2014 was a difficult year for me personally, but it was also an amazing year where I discovered how much I love being involved in the SQL community. We organized the first SQLSaturday in Oslo, restarted SQL Server User Group Norway, I started volunteering and speaking at events, and I received the PASS Outstanding Volunteer Award.

SQLHangout #26 - Biml in the Real World

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 17:41:30 +0100

Back in June I did a #SQLHangout with Boris (@brshristov) about Biml that I called “Blabbering about Biml”. (Boris is much nicer, he called it “Biml. An Introduction.”)

Yesterday we did another episode called SQLHangout #26 - Biml in the Real World. This time we were joined by João Lopes (@SQLSniper), Rasmus Reinholdt (@RasmusReinholdt) and Régis Baccaro (@regbac) - great guys that I admire. It was interesting to hear how we use Biml in different ways and what we would like to see happen in 2015. I look forward to seeing all of them again and learn from their experiences!

SQL Server User Group Norway 2014 Summary

Tue, 16 Dec 2014 19:53:05 +0100

This has been a great year for SQL Server User Group Norway. It has been fun to see the user group come back to life and I’m very excited to share some news about our plans for 2015! But first, a summary of what happened in 2014.

Business Intelligence presentation for The Code Pub Oslo

Wed, 26 Nov 2014 19:48:04 +0100

Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking at The Code Pub Oslo, a meetup for women who are interested in IT. It’s a great concept where they get together, learn about new technology, and spend the rest of the evening working on projects. It was their one-year anniversary and in just one year they have grown from 5 to over 130 members.

Volunteering at SQLSaturday #337 Oregon

Mon, 10 Nov 2014 19:51:10 +0100

SQLSaturday #337 Oregon was a great event, and I’m so happy I could be there and help out as a volunteer! Arnie, Paul, Vern, Sopheap, Rob, Theresa and everyone else who spent time working on this event, thank you so much. There were 52 volunteers helping out at this event. 52! That’s amazing. I hope you had a great time and I look forward to seeing you again next year!

Isn’t this one of the coolest name badges you’ve seen? Staff, speakers and volunteers all had name badges like this. Each group had a different color with their own pictures and text on it. The QR code takes you to a website where you can get in touch with the person. They were laminated and the same on both sides, so you didn’t have to worry about it flipping over. You didn’t have to worry about people not seeing it either, because it was large and very visible. I may have to borrow a few ideas from this name badge for our next SQLSaturday 🤓

Help! My computer is dead and I'm supposed to do a demo-based presentation!

Thu, 23 Oct 2014 15:14:53 +0200

You’ve worked for days, weeks, maybe even months on your session. You’ve rehearsed, rehearsed, rehearsed, triple-checked every single demo, memorized ZoomIt keyboard shortcuts and timed your presentation. You have all your programs open and ready, cleared all personal information from your start screen and turned off notifications. You’ve brought power, USB hub, adapters to HDMI and VGA, mouse, wireless presenter with laser pointer, tablet with stopwatch, water, swag for attendees and even notes on paper so you won’t forget the things you don’t have in your slides. The room is full of people staring at you. You’re all set and ready to present.

…and then your computer won’t connect to the projector.

Your computer does not want to connect to the project with your HDMI adapter. Your computer does not want to connect to the projector with your VGA adapter. Your computer does not want to allow remote connections even when you’ve told it to. Your computer is all “yes, I do in fact notice I’m connected to a second screen, but I’d prefer some personal time right now, thanks”.

HELP! PANIC!

What would you do? Have you been in the same kind of situation? What did you do?

Outstanding PASS Volunteer for October 2014

Wed, 22 Oct 2014 12:26:26 +0200

A few weeks ago I received the news that I had been nominated as an Outstanding PASS Volunteer for October 2014, and I’m so happy I can finally share my excitement! It’s hard to find the right words, but this truly means a lot to me. I’m deeply thankful, proud and honored that someone took time out of their busy schedule to nominate me.

Great Event - SQLSaturday #341 Porto

Tue, 21 Oct 2014 19:45:03 +0200

I was honored to be selected as a speaker for SQLSaturday #341 in Porto, Portugal this weekend, and I had such a great time that I hope to come back next year for SQLSaturday Lisbon or SQLSaturday Porto.

First of all I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who organized and volunteered at this event. You guys did an amazing job and I hope you finally got some sleep after working around the clock for a week! Niko, Paulo, Ivan, Rui, André, Pedro, Vitor, Quilson and Nuno - thank you. I also want to thank Ines for being our photographer, she was running around everywhere all day taking pictures and filming. I can’t wait to see the result! 😃

SQLSaturday #341 Porto Speakers and Organizers

This was a very special and memorable weekend for me. It was my first trip to Portugal and the first time I was selected as a speaker for a SQLSaturday other than my own event. It was a very different experience being there as a speaker compared to being an attendee, volunteer or organizer. As an attendee and volunteer I want to learn as much as possible and help out where needed, as an organizer I’m in the middle of a crazy whirlwind trying to remember everything I need to do, and as a speaker I have one main goal: that the attendees in my session will learn something they can start using in their projects right away.

#SQLFamily - Pay It Forward (T-SQL Tuesday #57)

Tue, 12 Aug 2014 06:00:03 +0200

T-SQL Tuesday #57 is hosted by Jeffrey Verheul (@DevJef) and the topic is #SQLFamily. This is a topic close to my heart and even while writing this I’m all excited to read other stories. I can go on for ages about #SQLFamily, but I’ve decided to focus on one thing: pay it forward.

One year ago I had never heard about #SQLFamily and I didn’t even know the SQL community existed. I knew people wrote blogs and forum posts, I knew some taught classes and others published books, but I was your average employee: I did my job, learned what I had to learn to do my job well, and searched online to find solutions and better ways to do things.

Then I went to PASS Summit 2013 and the experience turned my life upside-down.

SQLHangout #22 - Blabbering about Biml

Wed, 25 Jun 2014 19:04:40 +0200

When Boris (@brshristov) invited me to a SQLHangout I was really honored and couldn’t say no. It’s such a fun idea and I’ve really enjoyed watching the other SQLHangouts. It’s great to see people’s personalities shine through in videos instead of only reading their blog posts, and I learn something new.

I suggested to chat about Biml, something I’ve only recently begun learning myself that has already saved me many hours of work. I still have so much to learn, but the fact that it took me about 20 hours to learn something new that has saved me and my coworkers hundreds of hours already… That’s worth sharing. If I can do it, you can do it!

Volunteering at SQLSaturday #275 Copenhagen

Fri, 04 Apr 2014 08:54:48 +0200

Last weekend I was in Copenhagen for SQLSaturday #275 Denmark. What a great event! I had signed up as a volunteer for several reasons. I wanted to help the Danish (and Nordic) SQL community, I wanted to get more experience as a volunteer, I wanted feedback and inspiration that will be useful for when we’re organizing SQLSaturday #317 Oslo, and most importantly I wanted to meet all the great community people I only knew from Twitter.

A shy first-timer at PASS Summit 2013

Tue, 22 Oct 2013 08:06:26 +0200

It’s not easy to write about PASS Summit 2013 in a structured way. Just like the summit was buzzing with energy I feel like running around tossing keywords and hashtags at people: #SQLFamily! Ribbons! First timers! Sessions! #SQLKaraoke! Exhibitor booths! It was all a little overwhelming for this shy first-timer, but also exciting and fun at the same time.