SQLServer

Back in January SQLSkills held a raffle and the lucky winners back then were Sankar Reddy (blog|twitter) and Martin Catherall (blog|twitter). Now SQL Sentry (web|twitter) has put up a contest for a seat on the SQLSkills Immersion Training class in August and I, for one, would really really really love to go and is certainly going to participate. With the fear of repeating myself (and yes, I really played guitar in a band called Stoned Sheep, see CD covers here), I will list the reasons, why I should be the one attending this class.

Training like this, at this level, is really hard to get by in Denmark. Classes are sparse, booked, costs are gigantous and as a consequence, the timing always seems to be off, at least according to managers. Alternately training abroad has been out of the question, due to added accommodation and traveling expenses. So how is this different then?

First of all, the seat is not taken, since it’s won 🙂 Secondly the total expense reaches a level that is more appealing to managers, in general. Lets face it, how would a manager be able to see him-or herself in the mirror, after pulling the grand prize from your hands and giving it to someone else.

As far as the technical frame goes, this particular class would enrich and enlighten my already extended knowledge on the SQL Server. True my weak point is somewhere around the core, since I’ve been more attentive to the BI part throughout my career, but that might as well be as good a reason as any to put me on that seat.

On the more personal note, I’ve never been outside Europe and have heard a lot of good things about Seattle both through friends and former colleagues, but also through literature, mostly on coffee 🙂 This would be a fantastic opportunity to broaden my horizon and be able to bring it all back home, for the benefit of my co-workers and the user groups I attend.

But to put it short: Pick me! Pick me! Pick me! 🙂