As you can read in my bio, I’ve been working with computers longer than I’ve been working with SQLskills. However, in 1995, I decided I wanted to make my own way and “do all the things” that I loved: consulting, training, speaking, and even writing. Sure enough, 25 years later, I’m still working with SQLskills and we’ve expanded from the one-woman-show that I started so long ago.
In 2007, Paul joined the company and we expanded further from there. We’re still a small company – focused solely on SQL Server consulting and training. This relatively-singular focus allows us to dedicate all of our technical skills to solve the most difficult of SQL Server problems. Additionally, it gives is the ability to answer a lot of the “why” questions that our students and clients ask. It’s still great fun and I hope that we’re still going for another 25!
For this post, I thought I’d take some time to look back and think through what I’ve done and where I’ve been and who I’ve been able to meet – over these 25 years; I’m honored to have met so many of you! Sadly, I don’t have photos from every encounter but the memories stand! And as for where, WOW, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have traveled to so many locations – where I’ve been able to work and play! Some of my favorite memories are from business trips where I’ve had the ability to work hard during the day and play hard during the evenings!
Above all, I just want to THANK YOU for making these 25 years INCREDIBLY REWARDING!
President and Founder
Kimberly L. Tripp has worked with computers since high school in 1985. Her career with database technologies really kicked off when she worked as a “Marketing Support Assistant” at IBM in 1988 and needed a database to track a marketing program…
This was the most fun to compile in and of itself! But, it’s by no means an exhaustive list. I listed only conferences and our first three Immersion Events (back when it was just me!). Going back and compiling this list was a daunting task! My recommendation, start keeping track of where you’ve been and for whom you’ve been invited to speak / travel NOW, I think you’ll find it really rewarding! In the end, I probably enjoyed creating this list even more than anyone will enjoy looking through it. I’m OK with that!
THANKS for ALL of the GREAT TIMES!
-Kimberly
Some amazing international destinations… with a few where I was even invited back. The others, we won’t talk about that. lol
| Tokyo, Japan (2001) |
| Barcelona, Spain (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008) |
| Sydney, Australia (2002, 2014, 2015) |
| Dubrovnik, Croatia (2003, 2004) |
| Istanbul, Turkey (2003, 2004, 2005) |
| Amman, Jordan (2004) |
| Amsterdam, the Netherlands (2004, 2005, 2006) |
| Copenhagen, Denmark (2004) |
| Iceland (2004, 2006, 2008) |
| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2004) |
| Lalandia, Denmark (2004) |
| Oslo, Norway (2004) |
| Yokohama, Japan (2004) |
| Brussels, Belgium (2005) |
| Cairo, Egypt (2005) |
| Interlaken, Switzerland (2005) Munich, Germany (2005, 2011) |
| Reading, UK (2006) |
| Zurich, Switzerland (2005, 2006, 2007) |
| Cape Town, South Africa (2006) |
| Edinburgh, Scotland (2006, 2008) |
| Geneva, Switzerland (2006) |
| Sun City, South Africa (2006) |
| Hyderabad, India (2007, 2008, 2009) |
| London, England (2007, 2010) |
| Beijing, China (2008, 2010) |
| Dublin, Ireland (2008, 2009, 2010) |
| Vienna, Austria (2008, 2009, 2010) |
| Melbourne, Australia (2009, 2014) |
| Warsaw, Poland (2009) |
| Toronto, Canada (2010) |
| Karlsruhe, Germany (2011) |
I, too, often wondered what I’d do with all of these badges… Often, we’d say – “we don’t need these stinking badges” and away they went into a plastic bin. There they sat for quite some time. Until now, how fun to lay all of these out and remember some TRULY SPECTACULAR ADVENTURES in absolutely incredible locations and with some of the best people I’ve ever met. LIFELONG memories for sure!!
Same with these t-shirts. I kept quite a few over the years and the bulky “big black bag” was starting to tear and become unmanageable. I sat, with our daughter’s (Kiera’s) boyfriend (Eman) for an entire afternoon and we cut out all of the important pieces… my goal – to make a quilt someday! But, in the interim, I ironed and photographed some of my favorites. There’s an original Windows logo t-shirt – “it screams on 486” and the 10 years of innovation for SQL Server (from 2003)… and my Bedlam DL3 t-shirt. What an EPIC story of how to bring down Microsoft’s corpnet. I came, I saw; I got the t-shirt!
Over the years, I wish I’d taken more photos… But, still, how fun to look back at so many fantastic interactions. From group training in Istanbul to my very first Immersion Event in Chicago in 2004 (and our group dinner at Pizzeria Uno) to delivering the general session at the MDC in Cairo after Bill Gates delivered the keynote to giant workshops at SQL PASS. Thank you for sending me these pics and asking me so many challenging questions!
I know I’ve barely even skimmed the surface of the good times I’ve had with so many talented people around the world! And, it’s probably best that some of these evenings did not result in any incriminating evidence. 😉 But, there are definitely a few folks that I need to get photos with – next time! For these, I was able to think back to having presented on 5 continents (I’m still looking at you South America!). I’ve truly met some of the smartest, most clever, and most passionate people THAT EXIST IN TECHNOLOGY!! It’s been an honor to work along side you, to eat in restaurants as fancy as Richard Branson’s Babylon in London to as down-to-earth as a back-alley in Kuala Lumpur (which was SO GOOD – honestly, one of the most memorable!), to singing karaoke (if that’s what you call it), to playing Blokus, to just hanging out having a beer (or two, or three).
These are the reasons that I’ve loved every minute of my first 25 years and why I can only hope for so many more!
Thanks for all the memories!
In addition to speaking and consulting, I’ve been fortunate to work on a lot of projects… here’s a selection of some of the fun things that resulted!
From my 17 years as a SQL Server / Data Platform MVP to our awards for supporting Jon in the National Guard to my top session awards at conferences – I just can’t thank you all enough for the support, the friendships, and THE FUN!
I’ve had soooo much fun reviewing so many photos and great times!! I hope to see you somewhere soon – and take a photo or two!
Cheers,
Kimberly L. Tripp
Founder of SQLskills in 1995
