![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.sqlskills.com\/blogs\/kimberly\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/teamphotocollageswhite_page_3-1024x997.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nSo, we did (SQLskills on Instagram<\/a>) \u2013 we haven\u2019t posted a lot yet but it will be really fun as we start to travel and present at various upcoming events:<\/p>\n What was also super exciting for me to realize is that I\u2019ve been running SQLskills for 25 years \u2013 this year. As a result, we\u2019re also going to celebrate some of the many events we\u2019ve presented at and met so many of you at! It\u2019s crazy to think that I\u2019ve been running SQLskills for 25 years (and the last 13 with Paul<\/em>) but I \/ we still really enjoy what we’re doing and we look forward to many more years! (and, I started when I was only 2 so I’m really only 27… Paul wishes.<\/em> ;-))<\/p>\n What I thought would be fun is to tell you why we all enjoy what we do so much! And, there’s even a SentryOne session coming up where we all told horror stories and the lessons we learned. This first one is recorded (Feb 12) but we’re doing an open style Q&A on Feb 19 so you can join us and ask your questions too!<\/p>\n Wednesday, February 12, 2020 11:00 AM EST: Troubleshooting Horror Stories and the Surprising Lessons They Teach – Part 1<\/span><\/strong> (register<\/a>)<\/p>\n Wednesday, February 19, 2020 11:00 AM EST: T<\/span>r<\/strong>oubleshooting Horror Stories and the Surprising Lessons They Teach – Part 2<\/span><\/strong> (register<\/a>)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And, I thought it\u2019d be fun for you to hear what keeps the rest of the team going and excited \u2013 both professionally and personally!<\/p>\n I\u2019ve always thought that data is a company\u2019s most precious asset. I had skeptics \u2013 when I first started this business \u2013 that told me there was no way I\u2019d survive \u201conly\u201d focusing on data. I\u2019d have to learn .Net, client-side coding, servers, etc. And, even earlier on in my career, I did work with OS\/2, Lan Manager, SQL Server, and Windows (plus, Windows for Workgroups \u2013 which I affectively called Windows for Warehouses since that\u2019s really where most of that software stayed<\/em> 😉). I was more of a \u201cjack of all trades\u201d earlier on but I really enjoyed focusing more on SQL Server. As of roughly \u201992, I\u2019ve been predominantly working only with SQL Server. And, in having a team, we\u2019ve all been able to focus more. For me, my favorite topics and features all revolve around internals and \u201cvery large table\u201d design. Specifically, I focus on partitioning and designing for performance \/ scalability. With an effective design, you won\u2019t run into secondary problems with maintenance \/ availability and you\u2019ll get A LOT more with the hardware that you have instead of constantly trying to kill your problem with iron. It\u2019s really satisfying for me to work with folks that have had terrible problems that we\u2019re able to solve with better design, effective indexing \/ statistics, and plan quality with proper caching.<\/p>\n And, if you\u2019re at any of the following events, please be sure to stop by and say hi!<\/p>\n Training Day, Wednesday, April 1, 2020:<\/strong> Statistics for Performance: Internals, Analysis, Problem Solving<\/a><\/p>\n As well as at these SQLbits conference sessions:<\/p>\n Pre-conference workshop, Monday, April 6, 2020:<\/strong> The Developer\u2019s Guide to Consistency, Accuracy, Concurrency, and Transactional Control<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n Plus, a few sessions at the conference!<\/p>\n I\u2019ll be teaching part of IEPTO1 and IEPTO2 at our own SQLskills deep, technical training events (\u201cImmersion\u201d events) in Chicago:<\/p>\n As for my \u201cfun\u201d side, check out my \u201cMeet the Team\u201d photo posts that highlight some of my favorite non-SQL Server passions\u2026<\/p>\n One of the things I like most is teaching people about the internals of SQL Server, from all the knowledge I picked up working on the SQL Server Development Team at Microsoft for nine years. Many people think learning internals is irrelevant, but understanding *why* something works the way it does and how that impacts design and operational choices is really important. In addition to knowing how\/why something works, knowing where to start \u2013 is equally important. Knowing where your server is \u201cwaiting\u201d will give you direction. As a result, over the last few years, I’ve made wait statistics my primary\u00a0focus. This endeavor has led me to create the hugely popular Wait Statistics and Latch Classes library<\/a>. There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing a class student or consulting client have that ‘aha!’ moment when it all clicks!<\/p>\n Training Day, Tuesday, March 31, 2020:<\/strong> Performance Troubleshooting using Waits and Latches<\/a><\/p>\n As well as at SQLbits conference sessions!<\/p>\n Pre-conference workshop, Monday, April 6, 2020:<\/strong> Performance Troubleshooting using Waits and Latches<\/a><\/p>\n As well as these sessions:<\/p>\n Of course, Paul will be joining the entire SQLskills team for Immersion Events in Chicago. Join Paul at one of these deep, technical courses:<\/p>\n As for Paul\u2019s \u201cfun\u201d side, check out his \u201cMeet the Team\u201d photo posts that highlight some of his favorite non-SQL Server passions:<\/p>\n My primary focus is on HA\/DR solutions for SQL Server as well as performance tuning and optimization. But, because I also love tackling complex multi-server problems and difficult automation problems I do a lot with Service Broker and Replication; I get the really fun engagements!\u00a0I enjoy finding alternate solutions to problems using the wide arsenal of tools available in my toolkit, and often jokingly refer to myself as a multi-faceted threat since I have both a developer and admin background with SQL Server. I am not beyond taking a problem entirely outside of SQL Server and offering a non-SQL related solution that meets a client\u2019s requirements or performs faster. Dealing with the insanely obscure problems and finding solutions is one of the things that brings me the most satisfaction and, at times, the most frustration about working with technology.<\/p>\n Pre-conference workshop, Sunday, April 5, 2020:<\/strong> A Lap Around SQL Server for Linux Folks<\/a><\/p>\n Plus, a few sessions at the conference!<\/p>\n And, not surprisingly, Jon will be joining the entire SQLskills team for Immersion Events in Chicago. Join Jon at one of these deep, technical courses:<\/p>\n As for Jon\u2019s \u201cfun\u201d side, check out his \u201cMeet the Team\u201d photo posts that highlight some of his favorite non-SQL Server passions:<\/p>\n I like to know how things work.\u00a0 Within SQL Server, this means I find the internals fascinating, and I like to dig into features that I can get my hands on to try stuff to see what works and what breaks.\u00a0 When I worked for a software vendor, I dealt mainly with troubleshooting performance issues and corruption.\u00a0 The performance issues helped develop my foundation of knowledge around internals, statistics, indexes, and execution plans, and all the corruption drove home the importance of good HA and DR strategies.\u00a0 These are things I still love to this day, along with features like Query Store and Extended Events.\u00a0 The more and more troubleshooting and tuning I\u2019ve done, the more I\u2019ve learned about wait statistics, plan caching, and parameter sensitivity\u2026and the more I try new features such as Columnstore and In-Memory OLTP.\u00a0 I am an engine girl at heart.\u00a0 Give me a good performance issue any day and I’m happy.\u00a0 I like solving problems, and I really enjoy teaching as I go.\u00a0 Ultimately, my favorite customer engagement is when I\u2019ve fixed their issue and<\/em> they have learned something new about SQL Server.<\/p>\n Training Day, Wednesday, April 1, 2020:<\/strong> Performance Tuning with Query Store in SQL Server and Azure<\/a><\/p>\n As well as these sessions:<\/p>\n Join Erin for sessions on query store, troubleshooting workloads, and analyzing execution plans!<\/p>\n Of course, Erin will be joining the entire SQLskills team for Immersion Events in Chicago. Join Erin at one of these deep, technical courses:<\/p>\n As for Erin\u2019s \u201cfun\u201d side, check out her \u201cMeet the Team\u201d photo posts that highlight some of her favorite non-SQL Server passions:<\/p>\n During the housing crisis of the mid 2000\u2019s, I was working for a financial institution as a jack of all trades. My title was Sr Application Engineer, but my job role was supporting dozens of vendor applications. Many of those had a SQL Server backend so I regularly worked around SQL Server. In 2008 when things were looking really bad for small and mid-size US banks, I was asked to join the DBA team. I loved working with SQL Server and data in general. I looked at job sites for application support type jobs and things were bleak, I then searched DBA jobs and there were thousands. That was enough for me to make a career change. A few months into the job I learned of the SQL Community and my career took off. Working with SQL Server has fundamentally changed my career, and life. Immediately, I started focusing on backups, baselines, standard configurations for all SQL Server builds, ETL, and performance. I moved up from a level 2 to Sr DBA, then lead DBA, to Managing the production DBA team. During that time at the bank, I lead the effort to virtualize 95+ percent of our SQL Server infrastructure and upgrade to modern versions of SQL Server. In late 2014, I was picked up by Paul in a bar in Seattle (true story) and joined the SQLskills team in January 2015. I continue to focus on data and have taken serious interest and focus in Azure and PowerBI. Working with customers to determine where to best store different types of data and how to best utilize\/analyze is really satisfying!<\/p>\n Pre-conference workshop, Monday, April 6, 2020:<\/strong> Management, Admin, and Best Practices for the Hybrid DBA<\/a> (SQL Server 2016-2019 | Azure SQL DB | Managed Instance), and co-presented with David Pless, Microsoft<\/p>\n Post-conference workshop, Friday, April 10, 2020:<\/strong> Performance Tuning and Optimization for Modern Workloads<\/a> (SQL Server 2016-2019 | Azure SQL DB | Managed Instance), and co-presented with David Pless, Microsoft<\/p>\n And, of course, a few sessions at the conference!<\/p>\n After that, Tim will absolutely be joining the entire SQLskills team for Immersion Events in Chicago as he teaches a couple of courses on his own! Join Tim at one of these deep, technical courses:<\/p>\n As for Tim\u2019s \u201cfun\u201d side, check out his \u201cMeet the Team\u201d photo posts that highlight some of his favorite non-SQL Server passions:<\/p>\n So, be sure to click on a few of those links. No, I don’t get paid for clicks but wow – it takes a long time to add all those links to a post. I just hope someone uses one or two of them! ;-) And, make sure you stop by and say hi to anyone and ALL of our team; we all enjoy talking SQL Server, or diving (well, except for Erin but she loves talking about running \/ spinning \/ baking…). We all have our hobbies!<\/p>\n Finally, a HUGE WOW, I didn\u2019t quite realize exactly how busy we all are over the next couple of months! This doesn’t include user group sessions or SQL Saturdays either and I know Erin just attended\/presented at a really successful SQLSaturday in Cleveland and I presented to the Ireland SQL Server User group just last night! If you’re interesting in having one of us present for your user group – check out this post: Calling all user group leaders! We want to present for you in 2020!<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s funny\u2026 As I began this year, I realized how much I enjoyed scrolling through photos on Instagram. If you\u2019re not on it, the beauty of it is that it\u2019s just photos. No statuses, no politics, no links \u2013 just photos. I\u2019m following some amazing photographers \u2013 both above and below water \u2013 as well […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,18,20,35,41,92,70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-classes","category-community","category-conferences","category-immersion-events","category-just-because","category-sqlintersection","category-sqlskills-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sqlskills.com\/blogs\/kimberly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sqlskills.com\/blogs\/kimberly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sqlskills.com\/blogs\/kimberly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sqlskills.com\/blogs\/kimberly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sqlskills.com\/blogs\/kimberly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sqlskills.com\/blogs\/kimberly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2866\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sqlskills.com\/blogs\/kimberly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sqlskills.com\/blogs\/kimberly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sqlskills.com\/blogs\/kimberly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.sqlskills.com\/blogs\/kimberly\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/sentryonehorrorstories.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMeet Our AWESOME SQLskills Team<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.sqlskills.com\/blogs\/kimberly\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/kimberlyltrippheadshot-240x300.jpg\")
Kimberly L. Tripp<\/strong>
\nSQLskills founder \u2013 started in 1995<\/h2>\nSQLBits in London: March 31 \u2013 April 4, 2020<\/h3>\n
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SQLintersection in Orlando, FL: April 5-10, 2020<\/h3>\n
SQLskills Immersion Events In Chicago: April 27 – May 8, 2020<\/h3>\n
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\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.sqlskills.com\/blogs\/kimberly\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/paulsrandalheadshot-240x300.jpg\")
Paul S. Randal<\/strong>
\nSQLskills\u00a0CEO \u2013 joined SQLskills in 2007<\/h2>\nSQLBits in London: March 31 \u2013 April 4, 2020<\/h3>\n
SQLintersection in Orlando, FL: April 5-10, 2020<\/h3>\n
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SQLskills Immersion Events In Chicago: April 27 – May 8, 2020<\/h3>\n
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\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.sqlskills.com\/blogs\/kimberly\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jonathankehayiasheadshot-240x300.jpg\")
Jonathan Kehayias<\/strong>
\nSQLskills Principal Consultant \u2013 joined SQLskills in 2011<\/h2>\nSQLintersection in Orlando, FL: April 5-10, 2020<\/h3>\n
SQLskills Immersion Events In Chicago: April 27 – May 8, 2020<\/h3>\n
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\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.sqlskills.com\/blogs\/kimberly\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/erinstellatoheadshot-240x300.jpg\")
Erin Stellato<\/strong>
\nSQLskills Principal Consultant \u2013 joined SQLskills in 2012<\/h2>\nSQLBits in London: March 31 \u2013 April 4, 2020<\/h3>\n
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SQLintersection in Orlando, FL: April 5-10, 2020<\/h3>\n
SQLskills Immersion Events In Chicago: April 27 – May 8, 2020<\/h3>\n
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\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.sqlskills.com\/blogs\/kimberly\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/timradneyheadshot-240x300.jpg\")
Tim Radney<\/strong>
\nSQLskills Principal Consultant \u2013 joined SQLskills in 2015<\/h2>\nSQLintersection in Orlando, FL: April 5-10, 2020<\/h3>\n
SQLskills Immersion Events<\/h3>\n
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\nTHANKS!<\/h2>\n
We really do hope to see you SOMEWHERE soon!!<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Thanks for reading!
\n-k<\/h3>\n