Once again, I attended PASS Summit in beautiful Seattle, WA. This was my 13th Summit, starting with 2003 and missing only 2012 since then.

This year I spoke on Friday about indexing basics. I didn’t get the count, but I think there were around 200 people in attendance. This is such an important topic for the beginners out there, so I am glad that there was a pretty good turn out. I am not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing, but I didn’t make it to any sessions except for my own. I did attend a really good pre-con given by Allan Hirt (@sqlha) on troubleshooting AG and FCI. Allan is the man when it comes to high availability.

I also attended the keynotes and blogged live. The biggest news from Microsoft is the Azure Analysis Services. The biggest news from PASS is the new logo.

I feel honored to be chosen for the live blogging, but that also means I have to be at the conference center at 8 am on Wednesday and Thursday. Hmmmm, that makes me get back to the hotel a bit earlier than I might want to each night.

One of the biggest highlights of the week is the Women in Tech luncheon. This year we had Kelley Primus speak about leadership. She had great insights for both men and women, whether you want to be heard in your team or be the CIO. What a great session! You can catch the recording on Thursday’s videos. I even make an appearance on stage at the end.

I talked to sponsors and got my questions answered at the SQL Clinic. I met dozens of people and had some great conversations. At this point of going to Summit, the networking is the most important thing. Of course, I watch a bunch of sessions from the recordings later.

One of the biggest highlights of the week for me is karaoke with my friends. This year, we had some bad news. Our karaoke hang out, Bush Garden, is probably not going to be here next year. I’m not sure I can picture PASS Summit without it. To learn more about SQL Karaoke, check out Jason Strate’s site.

It was a wonderful week, and I am already looking forward to meeting up with data professionals from around the world in Seattle next year.