Data Saturday Chicago: Travel, Community, and the Power of “Database Crap”

Data Saturday Chicago: Travel, Community, and the Power of “Database Crap.” I started writing these notes at the airport on my way home from attending Data Saturday Chicago this weekend.

The event itself took place in Schaumburg, a suburb of Chicago, and was held on a local college campus. Like many community data events, this event brings together people from across the SQL Server, Power BI, and Microsoft data platform ecosystems. But as is often the case at conferences, the story of the journey isn’t just about the sessions, but about the people you meet along the way.

The Trip That Almost Didn’t Go As Planned

Originally, this trip was intended to meet one of my closest friends, Rhys, who lives in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. When he heard I had been accepted to speak at Data Saturday Chicago, he said he would come over so we could meet and hang out a bit around the day of the conference.

Rhys and I have been friends for 45 years, so the idea of ​​combining a conference trip with meeting old friends felt like the perfect plan. But life has a way of rearranging plans. Two days before my flight, Rhys messaged to say that work commitments meant he couldn’t travel. At that time, my flight was already booked and was the cheapest ticket available, meaning there was no real option to change it.

So the trip went ahead, although a little differently than planned.

Little Travel Discoveries

While planning the trip, I discovered something I didn’t realize before. If you are flying to the United States from Dublin with Aer Lingus, you can complete US immigration pre-clearance in Dublin before boarding your flight. Anyone who travels frequently to the US will appreciate how interesting it is. I’ve spent more time than I care to remember standing in immigration queues after landing. An added bonus is that this route allows me to depart from Birmingham, which is closer to my home in Wolverhampton than Heathrow. So, early Thursday morning, I left home, flew from Birmingham to Dublin, spent several hours waiting for a connection, went through US immigration there, and then boarded a long flight to Chicago.

Everything works exactly as advertised. I flew over Greenland – which I think I must have done on a previous trip. I’ve never gotten a photo like this

When we landed at O’Hare around 7pm local time, it was already dark. I walked to the Aloft Hotel in Schaumburg, and arrived at a little past eight.

Hotel Bar Conversation

After checking in and leaving my bag in the room, I headed downstairs to the hotel bar. Jet lag sets in, and experience has taught me that the worst thing you can do during that time is go straight to sleep. Staying awake longer is usually a better strategy. Although I haven’t found a good simple strategy for dealing with jet lag.

The bar itself was quiet.

Someone sits drinking whiskey and looking at their phone. The barmaid was sitting on the sofa. I ordered one Michelob Ultrasat down at the bar, and started sending messages home to let everyone know I had arrived safely, even though of course it was the middle of the night in England.

Gradually, a few more people came.

One person orders a “Tito and Sprite”.

I remember thinking: What is Tito? (Turns out it was vodka.)

At that time, the three of us were sitting at the bar, all looking at our phones and not talking. The bar was quiet

Then another person comes in, orders a drink, looks around the room and asks loudly:

“So what is everyone doing here?”

That question broke the silence and the four of us started chatting

The person who was at the bar when I arrived answered:

“Oh, I did some database crap.”

My ears immediately pricked up. At first, my internal reaction was a little different.

My initial thoughts are:

This guy needs to work on his marketing.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was actually clever.

In short, he has explained exactly what he does in language that anyone can understand.

Not everyone knows what parameterized queries, blocking processes or deadlocks are. But everyone understands the idea of ​​dealing with messy and complicated technical stuff behind the scenes.

“Database bullshit” takes care of all that.

It reminds me a bit of the famous Apple “Think Different” a campaign that is simple, memorable, slightly irreverent and instantly recognizable.

And clearly it worked Erik Darling.

In a matter of seconds, it has sparked curiosity, opened up conversation, and created an easy entry point into deeper discussions about databases and the work we all do.

I’ve known Erik online for years through the SQL Server community, but we had never met in person until this weekend. At first glance I didn’t recognize him, besides now I have a new friend.

Friday: Work and Conversation

I hadn’t booked a pre-conference session because I had work to do, so I spent most of the day working from the hotel. Interestingly, I often find that when I travel, business doesn’t slow down, in fact it speeds up. There always seems to be something that needs attention. Maybe the lesson is that I should travel more. Then again, and now that I’m home, maybe I’ve had enough traveling.

I decided to sit in the hotel lobby work, and throughout the day I started meeting more people who spoke at the event, including Jason, PeterAnd Chris Hydewho have been running pre-conference sessions. Chris, I’ve met a few times before, and I think, sorry if I’m wrong, I’m meeting Jason and Peter for the first time.

There is also a speaker dinner was being held that evening, but as I had originally expected Rhys to join me, I had not registered. Rather than suddenly show up at a speaker’s dinner at the last minute, Erik suggested we go out to dinner the night before, so we went to Chicago Prime, enjoying food, beer, and wine. That’s amazing.

Great food, a few beers and some really funny conversation. At some point we even ended up in a gothic bar (Which Chris recommended before we left), which I certainly wasn’t expecting when the night started, before finally heading back to the hotel.

Saturday: Conference Day

Saturday is the main conference day.

One of the things that makes Saturday event data special is the atmosphere. They’re community-based, volunteer-organized, and filled with people who genuinely enjoy sharing their knowledge. A big thank you to Andy Yun, Bob Pustari, Frank Gill and of course the many other organizers who put in countless hours to make this event a success.

I start the day with Erik Darling Sessionswhich is very good as expected. Sniffing Parameters is the topic

After that I attended Christina Ferris session on Microsoft Fabric licensingwhich is especially interesting considering how many organizations are currently trying to understand the Fabric licensing model.

Later in life, that happened It’s my turn to present.

After the session was over, some of us headed to a nearby place Irish bar not far from the hotel for post-conference drinks.

After some people left for downtown Chicago, the St. Patrick’s day celebrations were well underway and the river turned green. I decided to stay calm and go back to the hotel.

On the way home

Sunday’s return trip added a bit of drama.

Although my flight was technically on time, there were hurricane warnings throughout the area, and many flights were delayed or cancelled. Further north there was snow, ice and blizzards, and many flights were cancelled.

We boarded the plane, taxied to the runway and then sat there almost two hours waiting for clear weather.

Finally, we took off, but the delay occurred when I landed in Dublin, I’ve missed my connection.

That meant spending longer than expected waiting in Dublin before catching the next available flight back to Dublin Birmingham.

By the time I arrived IRight on Monday, I felt tired and the condition got worse.

From there it was a short drive home to Wolverhampton, where I finished this post.

Why Data Communities Matter

Looking back, what made this trip memorable was not just the conference.

It is unexpected moment.

A conversation in a hotel bar that started with someone saying they were doing “database bullshit.”

Have dinner with people you’ve only known through the internet.

A session where someone shares an idea that changes the way you think about your work.

That’s what data community do your best.

It connects people.

And sometimes the most important part of attending a conference isn’t the talk you give, but rather the people you meet during the conference.

Next up for me: SQLBits in April.

And if experience is anything to go by, there might be another story waiting somewhere near the hotel bar. 🤣🤣

Useful Links

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