For years, the biggest conference in the Microsoft data platform community has been the PASS Summit.

This November 15-18, it’s coming back to the Seattle Convention Center. You can attend in person, or virtually.

I’m going to be there in person. It’s not a decision I take lightly – I still get nervous when I see rooms full of unmasked people. However, I was so overwhelmed with happiness at the in-person SQLBits this spring that I’m ready to give it another shot. (HA! Get it? Booster shot! It’s a joke about… okay never mind.)

This year, I’m not going
to attend a single session.

Not one. I’m gonna spend every single conference hour hanging out in the Community Zone, talking to people in the hallways, and catching up with people that I haven’t seen for a couple of years.

Weird, right? Especially since this is a release year for SQL Server 2022, and there are probably gonna be a lot of good sessions from Microsoft. You know what? I don’t care. I don’t. I’ll watch the recordings and read the slide decks later. When I’m in Seattle, I’m gonna have the experience that I missed so much.

I wanna see y’all again, hear what you’ve been up to, take pictures with each other, and be as friendly as we can while still maintaining good precautions. (No hugs, no shaking hands, no kissing with tongue.)

I can’t talk about my pre-conference session just yet, nor can you register for it. However, now’s a good time to start having conversations with your company management and your significant other to talk about whether maybe an in-person event makes sense this year – or whether you’d rather do it virtually.

In the immortal words of the sisters Pointer, I’m so excited.