SQL Server Blog

Life Changes – 2 For The Price Of 1

Why make one major life change when I can make two within weeks of each other??? This will be a busy June for your blogger. Busy for the normal summer time fun and family activities but even busier because I embark on two new noteworthy journeys in life.  What are they??? I’ll start with the more important (by orders of magnitude greater than I can describe 🙂 ) of the two:

Samuel –

Mr. Sam
Around 30 minutes old

Our second boy and third child, Samuel was born this week. He decided to show up 9 days “late” according to our timing but I know he was right on time in God’s schedule. I told my wife she’d be a great Project Manager, though – over budget and over schedule. No scope creep (unknown twin hiding in there), though.

We have been blessed (and I really do mean blessed) with two great children already. Healthy, loving, fun kids. They’ll make great big brothers and sisters (though our daughter, the oldest, will certainly be the big boss of the three) to our Sam.

My wife and I really just like the name Sam or Samuel but the meaning of the name in Hebrew and the part that Samuel played

Meeting his brother and sister

in the Bible are definitely neat stories. It can mean Name of God; asked of God; or heard by God, and like all of our children we certainly asked God for Him. Samuel‘s life was an interesting one. It began before he was born with a praying mother and a father with a servants heart; and ended with God, through him giving the clamoring people of Israel what they asked for – a kingdom like other nations. A life worth looking into with lessons and warnings through the people he dealt with and interacted with.

My Samuel is a beautiful (I can say that now, he may not like that I said it in 13 years but I said it) child. You can see for yourself over there on the right somewhere. Welcome to the world! What an amazing blessing.

A Newwwwwww Job!

(said like Rod Roddy talking about new cars)

That’s right. I am leaving “A global insurance company” that has renamed nameless to protect the innocent (or not so innocent?). I don’t know why I haven’t shared their name, I think I am allowed to but I wanted to play it safe and I don’t get a lot of “community involvement” support. Not that I should necessarily, I am there to be a Database Administrator not give to the SQL community.

Why?

A neat company that has solid growth contacted me about a fun sounding opportunity. I hemmed and hawed (spell check didn’t yell at me for the word hawed, didn’t realize it was a word, it is. ) about the opportunity for a couple months and decided the chance was too great to pass up.

What?

The title is simple, “Database Administrator” but the role sounds like fun from the interviews and discussions. It is basically a Sr. DBA role on an IT Engineering team. I’ll still get to get my hands held to the fire helping out the operational teams but I’ll hopefully be focusing more on patterns, practices and architectures. I’ll be on the team that helps bring the new architectures and ideas to fruition and helps get the operational teams ready to support them (while still backing them up as needed). On call is currently shared by all of IT so it will be awhile before I have to have my week to have the after hours buzzing. I’ll also get the opportunity to work across a lot of teams in the best practices and performance tuning areas. I’ll definitely be moving from a tactical role on a tactical team at a tactical company towards a more strategic and “architecturey” role.

I’ll be working with some great folks who asked some good questions in the interviews. It sounds like I’ll have plenty of opportunity to learn new things as well as teach and mentor folks on what I’ve learned along the way.

Where?

I won’t say yet. No… I’m not going to make you play a guessing game like our @SQLRockstar friend, Tom LaRock was doing. I just don’t know where they stand on blogging and all that. I know they were at least interested in the fact that I am starting to speak more and I think they’ll want to encourage that. They see the benefit of community involvement and “recognition” for their employees (not that speaking here and there makes me an expert, I’ve never claimed that status I likely won’t). Seems like a neat company with a good story, lots of A players and good growth.

I think this role should allow me to really use my skills, really engage in mentoring and teaching (which I enjoy as much as getting my hands dirty with the technology) and give me more weekend and night free time with my family. At the end of the day it was a no-brainer.

Sabbatical

I didn’t have any blog entries in the hopper and with the upcoming birth I didn’t have time to prepare any the past week or so. I have some blog post ideas, had a few inspirations while here at the hospital so I’ll have some soon.

Mike Walsh
Article by Mike Walsh
Mike loves mentoring clients on the right Systems or High Availability architectures because he enjoys those lightbulb moments and loves watching the right design and setup come together for a client. He started Straight Path in 2010 when he decided that after over a decade working with SQL Server in various roles, it was time to try and take his experience, passion, and knowledge to help clients of all shapes and sizes. Mike is a husband, father to four great children, and a Christian. He’s a volunteer Firefighter and EMT in his small town in New Hampshire, and when he isn’t playing with his family, solving SQL Server issues, or talking shop, it seems like he has plenty to do with his family running a small farm in NH raising Beef Cattle, Chickens, Pigs, Sheep, Goats, Honeybees and who knows what other animals have been added!

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10 thoughts on “Life Changes – 2 For The Price Of 1”

  1. Congratulations on both fronts. Samuel is a good name. I know you will, but teach him to look past what we see with our eyes and to trust by faith. Samuel only continued down Jesse’s sons because God told him his own choice (which was based on his eyes) was wrong. That’s an important lesson for any and all of us who are of faith.

    Reply
    • Thanks, Brian. That is a great point. The Bible is full, as you well know, of excellent “teaching” biographies and teachable moments for our kids (and ourselves!).

      Reply
  2. Congrats Mike!!! And to think I knew you way back when we worked together at YHI:) It’s so great to see you and Megan grow with a family and new job. Wishing you all the best in your new life endeavors!!

    Reply
    • Thanks for the congratulations. Greg.

      On the dream job – Seeing as how I don’t live in NC, don’t think you need another SQL Server person there (you’re all SQL geeks, and your knowledge would put me to shame) I’ll have to do what seems like a great local job (by local, I mean closer to earth than pipe dream land). Actually seems like a great use of skills, good opportunities to collaborate and make things great with a lot of A players. Though… I do miss all that sweet tea.

      Reply
  3. CONGRATULATIONS Mike! We added our second child a few months ago and both are true blessings! Kids are amazing! And the new job sounds like a great opportunity, too!

    Reply

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