I am just wrapping up a great start of SQLSaturdays to begin 2015. The first one was in January with SQLSaturday Nashville. I know I have mentioned it before but Nashville has a special spot in my heart. My very first SQLSaturday I ever presented at was in Nashville so I always try to make it down there. That and Nashville is full of some of my favorite SQL peeps!

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So head down with my husband, Rod (Twitter) on Friday afternoon. Love it when he’s able to go with me so he can be a part of this side of my world. We love traveling together too so it’s a win win. We make it down in time to head to the speaker dinner which they had at Tamera (Twitter|blog) and Kerry’s (Twitter|blog) house. God bless the brave souls who open up their houses to host parties related to their events. I love the intimacy/coziness of those parties. I just can’t imagine putting the added stress of cleaning house/etc on top of organizing an event. Dinner was great and Tammy/Kerry/family were great hosts!

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Event day we head over to the venue at Lipscomb University. It’s a really nice space for the event. Being the swell guy he is, Rod agreed again to take pictures of the event (see them here). I get situated and begin doing preparation for my session. I did my latest incarnation of spatial data presentations. I enjoy doing that one so much! It went well and got some good feedback so I think folks enjoyed it.

Talkin spatial

After the event Rod and I went to grab some dinner. I enjoy me some food and was really excited to try a local specialty called “hot chicken”. We heard a song about it from Dom Flemons and figured if it’s good enough to write a song about it, it had to be good! Thanks to Louis’s (Twitter|blog) recommendation we go to Big Shakes and it was amazing! Like I needed more reasons to get down to Nashville but I now have hot chicken to add to the list.

Good times at after party!

From there we go to the after party at Athletic Club Bar & Grill. Was nice as it was at the hotel so didn’t have to worry about driving anywhere and could relax. Such a good time! Between the tales of “Ha-va-ee” from Robert Verell (Twitter) or Gareth’s (Twitter|blog) swamp people impression, I thought I was going to pull a muscle laughing so hard. Great meeting new folks and being with old friends. Thanks to all at Nashville for having us and congrats on another excellent event!

WIT panel discussion

One of the big lessons/impressions I took away from Nashville was from lunch at the event. I was asked to be a part of the panel for the WIT lunch discussion. During all WIT talks I always think of how I am with my daughter. I had a little revelation while we were talking. I want to make sure I help her understand that no matter where you go, there will always be people who know more than you do on any given topic. There are those who are just genuinely conveying knowledge and know more than you. There are also those douchebags that make themselves feel better by making others feel stupid. Whether it’s someone who is trying to make you feel like an idiot, or just someone who knows more and is trying to help, don’t EVER let your lack of knowledge dissuade you from anything! I know I have been there, I think we all have. I hope I can help both my kids to understand that as it’s not just a lesson for women but all of us. Keep learning and embrace that you don’t know it all and you never will. And when you encounter the douchebags, use those feelings to light the fire under your tail to get better!