By my count, I have about 5 weeks and 2ish days until I hop on a plane for Vegas, and my favorite conference of the year! There are quite a few posts about what first timers should do, where and how to focus your time, etc. And I think I can relate to pieces of all of those blogs. No need for me to link to them, you can search on Twitter or google.
I’ll give you a few of my thoughts and highlight where you can find me this year.
I’m lucky enough in my day job that I get to play with all of the technologies, I’m not just the NSX guy, or the vCenter guy, or the VDI guy. So each year as VMWorld approaches I look at the technology landscape to see:
- What interests me (whether it be work related or something freaking cool)
- What I can apply to my current role
- What sessions apply to 1 & 2
- What vendors apply to 1 & 2
- What extra curricular activities apply to 1 & 2
Usually I am going in with 1-2 topics in mind. This year is no different and that list includes vSphere Integrated Containers and NSX. Focusing more on VIC for session related activities. I am very interested in road-map items like Windows in the VIC. Hint Hint for anyone who wants to meet up about this, or if there are any VMware folks who would like to talk. I have some use cases that I would love to run down. I will also be spending some time on the VIC HOL’s.
Every year I say to myself: “forget the parties, you are too old, you need sleep” and every year I go home tired, super tired. I really enjoy the entire atmosphere of the event and extra’s. There are so many people you get to meet, ones that are doing similar things, and ones that are doing things you cannot even comprehend! It’s just nice to talk to folks that you can relate to.
OK, enough already, here are my 3 bullet point tips for anyone going.
- Wear comfortable shoes.
- Say hi to the person next to you.
- Be present, and take advantage of each opportunity to grow yourself, intellectually and personally.
And here are my things NOT to do(#siderhouserules):
- Don’t take pictures of slides.
- Don’t take another persons opportunity, if you sign up, SHOW UP!
- Don’t breathe while you are in the men’s room.
I have a few vBrownBag presentations this year! Come watch live! I think it is so cool that these presentations made it into the conference schedule. Huge thanks to the @vBrownBag team, you guys are AWESOME! If you want a live demo on anything I am presenting just shoot me a message or tweet.
Where will I be all week? For starters, look for #siderhouserules on twitter. (note, I plan to be at all VMWorld sponsored events):
Saturday – vBoxing
Sunday Morning – vGolf
Monday Night – @vmwarecode Hackathon (no link/details yet)
Tuesday – TBD – Hoping for a TopGolf party!
Wednesday – VMWorld Party
Thursday afternoon – Friday night – Open for some idea’s. Last year Brian Graf led a group of us on a #vHike through Zion National park it was phenomenal! I’m not sure if he is doing something similar or not this year. But I would love to see part of the Grand Canyon this year. So if someone is interested in setting up a trip south, let me know!
I hope everyone enjoys the conference! I need to get back to work on my presentations!
Invoke-Automation 