Another year is complete and when I was thinking about what to write for my year in review post I was thinking back to some of the things both personally and professionally that I had done that I could share. As with most people the past year has been up and down filled mostly with uncertainty but I don’t want this post to become a COVID related rant as there I am sure there is plenty of that on the internet already.

I Got A New Job

In March 2021 I applied for a new job in Informatics, for the majority of my career I worked in I.T. as a Digital Developer writing code in C# and building applications to resolve problems in the business, during this time was when I really found a love for SQL, specifically Microsoft SQL Server. The new job was a remote position not in the conventional sense but the team I joined had their office space re-purposed so everyone was working from home, this is still not something I have found groove for.

The position involved creating datasets from data we get from external systems for our analysts to use in their reporting, building SSIS import routines, PowerBi and of course writing T-SQL on all levels.

I Explored

This year I did a lot of exploring, walking and adventuring, being outside is good not only for my physical health but also for my mental health, working from home, being inside all day I need that escape to unwind.

Need to do some more of this in 2022, have a deep desire to go and see the Puffins on Puffin Island, we will have to see if this actually happens in my 2022 year review.

I Invested In My Blog

Towards the end of 2021 I spent a lot of effort trying to build out my blog, this blog, the blog that you are reading right now, not for anyone else or to make myself popular although if what I post helps someone else that is amazing, but I am posting for myself, as a reference for what I have learnt. It is amazing how many times I go to my own blog to find answers for things I have done in the past.

In 2022 I want to take this little site further, I am not sure what that means yet or how that is going to look but watch this space.

I Invested In Myself

This year I spent a lot of time investing in myself, learning new things, attending conferences online[1] and exploring new technologies. Brent Ozar was my main source of education, over the lock down period he gave loads of free courses and live streams which were invaluable, I also purchased all of Eric Darling’s training during his BlackDecember sale.

2022 has plenty of opportunity for learning new things and it is definitely something I will be doing again.

Outside of my professional growth I also picked up a hobby that I had put down when I was in my early twenties, building historical war models, this started off with Warhammer but I found that I really enjoyed building planes, tanks and trains more so that is what I am doing in my spare time.

[1] Still not ready to venture out to an in person event.

To Recap

The year of 2021 has been up and down, lock down, not lock down, masks not masks, working from home then not working from home. In between all of that there was some really good experiences had, in some places that I have never been before, I attended a virtual conference for the first time and took part in some remote learning.

Looking Forward To 2022

I am not sure what 2022 will bring, I wasn’t sure what 2021 would bring! Christmas 2020 was something like no other, I hope that Christmas 2021 is a little more normal to say the least but until it happens, we are never going to know. Whatever you end up doing in 2022 make sure you do it for yourself or your family, learn something new, visit somewhere new and experience something new.