WilcoxZone

I so wish I had posted about this all sooner, but things have kind of crazy lately. But my trip to Dallas, TX, was important enough that I wanted to post about it. Of course, the main purpose of going was for PyCon 2007. Python has been my programming language of choice for the last few years and it was really a thrill to get to go to the “official” conference. I hoped to learn more about different projects going on in the Python community and just get a better feel for the community itself.

If I had some up the trip, I’d have to say it was really about people. The obvious first person was my best bud, Brandon. It’s really rare we ever get to hang out together, so it was totally cool to get to spend some time and be at a conference about the language that Brandon introduced me to. But really, the people thing started from the time I arrived at the Nashville airport parking lot. Boarding the shuttle bus, I met a lady named Becky and her service-dog-in-training, Charlie. Turns out she and her dog were headed to Dallas as well, and so I got to ask her lots of questions (which she has had to answer thousands of times) about guide dogs. Charlie is a sweet black lab and was taking his first airplane ride. Other than eating a dropped napkin at DFW, Charlie was starting his trip off well. We were also able to talk about the application of service dogs for assisting diabetics.

The conference itself was definitely about people. Despite feeling poorly for a couple of days it was just so cool to see the passion and excellence in the Python community. But getting to know people and even getting to share a little about my faith in Christ, was what was really made it great. Whether the time was talking about projects, evolution versus creationism or just getting to know the shirt salesman and his wife, it was all just fun connecting with folks.

The trip back was no exception. Sitting next to me on our packed flight back was a guy named Clay. Eventually we started talking some and honestly, it turned out to be another highlight of the trip. Clay definitely gets the whole people thing. He’s a great listener, which in turns makes him very likable. In a fairly short time span, we talked about theology (I was reading “The Gospel According to Peanuts”), faith, Nashville, programming, travel, other books we were reading or into and music. Clay is a member of a Texas-based band called Barefoot. If you go to the barefoot section of awarestore you can order the cd or the cd/dvd of the debut release (which I did, it’s great!). It was neat to hear about the band as they’re just now picking up some momentum, continuing to tour, and just the struggle that is for most musicians as they try to take their passion and love for music and actually get to the next level of success. Clay is definitely one of the coolest people I’ve met. I can not help but to hope for the greatest success for him (and of course for the whole band).

And of course, the final, moment where I felt like I really lived in the Nashville area was when I realized I was sitting behind a fellow employee on the plane. People and connections everywhere.

This entry was posted Wednesday, May 16th, 2007 at 11:44 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.