[MVP Summit 2011] - On learning

Published on 07 March 2011 • Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

MVP Summit is over for 2011 for me; in less than a few hours I board a plane and start the ~23-hour trip home. This was an awesome trip, filled with learning—both about Microsoft and personally—and the experiences here rank among some of the best in my life:

• Being able to attend a special dinner with various Microsoft technical fellows and vice presidents was amazing. My hero, Anders Hejlsberg, was there, as were many other geek rock stars (Hanselman, The Gu, and so on). What inspired me was the humility they all showed. The whole dinner was amazing. 02032011598 by Robert MacLean, on Flickr

• Shooting real guns for the first time was ridiculously fun, and I thank Martin, Mike, & Chris for offering me that unique experience. 28022011557 by Robert MacLean, on Flickr

• Then came the snow (the real stuff this time—not the ice version Canada gave me)—and snowboarding. I even threw snowballs! photo4 by Robert MacLean, on Flickr

• In South Africa, we drink what we call beer, and we don’t think much about it—but here in America, they care. They have hundreds of microbreweries and so many technical terms for beer. It’s just staggering! It’s also a lot of fun to go and sit in a brewery and drink the freshest of fresh beer! 😊 03032011630 by Robert MacLean, on Flickr 04032011640 by Robert MacLean, on Flickr

• Then the Museum of Flight was just geek paradise for someone like me who loves the idea of flying (I do not think of 23 hours in economy class as flying) and space. Even the 4D simulator, where you could go inverted and upside down, was awesome. I even found time to be President of America for a few seconds. 05032011668 by Robert MacLean, on Flickr 05032011727 by Robert MacLean, on Flickr photo9 by Robert MacLean, on Flickr

• But most amazing were the new friends I made and the old friends I met up with. It was just awesome in every aspect, with special mention going to Rudi Grobler, who left SA with me, shared rooms, and did all the awesome things above (except the special dinner; next year, he’ll be there) and Rein Hillman, who put me and Rudi up at his house, opened his home to us, and shuttled us all around Seattle. Group by Robert MacLean, on Flickr 04032011645 by Robert MacLean, on Flickr photo2 by Robert MacLean, on Flickr

Oh, and if you wanted to know how many Dr Pepper I consumed—17, excluding how many I could get on the planes! 😉