The dragon or the drop?
I've had an interesting possibility crop up, and I'd be curious to hear some honest feedback from friends of mine on both sides of the DragonCon / DrupalCon divide.
Most of you know that my job has a strong Drupal slant these days. Fewer of you would have reason to know that Drupal has a strong European background, and as a result there are two conventions per year: one in the US and one in Europe.
- DrupalCon Paris dates have not been finalized but are likely to be around September 1-4 (Tuesday - Friday).
- DragonCon dates are set in stone: September 4-7 (Friday-Sunday).
The unofficial word I have been given: if I am willing to pay my costs, I could have time off of work to attend DrupalCon.
Here are the pluses and minuses as I see them today:
DrupalCon
More expensive. I would miss the first day or two of DragonCon prep, which is one of the few times of year I get to see some of my friends, especially Jake. (Yes, Jake, I know you are probably surprised to learn how large a factor you are in this decision.) The networking in DrupalConDC was very good; I have no reason to think Paris would be different.
No Jeff; he would not be able to attend without major emergency prep work to ready a stand-in for him at DragonCon.
DragonCon
Less time away from Jeff. I'd get to see my friends longer. It'd cost about $1500-$2000 less.
WIth that said, I'm incredibly torn here. Yes, it's Paris, and no, I've never been to France. The opportunity is alluring, but I do not know how much of the city I would see -- DrupalConDC was intense and I had little time for sightseeing. (Devil's advocate: I had been to Washington DC several times before, and felt little need to seek out any kind of sightseeing opportunities.)
It bothers me that Jeff wouldn't be with me, and that I'd miss out on part of DragonCon -- nearly a decade of working tech staff has meant that DragonCon and Labor Day weekend have very much become a family reunion of sorts. Neither of these are light concerns.
I'd appreciate some feedback from my friends. While the final decision has to be made by Jeff and me, I'd like to hear from some of the people who would be affected by my decision. You know who you are.
The poll is at http://domesticat.net/poll/2009/drupal-or-dragon
Comments
I voted Dragon*Con, but if
I voted Dragon*Con, but if you decide to go to Paris, I'd say don't come to D*C at all -- spend the few extra days in Paris sightseeing (you'll probably be too tired to enjoy D*C anyway). There's nothing worse than being in an amazing place and not having time to see it -- I spent 7 weeks in Rome last summer and still felt like I didn't have time to see things because I was taking classes and teaching. If it were me, and I were paying my own way in any case, I'd say skip the conference and go to Paris on vacation later on when you can take Jeff with you ;)
I am most probably not one
I am most probably not one of the people you'd like to hear from, but nonetheless, I am affected and as so, chose to vote. Feel free to remove my vote from consideration, but it was lovely to meet you in DC and I would like the chance to interact with you in Paris.
Having been a participant in both DrupalconEU (Szeged, Hungary) and DrupalconNA (Boston, DC), I must advocate for you eventually making a DrupalconEU. If it can't be Paris, fine, but you will face roughly the same scheduling conflict every year. You should take the opportunity while your work will allow it.
For the site-seeing aspect, if pattern continues, there will be more free time, specifically between the sessions and the evening events. The 'work' day has followed european schedules in the past, which leads itself to leasurely late afternoons. Plus, the evening events will take place in...PARIS! Sorry, I digress. The airfare cost is an issue, but will always be an issue so long as you want to go to Paris, you might as well go when you'll be able to do some serious networking...
Which segues nicely into the difference between the networking at DC and the networking at a DrupalconEU. There are fewer people, but a greater percentage of them are rockstars. Fewer of them are looking for employment/to employ. More of them are looking to talk face to face with collaborators. It will be mind blowing. A drupalconEU is a must for any drupaller. The sessions are great, the networking is awesome, and hey, it's Paris!
Srsly though, got to find a way to hang out with you again. Maybe we don't need to go all the way to Paris to make that happen. :) You're welcome in Louisville anytime, and I'll definitely ping you the next time I'm headed into the dreaded DEEP SOUTH. :)
Actually, I'm glad you spoke
Actually, I'm glad you spoke up. Most of the people reading me here know about my long history with dragon*con -- in fact many of them know me because of dragon*con -- and I knew I wouldn't have many people speaking with knowledge about the other side.
You're answering some of the questions I had about Paris - I wondered how the attendees would skew. Even in Washington DC I was pretty shocked at how approachable people were; I lost count of the number of times I thought, "I'm eating meals and hanging out with people who wrote the code that has saved my ass numerous times."
It's also good to know that the drupalconEU scheduling issue is likely to recur.
I don't know. I just really, really don't know. DragonCon is family -- period, end stop. The thought of missing even part of it, or going to Paris without Jeff, says a lot about how seriously I'm taking my involvement with the Drupal community. It's a lot to think about in either case.
I thought about this more
I thought about this more over the weekend and wanted to share my new insight:
Amy, if it were my blog and you were reading it, which would you vote I do?
I would send you to
I would send you to drupalcon, but that's because you're doing full-time drupal work. :)
Go to Paris. Any opportunity
Go to Paris. Any opportunity to see a new place in the world should be siezed with both arms and a Jaws of Life, even if your sightseeing opportunities are limited. After all, you will still have the chance to visit local cafes, wander the streets, and immerse yourself into the culture between convention venues. While I believe that my time in Kuwait, to be blunt, sucked, I can honestly say that I'm a better person for having taken advantage of the chance to find out for myself. (Besides, the tours of Kuwait City iself weren't too bad. And Qatar, despite it's "Wahhabi-Lite" culture, actually rocked!)
Believe me, you'll regret not going to Paris no matter how great Dragon*Con is this year. It's always the great opportunities that are passed over that we regret....
"I'm just sayin'..."
Scotty
<insert witty comment here>
I've been reading your blog
I've been reading your blog for a long time and know how important Dragon*Con is to you, but I'm firmly on the Drupalcon EU side.
Things like that are truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience and if you have your company's blessing, you shouldn't give it up. Yeah, it sucks to be away from your family, but sometimes, you have to just take that leap. I had to make a choice in early March: go to San Francisco and experience the GTD Summit, or stay home and visit with my family. Yeah, I regret not being there for them, but I had to go for me and it was an amazing experience. If I hadn't gone, I'd be so regretful.
You have to make the choice for yourself, of course, but this doesn't sound like something you could or should pass on.
Good luck with the decision. I know it's not going to be an easy one.
I haven't heard anyone
I haven't heard anyone suggest saying that you are heading to DrupalCon to get the time off, then going to D*C. On the other hand, it would probably be really hard coming up with convincing small talk about what you did in Paris. ;)
I tend to agree with Jess -
I tend to agree with Jess - take time to explore Paris, however, I'd schedule time to do that BEFORE DrupalCon. Fly in a few days early, explore, do DrupalCon, fly back to ATL, visit with D*C folks, go home & collapse.... Other option is to take time before AND after DrupalCon to explore & forget D*C altogether (as tough as that would be). I spent 10 months working at EuroDisney, but didn't take advantage of a day every now & then to explore France even though I was working long hard hours & was tired on my days off.
It's not only a choice between work stuff & friends/family, it's also a choice between YOU and friends/family. Your work is becoming more & more Drupal heavy so it would be valuable to attend if you can afford it. Learning is never wasted!
If you can't afford it this year, then start saving up for next year & plan on how to do both cons.