Today is my last day at Trivadis. I worked for this company more than 23 years, and most of the time, I loved my job. To conclude my time as a consultant and trainer, here are three funny stories that happened to me over the years.
Technical Interview with a Condition
Before I started at Trivadis in 1999, I had interviews with various people at Trivadis. The technical interview I had with Urs Meier, one of the founders of Trivadis. He talked to me about all kinds of topics related to Oracle and other technologies. When he asked about my experience with performance tuning, I was proud to explain how I can display an execution plan in SQL*Plus – that wasn’t as easy with Oracle 8 as it is today. But then he asked some more questions, and we had this conversation:
- Urs: “How do you recognize a bad execution plan?”
- Dani: “If the plan contains a full table scan, it is a bad execution plan.”
- Urs: “Really? Why that?”
- Dani: “Because full table scans are bad. They take too much time.”
Of course, Urs was not very pleased about my stupid answer. But then he promised that I will be hired anyway, under one condition: In the first few months at Trivadis, I must attend the training “Oracle SQL Optimizer and Performance Workshop” (he was the instructor of the course at that time). There I will learn why a full table scan is not always a bad choice.
Two years later, I was one of the co-instructors of this training, and since then, I gave the “Optimizer Workshop” more than 100 times. In the meantime I know that full table scans can be a very good choice for some queries.
Private Taxi Driver
Once I had the opportunity to give a three-day training at an industrial company. The head quarter of this company is located in a small town in Germany. As a Swiss, I’m used to travel by train. Unfortunately, the town – let’s call it V. – is located quite remotely in the countryside. There is indeed a train station in V., but the journey was quite long. When I finally arrived on Sunday evening at around 11pm, I looked around for a taxi on the station square. Neither people nor cars were to be seen, I could not even find a sign with the phone number of a cab company. The hotel was too far away from the train station to walk. So, I called the hotel and asked them for a taxi. The lady in the hotel was shocked when I told her that I came by train. She didn’t even know that there are trains stopping in V. on a Sunday evening. But she knew the local taxi driver and called him. After about half an hour, he arrived on the station square and drove me to the little hotel outside the village.
The cab that took me to the customer’s office the next morning had the same driver again. Probably he was the only taxi driver in V.? He told me that he rarely had business people as clients. His usual passengers are elderly people whom he regularly drives to the hospital in the neighboring community. There is not much going on in the small town. He asked how long I would be staying in V. and offered me a flat rate for the next three days. He said I could call him anytime I wanted to go somewhere.
This is how I got a private driver during the three days of my stay. He drove me back and forth between hotel, customer office, city center, bakery and grocery store. Once I asked him if he never gets bored in such a small town. He replied: “I have lived here all my life. In V. we have a swimming pool, a cinema and a go-cart track. What else do you need to be happy?”
Lucky guy! I was happy to return home after three days.
Just a Visitor
For consulting jobs, I was also traveling around quite often. Typically, I had to register at the reception desk when I arrived at a new customer site. I can still remember a dialog that once happened at the security desk of a factory:
- Dani: “Hello, I’m Dani Schnider from Trivadis. A have an appointment with XY.”
- Security officer: “Are you here to work or as a visitor?”
- Dani: “What? – To work… of course.”
- Security officer: “Do you have any tools with you?”
- Dani: “What do you mean with tools?”
- Security officer: “Screwdrivers, drills, hammer, pliers…”
- Dani: “Yes, a laptop.”
- Security officer: “Ok, then you are a visitor!”
Until that day, I always thought that I was working for my customers.
In 2019, I published a blog post about my anniversary 20 Years Working for Trivadis. At the end of this quite euphoric post, I wrote the sentence: “From the current point of view, I hope to stay for a few more year at Trivadis” – Well, I had no idea that so much would change after just three years. Next week I will start my new job at Callista, a Swiss IT service provider for consulting and engineering.
It was a real pleasure working with you, Dani. All the best!
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We had lots of fun working together. Wish you all the best!
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All the best Dani, thanks for working with us for such a long time! It was a cool journey! and of course lot’s of fun with your new gig!
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All the best, Dani! Hope you enjoy your new job.
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Gut geschrieben Dani! Hoffe es geht weiter bei uns mit uns 😊 viele Grüsse Christian
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All the best Dani, keep on going!!
#StillDay1
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Bye bye Dani and all the best for the future!
I’m curious what city is hidden behind V.? It doesn’t sound like there are people there who read your blog. So you can easily disclose the name…
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Wow, ich hatte gedacht, Du bist einer der wenigen, die bei Trivadis in Rente gehen. Nevertheless, alles Gute im neuen Job und für die Zukunft.
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Wish you lots of luck in your new position 🙂
As one who, just like you, also thought once of staying with my company for still many years and it did not happen, I cannot stop asking myself what exactly changed at Trivadis since your so euphoric post only 3 years ago, that so valuable people just started to leave, a few weeks ago Kim Berg Hansen, now you ?!?
I hope to still enjoy your presenting at conferences, and maybe we will even meet some day :):)
And, by the way … I wish I could live in your silent V. village :):):)
All the best further 🙂
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Hi Iudith, if you look carefully at the Trivadis pens in the picture and how they changed over the years, you probably find the answer…
Yes, I will still present on conferences. Next time at UKOUG in Birmingham.
Cheers, Dani.
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All the best for future!
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Really a pleasure to meet you. 🙏
All the best Dany.
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Great stories!
Not so great that things changed to the point you feel the need to leave. I very much understand the decision, though.
I wish you just as much fun and just as great a career with your new employer.
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All the best for future foe you. I’m sure we will see us somewhere again. Always remembering your excellent self made beer and the funny discussion.
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All the best for the future Dani! Lets have a been in Birmingham and you can tell me the stories that you couldn’t put in a blog 🙂
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It’s been fun, Dani, both talking SQL and talking beer.
Beer in Birmingham – good plan 😀
Have an awesome future!
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Great stories; I am familiar with the need to move on 🙂 Callista is lucky to get you. I am sure you won’t be out of work any time soon.
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Dear Dani.
Thank you for sharing the three stories with us. I like the fact that Urs made the course attendance a condition of your employment. The result was, that we had a great trainer for the “Oracle SQL Optimizer and Performance Workshop”. A little bit wistful I say goodbye, but I wish you all the best for your new challenge.
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Hallo Dani,
danke für die schönen Anekdoten aus deiner Zeit bei Trivadis. Die 20 Jahre habe ich nicht mehr geschafft, deine Motivation kann ich aber gut verstehen.
Alles Gute für den neuen Arbeitgeber und einen herzlichen Gruß aus dem hohen Norden!
Jan
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Hello Dani
I oute myself as the one who sold you to V. for a training. However, I have to tell you that you were still lucky with your three day course. The customer also wanted a seven day database course. The Swiss colleague, who was also unfamiliar with the area, agreed to hold the course and then tried to fight it tooth and nail. However, she also had no chance.
Well Dani, I have sent you to countless trainings and also consulting assignments and mostly in such a way that the customer wanted even more Dani.
Thank you very much for your dedication and commitment and good luck with your new challenge!
Sabine
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Hätte nie gedacht, dass Du Trivadis mal verlässt. Ich wünsche Dir jedenfalls alles Gute!
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Alles Gute Dani! Hoffe Du schreibst weiterhin Deine inspirierenden Blog-Beiträge
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Hallo Dani, ich wünsche Dir viel Spaß und Erfolg im neuen Job! Es hat immer viel Spaß gemacht mit Dir zusammenzuarbeiten.
Danke auch für die vielen interessanten Blog-Posts!
Claus
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