Who talks SQL out of work...

  • Here is one I was discussing with a colleague a few days ago. When we get home how much do we actually talk about our work, I don't talk about what I did but rather good day...bad day response...Anything too technical gets me yawns...Is this a good thing? I don't really think it is bad as the less I talk about it, the easier it is to not think about.

  • churlbut (10/15/2013)


    Here is one I was discussing with a colleague a few days ago. When we get home how much do we actually talk about our work, I don't talk about what I did but rather good day...bad day response...Anything too technical gets me yawns...Is this a good thing? I don't really think it is bad as the less I talk about it, the easier it is to not think about.

    I don't talk about SQL to my wife at all. I'll probably bore her to death.

    When I'm with colleagues I might get more technical.

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  • I explain what I do to my wife by thinking up analogies she can relate to.

    I can tell she understands, 'cause she nods her head now while she checks her phone. πŸ˜› :hehe:

  • I avoid it as if I do I get asked to fix their PCs, and I know nothing about them. Trying to explain to the uninitiated that a DBA is something different is impossible.

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  • I kind of do, in my limited way. My husband works in a different area of IT, so it can be interesting to...

    Yeah. I'll stop, I'm only embarrassing myself ;-).

  • My girlfriend wouldn't understand it if I spoke to her. She doesn't want to understand it, so no point in using analogies. At best, I'd get the smile and nod response before a quick change of subject, at worst I'd get my dinner thrown in the bin πŸ˜›

    I don't often socialise with colleagues, so I guess I don't talk about SQL out of work at all. Unless you include visiting this forum ?


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  • My wife doesn't want to hear about it. But interestly enough, she goes on and on about her work and expects me to be interested. She really got upset one time when I said 'ok, TMI'. But she does that anytime I start talking about my work. Hmmmmmm.

    -SQLBill

  • I rarely talk SQL, because it doesn't make sense. I may tell people "I'm a database guy" and if they understand databases, we could talk about something, but usually people don't know what that means.

    I do talk security, technology, flaws to laymen, trying to educate or explain things at times, but only when someone else brings it up.

  • SQLBill (10/17/2013)


    My wife doesn't want to hear about it. But interestly enough, she goes on and on about her work and expects me to be interested. She really got upset one time when I said 'ok, TMI'. But she does that anytime I start talking about my work. Hmmmmmm.

    -SQLBill

    This is universal from what I can tell. It certainly is the case around my house too. πŸ˜›

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  • My wife knows I do stuff with databases and am frustrated when she tells me of all the manual checks she does using a certain report because I can see in my head how to fix her report to include another field. A simple join would do the trick, but I know their I.T. people just don't get it - joins are a "foreign" concept to them. πŸ˜€

    I have a couple of friends who I can talk tech to, but not very much at all. The DBA side of things doesn't make any sense to them.

  • My wife is generally the "just make it work" kind, also, but a number of years ago she was working in a local government office and decided to create a database in Access to improve some processes which were entirely done manually. I think it had something to do with tracking volunteer applications, assignments and hours and when they were eligible for some rewards like a certificate or a t-shirt and stuff like that.

    I got to teach her a bit about database structure and design and some basic SQL when we tweaked some of the queries she had created in the SQL view.

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  • Sometimes at home I want to talk about something technical I did at work because I’m excited about it or simply because articulating it helps me remember or understand it a little better. Before I start talking however, I give my wife permission to either ignore me or feign polite interest. She’s off the hook and I get it out of my system.

  • george sibbald (10/16/2013)


    I avoid it as if I do I get asked to fix their PCs, and I know nothing about them. Trying to explain to the uninitiated that a DBA is something different is impossible.

    Exactly! If they know you work in I.T. at all, they think you know everything about all technology. :crazy:

  • Sean Lange (10/17/2013)


    SQLBill (10/17/2013)


    My wife doesn't want to hear about it. But interestly enough, she goes on and on about her work and expects me to be interested. She really got upset one time when I said 'ok, TMI'. But she does that anytime I start talking about my work. Hmmmmmm.

    This is universal from what I can tell. It certainly is the case around my house too. πŸ˜›

    I am shocked! It's not universal at all. I do a great 'interested face', and I even ask questions. I still have no idea what he does though ;-).

  • OCTom (10/18/2013)


    george sibbald (10/16/2013)


    I avoid it as if I do I get asked to fix their PCs, and I know nothing about them. Trying to explain to the uninitiated that a DBA is something different is impossible.

    Exactly! If they know you work in I.T. at all, they think you know everything about all technology. :crazy:

    And I bet I'm not the only one who's getting tired of the hilarious question 'do you just tell people to switch it off and on again?


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