This time next week I'll be full of new ideas and enthusiasm as the Dutch PHP Conference 2009 will have ended. Last year was the first time I attended the event and I have memories of a great crowd and some fabulous sessions, also my first experience speaking at a conference (yes really, a year ago!). This year it looks like the event will be better than ever with an extra day and a schedule absolutely rammed with fabulous content. And best of all, I work for Ibuildings, so I get to attend (I'm not speaking this time around).

Conferences are a great opportunity to meet some like-minded people, find a peer group to drink socialise with, and of course get to hear all the sessions that are around and chat to the speakers. Amsterdam is a great place to do this, its well connected and there are speakers and attendees from right across Europe and beyond. Since I know the PHP community quite well, I'm looking forward to getting to spend time with this cool crowd - and of course all my developer colleagues will be there as well so a party spirit is guaranteed :)

There's a few other things going on around the main conference - with social events and add-ons like the Oracle Installfest. I hear there are still tickets remaining so if you're feeling a bit left out - come and join us! If you're there, do stop and say hi to me - I know more people this year than I did last but its always nice to meet new faces too. Next stop, Amsterdam!