I'm feeling re-energized and motivated after nearly a week off.
Last week, I took Tuesday and Wednesday off to take part in the Adobe Max creative conference, a three-day in-person and online conference hosted by software producer Adobe.
Adobe produces many of the software applications that I use in my photography and videography, and the conference, which I attended virtually, was split into two parts. In some of the sessions, representatives from the company actually gave hands-on demonstrations of updates to the software, which were rolled out in conjunction with the conference. In other sessions, creators who use the software in their every day gave inspirational discussions.
With what I learned and the reinvigoration I took out of the three-day event, I feel it was definitely worth the time investment.
Some of what I learned will be rolled into my photography and video workflow, and I've already introduced some new tools into my journalism workflow.
Friday, I was on the road; My wife and I had tickets to Evanesence at the Saddledome in Calgary that night.
I have listened to Evanescence off and on for years, and when the band announced Calgary tour dates it was a no-brainer for us to grab tickets. My wife and I have been focusing on experiences in lieu of gifts for the last couple of years, and this concert definitely fits the bill.
While we had no idea who the opening acts were going to be, I was psyched when I saw the merch table; there was merchandise for the band Halestorm on sale.
I've listened to some of Lzzy Hale's music before, and she is the co-creator of Halestorm. It turned out that the concert tickets featured two ridiculously good alt-rock bands.
While I was hoping to grab a souvenir from the merch table, it was not to be; the T-shirts at the table started at $65 and the sweaters were $120. $65 is excessive for a T-shirt...
Still, the memories from the evening will live on.
On Saturday, my wife and some friends completed our first escape room in Calgary. While we didn't "escape," we came damn close and a great time was had by all.
I didn't realize how much I needed the downtime; I've been going non-stop since my mental health crash at the end of August, and while the days were busy, they were a different kind of busy.
I'm feeling refreshed, reinvigorated, and recharged.
Something I've learned through this downtime is that sometimes to move forward, you need to take a step back. You can't produce at a high level consistently without taking a break. While my time away was busy, it was a different kind of busy that filled my cup and left me ready to hit the ground running with work.
Now, the only problem with a week's worth of holidays is climbing out from under the to-do list once I get back, but that's a good problem to have.
-Kevin Sabo is the editor of the Stettler Independent and a journalist for Black Press Media.
