29/06/2024
I'm back in and for the first time in months, feel like I can finally relax. The last 6-8 months have been insane, work-wise. What does that even mean? It's month on month of 300+ hours per month of working. 300 hours is clocked hours, so I start and stop my clock when I go to the toilet, so it's real hours. Comparing my office life, the idea of a 9-5 is a past life. Counting hours is a weird one; I wake at 5am, often finish work at 10pm, and that is usually 10 or 12 hours work. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, an afternoon walk - so it's not like a 17 hour day, but truth is my head is in work-mode most of the day. I've kinda made a rod for my own back; I'm helping make a 1500 person conference happen, with speakers from 15 ish countries, and I'm heavily involved in so much. From building the website, speaker rehearsals, creating marketing assets, designing and creating custom animations and videos for every speaker, and so much other stuff. It's a full-on 6 or 8 months, but the months are some slow-down time. This is the 3rd conference I've been involved in, and the first month after - for the 3rd time, I get sick straight after. Like cold, flu crap. Just burnt out. The HARDEST thing is hearing negative feedback after, right at the time when all I want to do is rest, and that's the ear-worm that I cant shake out. Even when it's like 2 or 3%, it's sticky has hell, and really hard to hear given how much we try to do a great job. People think this conference is run by a massive team, but we're a 2.5 person team. People often say "you should pay for help / outsource things", and we did. But we never got the results we wanted, and it cost SO much, so doing this madness in-house saves a lot of money, and we learn so much. Anyways, blah blah, whaaa whaa cry. These photos here are my little gift. I bought a new Sony 200-600mm lens, and this is my little excuse to hit the streets when I just want to relax and do nothing.