Onward to Adobe headquarters in San Jose
Why another trip? This time I'll be in my element instead of feeling like an outsider looking in. It's called the Summit and Adobe is putting it on for the User Group managers, as a thank you for all our hard work.
I've been the manager here is KC for a year now. Wow, that doesn't seem right, but yep, a year. I think we are on our way to accomplishing a lot, but we are not there yet. Adobe has set up training for us, and I hope to learn lots about being a better manager.
One of the perks to being there is Flex training. Very exciting stuff to be learning there at Adobe. Many of you know I'm an Adobe certified trainer in 4 programs. I make a horrible student. In college settings I'm fantastic. I'm crazy about keeping up my GPA, but in smaller classes, I'm horrible. I type slowly and my Mac has been cursed since the day I brought it home.
Any-who... going to Adobe for a trainer like myself is like going on a pilgrimage to the holy land. It's hard to explain. Knowing I'm so close to 1 Infinite Loop is just as amazing, and only a few of you will know what belongs at that address. Those will understand my giddiness at the prospect. The 2 things that make what I do for a living day in and day out a joy.
I had another life before web or even graphic design. Before I knew what options were out there, I was a stylist. Hair Stylist. I was expensive and only worked in the best Salons and Spas. I taught color and was extremely good at it. The problem was I was an artist. I only did hair because I did it well. I had been a fine artist in school, but didn't want to be a starving artist. I draw, paint and do photography still.
So, I came into the web world late, 1997 I think. Graphic artist before that. I started with Photoshop but didn't actually buy it until version 2.0. It was so exciting then. I loved typography and the combination of Photoshop and Illustrator was intoxicating. My Photography teacher, Stu Beals, told us on the first day of Fine Art Photo back in 1987, that if we didn't embrace Computers, we should forget about being a Photographer. Well, I was hooked and never looked back.
So being at Adobe is an amazing opportunity. It might advance my career talking to the right people, you never know. A friend of mine, Will Hammond, who is one of the smartest people I know as well as the best Photoshop Expert to boot, says he got where he was in the business (Will's name is on the credits of Version 1.0 of Photoshop) by being in the right place at the right time. Not many are more passionate about the programs than me. You have to put yourself out there to get noticed these days. There are not just seas, but oceans of designers and trainers out there. Everyone has a blog these days. It's harder to make yourself unique in the crowd. The person wearing a red hat in a sea of black kind of stand out.
As I make efforts to make myself known, I am trying to do the same for KCWebCore. I know our little KC community can make a difference. We can educate, share, network and all make a little more money because of knowing each other a better. KCWebCore can be an opportunity for people like belonging to MacCORE made a difference to me years ago. I knew nothing, then started volunteering. Soon I knew all the members who came to meetings. I made tons of friends, got voted onto the Board, then started doing the newsletter. That lead to me doing the website. That lead to my first paying web design job. It was an amazing year.
I owe any and all success I have to that User Group. I hope to make KCWebCore that kind of group for someone else. All it takes is a little effort and some free time. I wouldn't be going to Adobe if I hadn't.
Dee Sadler KCWebCore manager
