Can you sleep on a plane?

I've struggled to sleep on airplanes, even on long flights. It's easy to find excuses, but heading into this 8 hour flight back to the UK, I thought I'd try again.

Sure enough, the excuses and problems were easy to find. I had three young children in the row behind me, and a monster in front of me that not only shook his chair adjusting himself every 5 minutes, but his entire row of seats moved too. I swear I heard screws pop, I wonder if he ate spinach like Popeye or had a green chest like the hulk. The children played a screaming game that included pounding the TV screen on the back of my chair. I involuntarily bobbed back and forth towards monster man doing the row shake.

After awhile, I took a deep breath, and seeked the positive. I noticed the air conditioning was soothingly loud, I noticed a blanket that kept me warm, I noticed the extra elbow room I had due to an empty seat next to me, I noticed the darkness after closing the window shade. Apparently it didn't take much and I was fast asleep. I woke up some time later with a dry mouth, so I have almost no doubt that I was snoring. 

What a liberating feeling to sense the environment and situation, seek the positive, and change. It seems like it was all in my head and I can't help but wonder what if the environment or situation were completely different and required feedback, conflict or conversation; this definitely relates to organisations and team work. Would I have been willing and capable to influence the situation and find the most positive progress for everyone involved? I think that's exactly what I'm studying and practicing these days, love it!

Battle Prom at Blenheim Palace

We had such a great time at a Battle Prom last year, we decided to go again this year. We bought tickets for July 4, but then we were lucky to get tickets to Minecon that weekend. I called the Battle Prom folks and they helped us switch to the next weekend at no additional cost - great!

I think they run about half a dozen Battle Proms per year, so it's a pretty special treat. The day starts around 4pm. There are cavalry runs and infantry demonstrations first, we've missed those both years. 

Around 6pm the stage lights up with musical acts. That's when we like to arrive. There are already approximately 10,000 people sitting under tents and around picnic blankets, the air is full of joy. 

The live music starts with British national songs and then a historic Spitfire airplane flys overhead- timed to the music. The orchestra comes on stage and then the canons and guns are fired, again timed to the music. 

It's a great time to sit with friends and family. Enjoy the show and make new friends as well. It turns out that my good friend that first informed me of the shows was at this particular show! In a real knowledge management fail, we didn't know ahead of time and only figured it out afterwards. Good reminder to "work out loud" and be aware of opportunities right in front of you :)

Back in America! (For a week or two)

We jumped on a plane and flawlessly made it back to the states. It's fascinating to me that most land and water looks about the same from 30,000 feet, but when you get out and walk it at ground level, it's quite different. The colors, the smells, the sounds, the structure, and certainly the culture. There are probably metaphors to corporate working and life in there. 

Both sets of our parents greeted us at the airport, such a warm feeling. It's not easy to get in and out of an airport, let alone the tough timing/waiting. The extra effort is generous and appreciated by all!

The trip was full of great meals and fantastic conversation. It took 3-5 nights before I was able to "get on east coast time" and sleep through the night.

I think it's worth noting how good the music is in the United States, or maybe I should say how available and broad the music seems to be. I've struggled a bit to find music in the UK, I know it's there (especially performed live in towns), but I haven't quite found the Sirius XM equivalent yet. I think there's something to be said about how much the U.S. seems to invest in music. Trying many, many bands; trying many, many songs. Some garner huge followings, some maybe have small niches, but all that iteration and attempt must be good, right?

Let's talk about driving. Stop lights look different to me now. What I see now is tremendous cost, electricity and infrastructure. That's different from what I saw before. The design doesn't seem safe or effective, and it appears to invade the environment. I realize what a big change it would be to try a different design,  but wow, maybe it can be discussed, if it isn't already? I bet there's a metaphor to org culture change in there somewhere. I notice how quickly I start driving aggressively - trying to beat lights, keeping up with the car in front of me, passing in all lanes, etc. Fascinating. 

It's now a slightly odd feeling to hear most everyone have a similar accent to yourself. It sounds different. I notice nuances in words. I sound different to myself.

Strange, I notice rooms bounded by drywall feel or sound different than rooms surrounded by plaster walls. I suppose the room dimensions are different as well, but now I do wonder (and somewhat notice) which rooms and materials tend to spark conversation. 

It's not surprising that places look different. That said, it's not just that I missed entire construction projects, I notice more flowers, water, trees, and space than I previously noticed. Even if they had not changed. Things change, right, but I suppose our lenses for seeing them change as well. At first, I was disappointed in myself because I was noticing problems as opposed to successes. I found myself noting the negative as opposed to the positive. I woke up one morning and simply asked myself "what's nice, what's going well". It was reassuring to easily keep that mental model for the rest of the trip. There are so  many positives to see and experience, of course! I do wonder if having a broad range of mental models, and the agility to bounce between them, is quite a fundamental change for me. Not only noticing the facade of physical change, but noticing and considering the architectural and design differences of places sparked that thought for me. A mentor once told me "It's what you look for that you see". I'll choose to look for the positive and be open to the broadest range I can :)

Time moved fast for the entire trip. I visited the office several times, prepped for the wedding, attended the wedding, visited friends and family, played golf, celebrated our wedding anniversary and birthdays, ate many amazing meals, and even played some air hockey and foosball. I bet I'm forgetting other highlights! 

They say "people won't remember what you said, or even what you did, but they'll remember how you made them feel". I'm feeling loved, connected and open to learning. I'm hopeful that I offered and contributed those kinds of feelings during the visit. 

Minecon 2015

I took my daughter and her friend to Minecon. Minecon is the annual Minecraft Convention. Actually, it happens once every 18 months or so, tickets sell out in minutes, and they move it from continent to continent. It all adds up to quite an enticing event.

Lydia Winters is the Director of Fun for the company that created the Minecraft video game. The company is called Mojang. We met her when we were lucky to attend the previous Minecon in Orlando Florida. Since that event, Microsoft bought Mojang and I noticed she now has a title something like Manager of Business Development.

10,000 tickets were sold. We fully expected long queues and a lot of positive energy. Even with high expectations, the event delivered. 

We were very professionally managed as a large crowd at a large venue. It often felt like there were as many helpful security employees as there were attendees. They herded us into swirving queues barracaded by connected metal fences. When the moment was right, they allowed us into the main stage arena which was hidden until the event officially started. 

Keep in mind the crowd looks like extremely excited 8-16 year olds escorted by their parents running behind them. I noticed the diversity of the crowd was excellent in terms of gender, race, background, etc. Hearing the roaring oohs and aahs of that crowd is heartwarming.

Within the first two minutes they brought a Guiness World Record adjudicator on stage. He announced that this event is the largest crowd ever for a single video game. 

We then noticed the screen on stage was absolutely massive as they played a couple inspiring videos. They talked about how Minecraft is changing the world through the United Nations, education systems and advanced technology. They demonstrated a new technology called Hololens which is a pair of glasses that allow you to interact with 3d images/videos right in front of your eyes!

After the intro, you're exploded into the world of Minecraft convention. There's an "expo" area. Rumor has it that Steven Spielbergs crew designs the sets, they're breathtaking. The centre of the expo hall was a 3 story physical Minecraft build of Big Ben. It had a dragon character from the game draped around it. At floor level they build a London park full of Minecraft trees and characters. If you let your imagination go, you'll feel like you're walking in the game. 

"YouTubers" is the most common word at the event. People create videos and post them on YouTube. If you're a marketing genius, you can get millions of "views" and hundreds of thousands of "subscribers". YouTube pays you something on the order of £1 per 1000 views, so there's financial incentive. The most popular YouTubers are like movie stars. Every single gamer there knows them and wants to meet them. They happen to be very nice, young people. We met several of them, got selfies and autographs, and the kids were beside themselves with elation.

The closing event on the first day was spectacular. Picture cirque d soleil. Women spinning high in the sky, bikers jumping on and off platforms and lots of explosive fire spinning everywhere. My favourite part was 4 people on trampolines. They used the entire massive stage to bounce on and off a platform to their trampolines. The back screen and platform were digitally lit by moving Minecraft scenes and the platform had 3 tiny holes near the top. They jumped and performed aerial gymnastics at dizzying heights and speed. They even jumped in and out of the tiny holes. I was mesmerized and didn't want it to stop.

We attended many panels and presentations. We also played some games and won some prizes. For me, it brings tears to my eyes and warmth to my soul to experience people having joy and learning. It's a special community full of love.