AYE 2005
I just got back from the AYE Conference today. This was my third AYE conference and I approached it a bit different from previous AYE's I have attended.
First, I didn't bring anything high-tech. No computer, no digital camera, etc. This meant, among other things, was that for the time I was at AYE I didn't look at any emails, read any blogs, or listen to any podcasts. Thinking back on this, the break from the ADD world made things nice. It also seemed to accentuate the disruption that people taking digital photos during the sessions that I felt. I don't remember people taking pictures during past AYEs (maybe they didn't) but it felt disruptive to me this year. In particular, it seemed to hurt Jean McLendon's Satir Coaching session that I attended, where the first part of the session is about getting into a different-than-normal space. It seemed to me that the act of someone taking pictures hurt the aim of the first half of the session. I can't really explain why I felt that way. Maybe taking pictures, recording an aspect of the event with the idea of trying to have it after the session was over, made it more difficult for me to live in the moment?
Second, I didn't plan which sessions I would attend and stick to the plan. I did participate in the Room Calibration Exercise based on how I felt at the time I did the exercise but I spontaneously chose the sessions I would attend minutes before the sessions began. I was glad I did because the three sessions I attended that were different from what I indicated in the room calibration exercise were very profitable sessions for me.
Third, I took my wife to the conference. She didn't attend any of the sessions but I paid for the Friends and Family plan so we attended the Sunday dinner and lunches together. For reasons I won't go into here, I felt it was important to spend this time with my wife but I also didn't want to miss AYE. I think it worked well. I probably didn't get into as many discussions away from the sessions but I did get to introduce my wife to many of my AYE friends. I also got out to explore more of the Phoenix area than I normally do when I attend AYE.
Fourth, I rented a car. This let me do the exploring that I talked about in the previous paragraph. We got to find a good Thai restaurant and we even went out with Don to eat sushi, which he told us was a rare occurence.
Fifth, I didn't stay for Shape Day. This was the one change that was probably a mistake which I'll most likely rectify in future AYEs that I attend.
To wrap up, I had a great time at this year's AYE. I learned more about myself and things I can do to find out even more. I'm already looking forward to next year.
9:44:17 PM 
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