The following is a true story – before mid-March 2020 of course when we all used to love travelling! One day we will all be able to hit the skies again for a dream holiday.
One of my lifelong obsessions is to score a free business or first class upgrade on a longhaul flight. So off I went to the airport on a recent trip to Toronto and did all of the right things:
Dress appropriately ✓
Everyone is a decision-maker ✓
Ask nicely (and ask everyone) ✓
Get there early ✓
Have a decent frequent flyer status ✓
You can pay for an upgrade to business class or use points, but that would miss the mark and I still think I would be obsessed with the free upgrade concept. Either way I didn’t have enough points, so I would have had to buy points ($2,500) for a business class upgrade from Brisbane to LAX. On a 12 hour flight that works out to $200 per hour, so clearly couldn’t justify that!
It’s never too early to sample Scotch in duty free!
Going through the check-in process and seeing the staff at different points along the way there didn’t seem to be even one point where it was going to happen. There are many articles written about getting upgrades, that everyone is a decision-maker, but it seemed a bit like the opposite. The only time an upgrade may have been handed out was possibly at the gate if your name is announced. (BTW Didn’t happen either).
So Cattle Class it was, and fortunately I was lucky to have a spare seat next to me, enabling me to slumber in a half-lying position with my head against the window whilst able to encroach uninhibited into the middle seat. If only I could stop that pillow from slipping down between the window and my seat!
A (requested) long layover in LAX and the huge Oneworld Lounge helped to ease the upgrade letdown, prior to my onward journey across continental USA and Canada.
Lets try again on the way home!
The way home – Dallas to Brisbane (via Los Angeles)
A similar experience on the way home, with it seemingly a hopeless case for an upgrade, yet I tried my best by doing all of the right things…again! So, I basically gave up hope.
It has to be said that the transition through LAX on the way out of the USA is incredible easy compared to when you enter the USA at that port. So, my love-hate relationship with LAX, which has developed over the last 23 years is in positive territory right now!
Okay, so now for the happy ending….
Don’t mind if I do!
No, I wasn’t upgraded to either Business or even Premium Economy between Los Angeles and Brisbane. But I did have a lie flat bed! So how is that possible you ask???
Once again, I had a spare seat next to me, but as it turned out there was an entire spare row behind us. As luck would have it the last few people to board the plane did not sit in either row, so me and my fellow row-mate each took a row and I was left with 3 seats to myself. So yes, a lie-flat seat, Woo-hoo! Even though I couldn’t fully stretch out, I finally had a lie-flat seat on a long haul flight.
My obsession fulfilled? Well, not quite, but thanks to a bit of luck and possibly the Corona virus effect, I experienced my most comfortable long-haul flight.
So, until my next overseas adventure I am going to take this experience and be satisfied that sometimes things just work out – I didn’t pay for the upgrade and I am glad I didn’t.
Footnote – If I had paid for premium economy upgrade I couldn’t have laid across the seats as they have a solid armrest. Those poor people in Premium Economy!
Health authorities, Federal, State & Local Governments, News websites, School authorities, Policing, Sporting bodies – all providing their own (sometimes conflicting) advice. Total cases, Active cases, Ongoing health impacts, Patient zero, Overseas sources Vs Community transmission, which are the numbers that really matter?
The Information Overload
Press releases, daily briefings and some leaders seeming to embrace the newfound influence they have (and that people are listening to them for a change).
What can you do? I can walk through a park to get a coffee, but can I sit down to drink it?
Where can you go? Can I only go to a park if its near home?
Who can you see? I can see a friend if I live with them but can’t see my family who I don’t live with, depending on how many visitors there are!
What’s an essential service? Bottle shops are busier than ever!
The Tennis centre is open, but can I play tennis?
It all probably depends on which state you live in!
You aren’t expected to teach your children. But they are expected to perform as if they were being taught.
It’s a time of great confusion for many people out there. And rightly so! Never before has there been so much access to so much information during an event such as COVID-19.
The back-to-back procession of Australian State Premier’s press conferences all saying pretty much the same thing is enough to make anyone change the channel. Yes, you need to show leadership but there is also the political legacy in the background, always a part of that game.
Australia has done extremely well in navigating this unprecedented pandemic, but it could have been more united. There is no difference with offices, hotels, schools or gyms in Queensland or Western Australia, New South Wales or Victoria. Are the authorities and their areas of control the cause of the confusion, with each having the power to enforce different rules? Restrictions have been well adhered to but sometimes it feels like we are being warned by the teacher about not talking to my neighbour during class. This is a true test of our political system and I can’t help thinking that there may be changes ahead.
As restrictions are eased and things begin to reopen, will everything become more or less confusing? Probably confusion will reign is my guess, although with so few new cases occurring and people generally trying to do the right thing, guidance rather than enforcement will have much higher likelihood of acceptance in the community.
Human Connection
So, what are we all looking forward to the most?
Catching up with family for a BBQ
Going to see your favourite sporting team on a Friday night after meeting some friends before the game for a few beers.
Heading out to a pub or restaurant for dinner and drinks or Beer o clock on a Friday with another person!
Driving down to the Gold Coast for the weekend and rediscovering that my Nexus isn’t within my own house.
Keeping fit by going for an early morning gym session or having a hit of tennis.
Leaving the house to go to work (for a change of scenery, not necessarily the work part).
Networking at a conference and discovering new places and new favourite restaurants and bars.
Meeting and having a beer with some fellow travellers transiting through far off places – which I did prior to the restrictions in Terminal 3 at LAX (outside the Shake Shack if my memory serves me right).
This is me skiing @ Blue Mountain Resort, ON – late February 2020
All of the above are about human connection. Online platforms such as Zoom, Teams, Skype (if anyone still uses skype) are effective right now as its great technology and will be used extensively by both business and private users for a long time. But there is also the risk of video conferencing overload – if you have back to back Zoom meetings too many days in a row it’s the last thing you will want to do when you return to work. I have been in some really effective Zoom meetings as well as some very awkward ones.
Video conferencing is a great supplement to face-to-face meetings but you just can’t replace the connection and intimacy or comradeship that comes from physically being in the same space as others.
People have basic instinctual needs such as food, shelter, water which they need to survive. These are being met by most people at the moment.
I believe that in addition to these needs, personal connection to others is of vital importance for survival of the soul. So, above all else, this is what we should be most looking forward to!
As the only news story going around at the moment I guess I have to write about it as well. Here are my observations on what it’s like to live in Brisbane at this time, the local restrictions and how people’s lives have changed.
First of all, I am one of the lucky ones, so far. Many people have lost their jobs, their livelihoods and their health as a part of this crisis. Australia’s mortality rate, whilst quite low compared to other countries is still truly tragic.
I applaud the frontline health workers who are doing an incredible job in testing and treating the sick and vulnerable which must be an extremely stressful environment to work in. The number of tests already done in Australia is quite incredible.
So what’s it like now in BrisVegas?
Brisbane City
Everyone who can, is working from home with Brisbane City a virtual ghost town and only a sprinkling of people around in what is normally a thriving city. Cafés have closed as the demand is just not there for the daily latte anymore.
Transport
The movement of people to and from work, whether by private vehicles, buses or trains has dramatically dropped – the daily commute at the moment for many is one from the kitchen to the spare bedroom. Conversely, despite the social distancing guidelines there seem to be more people out for an early morning or lunchtime walk, run or cycle, which is recommended by the Health Department as ALL sport is cancelled and ALL gyms are closed.
Groceries
Buying groceries is challenging – you can’t order home deliver anymore unless you are a vulnerable person (and fair enough as well), so you go to the supermarket as little as possible and try to touch only things that you have to. Disposable gloves, sanitizing shopping trolleys and carry baskets smothering hand sanitizer are all part of the normal shop now. But at least the stock levels have ‘started’ to normalize again after the initial round of toilet paper, hand sanitiser and pasta panic buying.
Social Distancing
What a concept which we hadn’t even heard of 2 months ago! When you are out at the shops it’s a different experience – there’s this pause when you are approaching someone else’s space, you politely look at them and then choose which path each of you will take to keep 1.5m away. Starting to look at people in a different way, but there’s still a sense that we are all in this together. I have tried to shop without a trolley or hand basket with mixed levels of success – I have a 2 bag system at the checkouts.
Working from Home (WFH)
My Home Office!
I am fortunate enough to be able to work from home. Many people who travel regularly for work are already set up to work remotely (via VPN etc), but this is at a whole different scale and is the largest WFH experiment ever. Rather surprisingly, the systems and internet infrastructure seem to be working and rapid adoption of tools like Teams and Zoom will change the way we work forever.
I have full confidence that WFH will become much more prevalent and accepted in the new world and this will have flow on effects to many other areas.
Flatten the curve
The other phrase that we have heard so often lately and is basically what all of this is about – to try to slow the spread of COVID-19 as quickly as possible, through implementing measures that we couldn’t even imagine just 2 months ago. Australia seems to be winning this war for the moment, but there is so much uncertainty out there, and all we can do is hope that the trend continues.
New restrictions
Surfers Paradise Beach, my home away from home, is set to be closed to the public from tonight. I have spent so many hours on the beach, swimming in the surf or going for walks that’s its hard to imagine the beach could be closed. I have only previously seen it closed during extreme swell conditions in the aftermath of a cyclone.
Messages of hope
Most people recover
Whilst the virus can lead to brutal symptoms, thankfully most people do recover. As the number of new cases continues to fall in Australia it can be expected that the number of people recovering from the virus will also increase. I can only hope that this trend continues and wish those directly impacted and their families a speedy recovery.
Governments are trying to step up
Australia did not even recover from the bushfire crisis before we had to deal with this Pandemic. Despite the awful nature of the virus, the economic impact of the measures put into place are just as devastating for almost every business, from the local café to consulting firms, councils and everything in between. Government response to try to support the economy has been swift and decisive. There is so much more to be done to support the small business owners (not just their employees) whose livelihoods have been devastated by the measures put in place by the Government. Its great to support casual workers, but if the business they worked for doesn’t exist after the wages support is over, it will all be for nothing.
New cases are reducing
Seems to be positive news in Australia when you review the range of graphs and stats available. I am keeping up to date with this via the ABC news App.
There are exceptions to every rule, but for the most part the community are doing the right thing, being more patient when out and about, and maintaining social distance where possible. Some of the systems put in place at smaller retailers are a bit confusing if you are not used to it, so occasionally tensions arise between the staff and customers when the signs / arrows aren’t followed – I will know for next time right!
Taking it in our stride
It amazes me the way in which society can adapt to an event like this. In a way people can go about their lives, thinking nothing of heading to the local coffee shop in the morning or the supermarket just as they did before. On the opposite end of the spectrum, businesses at all levels are being completely overwhelmed. The elderly relatives in my family have also accepted their part in adapting to the isolation imperatives, with family gatherings off the cards for a while and finally taking on board grocery home delivery. I think it is partly that the communication from the experts and government in conjunction with the tragedies unfolding in other countries, in other words a combination of understanding and fear that has triggered a swift adaptation from the community. Technology has also played a role in getting information from a local and global sense almost instantaneously.
Find an outlet
MY best purchase (in hindsight) from this year has been an electronic drum kit. I didn’t think I would need it as much, but its currently set up in my home office – I can jump over there, play a tune and be back at my desk before I am missed! These little distractions are essential to avoid getting cabin fever!
And finally, we are starting to wonder what the new world will look like…
Will we travel like we did? Australians love to travel!
Can we attend a concert or the next Broncos NRL game?
What will the psychological legacy look like? Will we ever shake hands again?
Will there be a renewed sense of patriotism and community once we get through it together?
These questions can keep you up at night if you think about them too much.
A sense of one world
They say that it’s a connected world, and never has that been more evident than in the last 3 months. The effect of each of our actions can impact many people in positive and negative ways. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if this could lead to a broader appreciation of how our individual actions and motivations can directly impact the lives of others.
I, along with many others tuned-in to the ‘Fire Fight Australia’ Concert on the weekend. What an event! An amazing who’s who of Australian and overseas musicians, headlined by rock royalty Queen – they have still got it! Its like Australia’s version of live aid – and whilst Queen (with the amazing Adam Lambert) may have stolen the show again, you could feel the sense of joy with every artist performing!
Notable mentions to John Farnham, Tina Arena’s tribute to Chrissy Amphlett, and Delta Goodrem for the spine tingling performance of the day! I can’t name everyone here or I would!
It reminded
me a lot of a concert I went to at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre many years
ago – Ausmusic ’90 when John Farnham and Daryl Braithwaite were on top of the
charts. A memorable concert (I’m pretty sure Indecent Obsession were there as
well!) Anyway, back to the point…
Its often
the case that the worst or most tragic events bring out the best in people and
this summer’s bushfires have been one of those times. The amount of money
raised is extraordinary and hopefully people keep giving! How could you not be proud
to be Australian today.
Thank you to Celeste Barber, a true inspiration! @celestebarber
I recently read Tony Robbins book ‘Money, Mastering the Game’. A very informative and practical read on how anyone can set themselves up for financial success. What I wasn’t expecting is towards the end he devotes an entire chapter to giving. That’s right, in a book on investing and building personal wealth he reveals the greatest happiness comes from investing in others – or giving money away. And when it comes to events like the Fire Fight Australia concert, donating money or time to the victims of the tragic fires of the summer or other great causes, Tony is just so right.
There are
many other ways to give to others as well, so I hope everyone can find a way to
contribute and appreciate the happiness that it brings!
What better
way to finish than to quote Sammy Hagar – ‘You’ve got to give to live’!
Welcome to the blog of David b where I will be publishing my thoughts on a different topic each week. I am new to this so lets see how it goes!
When was the last time that you felt truly relaxed? Where you could sit back and watch the world go by and not let anything bother you.
In this age of technology, people are so addicted to their devices and social media that many cannot even bear to bring themselves to look where they are walking even when crossing a busy street. How did we get like this? How can we possibly think that whatever is on our screen overrides our personal safety? It used to be that the most primal need (of survival) would override all else. Now, it seems that its more important to see who posted something than looking where we are going, be it when we are driving or navigating a busy sidewalk. Authorities are starting to install safety cameras to identify drivers using mobile phones, as they can’t rely on common sense anymore.
I don’t think we can get to that truly relaxed state unless we make a conscious effort to do so. I’m as guilty as everyone else of reaching for their phone first thing in the morning, whether through fear of dysconnectivity or whatever. There may be some ways you can reach the Nexus with your phone, but I think generally you will need to extricate it from your hand. So here are my thoughts….
What better place to start than at the beginning of 2020 with a New Years resolution. Mine, I think will be simply to relax more! To find my ‘Nexus’ and go there often.
For me, one thing has done the trick more than anything else – to go to the beach, setup my (bargain of the century @ $10) beach tent, download a good book onto my kindle and read for a few hours under the hot summer sun – my beach of choice is Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast. The beach tent is an essential ingredient here or I would soon look like a member of the Barmy army after Day 1 of the first Ashes cricket test match in Brisbane.
The Nexus is a term I first came across while watching a Star Trek movie. According to that movie the Nexus is an extra dimensional realm where your thoughts and desires shaped reality. My definition is a bit more simplistic – a place where you could go to truly relax (in my case the beach).
The first time I found my Nexus I was actually reading a paperback murder/mystery novel (before evolving to the Kindle world). But, despite the gruesome and thrilling content jumping out from the pages of my book, I found my Nexus for the first time.
It dawned on me hours later when I was walking along the Surfers Paradise Esplanade that I was actually on ‘Island Time’. What time is it? Don’t know, don’t care! What a place to be!
Me in the Nexus, January 2020
There will be many other preferred ways to get to the Nexus – some may find it at the gym, during meditation, yoga or sports. Running is also something I have done a lot of in the past – ‘Runners High’ is definitely a form of the Nexus. I think generally it just has to be something that is good for you (or at least not bad for you) and then you need to be able to get to that place easily.
So that’s it for my first blog. I am not here to bore anyone with too many words (the image says it all). Hope everyone can find their Nexus – and have a great 2020!
