Back to academic work and academic writing. This time it is similar to the story of going to Chicago that I wrote about a few weeks ago. This time it is the Gateway City of Saint Louis, Missouri. I am flying out tomorrow morning in the early hours and through Chicago, I end up Saint Louis. I am there for a conference which starts that day, then goes on the next day and half of the day that follows. I end up flying back late in the third day, this time a straight flight. Not too bad at all. I will eat lunch in Chicago . . . not at one of the fine restauants I noted a few weeks back, but at the airport. I am guessing that say what you will about airport food, airport food in Chicago has got to be better than airport food anywhere else. Or am I crazy in that notion? We will see, and I am sure that I will faithfully report to you the results of that little excursion.

Anyway, I am going to present the same (okay, okay, I know the rules . . . a similar paper . . . ) to this conference as the last conference in the Windy City. My paper is not at as good a time lsot as Chicago, so I do expect any awards or the like. This time I am presenting the paper at Nine O Clock in the morning on the last day of the confernce, maybe one of the worst slots, truth be told. I did not get a lot of feedback from Chicago, maybe a little comment here and there and another question here and there. But I hoping that St. Louis will provide feedback. I think that this paper has the potential of getting published in another more prestigious journal than the last publication. I already know what efforts I am going to make to get another article out of this, but I would like to get some productive feedack from the conference to get me some good advice, as well. I have high hopes.

I have been to Saint Louis before, for a church related conference. I did not get to see much of the city, only the airport and the hotel. I stayed at the hotel that the conference was at, and I can not remember leaving the conference for a tour of the city or anything, even eating outside of the hotel. I think that the hotel was out by the airport, too . . . so I was not near downtown. But this confernece is in the downtown area, I do not know exactly where. I just saw the arch last time from the air, and I hope that maybe I can get to it this time. Or at least see it from a little closer. I do not even know where in the city the Arch is, except that I assume it is on the Mississippi RIver. But other than that, I have no clue. I will not have a car for this conference, so as long as something is within walking distance, I can probably get to it. There is actually some down time on this conference, and they are feeding us okay. I guess that Saint Louis is another pretty good food city, that same midwest feel that Chicago has. I am expecting good beef, wherever I go in the Midwest. It is all about the food.