On Tuesday I got back from the Rhetoric Society of America conference in Memphis. All in all, it was a good trip, but not as good as I had hoped. For all practical purposes, this was my first real conference. I had gone to a regional Christianity and Literature conference in 2001 when I was a M.A. student, but I was clueless, and I read a horrible paper. Pretty embarassing when I think about it now. Anyway, since Rachel didn't get back from Boston until Friday, I left for RSA on Saturday, even though the conference started on Monday. That was okay with me, but there were some pretty good looking panels that I would have liked to see on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.

I got to Memphis midday Saturday, but my luggage didn't. I hadn't even packed a change of clothes or a toothbrush in my carry-on. After filing a report with the airline, I decided to go to my hotel to let them know my luggage would be delivered and, maybe, to check in, even though I knew the check-in time was 3PM. That trip cost me 20 bucks and was totally futile. They wouldn't let me check in early, and my luggage didn't get there until 11PM anyway.

So, after the 20 something dollar cab ride to my hotel, I took a thirty something dollar ride to the Peabody, the conference hotel. I went to one panel, met up with some friends, and went to a tour and lecture at the National Civil Rights Museum. The Museum was definitely the highlight of the trip. If you're ever in Memphis, don't miss it. It's sobering and beautiful.

After the Museum, I made my way back to the Peabody and met up with some more friends. We sat in the lobby and talked. I drank Pinot Noir and tried my first Mint Julep.

As it turned out, the carpool group from school was staying near my hotel, so I was able to ride with them for the rest of the weekend. Saved me at least 200 buck in cab fare. I was already low on cash, and I hadn't anticipated such steep transportation costs, so this was a life saver.

When I got back to my hotel, my bag still hadn't been delivered by the airline, so I was pretty worried. But, 45 minutes later, I got a call from the front desk that my bag was there. I had been pretty nervous all day long, and getting my bag was a pretty big relief.

In the craziness of the day, I realized that I hadn't eaten lunch or dinner, and it all hit me at about 11PM. Luckily IHOP was next door, home of the Big Bacon Omelet. So, I consumed a couple thousand calories right before bed. There's never a bad time for bacon.

Sunday was okay, but I was disappointed in most of the panels. Most seemed half-assed, esoteric, just uninteresting. But, some were good.

Sunday night we ate at B.B. King's, which was a pretty good place, with a great blues band playing, but the food wasn't really that good. If that's Memphis Barbeque, said barbeque is overrated. But I don't think that's the case. I think we just got some bad advice.

Monday was the day of my panel. I was to present at 8AM. Well, that's what time the panel started--I spoke 3rd out of 4. As it turns out, many people went home Sunday night and many more people partied Sunday night. Not good for 8 o'clock panel attendence. We had two audience members. So, counting my panel members and chair, I was reading to an audience of six. Kinda disappointing because I liked my paper. I've actually worked on it off and on for a year.

To add insult to injury, I had to cut my presentation short because one or both of the first two speakers went long, and the chair wasn't paying attention to time until my presentation. So, out of ten pages, I read six, and then summarized and cut to the conclusion. It's not that big of deal really, but I think my discussion in the last few pages was important to my project, and I would have like to read it--or at least to discuss it in more detail.

After the panel, I had planned on either going to some more panels that looked interesting or to explore Memphis. But, I decided I was to tired to enthusiastic about academic stuff. Everything had built up to my presentation, and after I came down, I was done.

I had forty-one dollars left, and eight hours until my flight. Not really enough money to shop or go to Graceland ($35), and not enough brain-power for more panels. That's when I decided F-it: I'm going home. I took the shuttle to the airport and flew standby, and got home about 2PM.

I'm glad I went to the conference, and it really didn't suck that much. In 2008, RSA will be in Seattle. I'll definitely go. Next year, 4C's (the biggest conference in Rhet/Comp--stands for Conference on College Composition and Communication) is in New York, and I'm definitely going there, too.

Now that RSA is over, the real work of summer starts--reading, reading, reading, while taking care of a three year old (JD turns three tomorrow! It's gone by fast!).