Friday PM: Arrival to Greenville

It's a little after midnight and I am in
the hotel room contemplating a good night's
rest. I started my journey at 5:00 p.m. from
Manhattan, KANSAS, on a Great Lakes company
shuttle flight to Kansas City. In KC, it
was just up a short escalator to US Airways
and they were already boarding the flight
to Charlotte, NORTH CAROLINA. The plane
was full (Maybe the stimulus is already
working!?). We made good time in the air,
and I found the area near my gate well
ahead of the Greenville flight, so I
enjoyed BBQ Brisket with mashed potatoes
and mixed vegetables (including yellow
squash, broccoli, green beans, carrots,
and corn), plus a roll and a Corona.
They asked to see my license for the
beer--always a humorous moment. On
the plane from Charlotte to Greenville,
they asked for a volunteer to move from
up front to the far rear of the plane
because they were "nose heavy." I
got up and moved, carrying my 225 pounds
with me, so that was a change of 450
pounds and apparently enough for them
to get the plane off the ground. :)
The exercise program starts when I
get home. For real this time. I
can't believe I weigh enough to
be useful as ballast now.

I found one of the TALGS 2009 organizers,
Lamont Curran, East Carolina University
graduate student in rhetoric and linguistics,
and a friend of his waiting for me to
give me a ride to my hotel. They also
gave me a tour of the drive to campus
and through the downtown area where
lots of students go.

Lamont tells me there will be at least
130 people tomorrow at TALGS, a new
record in the sixth year of this
event. I am excited about tomorrow's
conference and will report and take
pictures to the best of my ability.

Great to be in North Carolina. This
is a very hospitable place.

Later,
Robb Scott
Editor, ESL MiniConference Online