Here I am, in Wisconsin. I have to say that O’Hare Airport was rather impressive, and I can say that because we pretty much saw the whole thing as we went to our gate where we’d board our connecting flight! We actually had a longer stop-over in Appleton, WI than we did in Chicago waiting for our chartered bus. Appleton’s Airport had a nice little (and expensive) restaurant where we all chilled out – but the part with video games and foosball table wasn’t opened yet, which was a bummer (no one wanted to play anyway). The Appleton Airport also had a “Cheese, Gifts, and Books” shop too – which I didn’t get into, but I did get a nice shot of the store sign. I don’t think that’s going to be something I see again soon (aside from on my return trip, that is).
Just as an aside for Matt. Yes, the restaurant had fried cheese curds. No, I did not get them (I don’t want to eat any food that is going to squeak at me).

I have no idea what the conference holds for me. Right now we’re on our bus to the center (estimates on travel time have ranged from a half-hour to and hour and a half, which just means we have no idea where we are). As soon as we get to Green Lake I’ll have to meet up with my tech-partners and see what the set-up is like (after we complain about it we’ll make everything work, it’s something geeks do). My Four AM start isn’t going to help me today, considering that by Wisconsin time I was up at Three. I have feeling I’ll be sleeping well tonight!

Update: Our registration went well, and we can reach the public wifi for the conference center if we sit just right. We eventually got the projector set-up working (though we’ll have to reverse the projectors tomorrow) – and the set up for the plenary sessions is workable (I am so glad we don’t have to run sound). The evening banquet was a good time – and I got to me some new people and reconnect with some folks I haven’t seen in ages. The plenary session itself was “OK.” Let’s just say that I have a difficult time appreciating “conference-style” speaking. I have a difficult time tracking with it and apply a different set of rules to it than both the speaking and much of the rest of the audience is using. The dissonance made me lose track. I could say that’s all on me, and in a sense it is – but I also think that “conference-style” can’t do what it is that many conference speakers want it to do – go deep. I struggle with this myself, because anyone who speaks in public (pastors included) has to walk the line of being “entertaining” and “substantive.”

Just to be clear, it’s not that I don’t think the speaker gave me things to chew on.  75% of the content of the talk were things I’ve either said, or may say in the future, but the way those things worked out went in directions that I would never contemplate.