Vacation

I am already planning ahead to this summer when I can take vacation. It will be the perfect time for it - between my Master's and (hopefully) after I have been admitted to the PhD program. I am going to my family's annual reunion, of course, for about a week. I miss my family, especially my sister and brother who are away at college now. I am really looking forward to that trip, because I will also get to see some of my best friends from undergrad.

But that leaves me another week, and I want to take a vacation of my own as well, and this leads to much daydreaming while I should be being productive.

There is a group of guys in my lab that go to Vegas at least once or twice a year. They enjoy it, they have the money for it, and they always have a grand time. I always have wanted to go to Vegas, and the guys and I always kid around that I'll come along one of these trips.

So now they are planning a trip in August, which would be a perfect time. They are bringing their girlfriends so there will be other girls there besides me. And they are planning to make this trip a bit cheaper than their normal "devil-may-care" routine - which works for me, I don't need to stay in the king suites. And, to top it all off, they are going on the weekend that the annual Star Trek convention is in Vegas. It's a tailor made trip for me!

So how does one go about getting themselves invited? I mentioned in conversation that I was wanting to plan a vacation, and that I've always wanted to go to Vegas. I asked about how their trip planning was going, and made sure to say that everything they were planning sounded fantastic. I said that I was thinking about going to the annual Star Trek convention, and one guy said, "Well neat, that would be the same weekend we are going!" Then silence.

At this point I felt a little foolish with all the hint dropping, so I haven't brought it up again. I can't decide if they really just aren't getting the hints (which can happen, guys often miss cues like this that we women think are obvious), or if they really would just rather go by themselves. I don't want to push anymore if I'm only grudgingly wanted.

So I have decided I won't worry about it anymore. If it's not just going to fall into place, I'd rather go scuba diving.

But of course life can't be that easy - the problem with that one is I don't have anyone to go with, and diving really works better with a partner you know.

So I think the bottom line here is that I am no good at inviting myself on other people's trips, and I haven't made much of an effort to invite anyone else on the trip I want to go on.

No wonder I like doing things on my own!