Romantic Times Convention

I'm jealous. I'm envious. And I have no right to be. This week authors and readers are going to the RT (Romantic Times Convention) and I'm not. I made the choice not to go. I think it had something to do with lack of $. It might have been also lack of vacation time and wanting to see my dad and have ear surgery so I could hear better, and also that I'm going to Lori Foster Readers and Writers Get Together in Cincinnati while I visit my dad and go to my 30th high school reunion. Guess I can't have it all. But now that the week is here and everybody's been so excited and all they can do is talk about it, and blog land (at least in writer's world) is pretty barren and deserted already and most don't leave on their planes till tomorrow, I'm wishing I'd signed up to go anyway. Like I read in Carol's blog today at TEB, I'm shy and don't do too well mingling with people I've never met before, even in blogland and cyber space, much less at all. I worry too much, too, about what people with think. Worse, my mind often goes blank when I meet someone new and I can't think of anything to say, much less something witty and eloquent. I still have no clue why the day job ever thought they wanted to put me on a telephone with donors. I did try to warn them. I guess I got over that as I did work my way up to manager, but then of course, I'm surrounded by a group of people I've known for years, some of them for ten years, that I see 5 days a week - my second family. It's even very likely, that after all this, I'll do the same thing next year - go to Lori Foster's event in Cincinnati (if it works out well this summer, that is) so I can also see my dad and my family and have my vacation from the day job do double duty. I'll probably not get to too many RT's until I can retire from the 9-5 world, in say, 15 or 20 years. I don't know whether that's a good or bad thing... To all my friends, blogging buddies, fellow authors, and readers, have a great time and bring back lots of pictures to share.