Hermit Crab

I'm moving to a new hotel Saturday. It's one that is closer to my office and, frankly, has nicer amenities than the one in which I'm currently staying. Plus it's closer to a Publix, where I prefer to buy my groceries, and to some popular restaurants when I want to eat out. In fact, Cindy and I ate at the Cheesecake Factory in that area when she visited me back in May.

But the biggest reason I chose this particular hotel is because last week I had checked our staffing list and did not see anyone from my office staying there. Not that I don't like the people I work with, because I do (at least most of them) and they are great people, but I am just not the type who enjoys a lot of social interaction. I can fake it very well (I'm told) when I have to, but deep down inside when I get back to my hotel at night after a long day I'd rather just be a hermit in my room and that becomes problematic when your co-workers are staying in the same hotel. You know, when they find out you're staying there too they want to go have a drink after work or go to dinner together after work or go do something together on your day off...and that's very seldom my preference. As I say, I like my co-workers and they're fine people, but I can probably count on one hand the ones I'd LIKE to spend time with when I'm off work (and if you're reading this, please be assured you ARE one of those, lol). So I booked a reservation thinking I could be my "hermit" self without going through the scenes above.

But today the main reason for my hotel choice was blown apart after I discovered that several of my co-workers had just moved to the same hotel. Some of them are very gregarious and outgoing. One of them, upon finding out today that I was moving there, has already said, "Let's get a drink together one night." I said, "Oh yeah, that'd be great" but you probably already know what they didn't; that I wasn't entirely honest in my response. Now I'll be trying to figure out how to sneak into the hotel each night and make it up to my room without being spotted, or making up lame excuses or, in some cases, just giving in and doing it so as not to offend anyone.

When I was a kid I'd pick up hermit crabs on the beach, never dreaming I'd become one someday, lol.

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