Finding a Partner

First I asked Julie.  It took some convincing, because although she might seem to be a Sin City kind of girl, turns out she's not.  "It'll be fun," I said.  "You don't have to gamble," I added.  "And we have so much more experience now, we'll do so much better than we did last time."  Julie was weakening, so I threw out the clincher:  "Everybody will be going."

Julie finally agreed to be my partner at the Las Vegas Nationals.  But then she made plans with two of her sisters to visit Paris in June, and she didn't want to take two trips in one summer.

"Sorry," she said.

"That's okay, I understand," I replied.

Next I asked Cristi, who is my other regular partner.  Turns out she is a Sin City kind of girl and did not need convincing. "I'm going to have my sisters meet us there.  There's so much to do besides bridge!  Is that okay with you?"  Not only was it okay, but I was excited to have "permission" to play Blackjack. I was looking forward to having fun, fun, fun, until . . .

Turns out there's a river cruise that starts in Amsterdam and goes to Budapest.  Cristi and her husband decided to take it, and of course it was happening at the same time as the Nationals.

"Sorry," she said.

"That's okay, I understand," I replied.

Then I asked Lee.  We've had just a few games together, but we get along nicely and enjoy playing together.  She agreed and we made our plans, including booking some games to make sure we were in sync.  Then a family obligation forced her to cancel.

"Sorry," she said.

"That's okay, I understand," I replied.

Still determined to go to Las Vegas, I looked online for a partner.  The acbl site has a nice system for that, and I quickly found someone who seemed compatible.  All set!  I thought.  And then I got an email stating that she was so sorry, but a friend had signed her up for knockouts and she wouldn't be able to play with me after all.

"That's okay, I understand," I emailed back.

At this point someone else might have given up, thinking the universe was sending a message to stay home.  But I am made of tougher stuff, and I persevered.  I found another partner online and he quickly named several conventions that he played.  Even though I am unfamiliar with them, my first instinct was to say YES, I play those!  (At this point I'll agree to just about anything to get a partner; after all, I still have two days to learn something new.) Then I heard Bob's voice saying, "Don't let anyone talk you into playing something you aren't comfortable with," so I slept on it.  I am going to email my new potential partner the truth and see what happens.

The odds are not in favor of my having a partner before I get there, but Vegas is all about beating the odds and I am a Sin City kind of girl!