I spoke to the ombudsperson this afternoon. She was very nice, and dually shocked by my situation. She's going to speak with him and get back to me. Good. Hopefully he'll realize that what he's doing isn't allowed and he'll apologize next week and either allow everyone to go or cancel the trip that weekend.

Maybe he even has some legitimate excuse for offering a guys-only retreat and didn't realize how offensive it would be to the women in the class. Maybe. Part of me thinks he's as old school as they come and will hate having women forced down his throat, infringing on his chance to relive his days in vietnam with a bunch of 20-something guys in the woods.

I'm glad that there is someone to speak on my behalf so I don't have to engage in a conflict with him. Well, part of me is glad. Part of me really (and I mean really) wants him to know that I'm the one that has a problem with his sexist attitude, that I'm the one that is forcing him to take women on his weekend retreat, that I won't tolerate any sexist treatment in the lab, that I have precious little respect for him at this point, and that I'm not scared of him. He would try to blackball me into quitting the class. He's already let us know that he has no tolerance for quitters and I wouldn't give him the pleasure. It would be this great battle of wills. Sometimes I love being inflammatory. Part of me even hopes he'll challenge the ombudsman so I can testify against him and have him fired. Yes, I'm feeling more than a little vindictive.

And one thing is for sure: I've already cleared my schedule for the 17-19th of September. I'll have nothing to do that weekend except attend a "guys-only" weekend retreat.