Refreshing...

Sometimes I love to be the representative for my boss or the title or so busy that it almost hurts, but sometimes I just want to be me.

I stopped by a bar last night on my way home to say hello to a friend I know through politics. He was working in Richmond that night rather than the city he lives in so I thought I'd at least say hello.

Because he was busy I decided to pull up a chair at the bar and order dinner until things calmed down for him and we'd have a chance to chat. It was nice to be a singular sole that nobody really knew. I didn't have to pull out the business cards and I didn't have to put on any pretenses about who I am or why I do what I do.

A very nice (and very attractive) man sat next to me. He had a meeting to go to around the corner and stopped in for a bite after work. We ended up talking politics, religion, welfare reform, the depletion of our Judeo-Christian values in our culture and generally what it means to be a good person.

Yes, those are topics that come up in my life ALL THE TIME, but this was different. I didn't have to worry about how someone misunderstood what I was saying or for it to be quoted in a blog the next day. I didn't have to worry about what someone expected me to say. I just got to discuss the subject and ask honest questions. I was just me, talking about things that I'm passionate about, and learning from a stranger in a bar.

Sometimes it's nice to just get away.