There's a standing invitation out to anyone who wants to take me to lunch. Show up and I'll buy. The rules are simple. I don't pick the restaurant and I don't have to drive there. Oh, and you'd better call first, just to make sure I'm dressed. So, if you're in town, let me know.

Suzanne and I try to get together once a month. And she has her own rules. I have to let her pay half the time. I'm not sure she even lets me pay often enough, but today it was definitely my turn.

I never got around to letting the Boss know I was taking an extended lunch this afternoon. I know he wouldn't have objected, and in fact he would have encouraged me. He doesn't want me to go stale, chained to the desk and computer and file cabinets all day every day. But for some reason I always feel that I've "won" something if I'm gone for awhile and when I get back there are no messages on the answering machine.

We went to the Powerhouse Brew Pub in Sebastopol today. The servings there are substantial and solid. I know that's not the highest praise in the world, but we like going there because it's a friendly, dependable place with reasonable prices and a congenial atmosphere. We sat and talked for an hour, something we rarely get to do any more. I know you know how much I needed that.

Yes, there were two messages when I got home. But neither of them was from the Boss, so I got my little "victory." No prizes, other than a slight sigh of relief.

It's not as if I would have got much done today anyway, since I was still recovering from my late night at the theater. But it was so much better to be away from here and in good company than stuck here with none but my own.