Vegetarians and Chinese food

I had dinner with my friend Melissa last night. Not the Melissa who crashed the wedding, the other one. Come to think of it, I don't think you've met her.

She's a vegetarian, and she ordered Chinese takeout for us to eat at her new house. Her house is just beautiful - she moved in just a few months ago and already it feels like a home. Her dog, Socrates, loves me, but that's probably because I play ball with him. Believe it or not, he's a vegetarian, too! We had Kung Pao Tofu, which was astoundingly tasty, and vegetable friend rice and vegetable egg rolls. It was really delish, but the company was even better.

I've known Meli for nine years. We worked together at Nalco, but I until last night I hadn't seen her in almost two years. We talked and talked, catching each other up on our lives. She told me that when she first started with Nalco, she wanted to get to know me because I am such a confident person. I almost spit out my tea.

I tried to explain to her that inside I often just want to curl up and hide, but she said it takes confidence to have the "this is me, take it or leave it" attitude I have. Well, okay ... I guess she has a point. But you have to take into account the fact that lots of people choose option B, and that always stings!

What I took away from our dinner, which lasted until after 10 p.m., I might add, was that the way the world sees you is rarely the way we see ourselves, and sometimes we just have to accept the fact that whether we believe it or not, our friends' perception of us is good to know, because a true friend sees what's inside and thinks we're amazing.