By now most of us know that becoming acquainted with someone online is no guarantee that you will like, respect or want to be within a five mile radius of that person in the flesh. So it was a truly great day yesterday when I got to have lunch with Stephanie Anagnoson, whose comments regularly grace my blog. She was on her way home from a long business trip and made a special stop on the way just to meet up with me.

Stephanie and I first became acquainted through Zoetrope Online Writer's Workshop and over the course of the past (she thinks five) years, we've become writing buddies, exchanging ideas, novels and occasionally, complaints about the publishing industry.

What I like about Stephanie, other than the insightful posts she puts up looking into spiritual methods for coping with work and other situations, is that she is who she purports to be. If you read her blog and you meet her in person there won't be some wild disconnect, some sense that she's been lying/withholding/presenting you with a persona. I also like that she's opinionated in my favorite way--that is, she's not afraid to have opinions. I can be a little wishy/washy co-dependent--afraid to say what I think for fear of causing conflict, always giving people another chance until long after they deserve it. So I admire this trait in others.

It was cool.