Dear Friends: Liz Brooks' post is clever and wonderful about how to get what one wants and stay true to one's self I was in a similar position. I was brought in from afar to speak at a lovely conference. That night, there was a dinner for participants at a very posh restaurant that was being paid for by a pump company representative. There I was. Hungry and wanting to be with the other participants and conference staff. Caught, because I did not want to be given a free meal by a company and also did not want to make a scene. I was feeling a bit timid, due to surprise and a desire to be polite. When the waiter came around to take the orders, I stated to him quietly that I would be paying for my own meal. He said something like, "Oh, no, that gentleman down the table is paying for the whole meal." I reiterated my intention to pay for my own meal. Now this next part really galled me! The waiter called down the table to the gentleman in question (the pump company representative); "This person wants to pay for her own meal. Is that alright?" Like I was some child, that had to have permission. Makes me furious again as I write to you all. The rep. replied something like, "Sure, let her. There's one like that in every crowd." So much for being inconspicuous. Yet I am glad I did it. warmly, Nikki Lee RN, MSN, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CIMI, CCE, craniosacral therapy Adjunct faculty, Union Institute and University, Maternal and Child Health: Lactation Consulting Supporting the WHO Code and the Mother Friendly Childbirth Initiative *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html