You see, a person from my company made a site visit yesterday. (It would've been "people," but the other person trying to make it here got stranded 170 miles away at Sea-Tac Airport and had to bow out.) After company business, the company visitor invited me to dinner. For personal reasons, I couldn't go, but I realized as he asked me that I didn't want to say "Oh, I'd love to, but I can't." That's one of those phrases that sound insincere even if you mean it. So I juggled it, saying "I won't be able to go, but still, I appreciate the offer."
Then, to show I meant well, I then got on Google and dug out directions to the restaurant (Jake's Famous Crawfish, by the way) to ease his trip there.
An OHSU co-worker later told me that she felt bad no one had been able to join him for dinner. "He'll still eat well," I replied.
