Finally, months in the waiting, an open thread

Well, finally went to a Christmas party tonight. Usually have three this evening - for some reason, the same three friends always have parties tonight. So, my friend Matt and I bop from one to the other to the other. All great, and equally fascinating and different. Unfortunately parties two and three got canceled for various reasons, and Joe is home sick tonight, so Matt and I went to the one party in the hood, and it was nice. Lots of olds friends, and some potentially crazy new ones too. One of the neat things about living in DC (and trust me, I rarely find anything neat about living in DC), is that the people you know, your friends, and your friends' friends, are the people who make Washington what it is. At the party tonight, I saw a number of friends who work on the Hill, for big newspapers, for non-profits, friends in gay politics, and more. At one point, I joked to a friend that the guy in corner looked like a younger Bill Burton (one of Obama's top spokesmen during the campaign - you remember him, the guy who was always on FOX, beating the crap out of them). In fact, it was Bill Burton. (Who oddly does look like a younger version of himself, if that makes any sense.) I know for some people, going to parties and mingling with "name" politicos is tantamount to getting too cozy with "the enemy." But I don't see it that way. It makes Washington, DC human for me (and that's a rarity). It makes politics human. This is a town of real people. And I think sometimes we all forget that.