In a week, I'm off to Oregon for Wedding Tour, part II: the west coast edition. When I realized that pretty much everyone I would want to see at my brother's wedding wouldn't even be at the wedding, but more likely at the reception that my Mom's throwing back home a month later, my parents generously invited (read: offered to pay for the plane ticket for their impoverished student daughter) me to come.

Alas, their invitation to "think about it" quickly morphed into an urgent injunction to "make up your mind already" once they realized that transcontinental flights were still relatively cheap but liable to jump in price at any second. I, meanwhile, was dragging my feet a bit on the question. Most of me wanted to be there and take part in the celebration, but a substantial minority of me wasn't sure I really wanted to take another weekend to revel in my chronic singleness.

Also, in the back of my mind, there was this fear: if I leave town in August, will I miss the famous biennial Olin T. Binkley Memorial Baptist Church Yard Sale? I mean, I love my brother and sister-in-law and everything, but this might be my last chance to take in the sale, since it only comes around every other year, and I really should be finished* and on my way to a real job by this time in 2008. Surely my family would understand and honor my priorities should the two events conflict.

As it happened, I didn't check the date of the yard sale, and went ahead with the flight booking, earnestly hoping in the back of my mind that out of all the weekends in August, the baptists wouldn't choose the second weekend for their sale.

Then, the other night, at Dana's bon voyage party, Dr. Abe, fellow treasure-hunter, gave me a scare. He mentioned that the Binkley Baptist Sale was coming up in two weekends, and my heart sunk. Oh, no! Not the 12th! I'm going to be on the other side of the country on the 12th!

Then, rescue: not the 12th, but the 19th, two weekends hence not counting this weekend. Huzzah! I can have my cake (or, in this case, wedding doughnuts) and eat it too!

I hope the baptists have good books.