Sometimes it's best to allow fate to play a hand.

So after going back and forth all week on whether it's a better idea to drive the van or to fly to Seattle, I've decided on an appropriate compromise: Fate will decide.

Now normally, I'm not one to leave things to fate. I like to think that I'm a little more of a strategic planner when it comes to decisions like this, but in this case the equation is just about equal. If I drive, I don't have to pay shipping for my stuff and we won't have to buy a new car when I get there. The car is in good shape; it will make the trip easily with a few minor maintenance items handled before I leave. The gas will equate roughly to the shipping I'd have to pay and the only down-side really is the extra time it will take to get there.

If I sell the car and fly, I'll get there in five hours, won't have to worry about the car at all, but will need to come up with the cash for a new vehicle. I'll be about three hundred bucks ahead, but that's not really an important consideration.

So instead of deciding now, I've put the car up for sale. If it sells by next Tuesday, I'll take the money and ship the boxes and then upgrade my ticket to fly out on Saturday, September 22nd. If the car doesn't sell by then, I'll pack up my boxes on Saturday the 22nd and drive. Either way, I'll be leaving that Saturday.

Which makes this weekend my last weekend in Cleveland. If you're in the neighborhood, come join me for one last blow-out this upcoming Saturday night. After that, I'll be too busy for any kind of socializing no matter which way the wind blows.

For once, it's time to just go with the flow.

Yeah, I know. Who'd a thunk it?

Joseph Haines, signing off from The Edge of the Abyss.