[Rick Lee]

Just yesterday I was invited to a wedding on Friday, 11/11, which is two days after I get back from another business trip and the day before I go to China for three weeks. The couple are great people, but far from close friends. Groom apologized profusely for the late notice, having belatedly realized he had never mailed our invite and was going over the RSVP's before he realized he'd marked us off the list because of another guest with a name similar to mine.

Mrs. Lee and I met this couple while trying to buy Rush tix at Mandalay Bay in Vegas three yrs. ago. Groom sold us a pair of 7th row floor for $300 and he and his wife-to-be sat with us. They're from Phoenix, so we said we'd keep in touch, which lasted about two mos. Two yrs. later we actually bumped into them again at the Rush concert in Vegas and, in an amazing coincidence, their seats were right next to ours. What are those odds? So we figured we really should stay in touch this time and did hang out at the Rush show in Phoenix this past June. That's it.

And now we're invited to their wedding?

Wedding is very close by, it starts at 1:30pm and it's at a museum in the desert I"ve kind of always wanted to go check out. Reception is at their large property nearby with live band. I told him I can come because I work from home, but wifey cannot leave work that day because her company is very picky about vacations and it's the day before a very long one for her. I won't know a soul there except for the bride and groom. I'm thinking of riding my motorcycle and not getting real dressed up for this one. What the hell do I do for a gift?