Now that the return of "How I Met Your Mother" has come and gone, there's only one thing I have left to look forward to: the return of NBC's Thursday night comedy lineup.

The calendar has been marked for April 3. On that night, "My Name is Earl" returns with a one-hour show, followed by "30 Rock" and "The Office." One week later, "Scrubs" returns. (There are five episodes of that show already 'in the can,' as they say, and I have a feeling those are the last five we're going to see on NBC. But, I'm not 100 percent sure, so keep fingers and toes crossed that there will be more.)

My dilemma: On April 10, I will be in Denver at a conference. There's an opening reception that night, offering free food. (Well, technically, I -- no, my employer -- paid for it as part of the conference registration fee, so no additional cost, as my high school AP Economics teacher would say.)

Bottom line: Do I pass up free food and geeky copy editor conversation for two hours of sitcoms?

Or, do I just set the VCR and wait to see it when I come home?