i tried to keep it a secret from them... but just couldn't do it.
coldplay was starting a new tour... detroit was one of the first 3 cities on the tour... and i was thinking about taking my 3 fabulous mini-me's.
they know coldplay's one of my favorite bands. and since they love them too... i thought it might be one of those rare opportunities for me to do something cool with all my kids without them being embarrassed to have old dad around. i shot the idea across the bow... and when mutiny didn't erupt, i started looking online for tickets.
yikes!
then i began back-peddling a bit... debating whether or not i wanted to spend that kind of money for a memorable family evening together. so i had one of those sensible dad ideas that risked the dreaded eye-roll... and shot a second idea across the bow. "would you guys be willing to go halvsies with me on the tickets?" much to my surprise, they agreed.
i love having kids with jobs!
then the band decided they weren't quite ready and pushed their tour start date back... bumped detroit and 2 other cities... and rescheduled for november... ...which actually may have helped our cause because most of the good seats were already gone. could it be possible that some of the people with good july tickets wouldn't be able to make the november date?
we agreed that the nosebleed section wasn't where we wanted to put our money... but even if there were floor seats available... sensible dad didn't want to pay an arm & a leg even if he was only springing for half the ticket. so that put us hunting for seats in the lower ring. but even there, the available seats were still pricey... and at the opposite end from the stage... in the corner. bummer.
oh well. we convinced ourselves that they would be fine.
beth sometimes calls me "randy no stone unturned shafer" because i don't give up easily. it's that perfectionist thing that too often bites me in the butt. anyway... just before pressing the purchase button, i decided to do a bit more hunting.
the next few days were an education. i found better seats alright... and at a price that seemed like they just might be worth the extra bills. that is, until i discovered the delivery charges and broker fees. ouch! no thanks! so back to the lower ring corner. of course by this time, the seats had been moving higher row by row.
but just before pressing that purchase button at ticketmaster a second time... i noticed the "auction" tab.
hmmm. what's that?
there were a few seats available in great sections, but kind of like priceline... it was a risk. they told you the general area, but the exact section, row & seat was hidden. plus since i'd be low-balling, someone might outbid me easily... and it might be too late to get the other available safe seats and we'd be stuck with even worse ones by the end of the auction.
but i took the risk... placed my bid... felt a little guilty about asking G*D to help me end up with good seats no matter what... and proceeded to wait.
i kept checking the auction for the next day or two... waiting for it to end... expecting someone to jump in at the last minute and outbid me. but no one did. whatever tickets i was winning... they were going to be mine.
then the email came.
floor... center section... 14 rows from the stage.
can't say anything but, "thanks G*D" and... "waaaa hooo!!!"
anyone know where i can get a good deal on earplugs?
