"I Think I Physically Saw My Heart Plop Out Of My Mouth" ...

Having established TOOL's touring schedule last week, and going all out to add the San Francisco leg onto the front of my trip, to say I was taking a HUGE gamble is an understatement. I was banking on a single event, and somehow securing tickets for said event, all the way from Australia of all places. But what's to lose if the dice is never rolled?

Tickets went on sale Sunday 10AM Local Time. Yes ... thats 1AM Monday Morning Perth WST, but nothing was going to stop me trying, and boy, how fate just played its hand perfectly.

So a day before, I log in, and begin to check seating plans for the venue. Like any concert theatre, its a mix of GA (General Admission) Floor standing areas, Low level seats and higher Balcony Seating. For a two hour show I'm always looking for seats to get a better view and to relax. Thinking I'm prepped and ready to go, I wait for 1AM .... and then it all hits the fan.

Heading to the TicketMaster site (US) I log on at exactly 1AM, and im greeted by a panel stating quantity of tickets : price : location. Putting in all my details, and jumping through every security feature they have on this site, I somehow get to a queuing screen. Yeh a virtual "Que". I know its crazy, and I can just imagine the mice on the other end running round in wheels processing our orders. Finally after 3 mins of "Refreshing Pages" and holding my breath, I reach a purchase screen stating the "Best Available" Seat selection I made has delivered a ..... GA (General Admission Ticket). ahhh What the hell ?

Now here's the kicker. I freak out, thinking "No Way In Hell Do I Want A GA Floor Seat!!". I Quickly cancel the order at 1:02AM, thinking I can still get in que for a Balcony selected seat. WRONG!

Upon trying again, EVERYTHING JUST GOT SOLD OUT! .... I kid you not. In the space of 2:20 secs, It was now impossible to get a ticket, with warning screens appearing saying, "Your selection can not be accepted" no matter WHAT your selection was. I tried it all 20 to 30 times, and quickly figured there was only one selection available from the start, that being General Admission!

I had a ticket ... and had given it up. I think I physically saw my heart plop out of my mouth and stop beating on the floor. 1:16AM. One. Last. Try.

Then ... by some strange means, fate played it's hand and at 1:17AM, my screen changed. It now read ... Single General Ticket Available : Purchase Now ? HELL YES IM PURCHASING NOW!!! I've never entered credit card details in so fast to a site in my life, given they have you on a 4 minute counter until your tickets are taken away and reintroduced into the main pile. Having no idea how this happened, I secured a ticket, and proceeded to just reflect on what had gone from the lowest of lows, to the highest of highs. Sometimes, things just happen for a reason. Sometimes the dots are just ment to be joined.

Just to double check, I spent the next hour searching for another ticket with no luck. completely SOLD OUT. I also logged onto the TOOL forum and was greeted by a flurry of fans complaining that tickets were sold out in 2 minutes, and that some had also fallen for the GA "Best Available" Ticket scenario. To say im on a lucky roll is an understatement.

On The Road Again ....

Hello to all. Been awhile I know. Alot has changed, and alot has stayed the same, but this blog remains as an extended online journal for those seeking to jump in my suitcase while I travel abroad, enjoying the laughs and stories along the way.

So it begins again. After an amazing couple of weeks, I thought I would tell you a brief story about how sometimes, just sometimes, fate seems to join the dots for us, and things just "work out".

So i'm off the the USA again, solidified last week with airfare purchases and plans coalescing nicely. But i'll try and stick to the beginning leg of this trip for now and how its shaping so far. Baby steps so far.

2009: July: Friends of mine From Boston, that I met in San Diego in 2008, are back at Comic Con, and are frantically emailing and twittering me with updates as to the latest at the convention and why I should be there. I make a long winded promise to be there the next year, having been blown away with what I saw of Tron Legacy and Avatar. I intended to keep this promise, but the how and when's were foggy, and nothing was certain about how this world trip should play out. Never the less I did secure tickets for SDCC way back in October 09 for the full 5 days.

January / February / March / April all pass. no plane tickets purchased, no solid plans. I've generally had the dots mapped out to this adventure for awhile, but real life took over and things got delayed. Eventually, with the thought of buying a new car in 2010, I made solid decisions to make this trip a scaled back approach, saving on the cashola for deposits later in the year. This would now chop out South East Asia for 2011 / 2012, and would only encompass North America.

Last week in April suddenly from no where,a good friend alerts me to the fact that TOOL (Progressive Rock Band from Los Angeles USA), whom i've traveled the world to see on 3 separate occasions, including a previous US tour show in 2006, has just posted on their website, that they are kicking off a Summer US tour in .... wait for it ... June / July of 2010. Synchronicity?.... Fate.

People who know me and know how passionate I am for this band for their collective musical talents, artistic approach in design, artwork and video, and links to many left of center spiritual and metaphysical themes and topics, know that when an opportunity like this arises, I can't look away.

This has to be happening at this time. It has to fall together. So finally as of 5am last Monday, I await the announcement of tour dates and city locations, knowing I have to start planning for airfares. Suddenly as the last city to be announced on the tour, San Francisco becomes available, a week prior to my Boston arrival. The dots begin to line up, and the frantic pace of flight bookings begins.

With San Francisco now on the list It takes all of 3 days to find flights, plan departures and arrivals, and secure tickets. Amazingly fast, and somehow all booked as direct flights, from a Qantas Airlines special that evaporated by the end of that week. The List goes roughly like this : Perth : Sydney : San Francisco : Boston : San Diego : LA : Melbourne : Perth

And Here We Go ....