I am a lucky SOB! Lollapalooza here I come!

“An old man turned 98. He won the lottery and died the next day.”

This most certainly is the story of my life. I have superficial luck like you wouldn’t believe. I have won more random contests in my life than any one person who has walked the planet. Granted, I participate in contests more than others, but truly my luck for that type of thing is uncanny. But at the same time, I also have the parallel streak of bad luck that follows. For example, I get a great job offer 1 week after I sign a contract to work another year at a not-so-great job. Or, I’ll win $50 on a scratch-off lotto ticket on the same day that I spill a glass of water on my laptop sending it to the VAIO graveyard. I take the good with the bad, I guess, but yesterday was definitely one of those good moments….

The line-up for Lollapalooza 2007 has not yet been announced, but if you’ve read my blog or the internet at all, you know that Pearl Jam is rumored by the Chicago Sun Times and Billboard to be slated for the headlining spot this year. This is just the icing on the cake for me, because I had planned on going to Lollapalooza with or without Pearl Jam. So, yesterday, around 11AM, I got an email which was sent to those on the Lollapalooza mailing list, that included a secret link where roughly 1500 lucky people could purchase advance 3-day passes to Lollapalooza 2007 for a measly $60, FREE of any shipping or processing charges! (last year I paid about $200 for mine) Obviously, I clicked the link immediately and was redirected to a holding queue set up for the inevitable overflow of web traffic. The page instructed hopefuls to hold tight, DO NOT refresh the page, and wait to be redirected to a site where they could purchase these coveted special tickets. So, I waited….and waited….and waited…..

Meanwhile I was checking in on the Pearl Jam message board to gauge the progress of my fellow ticket wanting fans, who were also waiting….and waiting….and a few of them actually getting through and successfully purchasing Lolla tickets.

After about 35 minutes or so I actually made it to the purchase screen where I placed 2 tickets into my cart and proceeded to the checkout page….but every time I got to the checkout page, there was an error of some sort. A few times it said there were no tickets left. Anther time it said I had been logged out. I kept trying…..to no avail. I took a break and had lunch.

About 20 min later, I came back and tried some more. Around 2:00 I was made aware by my amazing buddies on the message board that there was a phone number to the ticket vendor that I could utilize for this ticket giveaway. At this point I was in a very convoluted position, simultaneously pointing my cell phone toward the back window of my office where I get service, (dial…busy signal…hang up, redial, repeat…) stretching my other arm to my mouse, where I could read the message board for updates and keep refreshing the online ticket sale page….AND trying to keep up the appearance that I was doing my job. It was exciting! Eventually, the website shut down, and posted a “Sorry, sold out” type message. However, we (my message board pals and I) decided not to give up on the phone option because people were still getting through and successfully buying tickets over the phone.

I did, however, have to leave my office to continue on because there was a real estate closing in the next office and there was a lot of foot traffic going through my office to the copy machine in the hall, and I was on a serious mission, so my “still working” guise had been abandoned. So I went up to the front office to get reception….within 15 minutes I got through to the ticket vendor’s call line, where I was put on hold…..for another 15-20 minutes. FINALLY at 5:00PM, I was connected to a customer service representative. (at least 2 hours from the “sold out” message being posted online) :
ME: “Uhhh, do you have any Lollapalooza tickets left?”
HIM: “Actually there are only two left.”
ME: (shouting) “Are you serious!?”
HIM: (calmly) “Yes.”
ME: (still shouting) “Oh my God, no WAY!” “Are you just saying this to make me excited or am I really about to purchase the LAST TWO TICKETS?!”
HIM: (annoyed) “No, these really are the last two.”
ME: (Fist-pumping from a standing position, and still shouting) “I’ll take them!”

So you see, my friends, perseverance pays off! I am a living example. Now, as I indicated in the beginning of this post, my good luck is usually followed by some snafu of sorts, so I am now awaiting the inevitable awkward slip and fall, or humiliating rip in my pants. However, I am still so excited over yesterday’s activities that I could care less. Bring it on!

See you at Lollapalooza 2007! :)