Thursday, May 6, 2010

Dr. Splendour, or, how I learnt to love saying no.

As is the custom for psuedo-hipsters of my demographic, I rolled out of bed this morning wondering how many nanoseconds it would take for all of the tickets to Splendour in the Grass to snapped up by scalpers. I didn't really think I wanted to go, nay my financial situation rendered it impossible. So I slept in. But I wandered over to the computer at 11:20-something to have a little gander.

To my delight, I stumbled upon a small cash windfall so I jumped in the queue, mainly to prove to myself that I could get tickets if I wanted to. The part I didn't anticipate was that I actually did get through, despite forgetting my moshtix password (it's not really the sort of thing you memorise, like your bank details or your anticipated death date) I made it to the final payment screen. I had the time in the queue to think it over, and then I stopped. And then I looked at the line-up again. And then I closed the window, turned off my monitor and had a shower.

I got on my bicycle, rode to the local monsterplex and splished 70 dollars on seeds, pots, manure and a watering can at the good old mart-of-K, then splashed on enough Ella Baché to last through winter and spring. I planted cress, French radishes, and baby beetroot for salads. There was a profoundly simple feeling of satisfaction from choosing long-term wellbeing over three days of beer-soaked t-shirts and muddy shoes.

I can imagine those of you who missed out sharpening your best carving knife and sizing up my various parts for abandoning the cause (symbolised ironically enough by a sweat-shop sneaker).

I'm sorry. Sometimes saying no to poverty, even at the expense of that most sublime addiction, live music, has a reward. In this case, it's knowing that I'm not defined by my attendance; I don't need to renew my membership to any clubs and the reality is that I'm just not that fussed on the artists for the price. I think I want to use the rest of the money I would have spent going to gigs in Brisbane and getting to know some new talent. Time to find a new dealer.

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