DECISIONS AND OVERTHINKING

I spent the morning contemplating whether I should really go to the concert. Going through the reasons in my head of why I should go, but then asking myself what reason I have for not going and enjoying myself.

Whenever there is a decision to make or something to purchase, I take the time to do my research. Sometimes this takes an hour or a few hours. Other times, this might take days or weeks. Today, this meant having to spend a few hours browsing various sites and reading comments and reviews. It meant going online and looking at the map layout of Moody Center to figure out which seat would give me the best view and sound.

At Malahide Castle in Dublin, my daughter and I had Golden Circle tickets on the lawn. That meant a lot of waiting and then rushing through the gates after security to get to the front of the stage. Luckily, a guy taller than us was kind enough to let my daughter have his spot at the railing, since this was her first concert, and I then stood next to her for the remainder of the 2-hour long concert. The view was the absolute best one ever. Thankfully, there was no rain.

Martin Gore at Malahide Castle in Dublin, Ireland | 14. June 2023. | Love the boots!

In Rome, at Stadio Olimpico, my son and I had middle seats in one of the upper corners of the large stadium. Unfortunately, we had a Plexiglas barrier directly in front of us and were boxed in between people on either side, which made it difficult to stand amongst all of the sitting people. After the first song, we walked up the stairs and stood in the back against the wall next to a group of very friendly Italians. We relied on the screens, as the stage was too far to see dancing Dave, but the sound was great.

Depeche Mode performing ‘World in My Eyes’ | Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy | 12. July 2023.

Having had both the experience from the floor and a seat far away from the stage, I decided to choose something in the middle for the concert in Austin.

I went to aviewfrommyseat.com to look at the interactive seating chart and to read about other people’s experiences. This also included any photos they took from their seat. I clicked on several sections in the area above the floor seats. After reading the comment ‘Way better seats than we anticipated!’, from someone having attended a concert in the section I was researching, I had my section figured out. Now all that remained was to verify prices.

I went to Stubhub, Seatgeek, and Ticketmaster. The best price I found on Ticketmaster. The same site I used for my ticket in Ireland. The cost was almost the same as one concert ticket in Ireland, which was much less than I expected to pay.

After a night and a morning of many decisions and overthinking. After much research. I finally made my choice. The ‘should I, shouldn’t I’ thought process which torments the mind was now at peace and I could finally move on with my day.

I clicked the button to buy my ticket and went to make puffy pancake for my son and me for our special Sunday breakfast.