I'm in!

 

Paul McCartney will be ending his North American tour in Chicago on November 24 and 25. My birthday is November 22. I take this as a sign from the universe that I must be in attendance for one of those shows. 

There was a lot of stress involved in getting me a ticket yesterday. But – spoiler alert – I'm in.

Days ago I requested a pre-sale code for each night, which arrived on my phone at 9:00 AM yesterday. I logged in with one on my laptop and the other on my phone. The pre-sale started at 10:00 and here's the message I got on my laptop. The one on my phone said I was 37000+ in line. I was not hopeful. The United Center has a capacity of less than 25,000 for concerts.

 

The ticket prices – which hadn't been announced before Tuesday – ranged from $40.60 to (gulp!) $4,135.90. For 50 minutes, I watched the queue number tick down oh-so slowly. I did yoga stretches as my eyes darted from phone to laptop and back again. I listened to Paul songs and wondered how I was going to pay for my ticket in the unlikely event I got one. I looked at the pad of lined paper on my coffee table that has an overview of my finances. I have a "slush fund" that I started back in March, seeded with money from my tax refund. 

My "slush fund" is different from my "household fund," which is money I have earmarked for sudden home expenses (like a broken window or a new refrigerator). It's not my "emergency fund," which is a 120-day CD and saved for unexpected taxes or a medical bill for me or the cats. I had unspecified plans for the "slush fund," adding $10 to it here or there, working toward hazy dreams of a someday kitchen remodel. 

On Tuesday morning, my "slush fund" had $815. Right now? $27.46.

Both my phone and my laptop let me in to the sale at the same time. I don't understand how that happened. I was so very far back. I can only imagine that many other fans had their credit cards rejected or choked when they saw the price of the seats that were left. I had an advantage. I only want one seat.

I opted for "best available" on both screens. Under $1,000 for two reasons: I didn't want ground floor in front of the stage because I'm too short to see anything and because, well, I don't have it. 

I got section 101, lower level, left of stage. 24 hours later, seats in my section are selling for $2,500+ each on Vivid Seats. 

I forget how popular Paul McCartney is. I have loved him since I was 6 years old, the same way I love blue skies and a cat's purr. It's basic and consistent and forever. It never occurs to me that other people love him, too. So the ticket demand and the price did surprise me.

But I am going. He is 83 and I am 67. I am aware that time is running short. My knight will be here for my birthday, and I will be there to see him.