Nothing in comparison to recent happenings of course. But if nothing else you can read this and feel better if you’ve recently done something dumb.
HIGH
A and I planned like, all of Hawaii yesterday! And it looks like so much fun. I LOVED having her help me do it (and I think she really had fun too!) — it really felt extra special.
We have the following things reserved: surf lessons (everyone but me bc I’m a wimp though I may end up adding); Maui canoe/snorkel adventure; Kauai coastal catamaran tour (with snorkeling); massages; luau; some awesome-looking restaurants. I am so excited for this trip. Also planning: biking, lots of beaches, Haleakala (Maui), Waimea Canyon (Kauai). And I think we’ll have a reasonable amount of time to just relax and enjoy the beautiful environment. AHHH. Josh and I went to Maui and the Big Island on our 2006 honeymoon but have not been back since; I really can’t wait!!
(And also glad we are going in July instead of early June like we initially planned; I think the summer will flow better).
Note: We used a combo of friend recs / Hawaii-native reader recs (thank you Emily!) / AI / Kae‘s wisdom to create the itinerary, although she is sad we were unable to fit in the North Shore beaches of Kauai which just means . . . we will have to go back.
LOW
YOU GUYS. I wanted to get Olivia Rodrigo tickets, and today was the AMEX presale. I finished with my patient JUST in time, only to have trouble getting into the queue (firewall stuff? who knows). Finally, I get a link that is through AXS and try that one – and success! I’m OWNING this presale! I end up with 6 tickets and am super excited . . .
UNTIL I REALIZE THAT I JUST BOUGHT TICKETS FOR HER 9.25 PERFORMANCE IN . . . HARTFORD.
Not, say, November 20th in Sunrise.
Obviously I panicked and listed them all on Stubhub, and (shocker) they all sold. I was not very aggressive with my pricing (just wanted them gone? And Stubhub kept saying my prices weren’t competitive?!) and in the end ended up coming out $56 ahead.
(Well, that and a lot of Hilton points, since I used my Hilton Amex for the purchase!).
But you guys. I lost an hour+ of my life and it was so stressful and I felt so dumb. We’ll file that one under ‘not worth it’. And I still do not have Olivia tickets, but maybe I’ll buy them later on.
I have a lot more to share (April recap; May planning; etc) but will hold off as I’m dashing this post off between patients!
HAPPY TUESDAY and remember to check your concert ticket venues before you hit ‘purchase’!!!!
(Or you, too, may earn $56 but temporarily lose your sanity!)
15 Comments
Hahaha, well like I said, until you have booked your VRBO for the WRONG DATES and realized it at 8 pm the night before your 6 am flight, you’re still not AS dumb as I am. 🤣🤣 I’m glad you were able to sell the tickets though and make a profit!! I, ahem, did not come out ahead on my recent huge mistake. 😆
I am also so excited for your trip! lol! (To go back, vicariously!) I love that A helped you plan! And I promise I will drop the North Shore Kauai thing now. hehehe. ðŸ¤
Same thing happened to a friend when she was buying for our group of friends tickets to SIX and got the wrong date / location! You’re not alone! And HI sounds amazing – can’t wait for recaps.
Oh no!!! So sorry that happened but I’m so glad you could sell them. I’m so glad you have that amazing Hawaii trip to look forward to and have lots to celebrate there!
That sounds stressful! Although I did something similar, double summer camp weeks at two different venues and had to cancel one and paid the fee.
I once planned a trip to visit my grandmother, and 24 hours beforehand when I went to check in, I realized I had never actually bought plane tickets. Luckily they still had some and not a terrible price! I also once bought theater tickets for the wrong night and only realized once we were at the theater (we were able to go back the next night so it wasn’t the end of the world; better than showing up the night after the tickets!). Glad you at least made $56 for your troubles.
I recently bought pricey tickets to see an outdoor performance of the Phantom of the Opera on Sydney Harbor while we were in Sydney. When we arrived at the venue, they looked at the tickets and said that they were for the performance 2 days prior! They would not exchange or refund our tickets, but sold us new ones for the correct night for much less. It was our LAST night in Sydney and we live on the other side of the world. We ended up loving the show, but of course I am kicking myself for the out of pocket loss. You were lucky to sell them (and just as important, keep those Hilton points !)
I think we have all done dumb things like this from time to time, and the good news is that this time you came out ahead!
Hawaii sounds like so much fun! From what I have heard, the catamaraning in Kauai can be a little harrowing due to the wind/waves, so if you are planning on doing that, you should DEFINITELY do surfing lessons. I took surfing lessons when I visited Hawaii in 2006 and it was SO MUCH FUN. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did, and I am also kind of a total wimp.
well one is seasickness and the other is me being afraid of swimming in the ocean – two different issues! (I picked the least seasick-type vessel and time and am hoping for the best!). I might surf though. I might force myself to attempt some slow laps in the pool to remind myself I know how to actually swim. I just never really DO IT so I have fears I would just not be able to swim effectively when I needed to.
Ah gotcha. Not being able to swim well would scare me too.
Woo! Your Hawaii trip sounds so exciting. I haven’t been to Hawaii singe 2010 (on a work trip) and I really want to go sometime!
Also, why is purchasing concert tickets such a hassle these days and why do they make it so hard?
(Anecdote: when I was home in Germany, I found out my 17 year old niece likes Green Day (be still my heart!) and I told her that I saw Green Day in concert in 1996 (Dookie Tour) and was able to produce the physical concert ticket to prove it to her. Her response: That’s so cool! Also, you don’t know how much the concert tickets were… 26 German Marks (about 13€) on Presale. Insane!)
Green Day is very popular with the kids – my 12 yo loves them!!!!! (And I love that!!!)
Oh, I think we’ve all done something like that. When Kae had her VRBO mixup, I told her about the time we bought my son’t plane tickets to fly home for Thanksgiving… for the wrong day. THAT was a fiasco!
Anyway… Hawaii. It’s going to be amazing!!! How fun that you and A planned it together. I know I complain a lot about having a teenage daughter, but there are a lot of positives as well.
You’ve got things going on in your life – stress and grief do funny things to our brains. When my husband was in the hospital last year, I attempted do do some needed shopping online from the hospital room, and managed to send a large order of kids clothing to an address did not lived at for over 5y (and sadly did not realize until I got the notification it had been delivered and it wasn’t on my doorstep). Give yourself an extra helping of grace – you are doing the best you can.
yes I do think there is an element of emotional overload. Thank you for mentioning that! It was also dumb to try to rush straight from patient room to signup – my brain didn’t keep up. Ahh well – I learned my lesson!!!
Oh no! Glad you came out on top at least. I’ll never forget the time that I happily booked what I thought were flights to and from Melbourne a week apart for a holiday, only to discover the week before I was leaving, that I bought two “To” flights, and no “From” flights by mistake. Panic! Luckily, the airline was sympathetic and allowed me to change my flight.
Your Hawaii plans sounds so fun! Glad you could do some happy planning in amongst a sad time.