Reflections Of My 12 Year Old Self

It's 1988, my best friend and I have gotten permission from our parents to attend the New Kids On The Block concert. We have their credit cards in our hands, we can barely breathe as we wait in line to score a shot of scoping out Jordan or Donny or Jonathan or Joey or Danny. Because as we both know they are so going to see us, our faces our going to stand out among the millions and millions of screaming tweens and they are going to want us. There going to invite us backstage to drink kool-aid and eat oreos because we are the coolest. It's me, my best friend and NKTOB for evah.

Alas, we get to the glass with a giant sign: SOLD OUT!

And our dreams our crushed.

I discovered a few weeks ago, that though music tastes change, I'm still a 12 year old girl. I'm now a punk, rock and roll 12 year old girl with a wine mustache. Screw the kool-aid.

My friend who was at the AMAZING Pearl Jam concert with me a few weeks ago made the discovery that EDDIE FREAKING VEDDER was coming to DC in August to do a solo show. We than plotted our scheme for securing tickets. We would come together at 10 am, she would troll the EVIL ticketmaster online and I would stalk them by phone.

We would be hearing his sweet, melancholy, beautiful baritone voice. We were determined and fearless. We would take on evel Ticketmaster and we would win.

10 am comes she logs on, I dial. I now hear ticketmaster telling me to be calm and patient as a representative would be with me shortly. Lady I don't want shortly, I want NOW, you know who Eddie Vedder is right? And he's coming to DC twice in one summer because he loves me and my friend. Because he saw us all the way from afar at the PJ show in June, and now wants us closer.

My friend is now refreshing and refreshing the computer as no seats become available.(I HATE YOU TICKETBROKERS)

At 10:15 a representative tells me the show is sold out.

WHAT! We begin to sob in hystercis as our dreams of running off with The Vedder are crushed by an 18 year old phone operator who has no idea who he is.

Wait what is that sunlight- another friend tells us to walk to the theatre where he is preforming and sometimes they have extra tickets.

We look at each other and run the 3 blocks to the theatre. Well my friend runs, I do my new duck wierd run/walk thing and pray I stay upright. Falling means lost time. No time! No time!

Tired, worn and emotionality drained, we look at the lady through the glass.

"Can I help you?"

If you value your life ticket lady you'd better be able to help us.

"Do you happen to have any Eddie Vedder tickets available"

She types at her computer. Seconds turn into hours, hours become days, I'm freebasing Xanax at this point. Something my 12 year old self would have found very beneficial.

"I do" she says.

"WE LOVE YOU TICKET LADY!!!"

She hands our tickets, which are now being stored in temperature controlled golden vault at the bottom of Fort Knox.

My 32 year old self had more luck. We're coming Danny, Donnie, Jordan, Jonathan, Joey. I mean Eddie.

And my 12 year old self cried in victory. Victourious we had gotten tickets. And victorioius we had for once won over Ticketmaster. We got our tickets the Vedder way.