Thursday, June 22, 2006

Happy Friday indeed.

Well, today's Friday, and happy day for all! I'm not really upset or flustered about anything. So you may not get any rants today... But we'll have to see if that lasts until the end of this post.

Wednesday night I asked Rebecca a question. Would you like to see Pearl Jam in November? (they are a very good band who have influenced me heavily in the 90s and on and I love them... "10" is still there best album, and if you check one of my earliest posts, I bought a Best of cd... So there.)

She said, rightly I might add, that ya, but they're probably really expensive, and we can't afford it. The reason for my question was simple. They are coming here, the first 2 shows sold out, so they added a third, tickets on sale Thursday at 9am. So I was content to let the answer of "no" stand.

Until Thursday morning around 9:10am. I decided to let fate decide for me. When I got my Foo Fighters tickets last year, I was re-dialing for like 45 minutes straight and ended up with kind of crap seats, (but great show!!!) This time I thought, alright, I'll make one phone call to Ticketek (who Pearl Jam had a long court battle with over their monopoly on ticket pricing etc) and if I get through 1st try, we're going.

So I called. It rang and I got through, and ended up with a choice of seating!!! Seems like those die-hard Pearl Jam (henceforth referred to as PJ) fans who called early and booked those 1st 2 shows out and were now probably stuck with crap seats while I, who love PJ, have good seats!! So to all you die-hards not reading this blog, thanks for taking one for the team!! Me and my 8 month pregnant wife will be smiling and singing along to "Alive" with a great view of the stage while you took your binoculars!!! HAHAHAHA to you all!!!

Bec was right though, can't afford it!! Too late now though eh!?! I figure, I have spent my life saving $$ to be able to do this and that, that I have now not really seen too many concerts and I'm in Sydney! ONe of the world's majr cities. One concert a year is good though.. and that's what credit cards are for.

I was reading AussiesNan posts the other day, and got to thinking about fate etc. But she wrote something kind of in response to one of my responses to her, about bad decisions. I think what I was saying may have come out wrong. "Bad" decisions happen every day. But the only way I figure to make sure you don't make one is to think about what you are doing, and do what you think is right at that moment. So decisions that lead to regret etc become pretty hard to make when you have made the decision based on all the info available. Regarding addiction etc, while you lose choice once addiction set in, (in most cases) you still hold responsibility to the initial decision leading to first contact. Drugs, which we agree are bad, and its initial use at least is the result of a bad decision. No argument there. I believe that that initial decision made by Chris went against what he knew was right. And for me, that is the basis of a bad decision, knowing the right and choosing the wrong.

I implore you not to think that I am cold hearted or insensitive. On the contrary, I have guilt about this trajedy regardless (and probably partly as a result) of my distance. There was a strong feeling of helplessness on my end when I became aware of what was going on. As a result, I have, and do, think about fate, destiny, how could things have come out differently, and what started that path and how could it have been averted...

I ended up settling on:

1) Mankind (as a whole) has its destiny, which it will reach.
2) As a person, free will gives us the opportunity to either realize (or disregard) our potential, with regard to mankind's destiny, you can either help it along, but if you don't someone or something else will
3) Education is essential. The only way to help someone is to educate them on what is right and what is wrong. In the end, you have only to account for yourself. So if you chose based solely on what you think is right at that moment (based on what you have at hand) you've done your best and no-one can ask more of you. Regardless of the end result, you did your best.
4) Also though, one bad decision does not make a person bad. We are all flawed and will make bad decisions, the trick is to learn from them, try to right them, and strive for improvement. Hopefully by doing this, you will hopefully avoid the stress and pangs of guilt.

I think that's about enough of that... This wasn't written to make anyone feel better, (or worse for that matter), but only as a personal perspective.

This is still a Happy Friday!!!!

2 comments:

NanNan said...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts mike, we never really had a chance to talk about things- I understand what you meant- Dad pointed out to me that you said there are no bad decisions if they're based on choosing what you know is right- Sometimes it take a long time for my brain to kick in, in this case, Dad kicked it in gear--Agree with everything you said- As for Pearl Jam, you can't forget to keep a balance, and after all the stress and strain, finding time and money to spend on relaxation is a must- I say you can't afford not to--so enjoy the concert, unwind, I know how important music is in your life, love you heaps--mom

Tuffysmom said...

I agree totally with you Mike...I would also like to amend my 'bad' decision remark. It's only bad, if you know for sure it is bad, and do it anyway.
I have made 'bad' decisions..Gone against my own beliefs and therefore suffer the guilt. However, after a long period of pity-partying...I finally forgave myself...spoke to all of my children, who forgave me too. Thank the Good Lord.
One more thing..it's not always easy to choose what's right...when your God-given emotions get in the way. Not an excuse!!!! Just a thought.
Love you Mike..and, it is still a Happy Friday!