Here's something you might be interested in.
I never complain about gas prices. I remember hearing Adam Carolla once say something like "I hope gas goes up to $20 a gallon. I'll still be able to afford it. And, all those idiots on the road that don't know how to drive, will stop driving. Or they'll take another form of transportation, and it will clear up the roads."
I'm not sure if part of that just stays with me or what. But, it's also the fact that I won't be able to change anything. I've never owned an SUV, but one of my cars (a PT Cruiser), gets horrible gas mileage for a 4-cylinder engine.
When it comes to spending money, concerts are the one thing that get me. I just hate buying concert tickets. I think of how many of that artists CDs I could get with the price of the tickets (and, when I saw Kids in the Hall the other night for $50 a ticket, there was an additional $16 "service charge" per ticket).
It could be because I used to get tickets for free from radio stations I worked for.
But, the other day, I debated going to see Joe Jackson at Humphrey's. The fact that I had seen him a few times before (once at 4th & B for $23 a ticket), the thought of paying $50 a ticket just wasn't worth it.
I ran into a guy named Phil, who was going to the show. I think he was paying more for his tickets from a broker.
And, a few nights before, I went and saw The Doors drummer John Densmore, in his new band called Tribal Jazz.
I was up in Los Angeles, and they were playing at the Catalina Jazz Club. I heard tickets were $25 each. When I paid for my girlfriend and I, they told me $30, since it was the day of the show.
There was also a two drink minimum, unless you bought dinner. Neither of us are drinkers, and we were hungry. The choice was easy.
My steak was around $30. She ordered salmon. We got a dessert that was $8.
My ginger ale was $5.
When the bill came, with the ticket prices on it, it was $144.
I then start to think -- this is an expensive night out. I figure I can take the concert ticket price off the bill total before deciding on a tip.
I also want to make it smaller since they got something wrong with our order, and he wasn't good about coming back to the table to see how we were doing.
Luckily, the band was a lot better than the service. Some amazing percussionists, and musicians playing funky instruments.
When a bald black guy came in with a gorgeous woman, a few people made a fuss over him. I asked a photographer nearby who he was. It was an artist that just signed a record contract, but he didn't know who.
He went on to tell me that Prince was in the previous week.
And, that Malcolm-Jamal Warner (Theo from the Cosby Show), comes in all the time.
He said, "When Chick Correa played here, the place was sold out. But, when Vernon Reid of Living Color played, there were only a few people in the club."
I bit my tongue, not wanting to sound like a cheapskate. But what I thought about saying was, "At the prices here, it should only be people like Prince."
I never complain about gas prices. I remember hearing Adam Carolla once say something like "I hope gas goes up to $20 a gallon. I'll still be able to afford it. And, all those idiots on the road that don't know how to drive, will stop driving. Or they'll take another form of transportation, and it will clear up the roads."
I'm not sure if part of that just stays with me or what. But, it's also the fact that I won't be able to change anything. I've never owned an SUV, but one of my cars (a PT Cruiser), gets horrible gas mileage for a 4-cylinder engine.
When it comes to spending money, concerts are the one thing that get me. I just hate buying concert tickets. I think of how many of that artists CDs I could get with the price of the tickets (and, when I saw Kids in the Hall the other night for $50 a ticket, there was an additional $16 "service charge" per ticket).
It could be because I used to get tickets for free from radio stations I worked for.
But, the other day, I debated going to see Joe Jackson at Humphrey's. The fact that I had seen him a few times before (once at 4th & B for $23 a ticket), the thought of paying $50 a ticket just wasn't worth it.
I ran into a guy named Phil, who was going to the show. I think he was paying more for his tickets from a broker.
And, a few nights before, I went and saw The Doors drummer John Densmore, in his new band called Tribal Jazz.
I was up in Los Angeles, and they were playing at the Catalina Jazz Club. I heard tickets were $25 each. When I paid for my girlfriend and I, they told me $30, since it was the day of the show.
There was also a two drink minimum, unless you bought dinner. Neither of us are drinkers, and we were hungry. The choice was easy.
My steak was around $30. She ordered salmon. We got a dessert that was $8.
My ginger ale was $5.
When the bill came, with the ticket prices on it, it was $144.
I then start to think -- this is an expensive night out. I figure I can take the concert ticket price off the bill total before deciding on a tip.
I also want to make it smaller since they got something wrong with our order, and he wasn't good about coming back to the table to see how we were doing.
Luckily, the band was a lot better than the service. Some amazing percussionists, and musicians playing funky instruments.
When a bald black guy came in with a gorgeous woman, a few people made a fuss over him. I asked a photographer nearby who he was. It was an artist that just signed a record contract, but he didn't know who.
He went on to tell me that Prince was in the previous week.
And, that Malcolm-Jamal Warner (Theo from the Cosby Show), comes in all the time.
He said, "When Chick Correa played here, the place was sold out. But, when Vernon Reid of Living Color played, there were only a few people in the club."
I bit my tongue, not wanting to sound like a cheapskate. But what I thought about saying was, "At the prices here, it should only be people like Prince."