My favorite band is coming to town in February. My usual habit when that happens is to buy tickets for the local show plus any in the surrounding areas (ie within a 3 hour drive). Actually, for the local show I usually volunteer to work the merch table so I get in for free and sometimes get free merch and then pay for the rest of the shows. I am showing a lot of restraint however because my family will be in town when the band is and will not be travelling out of town to see them.

For the Portland show though I will be buying two tickets ($18 each) when I get paid Jan 5th. One for me and one for my dad who's been wanting to go to a show but they don't play near him anymore since he moved. If he ends up not going I don't think I'll have trouble selling it. But if he does go I don't want to be stuck behind the merch table. I got into a friendly arguement with a friend from Seattle though about why I wasn't going to the Seattle show. But in the end I prevailed and said I would see her at the Portland show (she travels to see them too).

Which led to a conversation about The Rock Boat. The Rock Boat is a 'floating music festival'. It's a cruise where about 30 bands play, usually about 4 sets over the coarse of the cruise so if two bands you really want to see are playing at the same time for one set chances are you can catch them at another one. The band I like were on TRB last year and will be again this year. I knew it was not a wise decision to make since I'd have to charge it so aside from drooling, I haven't tried working out how to go.

But next year, if they're on it next year, I might actually be able to swing it and not charge it. They stagger the payments over time so you don't have to come up with all the money right away. $99 when you register, couple months later $199, couple months later $199, couple months later the remainder. If I beef up my EF I think I can not only swing making the payments like they suggest but with my newly formed savings habits can recoup the loss nicely. Of course, the cruise itself is only part of the cost. There's also airfare to/from. Hotel possibly for two nights (night before launch, night after return). Money to do stuff in port. Seriously I'm thinking probably about $1500 total. Probably less but I prefer to overshoot. My friend from Seattle and I are talking about sharing a cabin, probably just a double occupancy. Yes, the triple and quad cabins are cheaper but our sanity is also a factor. We've traveled together and know we get along in close quarters.

Anyway, it's something for me to think about. They don't make the announcements as far as what bands will be on board until around March.