Given that this is a short week for me, my goal was to get to work as early as possible each day and stay until 6 p.m. – all in the hopes of getting in some extra hours so I wouldn’t take a huge hit on my next paycheck.

Well, it turns out that me getting to work before 9 a.m. is never going to be a thing. I simply cannot be vertical before a certain hour. I did manage to get to work for 9 a.m. today, though. And with Big Bird away again, it was a fucking glorious day.

Once in my office, I finished the few items I had to do and then worked towards bullshitting some other projects. When Big Bird returns, I want to have something to show her. Let’s be real, though – it’s not all that much.

After finishing my “work,” I escaped to the Scotiabank near my apartment. I needed to pick up a new credit card after my last one had been compromised. While I was on the streetcar, I remembered that tonight was the Go-Go’s farewell concert at Massey Hall. I never ended up getting those tickets.

Today was also Natasha’s birthday. When I sent her a message this afternoon, I asked if she would want to see the Go-Go’s with me. I didn’t get a response, but continued looking for tickets. I didn’t find much. I also didn’t have time on the subway to start sifting through Craigslist. I could do that at my desk!

Although I was expecting my trip to the bank to be a quick visit, I ended up being gone for over an hour. Nobody noticed. At least, I don’t think they did. That’s the thing with The Clubhouse. You might think everything is fine, but then things will come out a week or two later about something you’ve completely forgotten about. This is likely due to the secret notes that are compiled and shared each week at the managers’ meeting. I stumbled upon some of them in Lucy’s office one day, and they were fucking juicy. The notes contain dirt on every fucking employee in the building. Sometimes, they even mention who is next to be fired. It’s ridiculous, yet not at all surprising. The Clubhouse hosts more gossip than Beverly Hills High School.

The day progressed. After my late lunch, a nap under my desk, and a couple episodes of The Nanny, I re-remembered that tonight was the Go-Go’s concert. I started searching for tickets again, and ended up finding someone on Kijiji who was selling a single ticket – in the front row! They wanted $90, but I pushed for $60. We went back and forth for a while, during which I found out that Hannah from work was also going to the concert, and eventually settled on $70 with the promise that I would pick up the ticket. Deal!

I had planned on staying at work until 6 p.m., but the Go-Go’s trumped everything. I ran out the door at 5 p.m. Since the streetcar had decided to stop operating this evening, I decided to continue running. After grabbing a beer and a small bottle of vodka from the liquor store during a cash-back transaction, I sprinted to the subway like a maniac. Next stop: Summerhill Station.

I met the Kijiji woman outside her office building. A huge Go-Go’s fan, the lady said she had too much work to do and couldn’t make it to the concert anymore. Fine by me! I threw her $70, grabbed my ticket, and then ran back to the subway. I wanted to get a bit of exercise in at the gym, so I did half of my normal routine – probably less – and then raced home to the Witch Cave.

I was so fucking excited that this was happening. The Go-Go’s? Are you freaking kidding me! While getting ready in my underwear, I broke out the alcohol and started having my own party at home, during which I Snapchatted the entire thing. I forgot how much I loved the Go-Go’s. When I picked up the ticket, the lady told me to listen to their Beauty and the Beat album, as it was their best. The woman knew her Go-Go’s. That album is awesome. I only wished I had more time to listen to it before the concert.

One beer down. Some shots. Another beer down. Some more shots. A shot of vodka from the bottle that was left in my freezer by Evan. Finally, at 8 p.m. – the time the concert was supposedly starting – I left my apartment and made my way to Massey Hall. I continued to Snapchat my entire journey.

I ended up meeting Hannah inside the venue before the show. She was with her husband, and they bought me a drink as we talked about the band before we took our respective seats. My seat was fucking unreal, by the way. I was literally three-feet from the stage, with nobody in front of me. This was outrageous!

Having gone to a concert by myself before, I knew the importance of meeting your neighbors. I quickly introduced myself to the row. On my left was a 60-something-year-old woman named Sharon, who was out with her four girlfriends.

I was pretty lit up at this point, so I was chattier than usual. I asked Sharon what her favorite Go-Go’s song was, and she said that she didn’t have one. Apparently, the group had received the tickets from a woman at work for free. None of them could name a single Go-Go’s song. Alrighty then.

“I wish I had some weed to smoke,” I casually mentioned to Sharon.

“Too bad!” Sharon chuckled. “We just got back inside from smoking one of Carol’s doobies.”

Sharon pointed to the end of the row, and a woman who I assumed to be Carol flashed me a big smile and waved. Sharon suggested that Carol might have some bud left, but I didn’t push it. Instead, I decided to load up on more alcohol. I went back to the bar and started double fisting some beers.

Once I returned to my seat, I introduced myself to the man on my right. He was a big, burly gay guy, but you could tell he was a teddy bear. The man was kind of shy, but told me he loved the Go-Go’s. With his arms crossed, the husband sitting in the next chair over chimed in.

“I only like country music,” he said.

Hmm. This was going to be interesting.

I turned back to Sharon, who was clearly the more interesting of my two neighbors. Sharon was stoned. That’s an automatic win in my book. Somehow – I don’t quite remember, thanks to the amount of alcohol I had consumed – we started talking about relationships and online dating. Things took a big turn from there.

“I don’t like online dating,” I said. “I’m not a fan. Nothing ever works out for me in the long run.”

Sharon then proceeded to tell me an absolutely crazy story. Are you ready? I’m not.

It turned out that Sharon and her husband had divorced a while back. The two had four children together, and were married for almost twenty years. Now, I don’t know all of the details. Apparently, the husband had sustained a number of work-related head injuries over the course of their marriage. Eight years ago, he suffered a really bad one, which basically knocked him out. When the husband came back to life, he told Sharon that he couldn’t handle his lack of memory. The resulting anxiety of being married to a woman he didn’t know and being the father of children he couldn’t remember was too much for him to bear. That’s when the husband asked for a divorce. Can you imagine?

Sharon said she was absolutely devastated.

“He was the love of my life,” she admitted. “The man I thought I was going to grow old and die with, and now he couldn’t even remember my name.”

This was so tragic.

“I completely shut down after that,” Sharon continued. “Emotionally and socially, I just couldn’t function. It took me six years to get over the trauma of everything.”

“How did you move on?” I asked.

“When I got back on my feet, online dating was the only thing I felt comfortable with at the time.” Sharon said. “I went through a few ridiculous encounters and matches, but then I fell upon a man who changed everything. He turned my world around and brought the light back into my life – something I never thought would be possible again.”

My drunk, frozen heart was melting.

Sharon then talked about the mystery of life’s plan.

“Despite everything you might expect from your life, nothing is certain,” she said. “Chances are that things will not work out the way you foresee them. When that happens, you need to be ready and willing to change.”

Sharon was inspirational. It was absolutely heartbreaking to hear what she and her kids – who were likely my age – had been through. However, seeing someone turn their life around after such a traumatic experience was really uplifting.

“After everything that has happened in my life, I want to have fun again!” Sharon said, taking a sip of her white wine.

In fact, that’s why Sharon was at the concert tonight. She didn’t know many Go-Go’s songs, but so what? Sharon was out with her girlfriends and having a fucking awesome time, drinking and smoking weed. The woman was loving life. It was such an amazing story. Good for you, girl!

When the concert eventually started, I immediately jumped out of my chair. In that moment, I realized that I was going to be the only one standing during the show. I was also the youngest person in my row by at least 35 years, but I didn’t give a fuck. The show was incredible. I was jumping up and down like a complete lunatic the whole night, rocking out to Go-Go’s songs that I had never even heard before. That’s how great it was.

I had a fucking blast. The Go-Go’s were such high energy. It was total rock and roll to see those women on stage, doing their thing and kicking ass. That’s what I fucking live for. Girl power!

When I knew she could sing along, I managed to convince Sharon to stand up a few times. Everyone knows “Our Lips Are Sealed,” right? Sharon also stood up for the encore. Yeah. There was an encore!

My concert buddy left just as the second encore was starting. Yeah. There was a second encore! As I yelled out to Sharon and pleaded with her to stay, she yelled back, “I have kids at home!” before disappearing into the crowd.

The final encore was a riot – just like the entire show. I left Massey Hall on such a high. Actually, I really wanted to get stoned, but I couldn’t find any weed. I figured I would just make my way back to the Witch Cave instead. I walked home to sober up, but also because I wanted to listen to the Beauty and the Beat album. I’m so into punk rock Go-Go’s now!

Back at the Witch Cave, I crawled into bed and turned off the lights. The last thing I did was send a text message to myself.

Kurt: “I feel blessed, I feel fat, I feel lucky, and I feel cursed all at the same time.”

I really do feel cursed sometimes. However, in moments like tonight, I am reminded of how fortunate I am to have these kinds of experiences.

Goodnight xo