Don't Be a Cheapskate Then.

ever since i joined the "real world" and got a job that makes me stay past 7 pm, i feel like i miss out on so many of the great free activities NYC has to offer e.g. movies in the park (i still have war-veteran-like flashbacks of watching Stand By Me at Brooklyn Bridge Park). luckily for me, Kins' current boyfriend works a job that allows him to get out fairly early, which is how i found myself with a prime seat in Central Park for the NY Philharmonic. 

i'm the first to admit that while i enjoy classical music, going to see an orchestra/ballet puts me straight to sleep. which is why concerts in the park are more my style. i get to (quietly) chat with my friends, eat yummy delicious food, drink wine (allegedly, since it's illegal to drink alcohol in a public park), and enjoy great music.

after receiving some initially poor directions from Kiks ("we're at the first speaker, walk towards the stage"-there were a total of 6 speakers staggered throughout the venue and the place was packed by the time i got there at 7:30 pm) we finally found each other.  and then i got to sit down and enjoy all the yummy and delicious snacks Kiks had packed for us which included, courtesy of Fresh Direct:sliced salami, a block of white cheddar, Triscuits (my favorite cracker-actually, i can't remember if that's the cracker she had, but i'm inputting my rose-colored memories on it), dense chocolate brownies, grapes, Israeli cous cous, baby carrots, and a cucumber tzatziki-like dipping sauce. Kiks always brings the best spread for outdoor picnics; she's the mom of outdoor spreads.

the concert began (relatively) promptly at 8:00 pm with some opening words from some guy related to the NY Philharmonic (either some top-ranked person in the organization or possibly a big philanthropist/volunteer) along with surprise guest Alec Baldwin. as soon as the celebrity was introduced a thousand cameras and camera phones shot into the air to try and get a picture. we're such amateur paparazzi. 


Kiddo and his girl ended up coming a little late and had to find us through the giant crowd. i had been texting Kiddo to direct him to our location and waving my hands in the air to make sure he saw me. we locked eyes and he seemed to have located our position; or so i thought. so i was surprised when i saw Kiddo less than a foot away from me (i could physically hear what he was saying) exclaiming that he had "lost me" and i couldn't find me. so of course i loudly announced, "i'm right here, stupid" which got me dirty looks and glares from the 2 women laying down in front of our blanket.

once Kiddo+1 sat down, i did the introductions between them all (the +1s were new to everyone else). keep in mind, we were keeping our voices at respectable low tones the entire time. but the 2 women in front of us-let's call them Groucho and Marx- kept turning their heads to give us those annoyed glares that passive aggressive people like to do in these situations.

finally, Marx, the younger of the 2 women, turned around and targeted me:

"can you keep it down, we're trying to listen."

and here was my response: 

"if it bothers you so much, go buy a fucking ticket.  otherwise, enjoy your free concert in the park with all the 300 other people present and shut up."


ok, i didn't say exactly that, this is just a condensed version of what i said but you get the gist. although i did say the part telling her to go buy a ticket if it bothered her so much. 


usually i'm not that confrontational with people, but the passive-aggressive way they did things really bothered me. and i think i have a valid point about the whole free concert vs. ticket issue. it's not like my friends and i were having a kegger on our little blanket. we were speaking at respectful volumes while also enjoying the music and laid-back, casual atmosphere. i can understand getting annoyed when you pay $100+ to have a fancy night at the orchestra and encounter a rude concert-goer. but Groucho and Marx were dressed in their hippy-finest in fucking flip flops. did they really expect the same type of behavior that you encounter with patrons who pay for their tickets? 


if you want that kind of atmosphere, stop being a cheapskate and pony up for some tickets. otherwise suck it up or move.