Sometimes we all must relearn a simple lesson.

After playing a late night rock set with my band, I told one of my guitarists I would go with him to see Avenged Sevenfold that Friday. They are not my favorite band or anything, but he is such a big fan that I knew I would have a good time. The next day, I went to Ticketmaster at the Smith's grocery store to purchase a ticket, and I saw the sign: Avenged Sevenfold is SOLD OUT.

Dammit, I thought. I guess all those rumors of MTV popularity for the band were true. Oh well, if someone really wants to see Avenged Sevenfold and Plan Ahead, they deserve the experience more than me. I told my guitarist that he was on his own, and he went to the show pledging to hit on underage girls. That's my evil guitarist.

The next night, I decided to take in something from the Tricklock Revolutions Festival. A local theatre troupe brings in groups from around the world to perform every year during three weeks in January. Usually the acts are impressive and, if nothing else, unusual. I selected The Nigerian Spam Scam Scam. A multi-media two person comedy courtesy of a troupe from Seattle. I went to the ticket office at the university, and they informed me the show was SOLD OUT. It's a Thursday night in January, and the play is SOLD OUT.

Dammit, dammit, I thought. There are a lot of passionate Plan Ahead kind of people these days. I wondered if I should start making reservations for things. No, I decided. I'm a single man who doesn't often decide what I really want to do until the hour or two before the event. Who leaves a reservation for one, anyway? It's silly. Just go. If enough people Plan Ahead quicker and faster than me, so be it. They deserve a seat instead of me.

I still wanted to see something from the Revolutions Festival, and this was a free weekend for me. I decided to see The Glorious & Bloodthirsty Billy The Kid Wild West Show & Cabaret. I'd actually seen that show a few times, but it was done by the Tricklock folks themselves. Go locals! They toured it in Scotland & L.A. with rave reviews since the last time I saw it, so why not one more time, eh? I got to the university ticket booth even earlier (that's like Planning Ahead, right?), and they informed me that the show was SOLD OUT. I could buy a ticket for Saturday, but Friday's show was SOLD OUT.

Dammit, dammit, dammit, I thought as I walked away from the ticket counter. What has become of this world? Are people so hungry for culture that we must Plan Ahead for even the consideration of wanting to do something? I don't use that annoying Fandango crap to go to the movies. I just go. I began to walk down the road. I suppose it's a good thing, I thought. All these people are craving culture and entertainment out of the ordinary. That's cool, I guess, but where does that leave a random guy like me? What do I need to...

"Excuse me, can you tell me where Popejoy Hall is?" a guy asks me. "I'm looking for the Rodey Theater."

That's where I was going. I look where I'm at and give him directions. He thanks me and hurries off. I suddenly realize where I am. I'm in the inner walkways at the University of New Mexico. I graduated college almost ten years ago from this place. Even though I've lived in Albuquerque almost exclusively since then, I've rarely walked through the campus since my college days. What has happened since then? What have I done since college? I still fail as much as I succeed. I probably fail more. I wandered to the bizarre old blocky concrete creation called The Center of the Universe. While standing in the middle of the structure, it dawned on me, and I knew what to do.

I casually strolled through the campus. No one else was walking in the dark on a Friday night. I went back to the ticket booth. The crowds were gone as everyone was already enjoying their entertainment. I asked for a ticket for the Saturday show of Billy the Kid. The ticket lady said "Yeah, it's good to Plan Ahead." That's what I thought.

The next night, I had my ticket and was truly hungry for any sort of entertainment. I think dogs with hats jumping through burning hoops would have made me happy at this point. As I crossed Central toward the university, a lady had run out of gas a block from the gas station, and I helped push her car the rest of the way. She thanked me, and as I walked away, I remembered the guy from the night before asking for directions. If I had gotten into Avenged Sevenfold or Billy the Kid on Friday night, I wouldn't have run into either one of those people. They're just little things, but it makes me wonder. Do these things happen for a reason? Do we fail at some things, so we can succeed at others? Should we Plan Ahead or go with flow? No matter what happens, life is never SOLD OUT.

That Saturday night, the box office folks said they oversold the Billy the Kid performance, but when the doors opened, I walked right in and got a front row seat. Many people fear the front row at the theater. I sat next to a man filming the play on the left side of me and a vacant chair on the right side. In the entire theater, that seat next to me appeared to be the only unused seat. As I sat back to watch the entertaining Wild West Show, I decided that the empty chair was for all the people who didn't get in because they don't Plan Ahead. Hey, that means the chair was for me! Go figure.

Chris Jungle has been wandering around without a plan since he was a wee little kid.