Ranting About Audience Members

Afternoon All! This is a rant post. You have been warned!

I know that I have been MIA for a few days, but I'm back to tell you about some of the fun things I've done recently.

Two days ago my parents and I went to a concert (Mozart's Jupiter Symphony and Mahler's Fourth) and I ended up sitting next to some very rude people. This seems to happen to me all the time. I'm not sure if most of you know this, but I can be really shy around strangers and I don't like to cause confrontations or get into arguments if I can help it. I also will stand my ground when I am in the right. Well... we were using my aunt's tickets to this concert and she has one seat front row center. I LOVE sitting there because I can really see the details about the performance. We don't always use my aunt's tickets, but we do use them at least once a year.

The couple on my left remembered me and we had a lovely conversation about what I had been doing over the year. The couple on my right decided that it wasn't my seat and they didn't want me sitting there. First, I had to tell them that it was my seat twice before the woman's friend would move. Then, the woman complained for fifteen minutes that no one usually sat there (because my aunt usually sits in her other seats that are on the end of a row because she doesn't like sitting by these people). THEN, after the intermission, when I came back from the restroom (which housed the giant water bug of DOOM, but that is another story) she had put all of her stuff in my seat and I had to ask her to remove it. Then she asked me if I "was sure" that it was my seat. Multiple times.

I was furious.

This sort of thing happens to me all the time because I am young (I'm 25, but I tend to look a little younger to most people because I am heavier and have a rounder face). I've been shopping when people won't help me or ignore me when I ask them questions. I don't like shopping. I HATE shopping for clothes because it is ridiculously hard to find clothes that fit and look good when you are my size and height. When I go shopping, I buy things. I buy things I know will last and are usually pretty expensive (since I usually am looking for a recital dress and shoes and those can be ridiculously expensive).

I've found that people who work in the women's sizes are generally nicer and more ready to help. When I go to the regular sizes, I'm ignored or dismissed. (I'm in that strange gap between regular sizes and women's sizes and it is hell to find clothes).

So... at this performance, I was livid. My aunt gave me the ticket. She paid for it. It is MY SEAT. Just because I am young, does not mean that I don't deserve to sit in a seat or that I can't appreciate music. I would argue that I appreciate it MORE because I have analyzed these pieces and I can tell you all about the form and background of the pieces.

Also. I am tall. Well, really, I'm not that tall. I'm 5'9". That is average for a man in America. Not that I am a man, but I am pretty average against the general population. But I'm pretty tall when I sit because I have a long body. I can't change that. I will not slouch because you can't see. That makes my back hurt. When I sit in a chair for over 2 hours, my back is going to be hurting anyway. I can't change my height to accommodate your sightlines. I will not apologize for that.

So. I ignored the people to my right and enjoyed the concert.

THEN

Yesterday my mom and I went to see Miss Saigon. It was a really great show (except the music was way too loud and my ears were ringing by the end) and I loved watching the lighting and set changes. However, there was a woman in the row behind us that screamed after Every. Single. Song. She was the only one in the theater who did it. I was over it after the first six songs. After the 2.5 hours of the show? I wanted to murder her. It was so frustrating!

I have decided that I need to ignore people. This is the only way I won't go crazy.

On a lighter note, I found out recently that one of my best friends from college is going to be moving really close to me and I'll be able to see her more often. I am super stoked! Now, if all of my friends would just figure out that New Orleans is awesome and they would all move there, my life would be much more fun!

That's all folks! Talk at you tomorrow!