Where T.A.S.S is Ticket Acquisition Stress Syndrome...
I knew that today tickets at Valencia's Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia were going on general sale. I didn't know what time but didn't think it would be before 8 am my time. It was actually at 10 am local time, 9 am my time. Not ideal but better than a poke in the eye with a pointy stick. Get it done-and-dusted by 9.15 and it'll be hey ho hey ho it's off to work I go.
For quite some time, the link that said 'Buy tickets' was unresponsive; then I kept getting 'Page Load Error' or 'This Document contains no data'. Eventually I managed to snag the final ticket available in the Platea for the Saturday. That was at 9.25. At 9.58 I managed to complete the transaction! I kept trying refresh to try and book another ticket, for the Monday, but it just wouldn't load, and I had to be at work...late, of course.
Needless to say, as soon as I got to work, it worked so smoothly and I again managed to get a ticket in the Platea. Seemingly not a great ticket, being over on the Far Left. However, having seen this production I knew this to have its compensations (oh you know, chains, floor, rolling, tenor, that sort of thing...). All done, and onto the audit trail.
Much later in the day I was checking my emails and realised that I although I had received my confirmation email for my Saturday ticket, I didn't have any email for my Monday. I checked my personal history on the site and it listed just the Saturday. I was, and am confused. When I thought I had booked my Monday ticket, I printed the screenshot including a 'Número pedido' which I take to be a transaction number. So now I don't know if I have a ticket or not, nor whether I have paid for it. I have emailed them of course, and don't reasonably expect a reply yet.
It isn't the end of the world if I haven't got the Tuesday ticket, and I guess if I'm out in Valencia from the Friday or Saturday onwards, I would stand a good chance of getting a return at the Box Office. As I see the tickets slipping away I am tempted to re-order, now, but something is telling me not to. I know it will be alright, Serendipity will triumph, but right now I am uncalm.
Anyway, I shall be going to Valencia. I might well be going alone, so I will miss Jimmy (he's handy for dining with and escorting me home through strange streets late at night), but it will be rather fun to be unchaperoned for a change.
In case you haven't guessed, the opera is, of course, Iphigenie en Tauride. But this Extreme TASS is not doing me any good, I think Extreme Ironing would be less stressful.
