When It Comes to the Dalai Lama, You Don't Mess Around

Today I woke up at the bright morning hour of 7:00 so I could attempt to get tickets to see the Dalai Lama next Monday.  He's coming to SMU to speak and receive an honorary degree.  Personally, I think that giving the Dalai Lama an honorary degree is kind of like giving the queen a plastic tiara, but to each his own.

As might be expected, the email about the Dalai Lama's visit indicated that there would be a "limited availability" of tickets.  Tickets went on sale at 8:30 (quite a departure from the original 1:00pm sale date), and my friend Miranda and I decided to get there at 8:00 to get in line.  So there I was, walking briskly down Bishop Blvd at 7:40 in the morning, to stand in line.

Unfortunately I misjudged the amount of time the commute to campus and the subsequent walk to the student center would take, and I arrived about 20 minutes before Miranda.  The line looked like it only had about 20 people or so, so I called her and told her I was already there, decided to go ahead and get in line.  Unfortunately, a few minutes later I discovered that what I thought was the end of the line was in fact the FRONT of the line...following the line (along with about 5 other people who had been equally confused), I turned corner after corner, passing about 60-70 people, and took my place at the end of a long, narrow hallway lined with student mailboxes and extraordinarily warm.  Because these things always happen to me, I was also located right on the intersection of two hallways, next to a rolling dumpster, so I had to move out of people's way over and over for the 40 minutes I ended up standing there.

In the warmth of the hallway, and having not slept well nor eaten anything prior to this adventure, I started to feel faint and like I was going to pass out.  I desperately wanted a drink of water, but didn't want to abandon my place in line...so instead, I just sat down on the floor, letting people step over me as necessary.  I was sitting in the aforementioned awkward location when Miranda and Sarah walked up and found me in the line, and I had to awkwardly tell them that I thought it would be in bad form to let them join me in line...mostly for fear that the 35 people who had queued up behind me would eat me alive if I let someone cut in line.  So off they walked, and I felt like a traitor.

The wait was brutal.  I once waited outside in 30 degree weather for three hours to see a Picasso exhibit during my semester in Paris...I know waiting, and this waiting was intense.  Finally, the line started moving, and we all managed to get tickets to see the Dalai Lama next week.  But, by the time we all had our tickets, the line was wrapped around every nook and cranny of the building (yes, nook and cranny).  Around the entire post office, across the lobby, twisting around the Starbucks, outside, and around the corner.  I'll tell you right now, at least half of those people didn't get tickets.  They should have shown more dedication, and shown up earlier.

Because when it comes to the Dalai Lama, you don't mess around.

Tune in on Monday to hear about the Dalai Lama's visit to SMU.  Or possibly Tuesday...or Wednesday.  I'll talk about it eventually, I promise...

I've got a golden ticket!