Music festival fail

I admit to having a nasty case of FOMO that keeps flaring up. It give me itchy feet and fidgety hands. I get anxious and easily irritated. I can't focus and enjoy what is happening in front of me because I'm always wondering what else is going on. FOMO, for the uninitiated, means Fear Of Missing Out.

Imagine you are at some party and everyone is having a good time... except you. YOU said you'd be at another party a half an hour ago and you can't help wondering 1) what that other party is like 2) if, when you leave this party, something great will happen that you will miss 3) why you said you'd go to this party, and that party, and then meet a friend at that other party at 12.

Or maybe...

You are at a show and your friend texts you to go to an party after the show, but you are tired because you've been out too much and work is stressing you out and you really need some sleep. So you decide not to go. Later you either A) lie in bed wondering if the party was good B) get a text saying "where you at????" when you are already in bed and actually think about getting dressed and going downtown again or C) wake up the next day with red-rimmed eyes, deep bags, and stinky hair and wonder why you didn't just go home when you had the chance.

If you are nodding you head to any of the above, you may have FOMO. Don't worry, I think its like a worldwide phenomenon these days. Who can avoid it? We're a dialed in, notified, up-to-date, and to-the-minute culture. I mean, I can get your 50-word blargh about what you ate for breakfast automatically sent to me on my mobile phone seconds after you finish stuffing your face. Is it possible to be too dialed-in? ... to the point that we can't be satisfied with our present situation when the greener grass is always just a tweet away?

Despite the itchiness, anxiety, and occasional sleep deprivation, I think the answer is NO.

Case in point: I decide to chill out for a week. Take it slow. Let my body adjust to my new surroundings in Germany and just forget about trying to see what the world is up to. And what happens? I miss the best frickin' concert I will probably see in Germany this year: http://www.haldern-pop.de/de/festival/programm/
Beach house, Yeasayer, The Tallest Man on Earth, The National, Jose Gonzalez, The Low Anthem, Beirut and more... all at a 7500 person outdoor festival in the middle of the German countryside. erp.

I will never deny my FOMO again. It only gets worse when you find out that what you missed out on was really, really awesome.