I had them, but I had to let them go.

I was too quick. I'm too good. It's been a long time since I -- or anyone I know -- has had to wait in line in the wee hours of the morning awaiting the magical hour of 9 a.m. (or 10) when concert tickets would go on sale. Check that -- I did it in the fall of 2001, when a benefit show to help local Red Bank families who lost members on Sept. 11 was announced, and though Bruce Springsteen wasn't officially on the bill, everyone knew he'd appear. But other than that, it's probably been about 10 years. Thank you, internet.

Now, it's so simple. Log onto Ticketmaster.com, or Mets.com, or wherever, and order your tickets that way. Sure, there are surcharges and whatnot, but if you're open-minded, you can actually see the convenience of sitting in your boxers and nabbing those Mets-Yankees tickets in February, rather than standing in the wind chill at Shea Stadium, even if the manager and some journeyman reliever are there to provide coffee and donuts. Besides, usually those early mornings lined up on the sidewalk involve a bagel or a warm drink and other potential expenses. Exchange those costs for the online surcharges, and it's not as bad. If it were up to me, though, I'd just put all the per ticket charges into the price of the ticket. Just charge me $85 for the ticket, not $75 plus two or three other fees that bring it up to $87.

But this morning, I was too ambitious. I was at work and on the Ticketmaster site for Springsteen's additional Vote For Change show, just added for next Wednesday at the Meadowlands, with John Fogerty and Jackson Browne. It wouldn't surprise me if there are some additional unannounced guests that join them. I logged on well before 10 a.m., and was on the page five minutes til. When my computer clock showed 10:00, I began refreshing until the drop-down menus for number of tickets and price range showed up. I selected the maximum, six, and neglected to adjust the "any price range" notation. I should've gone with two at any price, or six at the lower price.

I clicked on "look for tickets," input my secret word (as well as my occupation and employer, since some media outlets had discouraged employees from attending these shows because their proceeds do go to an organization with a decided political purpose) and my heart jumped when the "virtual waiting room" appeared and told me my wait was "less than 1 minute." How unusual. Six, seven weeks ago, when we bought the tickets to the Philadelphia show, we started out at "less than 2 minutes" and got all the way up to "5 minutes, 50 seconds" before we were presented with tickets. This time, the estimate was spot on.

I'd gotten six general admission floor seats. For $100 each. With surcharges, it would have cost me more than $700 to buy them.

I just couldn't do it. I called Casey, just to make sure she didn't call me crazy and tell me to take them, and then I let them go. I figured my parents might want to go, but there's no way they'd want to stand for four hours, and I could easily find a taker for the other two. But to find people -- in a week -- for four standing-room floor tickets would have been a tougher task. It took me 15 minutes to get back in, and in the end I purchased six tickets in the second level, behind the left corner of the stage, much like our location for the Philadelphia show on Friday.

The rest of the morning was spent convincing myself that I just couldn't take those tickets. We've got moving expenses and I just bought a computer. We're short, so standing venues like Irving Plaza aren't the best concert-going experience for us. And Casey will have to work and won't be able to get to the arena early enough to ensure a standing spot near the front. Good reasons, all.

What? Shut up. You're not helping.

But what having those six tickets, albeit briefly -- and I did have them, don't tell me otherwise -- did for me was convince me that I can do it again. I was on the site early enough, and having high-speed internet allowed me to get those tickets. It'll happen again -- as long as Bruce and the band tour again soon.

And for anyone interested in what I think of the baseball postseason, I'm going to try to update my still relatively new baseball blog -- something I didn't do nearly enough this season -- each day throughout the playoffs until the World Series. The first entry, which also looks back at the predictions I made in April, is here, and I'm writing up today's thoughts just as soon as I get these words posted.