Originally written Monday February 26th.

I got the message in my newsreader at about 12:45 today. They were technically supposed to be announcing that the wristbands were on sale via SMS. That’s one of those newfangled technologies I don’t really understand. I tried to get my phone hooked up, but I have no clue if it worked. In any case, I left my phone at home to charge today so I wouldn’t have gotten the message.

I set out at 12:45. Walked the 3 blocks over to 6th street and hopped the number 21 down to Sixth and Lamar. When I got there, I walked around the line, towards that little alley on the northside of Waterloo. By the dumpster I got a stamp on my left hand and got in line. I thought at first that there were two lines going. There was actually one line. It streched from the dumpster, up to the corner at sixth and lamar. Down past Amy’s and Waterloo Video, turned right, went past a few houses. Turned right again, and came back down the alley past the dumpster, past the parking benches and finally into the store. I was in line for something like 3 hours. The fancy video sign on Waterloo had the temperature at 91 degrees. Twice waterloo employees wheeled around a shopping cart and brought us water and ice. It felt sort of like ACL fest without the music. In any case, I’m now in possession of two SXSW wrist bands, and I’m psyched!