No idea what specific events if any you may be referring to as I spent a chunk of the weekend at a ticketed event (Boston SF Marathon), but...

*shrug*

Corollarily (maybe that wasn't a real word, but it is now!), I am consistently amazed by how many social events I find I am invited to, but missed, by NOT keeping up on reading my lj friends list.

Life is an N Ring Circus, where N will always be greater than the number of hours of free time we'll ever have.