Friday, June 22, 2007

Lines

There are lines everywhere. We wait in line for food, groceries, money, service. We wait at the stop sign, red light, left-turn. Products are built in assembly lines and women avoid panty lines. We live in a world where we are surrounded by lines. Most places you go require you to wait in line. The bank, the cashier, the ferry, the airport, the restaurant. The list goes on. And the toe-tapping, foot-shuffling, horn-honking begins.

I waited in line at Tim Hortons the other day for twenty minutes to order three coffees. Twenty minutes! I found myself huffing, shuffling and tapping, but I was determined to get that cup of rich brew! I was annoyed at the slow service and frustrated with myself for putting up with it. But what was I to do? There was no way I was leaving without my coffee! I was a slave to the line.

A couple of months ago I was waiting in line at the bank. It was a long line. There were two men there who obviously knew each other and they were chatting back and forth. One guy said to the other, "Boy, this is sure taking a long time." I found myself nodding my head.

The other guy replied, "Yeah. But not as long as Tim Hortons."

I burst out laughing. Truth is truth! So tell me, where do you find yourself waiting? And how long are you willing to wait?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Shauna, you are sounding alot like my DH when he is in a line. As a matter of fact, one of my favorite places to go is Dairy Queen for blizzards, but DH refuses to wait in the lineup. So, when we have a hankering for DQ we drive slowly by and my job is to check the drive-thru line up and try to peer inside to see how long the lineup is indoors. If the parking lot is crowded with cars and DH can see more than 2 cars in drive-thru then we don't stop because he refuses to be held hostage by the lineup and slow service.

My addictions cause me to wait in line longer than he, but I have found that I too, check the lines out and if it looks like it will take longer than a couple of minutes than I pass on by. It helps my pocket book. LOL DH is rubbing off on me and he's happy with the result.LOL

Speaking of Tim Horton's, doesn't it just frost you when you get in the drive-thru lineup and it is taking forever, but your are boxed in and there's no way out?
ym

Marianne Arkins said...

I try not to go anywhere there might possibly be a line if I'm in a hurry. I'm blessed to be a SAHM, so can choose when to go somewhere.

I promised myself some time ago to NOT get annoyed or stressed at long lines. Some days it's tough -- the post office is my biggest peeve because no matter how many folks are in line, they don't bring out another clerk to help -- but getting frustrated won't make anything go faster.

Shauna said...

ym, yup I hate getting stuck in a long drive-thru line. But if I'm being honest, I have no desire to escape it. I may want it to go faster, but nothing short of a natural disaster or impending doom could make me leave the line and run for cover! LOL!

Marianne, if only I had half that amount of patience. There are moments when I manage to wait sedately and sometimes I feel like the only thing bridling my tongue is that phrase, WWJD. Would that my thoughts could be so easily tamed. :-)

Anonymous said...

I also love my Tim Horton's "cafe mocha" so much that I will make my DH stand in line for me. Sometimes it's such a long line that we drive to another Horton's to see if the line is shorter. He get's his diet Coke and I get my Tim's!! I say that is an even trade even when my line ups for Tim's are about 40 x's longer than his for diet coke. He is very patient with me. Lucky eh?

dm

Shauna said...

dm, tee-hee, you have a wonderfully patient husband. Mine has recently been bringing me a coffee most mornings before heading out of town for work! It's nice to wake up to a delivered coffee on the counter. :-) And this way I avoid all the lines!! LOL!

Jenster said...

Everytime I go to Target I pick the wrong line. It's always the one where the person in front of me argues over the 3 cent discrepency. And if I pick up my stuff and move to another line the clerk ends up being the slowest one there.

HUFF!!!

angela said...

I don't mind lines unless I'm in a hurry. At the supermarket I use the time to read People magazine and find out the latest gossip or newest trend. Those lines always go too fast.

Right now there is construction on the main road a mile from ours and it's closed, so our street gets way too much traffic. I could do without those lines.