What do you pack for those times you are waiting?
This morning I had to go somewhere I just knew held the inevitable in store for me: A long line and time spent waiting. Sure enough, I arrived at the DMV (Dept. of Motor Vehicles) at a Satellite City Hall a half hour before they opened, and likely due to yesterday's Martin Luther King Day holiday found that I was about number 40 in line already. By the time they opened the door for business, I was roughly in the middle of the line.
When we got inside the doorway, we found ourselves sucked into one of those maze-like line configurations like you have at amusement parks and other places queues are commonplace. No velvet ropes here - this one was constructed of wood and counter-tops for filling forms as you waited. So now, I was smack dab in the center of a people-watching heaven for about another 45 minutes.
You know what I noticed most? The majority of us are not very good at keeping ourselves amused when we are waiting in line, even when we know there will be one (not sure how it is where you live, but in Hawai'i the DMV is infamous for their lines). This morning, folks mostly got themselves all worked up over having to wait so long, visibly getting more and more perturbed that there were only four counter stations opened of the eight the place was set up for.
Out of all the people in my line of sight, I was the only one who had brought a book to pass the time (ironically, the book I was reading is called A Perfect Mess, The Hidden Benefits of Disorder... it's a fun read) and two gentlemen had the morning newspaper with them. One girl managed to paint her fingernails, which truly amazed me (I would have made a real mess of it). There were three people listening to their iPods, and one woman was knitting, but everyone else just stood there and waited.
Also interesting to me was that the older people in line ("older" as in seniors) were happy to eventually talk story with each other, but most of those of the younger generations made it clear by their body language that conversation was not welcomed.
With this as my memory of the morning, I clicked in to JJL a little while ago and made the connection to our January theme of Packing Our Bags for 2008. Tell me, when you know you will be somewhere you will have to sit (or stand) and just wait, do you pack something to pass the time? What do you do? Any original ideas to share?
Photo Credits: Airport Queue by tomypelluz and Slip-n-Slide Queue by sean dreilinger.
Post author Rosa Say takes a book, pen and paper with her wherever she goes. Waiting time can be a great excuse for some creative doodling!
Rosa is the author of Managing with Aloha, Bringing Hawaii's Universal Values to the Art of Business, and she currently writes for Managing with Aloha Coaching, Value your Month, Value your Life. Visit her there, and pick up a feed for your reader.
Rosa, as a media maker and writer, I'll remember to bring my camera (who knows when a good photo op will appear), an index card or two and a pen (handy for capturing thoughts or even getting to work out a sherku), and patience. If I can't get into a conversation, then what I have with me should keep me busy, and maybe even provide the spark for talking story!
Posted by: Steve Sherlock | January 24, 2008 at 03:01 AM
Good add Steve - I really need to get better at capturing so many photo opportunities - you're terrific at it.
Posted by: Rosa Say | January 26, 2008 at 03:32 PM