Waiting in line

Waiting is such sweet torture!

How long have you ever waited in line? What is the maximum and minimum time?

How do you decide if you will wait? Do you look at the line and make a decision based on “is it worth it”? Sometimes “the line” is deceptive. You may see a group of people winding along inside the roped off “lines” just outside the place where the “real line” begins. Go to Disney World much? Sporting events? Concerts?

If so, you know what it feels like to walk up and see “the line”. It’s a feeling of falling spirits, a sigh of resignation and angst in the pit of your stomach. You may be wondering how quickly it will move or if you can stand still that long. Sometimes, I am ambivalent, thinking about what else I might do and if I come back, will the line get shorter or longer? Can we afford to wait? Or can we afford to risk coming back and missing it altogether?

Do some people have a “waiting nature”? Do some people want things worse than others? Do you ever find yourself with someone who doesn’t ever want to wait for anything? Those are the people who did not pass the life course, “Delayed Gratification”. Perhaps, they passed the course and succeeded to “Pace Yourself” or “Choose Wisely”. I don’t know, but it can be uncomfortable when two people arrive with tickets for the same event, together, with different tolerance levels for “the line”.

Did I mention restaurants? Even going out to dinner on Saturday night can become an adventure.  Recently, we went out around 6pm, trying to beat the rush. We were hungry,having had a light fare of cheese and crackers for lunch.  The first restaurant we walked into told us there was a 1 hour and 20 min wait. OK, let’s put our name down, get the buzzer and step across the street to see what the wait is like there.

The second restaurant told us the wait time was 30 min. Ok, that sounds better, let’s give our name, get the buzzer and have a drink while we wait with the rest of the crowd. It was an experience just to get a beverage with the crowd that was waiting for a table.

While waiting at the second restaurant, we started chatting with a lady who offered to share her corner seat. She was waiting, too, but there was a big difference. She had reservations. The reservations were for 7pm and her party had not arrived. She was texting and checking the door. So, she wasn’t waiting on the restaurant to clear a table, she was waiting on a group of friends. “They are always late, I don’t know why I set these things up?” As we sat there, a buzzer went off. Checking our pockets—-Oops, the buzzer from Restaurant #1 across the street is buzzing- way ahead of schedule.

What to do?  Make a decision!            

Have you ever noticed that some people underestimate time, while some people overestimate how long things will take? I had an accountant tell me, “always promise the customer a date that is well after you can complete their tax return. Then, they will be pleased when you call them. Never give them a date that is too close for your comfort, otherwise, you risk them becoming upset that you did not deliver on time.”

All of this was processing in my mind and it came to me in a snap. Restaurant # 1 had played by the CPA’s rules. Restaurant #2 was playing by the “under-guestimate” rule.

Let’s walk across the street. OK. As we were finishing a nice dinner, the buzzer for Restaurant #2 went off. Oops, it was still in our pocket!! I looked at my companion and he shrugged. We will drop it off on our way out- it’s just a few steps across the street and make our apologies then.

After that experience, another “waiting in line” opportunity arose. We had tickets to an event that was self paced, but you had to wait in line to get inside the venue. There were limits to how many people could be inside the exhibit at one time. We walked up to the line and it went on for “miles and miles”. At first glance we were shaking our heads and thinking, “No, not this time”. Then, after a little bit, I thought, “why not?” We can at least see how fast it is moving and talk while we wait.

I led the way and as I arrived at the very end of this line of what looked like 200 people, there happened to be a staff person walking by. I hadn’t see her, until she was right in front of me. I held up my wrist band in the low lighting and said, ” are these the right passes?” She asked, “Do you want to go outside now?” I didn’t have a clue what she meant, but I said, OK.  We walked behind her in the opposite direction of the line and after a few yards, I tugged at her sleeve…”where are we going?” She said, ” to the front of the line, you have VIP passes.”

How did I not know? Well, they were part of a package and it was not clear to me or anyone else I asked until I happened upon her. Have you ever accepted a package deal and not known what the deal included? Join the club! I thought it was a good price and that’s how we ended up moving to the “head of the line”. These tickets were originally $34/ each and ended up costing more like $10 together as part of the bigger deal. That’s probably why I didn’t think those blue wrist bands could possibly make that kind of difference.

Whisked. That’s the only word to describe how it felt to be magically transported to the front of the line. We stepped right into the event and was out in 30 minutes flat. You could say it was “perfect timing”. You could say we were just lucky, in the right place at the right time. You could just shake your head in amazement. That’s what I did!!!!

Of course, there are no lines at your own home. Like the kids’ favorite book,The Best Nest by P.D. Eastman . I can’t say it any better…… “in all the world, this nest is best”.