take a number and wait

I hate waiting in lines. Seriously. HATE.
As I was standing in line for lunch with a friend it just occurred to me how often I either don’t eat, or choose something from the shortest line – just to avoid the wait. So, my list of tactics to avoid lines:

- go early
- go late
- get the NOT-SPECIAL of the day
- find a substitute or make my own
- do without

Of course, having friends complicates it. They have time/place/personal tastes that have to be considered. So – to be sociable - I wait in lines. We go at the peak lunch time. We fight traffic to get there. We hunt for a parking place. We get the special of the day. We ask for special preparation. Then we complain when it’s not EXACTLY how we want it. Then ask for a doggie bag for the left-overs because we are running late. Then complain all the way back to work about the crowds, the traffic, the heat, the slow service, blah-blah-blah.

Too much confusion. That’s why I keep a package of tuna and a fork in my drawer at work. Get your own tuna and fork, and see how simple life can be.