Queues

I think I've mentioned before that I hate queues of any sort. and it's getting worse. The older I get the more impatient I become, and to be honest I've never been the most tolerant of people anyway.

Why is it that whenever I have the choice between two queues, I always pick the wrong one? You know what I mean - you weigh up the options, choose the one that's moving fastest and then the person in front of you hasn't got the right change, or drops the change all over the floor, or can't converse in the language required etc.

And it's not just queues of people. Traffic, "virtual" queues when you're stuck listening to how some company or other really "values" your call and will be with you "just as soon as our next agent becomes available"....yeah! (Handy tip - when ringing a company that has a series of choices, always choose the option for sales - your call will be answered much quicker than the support/advice option).

Worst of all, queues are eating away at my valuable life time. I'm into my late forties now, so if I have a good innings I might get another forty (but then I might not), and I don't want to spend that precious time stuck behind someone or something. And do you realise just how much time you spend in queues?

There's the school run and thence to work. Typically going it's 50 minutes for a 13 mile trip - over an hour on bad days, but as little as 35 minutes on good days. The home journey can be done in 25 minutes, but more typically 35, and currently with the M4 roadworkd around Cardiff 45. That's if you can get off the Buisness Park in less than an hour because there's only 1 access road and that's straight onto Junction 30 M4 (Planners - D'oh!). That's 40m or more a day, over three hours a week that I could gain if it weren't for the traffic queues. That's a lot of time.

Then there are other various miscellaneous queues:

• At the bar on skittles nights when I need my pint of Brains Dark
• At the take away on Friday's
• At any shop
• Getting out of Ninian Park after Cardiff City's latest home defeat/draw (never a win)
• Trains - don't talk even to me about queues and trains......
• Airports - a queue haters nightmare, but thankfully only faced a couple of times a year
• Time waiting for your PC to boot up (technically a queue of instructions)
• Waiting for the kettle to boil (mental note - must get one of those jobbies that promises to boil a cup of water in 3 seconds)

and so on...

But what to do about it? Be more patient? Not in my nature. Get more stressed? In my nature but not good for my health. Go with the flow? Wish I could. Answers on a postcard please.