In which we save the day

[desperance]

Ooh, I was grumpy this afternoon. I'd been in town, working over a manuscript, and I thought I'd drift along to the sushi place, grab a booth and idle through my afternoon, finishing off the work between a nibble of this and a bite of that, a slurp of miso soup...

But! There were no booths! Inconsiderate people had occupied them all! And I can't work at the counter, for obvious reasons of sprawl. So I lingered, and drifted away and came back, and someone was on the very verge of leaving his booth, and I was on the very verge of seizing it when along came a couple with a baby in a buggy - so of course I stood back and ceded it to them.

And lingered, and drifted away and came back, and there was a couple about to leave their booth, so I was poised to seize - and along came a woman with her friend in a wheelchair, so what could I do...?

So I lingered, and drifted, and was about to grab another booth when along came the manager to observe that actually he had a queue, over on the other side there, see...?

Which I wouldn't mind if that was the system, but clearly it's not; sometimes you can grab a booth as other people vacate it, and sometimes apparently you can't, you have to queue. I hate inconsistency. Especially when I'm on the losing end of it, but I do hate inconsistency. I want one system that I can understand; give me rules that everybody will follow, and I'm happy. This was the other thing, and so was I...

So I came home all snarly, and did nothing useful for hours. Until I found a story that I'd nearly finished months ago but not quite; so I finished it now, and have sent it off (in my new guise as a legitimate SF writer honest! with shortlistings!), and we shall see.

And now I feel better, and will stop work and eat chilli. Though as far as I can see there is nothing on TV tonight, and apparently there's a reason why I haven't watched all those videos I've been accumulating for the last decade, viz I don't want to watch 'em. So I might just have to read a book.

Comments

[wishus.livejournal.com]

I hate queueing too. My favourite eatery is the art gallery cafe. It's really obvious where the queue should be... you enter the cafe and straight ahead of you is the chill cabinet filled with lovely cakes, which sits againt the left-hand wall of the cafe (so you can pick your cake on the way to the counter). Then, the counter/tray slide goes from the left hand side of the chill cabinet and the till perches on the right-hand edge of the counter. So, in-look-right-order-pay. Obvious! So when I move up to the empty counter the right way, wait to be served, and then someone moves in from the other way and speaks over me, before turning their sanctimonious face to me and say, "There is a queue you know", do I rant? Do I? No. I do goldfish impressions.
It seems your post has provoked a Herbert Lom-style eye twitch.

At least you have been productive today. I have been bad and turned the TV on.

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

I don't mind queuing, but I hate the places where they leave you to linger and hover and generally fight it out for yourself. Which is why I never wanted to go to the trendy cool café bar downstairs at the Tyneside Cinema (that and the loudness of the music).