Waiting in line anywhere for any reason can be a real pain, and that pain can turn into sheer agony if you happen to be waiting at the post office to renew your passport (or other menial task). The situation surely gives you plenty of time to think, and here are some of the most common thoughts that may go through your mind.
Why does the universe hate me?
This thought pops up when you notice everyone in front of you is either sending 22 packages each, sending packages that aren’t even wrapped yet, or are clogging up progress with a litany of questions about zip codes and rates for places like Kalamazoo. You figure the universe has to hate you to stick you at the end of the line behind this mess.
I wonder if I turned off the coffee pot.
The worry thoughts always tend to hit, leaving you wondering if you turned off the iron or coffee pot, shut the garage door, locked the front door, or remembered to give fresh water to your parakeet.
Where did she get those really cool shoes?
Observing the fashion statements of other customers around you can lead to all kinds of thoughts about updating your own wardrobe.
I hope I don’t get the cranky guy at the far counter.
When thinking about the other customers gets boring, you can turn your thoughts to post office staff. Here you can send apologies to the universe for whatever you did wrong, begging not to get the crankiest staff member on duty.
Why did the cranky guy shut down his counter?
The cranky guy is leaving. Hoorah! But that also resulted in shutting down his counter, leaving one less staff member to deal with the massive crowd in front of you. Maybe the cranky guy was cranky because he needed to eat and went to lunch. Can’t blame him.
I’m hungry.
Thoughts of food inevitably come up when you’re waiting in line, particularly if you gave up your lunch hour – and your lunch – to stand there.
Where the heck is Kalamazoo?
You know you’re in bad shape when your new thoughts start circling back to your original thoughts. But it’s not your fault since the lady that was clogging up the line with questions about Kalamazoo is still there asking about it.
It’s in Michigan, by the way.
Wait, did I need 2 proofs or address or 3?
If you’re lucky enough to be applying for a passport, you need a whole slew of documents proving your identity. Forget one? This entire lunch hour wasted. BTW, here’s the full list of needed documents.
I wonder what I’m supposed to learn from all this.
Once your thoughts turn from the earthly to the philosophical, you get a whole new set of ideas to entertain your brain. Since you’ve heard everything happens for a reason, you can now start to wonder about the magical symbolism of Kalamazoo or what you should be interpreting from that lady’s really cool pair of shoes.
Dannnnng. My passport photos are not flattering
Waiting in line, you’re bound to start staring at your post-workout, no-makeup, unsmiling passport photos. Don’t stare too long.
If you really don’t have time for such extensive thoughts, or would much rather be eating lunch on your lunch hour, head to Swift for quick online passport renewals that eliminate the long post office lines – and frustrations that go with them.
