Line Anxiety

I had an epiphany this weekend. I have complete line anxiety. It took a Friday evening showing of Harry Potter for me to finally admit it.

Case Study #1: We planned on getting to the theater early. It was a 7:45 showing on a Friday night, Imax and 3D, so we knew to plan accordingly. We ate super early (5:30) which worked out well because apparently if your pathetic enough to eat at geriatric times you also receive your sushi half off. Score one for the oldies! We grabbed a quick cupcake and headed to AMC. When we arrived the anxiety kicked in. We grabbed our tickets at the little check in desk since we payed online. We had to stand there for a couple of minutes while the "manager" talked to us endlessly about the benefits of joining STUBS, the movie rewards program. Meanwhile, 100 people got in line before us. 'Preciate that. We saw are line and walked to the end. Boom.....I quickly scan the line and notice our position. In true Rain Man fashion I realize I am highly uncomfortable with our front of the line to back of the line ratio position. In my mind, all of the people ahead of me were sneering and snickering, "should've planned better dummy". Position was crucial because you can't watch IMAX 3D up front or on the side....especially after paying $20 bucks a ticket or whatever. The line quickly begins to move and I am utterly relieved when I realize there were two showings in one line. We dodged a bullet. We caught the snitch. Hey oh!! I found us two seats in the middle of a respectable row. We squeezed through the row only to find out the lady was saving those three seats. Oh, and the three seats to the right of her too. Wow. Thanks for the heads up on that one when you saw us shimmying through the row a mile back. I mumbled something about voldermort under my breath and we made our way to some pretty good seats.

Case Study #2: I had to go to the bathroom before it started so Chris asked me to get some popcorn, a drink and sweet tarts (seriously) so I went to the lobby and immediately sized up the lines and made the best choice. It's meticulous calculation because many times, two or more people are standing in line together but not both placing an order. I try to determine relational lines and pick the best. I settled in a line but began the second guessing. I spot a man about the same distance back and I monitor and measure my progress against his. It isn't until someone gets in line BEHIND me that I feel total validation. Like, yes....I picked the obvious best choice. Suck it every other line. I get all testy at how slow the workers are moving, how less talking more working needs to be done, and how people should have their selections solidified before they arrive at the counters. Needless to say, I got our snacks and made it to our seats well before previews. I just needed a Xanex when I sat down! And don't even get me started on airport security lines, wedding buffet lines and the grocery store. Oy vey!