Vist Vaccinationland

I was stupid yesterday. I actually said out loud “I think I’m going to get Task “A” finished and the start on Task “B” and then if there is still time, I’ll get a head start on Task “C”. Right.

The first barrier to that plan was the Cheese seminar. That took up a good ninety minutes in another building after I got back I realized that it was almost time to go for my flu shot. Super. I have an assigned time to be there, I left ten minutes early and I fully expected to run in, get my shot and run out. I was supposed to go to lunch with lunch buddy. Then I got to the gym – still thinking I was going to go to lunch.

It was full of people. The line snaked around the gym. They had two cafeteria tables set up and four nurses. A total of four nurses for several hounded people. I got into line and noticed that everyone else seemed to have some paperwork in his or her hands. I got out of line and went searching for my paperwork. I lost my place in line. I came back with my sheet of paper and filled it out – still thinking that the line would move quickly, yeah, just for me! It hadn’t been moving before I got there, but it was going to move for me.

So I’m in line and I’m looking around and see a woman from my office. I thought, “Hmmm. Why is she here? Her last name starts with a “K”. That’s why this line is so long! its all those people coming in whenever they feel like it. If you can’t come at your assigned time, read the damn email – “come in the afternoon in the “unable to make assigned time time”, don’t be in line with me! This rant filled a few minutes. Line not progressed.

So. 11:45. I call Lunch Buddy and break the news that I may be here for awhile, like maybe past noon.

Time is marching on but I am not. I thought the line has moved up two whole spaces, but it turns out, it was just someone going up to the person in front of her to ask for the time. The line has not moved, it was an optical allusion. I call lunch buddy and tell her to go it alone. She says she’s not hungry and can wait.

The woman in front of me is all proud of herself for bringing work to look at while she waits. Yeah, yeah. You’re so prepared. We all bow at the feet of your preparedness. I have a purse full of credit card receipts to read.

I check my wallet to make sure I have my insurance card or any stray Skittles™. After way too long – I find it! My card not any Skittles™. In another 15 minutes the line might progress to the point where they have chairs. I also notice it’s cold and I’m under a vent and I will be under that vent for the next three days because the line is not moving! .

I notice another person from my office in line. A “J” person. The reason that the “K” person and the “J” person are in line? They aren’t flaunting the rules. The line hasn’t gotten to them yet. They are still on the “H”s! I’m an “R”! I’m going to be here forever! No wonder no one came back and warned the rest of us about the line! They are all still in it! It’s some kind of clinical spider web! The harder you try to get out of it, the longer the line gets! “Oh No! Someone just went to go see what the hold up is, damn! That caused one of the nurses to go on terminal break! Damn!damn!damn!”.

I got there at 11:20 a.m. I left there, cold and hungry at 1:00 p.m. I got a tiny bit of Task “A”, none of Task “B” and lets not even get into how much of Task “C” is still done.

but at least I got one…