* * * * *

              Even though there's no line, there's still a line

All I needed was a single 39¢ stamp.

So on the way to work, I decided to stop by the Post Office because I know
they have a machine that sells single 39¢ stamps.

Only the machine is out of order.

Sigh.

I check over in the customer area and amazingly enough there is no line!
Suspicious that it might be another holiday [1] I approach, and lo', it's not
a holiday! And there are two customers already being helped.

This should only take a minute or two, I think to myself as I get into the
non-existant line.

The customer at the far end is talking to the clerk, who makes a dash back
into the bowels of the Post Office, only to come back, talk some more with
the customer, and dash back into the bowels.

The customer closer to me is patiently waiting while the clerk applies
special postal tape to the package, then afixes labels to the package, then
fills out said labels, then stamps a whole mess of official looking
documents, afixes yet more tape and labels while filling out even more
official looking paper work.

Meanwhile, the far customer is still talking to the clerk, who keeps dashing
back into the bowels of the Post Office.

A line starts to form behind me. The clerk nearest me finishes wrapping a
cacoon around the package, and then I see the customer has two more packages.


So much for it taking a minute, I think, about five minutes later.

Ten minutes after I started waiting, the far customer finally berates the
clerk over some small detail, then leaves. Now I can finally buy the single
39¢ stamp.

[1] gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2007/01/15.1

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