Isn't it weird how sometimes you have a certain topic in mind and then, before even posting it, you talk to somebody else and they bring up the same topic?
After waiting for 2 elevators this afternoon, I decided that today's post was going to be on lining up. At the mall today, I pushed Aaron's pram up to wait for the elevator. I was the first one there. Soon, there were more people. And over here, they disregard the sign on the elevator doors to allow people to exit the elevator before moving in. So, the people that arrived after me crowded around the still closed elevator doors. When the doors finally opened and the overcrowded elevator spilled out with people, it was just a sticky shoving of bodies back and forth as people tried to filter through both ways. There was no way I could have made it with the pram. Luckily, the next elevator that came was empty so I only had to be quicker than the other people waiting to get on. Some of them were just going up a single floor, with no prams or even bags. Why don't they just use the escalators if they're not going to line up decently.
Right before posting this, I was chatting with my friend in Brunei, Mr LB and he mentioned lining up too. This time in a more positive way. Last week, Muslims around the world celebrated the end of Ramadan (fasting month). The Sultan of Brunei had an open house for 3 days that 100,000 people attended. All the visitors, VIP or not, got to shake hands with either the Sultan or his wife, depending on whether they were male or female. I don't know what the lines were like there but I'm sure there WERE lines. And can you imagine the task that the Sultan and his wife had shaking all those thousands of hands?
Finally, my last comment on lining up is related to restrooms in Malaysia. Normally, if you go to a crowded restroom, you'd join the end of the line right? And, there would only be a single line. This isn't the case in Malaysia. Over there, you pick a cubicle and line up behind that one. So, if somebody who comes in AFTER you, picks a cubicle that gets done quicker, they'll get to go first. I've always been puzzled about how this got started. Its also only a female thing too because my husband says that if there's ever a line on the men's side, there is only ever one line.
Thats all I've got on lining up today....
4 comments:
Your thoughts on "lining up" relate very well to thoughts that are driving the blog post I plan to do tomorrow on a related topic. I'm always amazed at how people will either be very good about lining up and taking turns, or very bad about it. We saw this during our endless wait in the vast security waiting lines when we left Las Vegas last weekend - most people grumbled and accepted the wait with bovine grace, but there were also those whose time was obviously more important than everyone else's, and who tried to elbow into the lines at better spots. It takes all kinds, of course, but it's still frustrating. Thanks for a timely and interesting post...visit me tomorrow for my take on it!
Don't even get me started on this topic! The only country in Asia where people would line up for innane things (and sometimes they dont even know what they are getting) would be Singapore. And yes, I've no qualms telling people off when they dont do that.
The cubicle queue is an odd tradition!
The cubicle queue in the ladies room happens in Indonesia too! ;)
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