What do you do when you stand in line?

I’ll usually text message or play a game on my phone.

I always carry a small novel with me. So I read.

Since I don’t own a cellphone or anything like that, what I’ll do most of the time is just people watch. If I’m in a line at a department or grocery store, I’ll thumb through the nearby magazines to pass the time. And whether I watch people or read or do anything else, I will fidget anyway because I’ve had a tendency to do that all my life.

I don’t think I could pull off the farting and get away with it. I have a guilty look about me no matter what I do. :o)

during fourth of july at Pismo beach I swear I had to wait in line for 20 minutes to use the restroom and I made friends chatting with people in the line! they were great, just joking about how ridiculous this line is.

I’m queue-aphobic. I have always refused to stand in a line of more than 3 people or 5 minutes. Life is too short. On the few occasions I’ve had to wait, ie for a Dr appt, there has to be a comfortable seai and I bring something to do. Of course I never see the hottest movie on opening day or shop on the day after Thanksgiving but that’s OK, too.

@galileogirl I have never heard of that phobia? you’re phobia is waiting for a long time?

I fluther on my iPhone.

@galileogirl I thought that I was the only person that didn’t shop the day after Thanksgiving.

read.

hump the leg of the lady in front of me (not often).

text message.

I’ve been known to bring knitting, and do it standing up if I absolutely have to do something that requires waiting in a long line (like getting my driver’s license renewed). Otherwise I’m with galileogirl, I’ve definitely walked out of stores because the line looked really long.

@eponymoushipster THAT WAS YOU??? That’s what caused my phobia!

I talk on my cell phone and disturb public space. Oh wait.. that’s actually what everyone else does.

I try to stand there without looking anxious.

i: text. or hit on other people in line ;-)

Im a daydreamer and a people watcher. I actually have a job where I watch people stand in line (no joke). Today at work I daydreamed about this girl that Im falling for while the patient people waiting in line were in a great mood, but I think my mood was rubbing off.

I am usually with my daughter, so I talk to her, answer the millions of questions she asks (such as “why is this lady’s arse so huge, daddy?”).

When I’m alone I fidget. On one occasion I did some pantomime, making everyone else in the queue laugh on their long wait.

Read

I have a Sidekick LX and its always logged into AIM. That takes up my time pretty much no matter what.

I stare at the other people in the line and make comments about them to whomever I’m with. I either make fun of them or try to come up with stories about their lives.

If I’m in line, there is a good chance my son is with me. Therefore, I am usually giving him the look of death so he doesn’t touch anything. Wait, I give that same look to my husband. My daughter seems to be able to control herself in line. (1 out of 3, I really need to improve that statistic!)

@galileogirl sorry, my cellphone battery was low…

I read. Sometimes I’ll chat with the people around me.

@aprilsimnel i’ll chat with people, but only in certain situations. like when i’m in line for a concert or something like that. some places your fellow “waiters” are strange – DMV, for example. yikes

I hate it when people in line try to talk to me. I usually try to find a magazine to peruse.

I play with my balls.

@eponymoushipster – Yeah, it totally depends on the situation. Too bad there isn’t a flying pig that vaguely resembles Bruce McCullough from Kids In The Hall to amuse me while I wait in lines.

@aprilsimnel nice.

sometimes it can backfire, though. I was waiting in line for a concert one time – like a 6 hour wait, but heck i was first in line – and the girls behind me were all talky and what have you. they seemed cool. so we get into the venue, dead center in front of the stage, and THEY SCREAMED the entire show. like, to the point of irritating the act. i’m standing there going “i’m not with them. sorry.”

now, when possible, i bring my iPod fully charged.

If I’m alone I fluther, like right now. at Starbucks If I’m with others I’ll usually chat.

If I know I’m going some place where there will be a line, I’ll bring something to read and mind my own business.
If I get some place with a long line and am unprepared, I simply spend the time cursing myself for being short sighted.

Anyone ever leave their line to go to another, thinking that it’s quicker, then it ends up taking longer than the one you left. Ughhh! I hate that.

Of course! This is simply an application of Murphy’s Law. Why would you expect it to be otherwise?

i hate when we get in line and then there is no bread. *

*only applicable in Soviet Russia and 3rd world countries.

@jonsblond That always happened when there used to be bank lines. God bless the ATM.

this

seriously, that’s what i do

Read, talk or daydream.

Sol Free. Or, if I also want to be annoying, Guitarist.

fidget constantly. play with my phone. shuffle my feet. wish i had my ipod.
if i’m at a show, it’s all of the above, but i usually end up making friends (or trying to) with someone near me. i love meeting folks at shows, it’s my favourite.

play with my phone, play with ipod,
anything to keep me from staring at passer-by’s or other people.
pretend to look for something in my purse.