See James Fallow's post today about the crap you go through trying to order things online. Actually, his troubles likely stem from the overwhelming volume of people trying to use the site at the same time, but its sort of related.
Reading what he said reminded me of another nuance of urban Chinese culture that I haven't really mentioned - nobody stands in line. I touched on this a while back when talking about the subway system, but I've noticed it many other times.
For instance, we really like this one fried dumpling stand across the street from work. You order at the cashier then take your receipt to another area to pick up your food (its all to-go, there's no seats). If its even remotely busy, there will be a small line for the cashier. Inevitably, it takes twice as long as you first expect, because people just walk up, ignoring the line, and hold their money in the face of the cashier until they're serviced (usually right away - as the cashier doesn't seem to have any interest in enforcing the order).
This blew my mind the first time I saw it. Blew my mind. I wondered, did they not understand that we were waiting also? Perhaps they didn't see us at all? Or maybe were they in some kind of dumpling emergency? As it kept happening, though, it became obvious that some people just didn't care to wait in line. This happens everywhere. Its frustrating to no end, but I'm too big of a pussy to do anything about it, or to cut myself. I get my revenge by blogging about it. Take that, you rude sons of bitches.
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1 comment:
I was waiting for a new one. I miss you. Just cut. It will be liberating.
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