mind the queue

i've been in the UK for 172 days now (not like i'm counting or anything)... and i have one observation to report: there are queues everywhere for everything. things in the UK are notoriously inefficient. phone lines, dsl connections, bank accounts--just about anything--take 3 weeks to get setup. reflecting on the differences in work ethic and efficiency, as my boy Ioannis put it: "[expletive deleted] look, in greece man, we work just 2 hours a day, but we [expletive deleted] WORK for those two hours. here, they say they work 8 hours, but they don't do a [expletive deleted] [expletive deleted] thing!! (i told him, yes i understand... in the middle east it's like greece, except we don't even work for those 2 hours)

anyhow, as i was saying... bloody queues! ok, so forget the lazy workers. there is a long wait for everything here. maybe i am just an impatient american, but i have not seen one ATM machine without a line. it's insane. if you are in the city and you pass by an ATM, there are at least 3-4 people waiting, always. go to the gas station and there will be a line of 2 or 3 cars waiting for each pump. if you go to a grocery store, a coffee shop, or wherever else, there is always a long line. and people here just deal with it and wait patiently. so you would think that the british must be a patient people to be able to endure this constant queuing, right?

au contraire my good friend, for as with all my tales, there's a twist.

there is one place where there is no queue... and it's the single most important place to queue: the frickin' crosswalk! what do i mean? well, have you ever seen a green light for cross traffic and a green 'walk' sign for pedestrians both on at the same time? intersecting!

at first i thought i was imagining things. then, after it happened to me a few times and at different intersections, i realized that it is either a sick death trap, or the epitome or stupidity and impatience. the cross traffic stops, and the green 'walk' sign lights up for the pedestrians. then after about 10 seconds, the cross traffic gets a green light, while the crosswalk still says 'walk'! i so wish i was making this up, but this is far too nutty and illogical. i'd expect this kind of thing in, say, egypt, where their idea of civic planning is not having any left turns anywhere in the country (another thing i wish i was making up, but it's true, just go see... only U-turns).

oh well, fun times.... as long as i don't get run over.