this afternoon i went down to the city's public health building to obtain my food handler's license (a requirement for starbucks). the building had that drab and opressive feel that is endemic to government offices, elementary schools, and banks -- retro, but not in a good way.

i walked through a maze of hideous faux-wood doors and bespeckled tiles and arrived at the registration desk. i made eye contact with the lady behind the counter and stated my purpose. with no further discussion, she handed me a card with "15" printed on it and asked me to have a seat until she called for me. i sat down and watched her shuffle some papers on her desk. after approximately sixty seconds had passed, she straightened up and called, "Number 15!"

i hadn't even had time to warm up my plastic chair.

as per instruction, i returned to the counter and she said, "That'll be $16." a woman of few words. i forked over my credit card and she handed me a form to complete. i filled it out and was on my way shortly.

i'm sure the number calling system is in place for some grand bureaucratic reason, but i think it would have been a more efficient use of both of our time if she had just asked me to pay and handed me the form the first time we "spoke." but that would probably mess up the system and cause some sort of massive breakdown that could only be remedied by a raise in taxes.