Okay, I’m clearly overthinking the situation, because he said hi. Made an appointment, so got to jump the queue. Turns out he has stomach issues, likely some sort of food intolerance.

Now the person next to us is sharing why she’s here for a blood test. I’m not comfortable sharing my own details…nothing serious but it feels weird to talk about personal health stuff. Now that they shared and I didn’t…the vibe is shifting quickly and I’m woefully unprepared for this moment.

Oh snap. Someone I know from the gym is now in the queue also waiting for a blood test! What’s the protocol here, do I say “hi, what brings you here?” This guy is a young fella, so probably one of the embarrassing illnesses or something minor - rare not to be on one extreme or the other when you’re young. I’m not going to say hi, there’s a rule about privacy plus it’s out of context.

WTF? He sat down straight across from me!!!? Now we both need to look at the floor and pretend we don’t know each other! There are plenty of free seats to wait, why’d he pick the one across from me - it is a breach of protocol!?

Okay, I’m going to go give this kid a pass because he’s young, but next time at the gym the awkwardness is on him, not me 😤

Must be a generational trait, the young fella beside me is losing his patience being stuck in the queue. With every person being called up he re-checks the queue, confirms that he’s still waiting, whispers an f-bomb, then repeats when the next person is called.

I’ve seen similar behaviour from people driving sports cars and ridiculously large trucks. I can’t speak for this condition in women, but I’ve long suspected this is a trait in people who feel their time is disproportionately important than everyone else.

I suspect this leads to a lot of bad decisions, and a lack of awareness that everyone is tolerating your stupidity.