“Fine, Except for the Paperwork.”
I treasure that smart-ass answer a young woman just out of college fired back when I asked her, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, “So, how do you like adulthood?”
The occasion of my remembering it now is that I just spent 3 hours at the DMV changing my license from NC to NY. There must have been thousands of people there, waiting for hours in lines or on benches. Idiot me, I didn’t bring anything to read. I’ve been complaining about not having time to read, this was my big chance to knock off War and Peace!
I did have a notebook with me, so when there were still 35 people ahead of me and desperation set in, I wrote:
There ought to be a word for the trance of bureaucratic boredom. Stupor, really.
If we were British we could call it “queuepor.” But we’re not.
So I began to entertain myself by thinking up words for it.
nouns:
- overwait
- bored or line personality
- officialdumb
- linodopy
- bureaudumb
adjectives:
- stupofficial
- offish
- sopofficious
This got me through to 15 people ahead of me. After that I was okay just staring at the board till my number came up.
Please contribute your suggestions.
Ambiance 
mockturtle said,
June 21, 2011 at 4:34 pm
intrans-agency?
Jason (the commenter) said,
June 21, 2011 at 5:00 pm
It’s called “a convenient time time to use my smart-phone”.
amba12 said,
June 21, 2011 at 5:10 pm
Yeah, it was the first time I’ve really wanted one, I’ll tell you.
Ron said,
June 21, 2011 at 5:44 pm
If you spend too long there… “rigor boredis”
The very process… “Quepidity”
Dave Schuler said,
June 21, 2011 at 7:39 pm
How about :”bureaucrazy”?
amba12 said,
June 21, 2011 at 7:44 pm
:) Well, that would fit the other pole of the reaction — frustration and rage. I was working on the torpor pole.
realpc said,
June 21, 2011 at 8:13 pm
We new-agers are always saying we love to meditate but we’re too busy rushing around. I can always think of something I have to do or want to do, or something I just have to think about, and the result is I completely forget meditation, which is actually my favorite “activity.”
Think of the DMV, or any boring place you might be trapped in, as a kind of temple.
wj said,
June 22, 2011 at 10:22 am
Well, it certainly seems like an opportunity to put the forms on-line and save everybody a bit of time. Not to mention aggrivation. Or did they need you in person for something other than just filling in and returning forms?
amba12 said,
June 22, 2011 at 10:27 am
Eye test. Photo in person. Plus, stringent new ID requirements — stuff you wouldn’t want to send them through the mail, like your ORIGINAL Social Security card.
On the bright side, I was very ready; I had anticipated every contingency (like the problem that some of my legal docs say “Ann,” some “Annie”) and was prepared with extra documents, and had downloaded and filled out all my forms in advance. And once you got to them, the people processing the paperwork knew their stuff and were efficient.
LouiseM said,
June 22, 2011 at 4:27 pm
To seek new docs
One runs the risk
Of being
Torpidoed
And possibly
Torpored,
karen said,
June 23, 2011 at 7:50 am
Mon(ey)queue see
Mon(ey)queue due
We work for Obama
&
He works for you!!!
sippican cottage said,
June 23, 2011 at 4:02 pm
The DMV stand for Don’t Move Voluntarily
Peristallsits
Waiting for Go –D’oh!
Anticitrepanation
Moving through the parlimentary canal
amba12 said,
June 23, 2011 at 4:58 pm
I love that last one!
karen said,
June 23, 2011 at 7:09 pm
Not the ailamentalary canal??
Ron said,
June 24, 2011 at 8:21 am
“aliamentalary, My Dear Watson”, sez Sherlock Amba