Just arrived at city hall to renew my drivers license. Not an experience I want to remember. The first thing that happens is a huge list of options to choose from, in order to get a number. And it is not just one menu, a couple of submenus after that. I can't imagine having an actual question, and being unable to decide which topic it goes to.
When I look for a place to sit down, I realize all the benches are placed so to minimize the view on the screen with numbers. Now I'm sitting very uncomfortably in order to be able to view that damn screen.
The benches are positioned in a star like shape, sometimes they seat people on two sides, sometimes just one. They're completely unpredictable, forcing people to walk around looking for a spot. Only to realize most spots have no view upon the screen of despair.
This screen is a matrix of numbers that beeps loudly on any change. The numbers don't appear sequentially, and I think it misses a beep if it is to close to the previous beep. Every beep means I have to bend my complete body to see if my numbers is up. Every beep means I lose my concentration, thus voiding any possibility of reading a book.
It is not just me, every person that walks into city hall has a moment of despair. They look upon their number, the screen, again the number, the screen again, then the benches. Most of them immediately leave their hopes and dreams two steps after the number machine.
It feels as if city hall is designed to take any illusions that we can control our own lives. By the time your number is up, they have broken your spirit. All that is remaining is a docile pawn in the game of the bureaucrats… <Beep>… never mind I'll just wait.
