Ask Mefi calming description of going to a shop or office

December 15, 2015 12:55 PM

I remember an ask metafilter answer that I'm trying to find - it featured the asker having anxiety about visiting a shop or office, and wanted to know what it was going to be like. The answerer wrote a very long, detailed response about what the asker might experience - such as "you will stand in line probably for x minutes, then be called to the front where you need to say 'I'm here fore xyz' and present such and such paperwork." Something along those lines! Very grateful if anyone else remembers this.
posted by rebent to MetaFilter-Related at 12:55 PM (17 comments total)

Was it one of the script answers from this thread about finding a primary care doctor?
posted by MonkeyToes at 1:05 PM on December 15, 2015

Was it this thread or this thread about passport renewal?
posted by suedehead at 1:19 PM on December 15, 2015

MonkeyToes, that might have been it but I seem to recall the answer being a lot longer and more detailed than the ones in that thread. The question and answers were specifically about working through anxiety, not either of those passport questions Suedehead.
posted by rebent at 1:24 PM on December 15, 2015

This one or this one?
posted by Etrigan at 1:35 PM on December 15, 2015

This is an Ask.me about social anxiety; I seem to remember visiting a coffee shop was part of it, so that's what I searched.
posted by theora55 at 2:44 PM on December 15, 2015 [2 favorites]

There was a thread by a guy who was really really anxious about going to a fancy restaurant on a date. Does that ring a bell?
posted by showbiz_liz at 5:36 PM on December 15, 2015

Was it this haircut thread?
posted by aaanastasia at 8:03 AM on December 16, 2015

that restaurant thread is really sweet. but now i'm worried - i typically make eye contact and lift my hand (it stays below shoulder level; maybe it does the "writing the bill" wiggle). i've eaten in all kinds of restaurants. am i terribly crass?
posted by andrewcooke at 9:41 AM on December 16, 2015

The first thing that sprang to mind was a visit to the DMV.
posted by Solomon at 12:08 PM on December 16, 2015

Andrew -- personally I think that's fine, as long as you smile and are friendly and not impatient looking. I wouldn't call it crass.
posted by JenMarie at 1:31 PM on December 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

Really enjoying the links here--thanks for this post.
posted by box at 6:07 PM on December 16, 2015

That level of requesting a bill shouldn't be necessary in a truly fancy restaurant, so it might be a bit gauche at the French Laundry or Eleven Madison Park, or really any of the kinds of places where you don't go for dinner with the intention of doing something else afterward. But really, if you're in a place like that and you have to go out of your way to make eye contact and request the bill, something has gone horribly, horribly wrong.
posted by jacquilynne at 6:34 PM on December 16, 2015

Yeah, I've only needed it like if I have something to get to and signal after the entree that they can bring the bill.
posted by rhizome at 9:14 PM on December 16, 2015

hmm. i guess there's a type of restaurant / culture that's all about being "looked after", and perhaps i could play my role better there. thanks for the feedback.
posted by andrewcooke at 4:01 AM on December 17, 2015

There was a good comment recently about how to get a taxi at an airport.
posted by tangerine at 10:00 PM on December 17, 2015

That level of requesting a bill shouldn't be necessary in a truly fancy restaurant, so it might be a bit gauche at the French Laundry or Eleven Madison Park,

Ha! Yeah. Good luck even lifting your leg to fart at the French Laundry without 3 people running over to make sure your chair isn't adjusted improperly or something. You will not want for attention at the end of your meal.

(I'm just kidding; you shouldn't fart at the French Laundry. Work all that stuff out before you walk in there.)
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 12:06 PM on December 18, 2015 [2 favorites]

It's probably not this one, but I walked someone who had never flown before through what going to the airport would be like.
posted by MsMolly at 1:38 PM on December 21, 2015