I like to follow rules.  I take comfort in structure and doing things by the book, the way everyone is supposed to.  I think this makes me a good REALTOR, this rule-following compulsion.  It sometimes gets in the way, but I think it’s a good characteristic to have. 

I follow the rules & laws when selling a house, I follow the recipe when baking a cake, and I obey the traffic laws.  When I am in a big social setting without defined rules, I get uncomfortable.  But if everyone is in the same boat then it isn’t so bad.  When everyone else also follows the rules of the road or the right procedure when working with real estate clients, then I’m good with it.  This morning I was thrown for a loop, though!

A Tim Horton’s drive through.  What could go wrong there?  You follow the line of cars, place your order, pay for and pick up your order, and carry on.  I love the drive-through at the Tim Horton’s on Yonge St in Barrie, across from McDonald’s because it has TWO lines!  You can pick the shorter line and it moves very well.  There is also a two lane drive-through on Bradford St, but it’s set up a little differently.  The lane on the right is for everyone.  The lane on the left is for ‘passenger pick-ups’, which means you need someone sitting in the passenger seat to be able to grab your order since the window is on the right.  Makes sense to me.  I don’t mind waiting in the regular line when I’m all alone, and I go to the ‘passenger’ line when I have a passenger.  It’s like driving in the HOV lanes in Toronto…follow the rules!!

Well, this morning was tough for me.  I pulled into my right hand ordering lane and saw that, as usual, the left lane was pretty empty.  Then I saw a car pull up and noticed that the driver was alone.  Well, I scoffed, what does he think he’s doing?  He can’t be there!  How will he pay for his order?  How will the Tim’s employee hand him his coffee?  You’ll never believe what I saw next….another single occupant car pulled into that lane!  Then another!  I counted FIVE passenger-less vehicles pull up to the ‘passenger pick-up’ lane!  I could barely compose myself enough to order my coffee.  I could not believe my eyes…what is the world coming to?  Is my lane so long that these people can’t follow the rules?  What sort of example does that set for our youth?

I realize that you creative folk out there will find this quite humorous, but for rule-followers like me it’s hard to watch others go through life all willy nilly.  I’m off to find a manual about how to do something so that I can get my mind focused again.  I hope all of you have a better start to your day!

We always enjoy hearing your comments so feel free to contact us.  You can reach John Weber at John@JohnWeberTeam.com or by cell at 705-727-6111.  You can reach Christie Bond at Christie@JohnWeberTeam.com or by cell at 705-220-1152.