Quit being so … self-absorbed … erl, we heard from ya. You think the world should adjust to you, the world thinks differently. Move on, would ya?
My informal consideration of the friends and family I’ve known is that the chronically late people are extremely narcissistic, and in general, should be dropped like a peice of microwaved tinfoil.
I’m ±3 minutes to anywhere, notwithstanding a truly unusual event, as opposed to “someone called,” and I don’t buy “I’m from X country, and … what is this thing called Time?” or “I’ve got genetic laziness disease, YOU should always expect me to be late” Nuh-uh, sister. You don’t have time issues, you’ve got chronic fuckwit issues – Once you pick a time and a place to meet someone that could inconvenience them, you’ve conveyed your intention to get there at that time. Irregardless of you being an emotional cripple with a gimp leg and an opium addiction – or whatever, the world expects you to know yourself well enough to make whatever allowances are necessary. Full stop.
I like the Marines suggestion. “Aw, man, we were going to invade Grenada at 0900, but we woke up late, and then we all had to wait for the blade-sharpening guy…”
After coming back from my vacation, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m going to have drop out of my carpool and suck it up and just go it alone to work every day. It’s too bad that I have to waste all this gas because of this, but the combination of a late person and a compulsive clock-watching boss are not a good combination.
I know I would be going crazy every day wondering if I am going to make it to work on time.
Sounds like a textbook case of sleep apnea. IANAP, but I’d bet lots of money a CPAP device would almost painlessly turn this guy’s world upside down for the better within a month. Sleep apnea is a horrible problem affecting so many areas of one’s life but is easily treatable. We have some sleep apnea experts on this board who might proffer some links, please?
A few months ago a started a thread about my chronic lateness to work. However, I would never, ever be late for anything else. Some concluded I was passive/aggressive, childish, rebellious, etc.
What I was pretty sure of was that I had some sort of sleep disorder and when it got painfully obvious I consulted my PCP who made a referral for a polysomnogram.
Within an hour of the start of the nine hour test the technician told me that typically the results of the test are sent to another lab for analysis that takes about two weeks to interpret. However, she stated that within an hour she could see that I had the most egregious case of sleep apnea she had ever seen in her six years of administering the test and there would be no need to send the results out for interpretation.
The specialist called me at work within hours of completion of the test and said it was the worst case of sleep apnea she had ever seen in her life and how was I able to get out of bed in the morning and hold down a job and how was I able to get through a day, etc. “Well, face in the keyboard out cold every afternoon isn’t exactly getting through the day.”
The specialist was able to coax my STINGY HMO to pay for and provide a CPAP device within 10 days of the test, before the others who were tested that night even got their results back. Some kind of record. Sleep apnea and driving can be a deadly combination. Thankfully my car is stick shift and my drive has many velocity changes, requiring more concentration than cruising an interstate for hours with automatic trans (or stick for that matter).
Am I excused for being late? No. I should have had this checked out years ago. But I thought everyone fought like 15 rounds with Muhammad Ali to get out of bed in the morning. Some mornings he knocked me out in an early round and I didn’t get out of bed until the afternoon. I just couldn’t figure out how most everyone else was able to get to work on time.
My overly drawn out and melodramatic point is that if this guy (or anyone you know) is only late first thing in the morning, he may have a sleep disorder, he needs treatment and you may save his life by suggesting he see a doctor.
I’m chronoically late person also. It’s not really because I’m lazy (though I am a lazy person also…) but because I like the idea of being “rushed.” A lot of time, I have enough time to get ready but I’ll purposely waste time til I have to leave and get there a little late. I just like to do things when I feel like doing them and if the current time isn’t it, then I won’t go. I know it’s bad, so I’m trying to fix it.
I agree that most chronically late people are inconsiderate - basically by definition. They aren’t giving consideration to the feelings of others.
I suppose I might make an exception for people who are chronically late even for events that are important to them. This might be the result of simple optimism. They honestly (but foolishly) believe that they can do 30 minutes worth of preparation in 15 minutes.
I imagine that there are also chronically late people who truly believe that lateness is no big deal. These sorts of people wouldn’t be annoyed if they themselves were kept waiting. But I think this is unusual - most people get annoyed to be kept waiting for no good reason. And if you believe that lateness isn’t a big deal, you are still somewhat inconsiderate IMHO.
And by the way, I think that a lot (most?) of chronically late people who claim that lateness is no big deal are freaking liars. If they were kept waiting for someone, they’d be pissed.