Tags
How important is punctuality to you?
I live in a country where you are still considered to be “on time” if you arrive up to 15 minutes after the appointed hour. To me that is late! But I try to go along with things like this and don’t let it bother me much … until it also starts happening in my working life. Because I do expect my students to show up on time (just like they expect me to be here waiting for them and prepared to give a class) and for the most part that works out. But yesterday was the third time my Spanish/English classes with María Paz went for a burton … and I just can’t function like that.
Twice she just didn’t show up (no call, no nuthin) and yesterday, after having asked me to move the class forward half an hour, she turned up twenty minutes late! And well, okay, not the end of the world or anything, and if it were just about getting together for lunch or to hang out it probably wouldn’t bother me [much!] … but I can’t *work* like that. And so the classes have now been postponed – probably indefinitely. On the other hand, María Paz is great for being spontaneous and coming out to the hospital with me at a moment’s notice. So we are trying to work out a way to keep seeing each other more often without any sort of rigid schedule.
But no classes. Just hanging out… well, maybe.
casa azahar 
I have the same problem here in Korea. My university students think I am a “tight ass” because I am very strict about them being on time. Guess what? I don’t care. I tell them to think of my class as a job. If they were late for their job everyday, they would soon be fired.
Community classes with Korean adults is a different story. When I teach them I have to ignore their lateness. If I don’t, they end up fabricating stories and reporting me to the director. I should say did, since right now I don’t teach these classes. I have also had similar experiences with private lessons.
Another persons lateness can be a trigger for stress when you come from a culture values being on time.
LikeLike
Late students were a real problem for me when I first moved to Spain. Worse were the ones that just didn’t show up at all, or cancelled last minute without booking another class to make up the lost one. I soon learned to start charging a month in advance, with a rule that 24 hours had to be given to change a class. Guess what? People started coming on time and usually never missed a class.
A few weeks ago my very mild-mannered yoga instructor finally told us that if half the class could manage to consistently arrive five minutes late then we could surely make it on time. I admit to often being one of the 3-5 minutes late people, for no good reason, and now arrive five minutes before the class starts. Now I get to look down on the ones who still arrive late. 🙂
Curiously, the only times I am ever late – and usually only by five minutes – are when I am going places that are about five minutes from my home.
LikeLike
I thought you couldn’t afford to give up any classes? If she’s prepared to go to the hospital with you, I’d be prepared to cut her some slack as a friend. Regaining your independence by getting an income will probably sweeten the medicine somewhat 😉
LikeLike
Oh goodness, I’d never give up a REAL class. I haven’t managed to get more than five classes a week since getting back to work last October – and I need 15 to even barely make ends meet. The economy here is very bad at the moment and it also looks like Nog will be going back to the UK soon as his students have been dropping like flies. Scary times.
María Paz isn’t a paying student. She and I decided a couple of weeks ago to do English/Spanish exchange classes together (click on the link in the post). When I said I can’t *work* like this, I meant that learning or teaching a language, even for free, feels like work and I take it seriously. And there also needs to be continuity, not just a random class every now and then.
Anyhow, María Paz is a very old friend and one of the reasons for the exchange classes was so we could spend more time together, because even though she works just around the corner we seldom socialise anymore. And we actually had fun at the hospital that day, so maybe we’ll start getting together more often. If not, I hope she’ll be available for the next oncology appointment in May. I probably shouldn’t tell her in advance – that way she won’t be late. 😉
LikeLike
I really hate unpunctuality. Due to a traumatic incident as a child (lost track of time and kept two coachloads of people waiting for 1 1/2 hours and had to apologise to everyone in my swimming trunks…. shudder) I am paranoid about being late for anything. Consequently I am now early for everything.
Once of my pals in particular seems to decide that 15 minutes after the designated meeting time is the time to *start getting ready*…. grrrr…..
I spend half my life in Train Station because I arrive 45 minutes to an hour early to “make sure I dont miss it”!
LikeLike
Hey Ralph! Nice to see you here. Traumatised by unpuntuality, eh? Interesting…
LikeLike
Nice to be here! Been getting more into blogging recently and as H2G2 is dying wanted to be able to stay in touch with hootoo friends and all that!
But yeah, I am constitutionally early for everything now, much to the annoyance of my pals for whom meeting times are more of a guideline really! I still have nightmares about being made, in my swimming gear, to apologise to two coach loads of people for holding them up so long….
I was only eleven and as my Dad had work and it was holidays I had to go back to the play scheme for the rest of the week… it really was hellish.
LikeLike
Yeah, I don’t visit h2g2 much anymore either. And haven’t heard from “our bro” in ages!
Where’s your blog?
LikeLike
Oh duh, just realised your second comment is linked. TO YOUR BLOG! Okey dokey…
LikeLike
I see Blicky on Facebook quite a bit. And he is engaged in an operation on hootoo at the momement shall we say!
LikeLike
I almost never open my Facebook, so don’t see Blicky (or anybody) there. Operation on hootoo? Now I’m going to have to go have a look…
LikeLike
I’ve only had to deal with a few clients who were consistently as late as what sounds like par for the course over there (I’ve had chronic no-shows, but they did genuinely forget and usually offer to pay without being asked). I remember one who just couldn’t be on time no matter when we scheduled her, and always had a story about having to finish a conversation with someone else, and not wanting to be rude and cut them off. After the third half-hour-late appearance I sat her down and said “You tell me what kind of arrangement we need to make so that you can be here at a predictable time and I’ll work with it.” She called me two days later crying and saying the pressure was too much! Bye now.
Almost worse, to me, are people who show up early and make me feel rushed; I do work in my home, so I may well be showering or even still running in the door from the gym. I cut it close but perform miracles so as to be front and center on time (no one can shower and dress as fast as I can, I think I have cut it down to about three minutes); I don’t appreciate someone popping up twenty minutes ahead of schedule
LikeLike
We should have a shower and dress race sometime. It would be interesting to see who would win — I’m pretty damned fast too. Once I lost track of time in the garden and when my client arrived for her massage I was out there knee deep in mud. I raced into the house and sent her in to get ready for her massage while I cleaned up. Guess what? I was ready before she was, which shocked the hell out of her.
LikeLike
When I travelled with Susan she was astounded at how quickly I showered and insisted that nobody could get clean in such a short time. I’ve never timed myself, but I don’t tend to dally.
LikeLike
People who are constantly late drive me up the wall. However, I have learned to be forgiving since there have been times when I was unavoidably detained and wound up being late for an appointment.
Generally though, I have relaxed my feelings about punctuality in other people quite a bit. I still feel compelled to be on time, however. All my clients are aware that if they are late for their appointment they may or may not get their full hour depending on whether there is someone booked after them. They are, however, expected to pay for the full hour, whether they get it or not. They do, without complaint.
I’ll tell you, though, I was absolutely shocked the day I showed up for my appointment at the clinic at Fort Leonard Wood when the traffic was horrible and I was five minutes late. I was informed that I should make another appointment and then be on time. It made me very angry for about five seconds, then I reflected upon the truth that when I went to that clinic they were always spot on time to take you back for your appointment with the doctor, who was also on time (unless there was an emergency in the hospital requiring his/her attention). And the policy at the clinic is that when you have an appointment with your physician, you get a MINIMUM of 30 minutes with that doctor, sometimes as much as 45 if you are having a full physical or have a complex problem that needs to be addressed. The luxury of being face to face with your doctor for that long of a time gives you plenty of time to remember all the questions you had, all the little issues you wanted to discuss. So the next time I was on time for my appointment.
LikeLike
Ooooh you’ve hit a button!
Been doing a group project at school / uni and it’s involved 2 third years and 3 first years, which includes me. I was the only one that’s had a job / earnt a living kind of thing…can you see where this is headed?
Yeah. We’d agree to be there at 10am on Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Friday… and I’d be there on time, every day we’d agreed. And boy did I feel like an idiot every flipping day when they start to trot in at 2pm, looking like they didn’t have a care in the world.
They apparently had other things to do that they thought were more important – I also had other things to do but put them off to be there and on time. Won’t be doing that again, I can tell you. Harrumph.
LikeLike
Like Ralph, I had a childhood trauma which means I’m a paranoidly early bird (I do think the world can be divided into 2 – those who can’t bear to be late, and the rest).
The lateness wasn’t my fault: I’d been singing with the church choir, and the choirmaster kept us on to go through a number one more time…while I was supposed to be in another hall on stage as part of a quartet doing a ballet routine. I remember the tears streaming down my face as I ran up the stairs into the second hall, hearing the ballet music already started, and opening the door to find the other 3 dancers valiantly trying to do the routine without me.
LikeLike
That sounds like one of my typical anxiety dreams, but usually I’m late for a train or plane. Did you end up going on stage?
LikeLike
aloha,
those are beautiful shots…i love your interpretation of the theme three and put this striking photo of your cats, nice captures!
LikeLike