I was raised to be punctual; part of that strict anal training I was talking about before, which resulted in my semi-obsessive-compulsive (OC) tendencies today.  My parents hated being late for anything but they didn’t mind arriving early for anything.  They said it gave them a bit of edge over things because they’ve had time to be acquainted with the place.  I actually agree with that; I’ve read that arriving earlier than your business associate is a strong strategic power play when it comes to negotiations. 

I don’t know if my parents are just really old fashioned or something but from my point of view, almost everybody seems to enjoy coming in late for everything, be it a coffee date or a group meeting for work.  I remember this issue causing me a lot of angst when I was still in high school; I still didn’t know how to control hormones and I had problems with controlling my temper.

Well I know now how to deal with the hormonal anger rages and I’m a whole lot calmer now, that much I can say, but the punctuality is still there.   But, sadly, not everybody shares this viewpoint so I always end up waiting everywhere.  I was really pissed off at first but I’ve learned to accept that everybody thinks differently and moves at different paces.  Besides, in this day and age in Manila, no one’s really safe from the onslaught of traffic jams.

But because this is my blog, I’ll rant on people being tardy for a while, okay?  It just ticks me off sometimes that some people can stomach letting their friends/co-worker/whatever wait for over an hour someplace.  I mean what was the point of setting up the time and place if you weren’t going to honor that? 

I really do think that it’s a sign of respect for a person to actually make the effort and arrive punctually.  Why shouldn’t it?  Two parties agreed to the time and place of the meeting; they both gave their words on it.  It’s not written, but it is binding.  For one party to break the stipulations of the agreement is just plain rudeness to the other party.

Everybody has better things to do than wait for your sorry ass so it might be beneficial to stick one’s head out of the selfish pile and look at what you’re making the other person give up doing when you make them wait.  I just don’t think that there’s any excuse for it.  It’s not like the time was a big shocker or anything; I mean you did agree to it. 

There was a traffic jam?  Well we live in the Philippines, shouldn’t you be preparing yourself for this already?  You woke up late?  Well that’s just plain rude, what, you don’t know how to set the alarm?  Your other meeting ran late?  Well you could’ve at least had the courtesy to call in ahead you know. 

Also, it just seems classless and tacky to be continuously arriving late for meetings.  Doesn’t it seem a bit petulant for you to make people wait on you?  Uh, hello, but not everybody can accommodate your diva moment, okay?  If you get ego boosts at the fact that people are waiting for you, I suggest you take a good look at your values and seriously consider enrolling yourself in a charm school. 

I guess it all boils down to respect, as I’ve mentioned above.  Do you respect the other person enough to stay true to your word?