Early Birds

[blas87]

We've had threads about flaky people and people who are perpetually late to everything. How about the opposite?

I bring this up because next weekend, there is a family lunch thing in my hometown. My mom said that if I get to their house by 11:45, we will be able to leave and make good time getting there. And despite my posts about my mom, she is actually the one out of my two parents who actually trusts me to be on time.

My Dad, the other day, tried to change it to 11:30. Mom was standing right there and started to open her mouth, but I knew she'd start yelling, so I just diffused it by saying "Dad, 11:45 will be fine, mom already had this talk with me." and thankfully, that was that.

My family has this.....thing....about being early. Super early to stuff. Like I said, Mom trusts me to be on time, as I've NEVER given her a reason not to, Dad always fears we're going to be late, so we have to be the first people to anywhere we go.

It was church for many, many years. We'd arrive before the pastor even got there. Any time my family wants to go back up north to visit Gramma or other family, Dad tries to finagle a time that is one and a half, two, two and a half hours before we have to be there (it's a 45 min drive in perfect weather, nearly all highway).

Now, this part is me being a drama queen, but I don't care. I'm the biggest girly girl I know, and yes, I take literally foooorever to get ready. Yes, I'm that bad. Not during the work week, but on my days off when I actually dress nicely and do myself up all lovely. I can take upwards of two hours to get ready, from shower to putting on my shoes and walking out the door. It takes longer than usual in recent months because I have to clean up after myself in the bathroom (wipe makeup and hair off the counters and floor and spritz shower cleaner in the shower).

But what seperates me from the other prima donnas is that I am NEVER late (unless the roads are really, really bad), and have never made my family late to any gatherings or meeting times. I have also NEVER been late to a date because of primping.

And yet, Dad will call me an hour or so before I'm supposed to be there to make sure I woke up (he does it to my brother as well...wakes him up multiple times before he has to even get up). And even though they all know I dislike talking and driving, Dad will call me say, 15 minutes before I'm supposed to be there to make sure I am on my way.

And a bonus rant. I had plans last Saturday for dinner at 6 pm with someone. They woke up at 1 pm and decided that since they were up and about to get ready, that I should be as well, and they kept bugging me once per hour (or more) asking if I was ready yet.

[RedRoseSpiral]

My father has this horrible tendency to wake me up 15 minutes before I need to wake up. For awhile we were car pooling and without fail he'd be knocking on my door 15 minutes before my alarm. It drives me crazy. I've been waking myself up since I was a kid, and the only times I've been late for anything is because of either him or my mom. I know exactly how much time I need to get ready compared to when I need to leave. I also get really cranky if I get woken up before I need to be. Sleeping is my second favorite thing to do while in bed after all. >.>

[jackfaire]

In Basic you were expected to wake up before it was time to be awake and up. I always thought that was stupid BS. Its like dude if we are supposed to be up earlier then just fucking tell us to be up earlier none of this,


'You don't have to be up earlier than the actual wake up time but if your bunk and your dressed by wake up time well it would be a fun time for a workout. "

[HYHYBT]

Would this be a good place to throw in people who call and say you need to be somewhere earlier than planned after you've already started? For example, you're meeting someone 40 minutes from where you live, you leave on time, and then they call and say you need to get there 20 minutes sooner? Or you know someone is going to pick you up at a certain time, and start getting ready timed accordingly, only to get a call while you're in the shower that they're ready now and want you to be too?

[blas87]

Yeah, that's pretty much what my last (yet short) story was about in my OP.

We didn't have plans to meet up until 6 pm, yet since they woke up at 1 pm and were ready to start getting ready and go, that meant that I should too so that we could go even earlier! Nevermind that I'd already called in our seats for 6:00 and I wasn't about to call and change that reservation on New Year's Eve.

And people who think that it will make me get ready faster to keep texting me and texting me and bugging me (yes, THIS is bugging me) with conversations or questions while I'm trying to get ready, that is the most counterproductive thing you can do. When I say "I'll be ready in 20 minutes", that's what I mean. Don't keep texting me asking me what I did today or what I ate for lunch or if I washed my car. Let. Me. Put. My. Face. On. And when I *gasp* ignore the phone so I can get ready, don't give me a damn attitude. I'm sorry you got ready so soon that you're sitting on the couch waiting for me bored at home, but we aren't supposed to meet for another hour, so find something to do or plan your own getting ready better next time.

[HYHYBT]

Sorry; with the replies coming in over a few days, I'd forgotten the original examples.

One more that fits in, then: some years ago, I spent a vacation driving. That's pretty much it; I set out my first day off, intending to set out going west, stopping if I found anything interesting (or needed gas, food, sleep, stretched legs, etc) and back again. The vacation was officially a calendar week, but (as was customary) my days off the week before and after were up against it. So when I left, I was due back Tuesday.

Saturday, as I was somewhere in Indiana, I got a call from work. Store manager had been fired, new store manager had changed the schedule, and I was now working Sunday night. Sorry, no, I *can't* do that! It would have required driving nonstop day and night to home, staying not much longer than to shower and dress, and then head back to work for a full shift. That would have been around 40 straight hours without sleep; I just *can't*. She said she understood (the second time I explained it) but I still got the impression she thought I was just being uncooperative. And she still had me come in Monday.

[blas87]

No need to apologize. I squeezed that small sentence under all that babble so it was easy to miss the seperate short sentence story.

[DrFaroohk]

I HATE being late for anything. I hate walking into a crowded room and everyone turns to stare at me. I like to be the first one there.

People who take a long time to get ready - fine, but plan around it. I know a little lady who feels like she can do 4 hours of makeup in 20 minutes...and it never works out. I don't get it. You know you gotta leave at 5:00 p.m., why do you start your makeup at 4:30? Why not start your makeup and hair at noon so you know it'll be all done in time?

[Tanasi]

With my family if we're going somewhere as a family, I'll tell all who is coming what time we're leaving and that's when I leave ready or not. Early in our marriage I made a believer out of my wife and I've made believer's out of my kids.
At Christmas we had to leave at 10am to get to my inlaws. Told the kids and that's when we left. My youngest daughter (13) was chasing us down the driveway with shoes in one hand and coat in the other. The only reason she got to go was we had to wait for the gate to open and I forgot to lock the car doors.

[senor boogie woogie]

For the record, I lack discipline in many aspects of my life. I eat too much. I drink and smoke. I am not a very industious person and basically does the minimum required to get the job done. I am usually fairly laid back.

One thing I am anal about is time. For myself, I am always on time. If you want me there at 5:30 AM, my ass will be there at 5:30 AM. I am very punctual and I will leave plenty early to make sure that I am where I need to be at such and such a time.

I am like this because I hate to wait and hate to keep others waiting. Life is too short. Others seem to appreciate this. Bosses see when someone like me is always there and on time and can forgive goofs that I could occasionally make.

I do not like be rushed, and I dont want to run to get somewhere. I get to the airport early because I want to be the first in line to check my luggage and then go through security. Then I can rest. I actually dislike movies where the story is about someone running to do something before time runs out. If you would wake up thirty minutes beforehand then that bomb would not have exploded in your butt. Wake up!

I got this from living in a culture that demanded punctuality. From my overbearing parents, to school, who would punish pupils for being late to class (one bitch math teacher in 8th grade made me go to the office when I was literally 10 feet from her door when the bell rang after me running as fast as I could to make it.), to jobs that wrote people up and even eventually fired people for lateness. Once in high school, I got a job at a KFC, we did our orientation, with the trainer kicking people out for being 10 seconds late.

[blas87]

I can understand and respect being on time. Or a few minutes early. But what my parents seem to demand, is just plain ridiculous.

And for some stupid reason, mom allowed dad to say I need to be at their place by 10:30 now. So we will have 2 hours to drive 45 minutes to an hour. To sit in a restaurant waiting for everyone for an hour.

[Peppergirl]

And people who think that it will make me get ready faster to keep texting me and texting me and bugging me (yes, THIS is bugging me) with conversations or questions while I'm trying to get ready, that is the most counterproductive thing you can do. When I say "I'll be ready in 20 minutes", that's what I mean. Don't keep texting me asking me what I did today or what I ate for lunch or if I washed my car. Let. Me. Put. My. Face. On. And when I *gasp* ignore the phone so I can get ready, don't give me a damn attitude. I'm sorry you got ready so soon that you're sitting on the couch waiting for me bored at home, but we aren't supposed to meet for another hour, so find something to do or plan your own getting ready better next time.

Oh.my.GOD. This is why I jokingly call you my daughter. I HATE it when someone knows I'm trying to get ready to go, and they keep texting random stupid shit like that. Listen, I *DO* tend to run late and I'm happy for reminders, but texting me stupid shit like that (when they know I'm trying to get ready) is only going to make me even later, which is what I'm trying to fucking avoid!!!

UGH. Drives me absolutely insane!!

[Peppergirl]

I can understand and respect being on time. Or a few minutes early. But what my parents seem to demand, is just plain ridiculous.

And for some stupid reason, mom allowed dad to say I need to be at their place by 10:30 now. So we will have 2 hours to drive 45 minutes to an hour. To sit in a restaurant waiting for everyone for an hour.

I think people who are SUPER early like that have a form of OCD or something. Seriously. My mom has a bit of OCD and she's like that although, unlike most people with OCD, she's actually gotten more relaxed about it over the years instead of worse, like most older people get.

[Sleepwalker]

Anxiety, sure. OCD is a specific anxiety disorder that may or may not apply to habitual...notlateness.

??

Is there even a word for the opposite of tardiness?

[Android Kaeli]

I can not stand being late for anything, I am almost always at least twenty minutes early for everything. Be it work, going somewhere with friends, or just going to the movies by myself. That has been something I learned growing up and now I do it automatically.

I also expect the people who I go to the movies or mall or out to dinner with, to be a little early as well -- especally if it's the movies. I don't mean an hour before, I mean at least ten to twenty minutes early so that we can get tickets and stuff like that. Because, you know, I really don't want to be waiting around to meet someone ten minutes after the fact.

But I don't ask people to come an hour early. I just ask that people take the same courtesy and be a little bit early.