Waiting around for people..
 

This seems to be a constant issue with me and my friends. A bunch of us are going out tonight, and we're all meeting at a friends house. Well, my friend Liz lives right next door and I always go over with her. She called me nearly an hour ago, said she just had to get dressed and she'd be ready to go. AN HOUR AGO!!!

I just called, and she said she was having "issues." I asked "What, did your hair fall out?" She was having clothes issues. Meaning she's feeling fat or feeling like her chest is too big, or legs too short or whatever and she couldnt find something to wear. Whatever. God, it's just irritating. I should have just gone to my friends house an hour ago. Grrrr....

you should probably go over to her place right now, Averett, and fix her up good. Then go to your friends and enjoy your saturday night, damnit!

Some people are just like that.. gotta get used to it :P

I have found this is the case with most people as they get older. They become less and less reliable and usually are never on time.

Yeah i have a friend thats like that. If he says he'll be over at a cetain time, you can bet he's like a hour off. I guess you just get used to it and expect and except it. After awhile, you laugh about it and its not a big deal anymore.

In her mind, her time is more valuable than your time. Her issues are more important than anyone else's issues. Explain the reality of life to her very simply by giving her 15 minutes tops, then leaving. Go out without her. She'll soon figure it out.

A friend that makes you wait is, in reality, not a friend.

You're bang on Peetster.
I would give a late friend 1/2 hour then I'd leave. Next time I'd give em 15 minutes unless it's something out of their control.
I'd say "ok, we'll see you there."

Right on Peetster :)

There are a lot of things about this particular friend that I don't like, but I just put up with it since I've known her my entire life. But I'm sure there are things about me that she doesnt like as well.

You think that is bad? My friend and I were planning to go to the movies, he called me 4 hours later and told me he couldn't go.

I'm that friend.


It takes a long time to get the "I don't care" look right. And my hair... I don't even wanna talk about doin' my hair.

Yeah it seems like I am always the one waiting around for people also.

I don't know why my time is not as importent as theirs is.

*sigh* Yeah, I'm that friend too. Normally it's not me debating about what to wear though, it's just me getting distracted by other things. I have an inbred old-Italy sense of time, where being 45 minutes late is normal :) :p :(

I hate having to wait for people, I also hate having people waiting on me. When I was going out a lot had to be ready I was showed and dressed in a half hour. If someone called me and said hey I m going to the mall this that or the other I could be ready in 15 minutes. You have a routine that every friday or saturday night you go out, you know this plan what to wear through out the day. Dont wait til your supposed to be leaving to think oh crap I m going out and should be there already what do I wear.

With friends that are always late, i just tell them we're leaving 1/2 hour earlier than we're supposed to go. Then they are either early or right on time.

I have the terrible habit of being late for everything. I mean everything. I think I inherited it from my parents. The only way I'm on time for anything is if I leave like 2 hours before I planned. Needless to say, my attendance record at school was never fabulous. My poor first block teachers..

Oddly enough, if I'm on time, I hate waiting around for late people. Its terrible. I'm trying to be a bit more punctual though, because it bothers me so much in the first place.

EXACTLY like me. :( If you figure out the secret to breaking the habit, please tell me.

<img src=http://noveltywatches.com/mickey/lorus/mbuck025lrg2.jpg>

Okay, Mickey's little hand points to the hour and Mickey's big hand points to the minute.

In the future, tell her she's got five minutes to get over her 'issues' and put something on.

If she isn't ready after the five minutes, leave without her.

Next time she will be ready on time.

I am extremely punctual.

I have taught my friends over the years that if I say meet me at "blah, blah" time, they had better be there.

I wait for no one.

Five minutes after said time, I do what I said I was gonna do.

None of my friends are ever late, unless it is beyone their control, and if they are stuck somehow, they always seem to call and let me know before hand.

You just need to be firm.

I'm never late, I'm usually TOO early.

Yup thats what I did when I called her up. Said "Well, you've got 5 minutes then I'm going" Our friend lives right around the corner so it's not like I would have been making it a problem for her if I left.

...or take her naked. And please explain this " my chest is too big " issue to the men around here :)

Seriously, though. One tip I've heard to keep chronically late people in line is to schedule things (meetings, in the case of office workers) at odd times, like 20 minutes past / to the hour. People get into the routine of having everything happen on the hour, or on the half hour, that they lose track of when the REAL deadline is. Give that a whirl, see if it helps.

I hate waiting for people. I'm on time, every time, or I call. I get so irritable when my wife makes me late for something. I just don't understand how you can not be on time, ESPECIALLY if it's for something you do regularly. My wife KNOWS how much time it takes to get ready to go out, so why can't she plan accordingly? I DO!!!

I'm so anal.

You already know my feelings on this. I only give people a few chances when it comes to something like this, then they are on their own. My time is important to me and the only one I am going to let waste it is me.

I'm not sure that I agree that as people get older they get less reliable. I think it is just their basic personality coming out as they get more used to themselves. Some people are always on time, some people are always late. It is just a fact of life. When dealing with someone that is always later, I either tell them the start time is much earlier than it actually is so they arrive closer to on-time or I do what was suggested above and just give them a few minutes and then go on.

Im feeling for ya... Here I am waiting for my friend derrick... but when you hang out with stoners, you learn not to worry about time so much. Cuz they are NEVER on time.

My ex-wife was chronically late. It was a control issue. As stated by others, she felt her time was more important than other people's time. I tried to drive the point home one time when we had to go to a wedding. The ceremony was only a 15 minute drive away and I was ready to leave the house 45 minutes before it started. She kept wasting time, as usual. Normally I would have kept hounding her about how late it was getting. That time I made it a point not to say anything to her about how late it was getting. (Yah, I know, it was immature. I was very immature at the time.) Eventually she asked me what time it was. I told her the wedding would start in 5 minutes. She screamed at me and bitched about why I didn't keep reminding her of the time. I said, 'Why do you care, you're late every other time?' She said 'Weddings are different.' Uh huh. :hmm: I said to her 'I guess I was supposed to know you could be late for every other social occasion except a wedding.' She said 'Yes'. :rolleyes: This, from a woman who showed up 2 hours late for her own birthday party at someone else's home.

Regarding your friend, I would start setting times and stick to them. Give her 5 - 10 minutes leeway, depening on how gracious you feel, then leave without her, or start dinner, or whatever. She will either learn to be on time or have to live with the consequences. Trust me, if you don't do this she will continue to take advantage of your generosity and continue to be as late as she wants to be.