don’t be late

yesterday turned out to be a pretty fine day. all the attention from my co-workers who missed me last week, a birthday lunch out, cake in the afternoon, a birthday card in my mailbox when i got home and then beer, pool and a lot of anti-subtle innuendo with shane.
actually, the evening with shane very nearly ended before it started. i’m sure i’ve mentioned it before, but i’m pretty much always early. unless we’re talking oversleeping issues on work days (such as today, actually) or uncontrollable traffic incidents, it is pretty much assured i will be early to any appointment or engagement. so, of course, i got to the pub about ten minutes early and grabbed a table and a drink out on the patio, thinking i’d not have very long to wait before i could stop feeling uncomfortable sitting in a bar alone. but, in typical boy fashion, he was late.
so i sat there, listening to almost-drunk guy try to talk the general manager into hiring his buddies and him to play on saturday nights, watching this half-naked girl and her scruffy boyfriend eat extra-crispy chicken wings (sauce on the side) and wrote imaginary lists with my sexxy new pen, all in hopes of not looking like a loser for sitting in a pub alone with a red beer.
eventually, and with ten minutes left in my “thirty minute maximum waiting period”, shane showed up looking all rock-star in his shades. god, how annoying is it trying to have a conversation when someone is wearing sunglasses? you have no idea where their eyes are behind that tinted glass! of course, i’m notorious for doing that. at least my new sunglasses are light enough that you can see my eyes pretty clearly through them. oops, i digressed.
yeah, i have a maximum waiting period. if i’m scheduled to meet with you and you are more than thirty minutes late, i will leave, regardless of any other consideration. i’ve made an effort to be on time and i expect the same respect from you. i don’t think it is too much to ask that someone be on time for a pre-arranged meeting. yeah, sometimes things get get fubared, hence the 30-minute window. after that? it’s probably not circumstance, more likely ill manners.
i almost forgot, but luckily lots of other people are talking about their particpation in 26 things this month. so, who wants to go work on their lists with me on sunday?