Waiting
May 18th, 2006 by rushkoffSomething that makes me realize I’m from an “older” generation than many of my friends and associates is the fact that I spend a lot of my time waiting for them.
At bars, coffee shops, home, office, wherever. Back in the early 90’s, our relationship to time was more exact than it is today. We were occasionally late to a meeting or something, but we’d be sure to at least *pretend* to be out of breath by the time we got there.
These days, it seems customary for people to walk in 15 minutes or 30 minutes late. Making the cell phone call or sms is reserved for anything beyond that. (As if being sent an sms really does much more than give you permission to leave.)
It could be technology that has led to this change in behavior, which would explain the apparent generational link. But I suspect it’s something else. I just don’t yet know what.
Personal narrative style: I got stood up for a meeting today. I waited 45 minutes, then left. Still no email explanation or anything.
I’ll tell you tomorrow if it’s, like, she got mugged or something. But I’ve been through this enough to know it probably isn’t. So much, in fact, that I don’t even have a lump of fear that she could be in any trouble. And that’s not a way I like to feel about someone who, for all I know, could actually have gotten run over or something.