While I personally strive for timeliness and punctuality and most definitely do respect and appreciate - indeed, almost demand - the same quality in others, there are a few exceptions. For example, one of my buddies who I've known for years is so routinely late, it is an expectation that when a time is set for meeting or renedvouzing or whatever, there is no chance in hell that he will be there at that time - he's always about 30 minutes late. So, collectively, those of us who are friends with him and have noted this phenomenon have coined what we call "[his name] Time." Basically, this standard denotes that for any appointment involving this guy, an extra half hour must be added to the originally-set meeting time to accomodate for his perennial tardiness. It helps a lot: if, for example, I am making plans to have the guy meet me at my place, I always subtract a half hour from the actual meeting time so that in the end, he will actually be on time.
If I want him to be there for 5pm, I tell him 4:30. He'll be there around 5. Works out pretty frickin' close every time.
/anecdote
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