18 November, 2017

Time Travel is Real

For years, I've crossed distances to "do coffee" or "do lunch" or "take a walk with" friends by phone. It's a habit that I figured could help me cross time as well as distance.

Friend: Hey! I want to hear more about that thing you posted. How about we "do coffee", 9am my time tomorrow morning? I'll have coffee, you can have wine!
Me: That's perfect! Since your time changed, I think I'm 13 hours ahead, so that's... 8pm for me. Easy enough. See you then!

The next morning, on waking up:

10pm previous night...
*missed call"

Friend: Okay, I've tried calling, so I'm going sit by my computer and work on some stuff, and you just call me when you're ready.

Me: OH CRAP! When you said "tomorrow" I didn't think of the fact that your "tomorrow" is my "today"! I realized after we set the time, that it would be 10pm my time, not 8pm, and I was so happy that I realized it, that I forgot to think about the date! When can we reschedule coffee?

Friend: LOL. I get it. How about MY Friday morning. I'll be driving, so I can focus on our conversation.

*I check my planner* 

Me: Oh good grief. Friday is the day I had marked for our call, even though I was planning for Thursday and it should have been Wednesday! Apparently I can't figure out time. Talk to you Friday morning, your time! Friday NIGHT, my time, LOL.
Friend: Perfect.

*After putting it in my phone calendar*

Me: I'm such a mess! I had the first time in my phone set for the correct night, but 8pm, which was my first - WRONG - guess about the time! I think I'm finally set for YOUR Friday morning. I really can't wait to give you all the details.

*Friday morning*

Me: It's my Friday morning, which means your Thursday night, right? So we'll talk when you wake up! I'm on it!
Friend: Bad news. Crisis at work, so I won't be free to call, and actually have a meeting at 7am tomorrow morning. Sorry!
Me: I'm SO SAD that I messed up our first scheduled time! Please let me know as soon as you have an idea when you can talk. 

Conclusion: I suck at time travel.

8 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness. I wouldn't even be able to keep up! I hope you get to have a conversation with your friend soon!

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  2. It was so much easier with the Eastern time zone. A straight 12 hours difference. Almost no math. But now with Daylights Saving Time, we have to add that extra hour and make sure he add it in the right direction.

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    1. But now with DST, and the IDL, you mean! That date thing. Good and bad! (I love wishing people happy birthday a day early.)

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  3. LOL nooooo!!!! When I lived in Russia, I always managed to remember the time back home by telling myself I WAS IN THE FUTURE. But Moscow was only 8 hours ahead, it gets way more complicated when you start to get into the double digits!

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    1. I had this problem while dating Brett, living just one timezone over. I'd leave Illinois with enough time to get home when I wanted... if the time change went the other way! SOOOoo many nights driving home at 2 in the morning!

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  4. That sounds utterly confusing. A good friend just took a trip to New Zealand, and we accepted that time zone math is well outside of our skill sets and we'd just talk when he was back.

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    1. Oh it's just as bad with friends who are on my side of the Dateline! Did you India has an odd half-hour difference? Timezones go hour by hour, but India is 2.5 hours off from me! Why the half-hour?
      The world is screwy.

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