Twenty-five minutes too late

A stickler for punctuality, there have been just a couple of notable occasions when I recall running nonchalantly late.

The most glaring was for my own wedding. I arrived at the church a good 25 minutes late just as the bride made it, just on time. Can you imagine the cataclysmic highs of a groom running into his bride? Smell a conspiracy, right? Why not use a mobile phone to warn the bride? Yeah, the darn thing was late arriving too. It was launched shortly after our wedding defeasance. Nearly!

To be unfashionably early for meetings has only meted out exasperation. We hear of habitually tardy Presidents and guys who arrive late for their own weddings. But where in the world do you hear of job-seekers arriving late for interviews, or better still, not arriving at all?

This week I spoke to several employers who lament over the attitude of today’s younger generation. Many make a habit of firing e-mail applications to many jobs and when called for an interview, some act absolutely clueless as to if they even applied for the particular company. If you confirm 10 hopefuls for interviews, only five to six turn up, some late.

Now get this! When you finally pick one after a couple of interviews, she accepts the appointment but never turns up. This scenario is mostly true with younger women. Where have they picked up these slippery habits? Most of them come from close-knit families where parents play a decisive role in the lives of their offspring.

In New York, a man jumps into the track of an oncoming train to save a fellow passenger. When asked by Police of his heroic and selfless act of bravery, the man, a store clerk, said that any delays may have cost him his job. So he did what he did. It looks like elsewhere in the world people would die to keep their job while in good ol’ Sri Lanka, it is the employers who’d walk the wire in search of a good employee.

Here’s something from a leave application: Since I have to go to my village to sell my land along with my wife, please grant me 3 days’ leave!

Received an invitation from Metropolitan to an event ‘to discover new possibilities of printing’. The invite said: ‘feel the machines, feel the quality and feel the difference’. Metropolitan usually puts good models on display. Will be attending.

Tari, a delightfully charming colleague, ran in with the news. In the hallowed halls of the Vatican, HE the Pres and the infallible First Lady seemed to have gone to great lengths to colour-coordinate their attire with the Papal garbs as the Lankan delegation was granted an audience with the Pope.

Bumped into Tony Greig tucking into a juicy piece of pineapple. He is certain that in his previous life he was a pineapple vendor who plied his trade wearing a hat gifted by a British cricketer on tour. His dedication to spreading sweetness paid him off with a higher calling in this life. He, however, retained the same hat.

Dropped in at the Bambalapitiya Flats Milk Bar. Wanted to check out why people keep coming there all these years; the shopkeeper insists it is not the milk but the building that is flat. Left there convinced I needed to do an MRI scan of the brain, after all!

(An award-winning former war correspondent and adviser to the Minister of Tourism, Dinesh Watawana heads the respected integrated communications agency The 7th Frontier. He is renowned for his innovative brand strategies and is credited with putting Sri Lanka on the global map of tourism with his critically-acclaimed eco resort KumbukRiver. Email him at [email protected].)