Time difference sucks, any advice?

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J

jarfykk

Senior member
Mar 29, 2001
501
1
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So I am peacefully slumbering ar 4:45AM when my mobile rings. Blurry eyed I glance at the Japanese equivalent of 'unknown number' and answer. It is my mom telling me I got two letters from Princeton and Georgetown. I informed her it was 5AM.

She said, 'I see. Do you want me to open these?' I said might as well. Got into both for grad school (yeah? I guess). I already got into my first choice, UC San Diego as an early admit. My mom knows this, so why she decided to call at that time, other than she really loves me, is a bit difficult to figure out.

Long and short, anyone else get calls from family/friends who live far away and forget the time difference? Any advice how to politely get them to remember. Was thinking have my father make a little not by the phone with a chart or something...dunno.



Cliffs:
-Live in Japan
-Mom forgets time difference and calls at 5AM, often.
-Advice on how to kindly help her remember
 
S

Sheepathon

Diamond Member
Oct 22, 2003
6,093
7
81
phone with chart = hooray. ucsd over princeton and georgetown, omgwtf are you studying, marine biology? send more sushi and money, make less phone calls at 5am please kthx gg
 
A

AndrewR

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,157
0
0
Been dealing with it for three years. It happens. Use a phone with a ringer you can turn off. :)
 
O

Ornery

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
20,022
17
81
Originally posted by: AndrewR
Been dealing with it for three years. It happens. Use a phone with a ringer you can turn off. :)
Click to expand...
Gawd, would those schools still accept somebody if they knew the applicant didn't know how to operate a simple answering machine? :confused:
 
MmmSkyscraper

MmmSkyscraper

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2004
9,472
1
76
Options:

1. Use profiles to set different ring behaviour for groups of callers, e.g. silent for the family which'd go to voicemail, ring for whatever else
2. Set to silent for everybody which'd go to voicemail
3. Divert all calls to voicemail immediately
4. Switch the phone off if you can't be arsed with the above and it'll still go to voicemail

Oh, and:

5. Get new family/friends with more brains :)
 
J

jarfykk

Senior member
Mar 29, 2001
501
1
0
Originally posted by: cavemanmoron
if your going to go to Sandiego why are you in Japan????
Click to expand...


Today is March 21st. The academic year in America (in case you're not versed in the system) typically begins in Fall, usually mid to late September. That gives me....about 5-6 months to make it back to the shores of my homeland.

And I am working out here.

/cheers
 
C

cavemanmoron

Lifer
Mar 13, 2001
13,664
28
91
Originally posted by: jarfykk
Originally posted by: cavemanmoron
if your going to go to Sandiego why are you in Japan????
Click to expand...


Today is March 21st. The academic year in America (in case you're not versed in the system) typically begins in Fall, usually mid to late September. That gives me....about 5-6 months to make it back to the shores of my homeland.

And I am working out here.

/cheers
Click to expand...

LOL its still Sunday,the 20th of March here,10:37am.

Eastern time zone,now your problem with the phone calls does make
a lot more sense,its after midnight for u!
 
K

KnickNut3

Platinum Member
Oct 1, 2001
2,382
0
0
Send her a handy excel spreadsheet with two columns--"jarfykk's time" and "home time." Make them for all 24 hours, then, if you really want to make it clear, highlight the boxes that are between 8AM and 10PM for both of you (I know, not many) and put TIMES TO CALL HIGHLIGHTED underneath. Ask her to print it out and put it above the phone. She'll figure it out.
 
vi edit

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,484
8,345
126
It's a lost cause. It doesn't matter how many times you tell them they will STILL fail to figure it out.

Some people just simply can not grasp the concept of time zones. My mother for example. I lived in Arizona for six months. My parents are in Illinois. Half of the year AZ was two hours behind Central Time, half of the year they were 1 hour behind.

Almost every week my Mom had to ask me how far behind we were. Gah! It's not that difficult of a concept.

Or for example, the rocket scientist I was sitting next to in the airport the other day. She was flying standby and got stuck all the way in the back. She was grouchy that she didn't get better seats. We were flying from Phoenix to Chicago which is a 3.5 hour flight. This woman didn't care too much about her seats because "it was only a 1.5 hour flight because of the time change".

Uhhhhhhhhhh. No. First off, Chicago is only an hour ahead right now. And second...YOU ARE STILL IN THE PLANE FOR 3.5 HOURS. Time changes can't magically fold time and make the 2000 miles between Phoenix and Chicago shorter.

:confused:
 
vi edit

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,484
8,345
126
Originally posted by: KnickNut3
Send her a handy excel spreadsheet with two columns--"jarfykk's time" and "home time." Make them for all 24 hours, then, if you really want to make it clear, highlight the boxes that are between 8AM and 10PM for both of you (I know, not many) and put TIMES TO CALL HIGHLIGHTED underneath. Ask her to print it out and put it above the phone. She'll figure it out.
Click to expand...

:thumbsup: Good call. (I made a punny!)
 
MmmSkyscraper

MmmSkyscraper

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2004
9,472
1
76
Originally posted by: vi_edit
We were flying from Phoenix to Chicago which is a 3.5 hour flight. This woman didn't care too much about her seats because "it was only a 1.5 hour flight because of the time change".

Uhhhhhhhhhh. No. First off, Chicago is only an hour ahead right now. And second...YOU ARE STILL IN THE PLANE FOR 3.5 HOURS. Time changes can't magically fold time and make the 2000 miles between Phoenix and Chicago shorter.

:confused:
Click to expand...

ROFL!

Some of the project managers at my old work were so retarded they had to make clocks out of flourescent colour card, like kids use at kindergarten/infants school. They had six clocks, GMT was set for midday and the others had their respective times displayed. Then they mounted it on the wall, it was about six feet long and four feet high. It was like a multi-coloured shrine to their stupidity, the office manager made them take it down before our CEO saw it and fired the dumb fvcks.

 
J

jai6638

Golden Member
Apr 9, 2004
1,790
0
0
Originally posted by: vi_edit

Or for example, the rocket scientist I was sitting next to in the airport the other day. She was flying standby and got stuck all the way in the back. She was grouchy that she didn't get better seats. We were flying from Phoenix to Chicago which is a 3.5 hour flight. This woman didn't care too much about her seats because "it was only a 1.5 hour flight because of the time change".

Uhhhhhhhhhh. No. First off, Chicago is only an hour ahead right now. And second...YOU ARE STILL IN THE PLANE FOR 3.5 HOURS. Time changes can't magically fold time and make the 2000 miles between Phoenix and Chicago shorter.

:confused:
Click to expand...

Lmao!!!

I usually turn my ringer off to avoid this.

 
J

jarfykk

Senior member
Mar 29, 2001
501
1
0
Originally posted by: hatim
disconnect your phone line at night!
Click to expand...


Would love to except it doubles as my alarm clock. Best alarm I've ever owned too. Programmed with like 15 different ones per week, with different sounds/levels depending on whether it is supposed to wake me for work, remind me of a meeting, etc. Hope when I come back to the states my mobile can do the same thing too. If not, just gonna keep using this one as my alarm clock at home.
 
J

jarfykk

Senior member
Mar 29, 2001
501
1
0
Originally posted by: vi_edit
Originally posted by: KnickNut3
Send her a handy excel spreadsheet with two columns--"jarfykk's time" and "home time." Make them for all 24 hours, then, if you really want to make it clear, highlight the boxes that are between 8AM and 10PM for both of you (I know, not many) and put TIMES TO CALL HIGHLIGHTED underneath. Ask her to print it out and put it above the phone. She'll figure it out.
Click to expand...

:thumbsup: Good call. (I made a punny!)
Click to expand...

Dude, I laughed so hard as this one for like 3 seconds. Then shut the hell up as it is almost 4AM now. Thanks!

 
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