According to Wikipedia Encyclopedia, a Time Zone is "a region of the Earth that has adopted the same standard time, usually referred to as the local time."
Time zones are what cause conversations like this:
Me: Why do you sound so "imsatleh"?
Sis: Maybe it's cuz I only just woke up!!
Me: Only just? How come?
Sis: Hello, it's morning here.
Me: OH. Right. Sorry.
Time zones are also what cause our home phone to ring in unearthly hours, only to find my brother's enthusiastic voice at the other end.
"SISTER! What's up!"
"Other than the fact that it's 3 a.m. and we are ALL ASLEEP- nothing much. You?"
With 8 hours' difference between me and my sister and brother, the above situations are normal.
What I find extremely NOT normal is when I have such conversations with my friends in the same country. Someone who lives maybe 5 minutes away from me. Let me explain.
I am a morning person. I take after both my mom and dad. Dad goes for a walk at 5 am. before work!! (I used to join him sometimes for a run) And mom's day starts at 6 am.
My brother is so NOT a morning person, as for my sister we will never know. Her sleeping schedule is so incorrigibly messed up, it's hard to find patterns:P
Even when it's a holiday, we'd all be up at 8ish, 9ish max. And at night, you prolly won't find anyone awake if you call after 11 p.m.
But shouldn't that be normal? I mean, people are supposed to sleep when it's dark and wake up when the sun is up! It's been that way since the stone age. I hardly think any caveman overslept.
Shouldn't the word "morning" refer to the time from sun dawn to around 11 a.m.? Anything after that should fall under "noon". I never thought anyone would think differently. Boy was I wrong.
A week ago, I was joyfully surprised to find out that one of my best friends from high school has returned from Egypt after graduating as an architect (hmmm, I shoulda seen that coming when I heard the word "architect"). We decided to get together on the weekend.
I called her yesterday afternoon to set a time. I explained that Thursday afternoon is our so-called "Family day" (but it's not the same without you sis and bro- COME BACK), so suggested we meet up in the morning, maybe have breakfast together or something.
Samar: Oh sure! That would be awesome. Well, I'm not really a morning person.. but I haven't seen you in ages and you have something in the afternoon, so I guess I'll have to wake up early. So pick me up at 12?
hehehehehehe
I cracked up on the phone!!! That's Samar making an EFFORT to wake up early.
And it's not just this isolated incident with this specific friend. I have friends telling me they go to bed at 6 a.m. on weekends!!! Call me crazy, but I'm sorry I just cannot see how this is normal.
The thing is, if such people were the exceptions, then I wouldn't worry about it. I mean, you'll always find people marching to their own drum. But this seems to be the norm these days.
People staying up all night and sleeping in till 1 or 2 p.m.
When dealing with those people, you can see how we truly live in different time zones, even though technically we aren't.
Hasn't anyone told them what my mom always used to say:
"nam bakkeer ou fee2 bakkeer ou shoof il si77a keef bitseer":)
Or haven't they heard that "the early bird gets the worm?"
Actually, maybe they heard this version: "The early bird gets the worm, but the early worm gets eaten"!
Which is actually funny.
But still.
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2 comments:
Number of things.
1. THAT is a purely fictional conversation you had with me. I am aware of time zone differencesl, thank you very much. Although I certainly recall YOU asking me why I sound msatleh. Diala does that too. For the longest while she was convinced I was deeply depressed, when her husband reminded her that she keeps calling me at 2am.
2. Same friend with sleeping bag in office, guess what? He actually was in the Gulf in the summer. When he came back to Boston he was up EVERY day at 7am. I ask if it's the jet lag.
Him: No. You see I can't be jetlagged because I've kept the SAME sleep schedule I had in the Gulf (sleeping at 4am). I'm still on the same schedule, only difference is that my geographical location changed. WEIRD. But then, that's an architecture student for you.
3. This whole messed up (no morning) schedule is pretty extreme, and I feel it's mostly a Gulfy thing. I mean sure people in Jordan stay up... but not as ridiculously as in the Gulf. Are people trying to escape the heat?
LOL
if you read the "fictional converation" I wrote again, you'd find that I AM the one asking why you are imsatleh.
I do not make up things!!! (okay I do, but this time I didn't:P)
Wow... you really ARE imsatleh!
habibty, hit the sheets and pillows:) I fear for you!
Escape the heat? I never thought of it this way. Wow, this makes total sense! I can't say I blame 'em:P But can never become one of them!
But wait, what heat are we talking about? EVERYTHING here is enclosed and AC-ed, it's suffocating!!! That's why gulf countries can never grow on me... I'm so not cut-out for them, you have no idea.
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