The Controversial Four-Letter L-Word: How bad is it to be LATE?

I spent 12 years of my life growing up right next to my school. 

It took me exactly six minutes to walk from the moment I shut my door to setting my backpack onto my class seat - including four flights of stairs downwards and three upwards. Saying this, I was accustomed to leaving everything to the last minute and never worrying about time-on-commute. People didn't care if I was a few minutes off arriving in class since I was just next door. 

Sadly, once I graduated high school, my techniques didn't work anymore. 

It took me a long time to adapt, and even when I kicked off bad habits, I am just the queen of bad luck. 

I have gotten too often on the wrong side of the train, 

missed my bus which arrived 5 minutes too early, 

riden a bus moving inch-by-inch because there was an Eminem concert in town, 

gotten lost in Labyrinth streets with my GPS going mental and believe it or not, having my skirt rip right at the center to my bottom. 

Right in the middle of the city. 

While walking. 

Yes.

My main fix-it technique I now use is adding another 30 minutes to my calculated commute time for unforeseen events - which works so far - so good! Yay! 

But now let's roll back a bit. This is not about preventing lateness. You've done your best, and for some act of God, you're running late! How bad is it going to be? In saying the following, I assume you're not late all the time, did the right thing and called them before the actual meeting time and gave an accurate time of arrival. Specially for work-related, I call even when I'm running only 5 minutes late.

Personal Friends / Casual Meet-ups

They'll get pissed but most friends will forgive you and you have to suck it up if they decided to do their thing without you. Unless people are expecting you on the meet-ups, they'll pretty much not care and go on without you. 

Interview

After letting them know, given your estimated time of arrival - lateness factored in, they'll say whether you should still come in or not. They'll normally say not to come in anymore if they have something to do after your scheduled time and if they're really tight - you'll never hear from them again. Most of the time, they'll appreciate you calling in and will see you when you arrive - if they're still free, or just reschedule on the spot. This is, of course, assuming you didn't just say you're going to be late for 2 hours. 

Work - One of Many

If your job is something all 20 of you employees doing the same, it's not much of a loss from the company, you'll get a slap on the wrist and a mumbling curse from the person whose shift you're supposed to takeover.  Do it too often, forget that job.

Work - One of a Kind

If you're part of a team where each of you does something different, you're dead. No kidding. I was once participating in a location shoot for a magazine where we were told to meet in front of XXX Gas Station located at a highway. It was set up for 6am and I arrived 30 minutes early. I called and said I was there and waiting, only to find out there were two of the same gas stations on opposite ends of the highway - almost 2 hours apart. Horrible. They called another make-up artist located nearby. I was very relieved. I'd rather they not have waited for me and mentally cursed at me the entire time. It was an honest mistake which could happen to anyone and I did hear from them again. (Whew!) 

On the other hand, I once had a busy day lined up and because a model was over an hour late, I had to cancel two following very important meetings. Think of this: you ruined everyone's day and plans, incurred extra charges for the client in terms of staff and location hours. Technically, you should pay for losses.

Work - You and Your Job are Awesome

This is exceptional. My sister, programmer and consultant, is awesome, and aside from scheduled meetings, she can pretty much arrive two hours late as long as she finishes what she have to do. Which is ironic because she was the only one out of us five who was never late a minute for school and now she gets the late benefits. Life is rewarding if you work hard. 

So that's my two cents on L-A-T-E. 

Never forget to respect everyone's time, 

call if you're going to be late BEFORE THE ACTUAL TIME, 

don't wait until they're looking for you, 

and there's always the risk you'll never hear from them again. 

How to Look Totally Ridiculous in Business Attire

I went to an interview for a casual F&B Attendant position the other day and was told to come in black business pants / slacks and black leather shoes. When the interviewer was checking my outfit, she said "Oh! Thank you! You're wearing black socks! Bless you!" 

Huh? 

I looked at the other applicants and discovered a lot wearing white and coloured socks with their black slacks and shoes, amongst many other things. I realised then and there, some people like to look ridiculous in business attire. So here I am, giving some pointers on how to successfully look totally ridiculous!

1. Non-Black Socks with Black Shoes and Slacks

Yes, because it's awesome to look like Jackie Chan in his old movies, right? Like, totally going for the Kung Fu look there. You know, because the white/other-colour socks puts a discontinuity of colours, making the pants look shorter than it should be. Forget the fact it was old-school-countryside China and this is formal business wear. Go Jackie Chan!

2. Short Socks with Black Shoes and Slacks

Back in university, it is common protocol to wear business attire whenever we have to present. I remember my marketing professor telling one guy "I bet your mom didn't see you before coming to school. No mother in their right mind would let you out of the house looking like that!" as his socks ended just at his ankles. So yes! We don't want to look like our moms approve of our outfit! That's, like, totally lame.

3. Put Shirt Collar ABOVE Suit Lapel

YES! Because John Travolta did it in Saturday Night Fever, we MUST do it too! Never mind that suits today has a collar 20 times smaller than he did then and the fact that it is a different era: plus points to looking absolutely ridiculous!

4. Do Not Take Off Suit Jacket When Sitting Down

Why bother? Such a waste of time when one has to put it back on right after standing. Ugh! So, keep it on and enjoy looking totally awkward with stiff movements and having your suit jacket folding below your hips. 

5. Do Not Button Suit Jacket

There is a soft rule called "Sometimes, Always, Never" referring to suit bottons. From top to down, sometimes close the top, always the middle, never botton the last. On the other hand, a lot of formal rules would stick to buttoning up all of them to look more formal. 
So confusing, right? So don't bother! Yay to looking totally clueless!

5. Wear Shoes That Will Make You Look Constipated

Choose your most painful, high-heeled, tight-toed shoes for that perfect sweaty forehead, grumpy face and can-barely-walk waddle. Mmmhmm, that's the way to finish the look and convince possible employers or colleagues you revel in looking totally ridiculous. 


Note: If  one cannot detect the sarcasm and humor in my tone, I hereby then put in writing that the intention of this post is to state what to avoid and not to do. 

Interview Must Brings!

So you've done your company research, ironed your outfit and think you're ready to rock that job interview. I have had too many misfits and examples of what-could-go-wrong-will-definitely-go-wrong stories to go to battle unprepared. Here is a list of what I would consider necessary armoury and why.

1. GPS or decent print out of area street  map

You've Googled up the location saying it's "7 minutes walk from Central Station" and you've been to the area plenty of times so the place would be fairly easy to get to. Unless you've walked all those streets everyday, it would be a fair bet you don't even know half of the streets in that suburb. Don't let yourself be late because you couldn't figure out whether you should go left or right.

2. Hair Pins and / or hair products (gel, spray, wax - whatever you like best to use)

You may have done all your prep back in your bathroom, but when mother nature strikes, be happy to know you won't be licking your palm to flatten your hair. (When I do my prep, I like to put a soft hair mousse then hot blow-drying my hair in place so when the wind messes it up, my hair will pretty much easily mould back to its "setting".)

3. A little bottle of mouthwash

Maybe you were too nervous during the train ride and salivated too much with your mouth shut, maybe you had a cigarette and then your mouth is starting to get too stale or maybe you popped a sugar-rich candy. Toothbrush in a public toilet is a bit too much (it is, here in Sydney, anyway) so mouthwash is your best bet and pretty much easy to use. Literally takes less than 10 seconds to gargle, spit, run the water to rinse the sink. As for mints, a lot of menthol candy are filled with sugar so when you're already sporting a stale breath, the sugar messes it up some more. Oh, yes, you know what I'm talking about.

P.S. use the public-access toilet where you got off from your commute...I've found it hard to find one between public transport and private offices. And you don't want to be gargling at your interviewer's toilet. Just a bit too tacky!

4. Band-aids

Most people I know will sport their best pair of shoes when heading to an interview. Unfortunately, our prettiest shoes rarely are the most comfortable ones. Also, if you've never been to where your interview is going to be, you're not sure how long you're going to walk nor how much uphill-downhill you'd trek through(specially in Sydney!). Prior to wearing the shoes, slap on those band-aids where the shoes get mean and bring spare ones with you in case they come loose or you have to double-layer 'em up. If they're brand new, you're not really sure where they're going to hurt so better grab a handful. When I have more space in my bag, I even bring spare flats or slippers for after the interview. (Not before! You're not sure if you'd have the opportunity to change into your pretty ones before you get there! Some areas, it's hard to find a toilet. Play safe.) 

5. Tissue

Back in the Philippines, every other person has a small pack of tissue with them(this could be due to the inexistent tissue on tissue holders in public toilets). But half the time, we use them for emergencies outside the lavatory and I only realised this after I stopped carrying tissue here in Sydney. Heat / nervousness making you sweat too much or even getting you to grease up, sudden wind making you sneeze, stepping on a wet puddle(or getting splashed by someone else!), I can go on and on! Tissue is one of the world's cruel products which you can't find any when you need it the most. So, as we used to say in the Girl Scouts, always be prepared!