‘Time is like a sword. If you do not cut it, it will cut you,” says an Arabic proverb, a somewhat brutal warning to those who take time lightly. For if you don’t make use of it before it passes, time will leave its mark and wound you.
I am sure you have heard the following statements or you have found yourself saying them if you have spent any amount of time in this part of the world. I know I am guilty of them and more.
“I am just seven minutes away,” is something one friend always says to me. Translation: 15 to 20 minutes away, at least.
“On the way,” texts another friend. Translation: just stepped out of the house and will be 30 to 45 minutes late.
“Just around the corner, looking for parking,” is one of my favourites. I actually once stepped out and searched for a friend who was looking for parking and she was nowhere in sight, and guess what? There were plenty of empty spots.
We all know time is precious. Yet, we all end up wasting so much of it “waiting” for someone to show up or “waiting” in traffic.
I stopped wearing a watch many years ago, after it was stolen in Rome. The culprit even waved it about as he ran away. I decided not to live my life constantly looking at my wrist, but then realised that everything is defined by time. So instead, I use the clock on my smartphone, and set alarms to remind me of important meetings.
Whether we like it or not, we are trapped by time, and if we are late, we lose out on something else that could have been done during that wasted time.
It has become a sort of a given that when you move to the Middle East, you will end up taking time for granted and you will also end up running as late as everyone else. Besides it being disrespectful to the person waiting., we all have something better to do than wait for someone who didn’t properly work out how long it would take to get somewhere.
I find myself always carrying a book and some food with me as I know someone, somewhere, will be running late. At least this way I can read something interesting while I wait.
If your work is defined by deadlines like mine, nothing stresses you out more than someone being late, because that will make you late for others and give you less time to file a story.
I once waited three hours for someone to show up for an interview and tell me, “not feeling like doing it now, can we meet tomorrow?” Or worse, you end up driving to another emirate and waiting before the person you are supposed to meet sends you a text to postpone it to another day, which is just so rude.
It has become something we laugh at sometimes when someone says call me back in ten minutes, and then they don’t pick up. And when and if they finally do, it is five hours later. But this is not limited to media work, as everyone is late for everything and so nothing starts on time here, except movies.
Sometimes being late is justified, especially as traffic can be impossibly heavy.
If you arrange to meet someone in a busy mall you can also be sure that parking will be an issue. But if you are waiting for someone to come over to your place, then you can definitely kiss goodbye to punctuality, as no one ever arrives on time to social gatherings. If people are late for work related meetings, why would you expect them to be on time for recreational purposes?
Whatever the excuses – and we all have them – we need to pay more attention to time and specifically to other people’s time. We have no right to make anyone wait as we can’t give them back the time lost, even if we apologise.
rghazal@thenational.ae
On Twitter:@arabianmau
More from Aya Iskandarani
bundesliga results
Mainz 0 Augsburg 1 (Niederlechner 1')
Schalke 1 (Caligiuri pen 51') Bayer Leverkusen 1 (Miranda og 81')
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,600hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.4seconds
0-200kph in 5.8 seconds
0-300kph in 12.1 seconds
Top speed: 440kph
Price: Dh13,200,000
Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,500hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.3 seconds
0-200kph in 5.5 seconds
0-300kph in 11.8 seconds
Top speed: 350kph
Price: Dh13,600,000
What is a Ponzi scheme?
A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%20four-cyl%20turbo%20%2B%20mild%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E204hp%20at%205%2C800rpm%20%2B23hp%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C800rpm%20%2B205Nm%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E9-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7.3L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2FDecember%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh205%2C000%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
