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Thursday, August 27, 2009
he said, she said
I think I'm going to lose this one but I have to put it out there anyway.
T and I just had a (VERY) minor disagreement about something. The gist:
When my originally slated time for leaving the house keeps moving earlier and earlier due to additional tasks I need to do while I'm out, I say that my time of departure is getting moved BACK. Because, hello, the numbers are going BACKWARD. Example: I was going to leave at FOUR, but now because I have to go to the post office and mail a package AND stop to deposit a check as well as stopping off at the library to pick up holds, I had better leave at THREE. Bigger numbers going clockwise = forward in time. Smaller numbers going counterclockwise = backward in time. Ergo, my time of departure has been pushed BACK by all the errands piling up on the other side of it.
He disagrees and says that if your time of departure is pushed back it means you're leaving later. Which, once he told me that, sounds more like what the world at large would say in that situation.
Which just goes to prove that the world at large is JUST AS WRONG as my husband is about this particular issue.
Comments
Ok, so how would you say it if you had to leave at 5 instead of 4? departure is being pushed ahead?
Posted by: debi at August 27, 2009 01:13 PM
Debi: Oh, you had to bring THAT up. No, that would be silly. I would say pushed... away. Or "later". Or maybe pushed... back. Now that we've had this little talk. Thanks so much.
Posted by: Rachel at August 27, 2009 01:21 PM
I was a big help, yes?? made everything clear?!!
Posted by: debi at August 27, 2009 02:52 PM
I think T's probably "right", but I'm with you that it feels logical that pushing something back means going backwards in time... or according to the clock.
This reminds me of something that comes up in our house, from time to time. If I turn the A/C down a degree or two, am I turning it up or down? I'm turning down the thermostat, but I'm causing the A/C to run more often, which feels like a "turning up" situation.
Posted by: Michael at August 27, 2009 03:10 PM
I visualize this as an appt book. I have an appt at 2pm (which would be below the 10 am time slot in list form). They call and ask if I can change my appt to 10 am. That would move it up or ahead in the day (on the imaginary list). So the opposite would be down or behind. But people don't say down, they say back and they don't say behind, they say later...
I guess I would just say 'later'. I've never understood the 'back' in relation to time.
Posted by: Sherry at August 28, 2009 09:07 AM
My brain sees it the way yours does (shocking!) but I think he's right as far as how the rest of the world sees it.
Posted by: Kat with a K at August 29, 2009 06:17 AM
