Okay, so I'm wondering: When somebody invites you to an event (Facebook, email, snail mail, in person, whatever), do you immediately take note of it on your calendar/in your phone/however you keep track of these things?
I know when I say "yes" to something, I immediately write it down in my calendar (I have one in my phone that I use for reminder alarms, but prefer paper). My brain can't keep track of this shit, so I make sure I have that reminder. And then if, let's say I'm out with a friend and she says "Hey, wanna come to my party on the 8th?" I'll usually say something like "That sounds awesome, but I have to check my calendar before I say yes for sure." (Not only does this avoid double-booking myself, but it also prevents me from politely committing to stuff I really don't want to do.) Then I go home, check the calendar, and give the person an answer after that. (I'm sure with smartphones and whatnot lots of people just do this digitally/more quickly, but same idea.)
The reason I ask is because I've had SO MANY goddamn people flake out on events I've planned, and I find it extremely annoying and rude. It's one thing if something else comes up or you're sick, but two weeks ago I had a housewarming party at my new place, and TWELVE people who had said yes just never showed up without any explanation. I got 2-3 messages from people the day or two before saying sorry, they had to cancel at the last minute. That's fine. I get it. I've done it myself quite a few times. But the people who said yes and never showed up: wtf? Maybe I'm just more anal about this stuff than the average person, but I would just never do that. I don't say yes unless I am free, I try to avoid the "maybe" button on FB if I can, and if something comes up, I always tell the person as far ahead of time as possible.
I know everybody's different, but it kinda baffles me that other people can't/don't keep track of their own shit. And I am NOT an organized person. I'm a mess. But I have a calendar, and it's not that hard. I guess maybe others don't value this sort of thing as much and have fewer qualms about bailing on something they've committed to.
This rant was sparked by something that happened today- different type of situation, but equally lame. A pretty good friend of mine made a post on FB tagging me and several other friends and asking if we were interested in going to see Jurassic World on June 12th with him at the Alamo Drafthouse. He already bought a ticket and told us where he was sitting.
June 12th is my 30th birthday. I planned a big party at one of my favorite local joints and this friend already RSVPed yes quite some time ago. Now he's going to a fucking movie that's going to be in theatres for a long-ass time, and it's kind of lame (sure, he could come later when it's about to end, but obviously that wasn't the intent as he invited me to the movie). He's not normally the flaky type, he's a grown-ass man who clearly keeps a calendar (he goes to lots of movies and other events and often will say he has to check before he can commit to something)... so what the fuck? I feel kind of hurt by this. Like, he can keep track of other commitments but not my party... or maybe he just didn't give a shit about the party in the first place. Bleh.
tl;dr: a friend made other plans on the date of my birthday party that he already RSVPed to, causing me to rant about general flakiness of people and why the fuck can't an adult keep track of his/her own calendar?
Tell me, DTF: How do you keep track of your shit, and how much of a flake are you?
Topic: Question/vent about social calendars and flakiness (Read 1320 times)