2 Hours

So much can happen in 2 hours!! I have a field trip for my Seeds and Biotechnology class (don't laugh at me) this afternoon, so I had to cut my usual 4 hour work shift into just 2 hours. Simple enough. I figured it would be an easy card-swiping day, as Fridays are a little quieter than the rest of the week. False.

Emergency #1 of the day: my manager came into my little cubby where I swipe people's cards, pulled up a member's profile and said "If you see him come through here at all, call me immediately." My heart immediately began to race. Is he banned? Did he do something? Were my first thoughts. Let me tell you, it is NOT fun to try and keep an angry member with me while waiting for my manager to come. So I immediately began praying that he wouldn't come through! I was thoroughly checking everyone's face/name as they came through, and over the next hour several of my bosses and a policewoman kept coming through. At the end of my shift, and from cues from them, I found out this poor man is missing. He checked in this morning several hours ago, but never showed up to work. His wife has been frantically calling everywhere to see where he is. As of right now (or 11, when I left), he still hadn't been found. Keep him in your prayers, will you?

Emergency #2: About 10:50 I started to pack up my books so that I would be ready to leave when my replacement came in. I heard this weird ringing, but I knew it wasn't one of our emergency exit doors. I brushed it off until I heard one of my bosses call over the radio to tell us to make sure everyone by the doors were inside. My manager then came around locking doors, and he told me to open my cubby door in case I needed to run away. My stomach dropped and I immediately felt fear as one thing came into my mind...there was a shooter. Not knowing what was up with man in emergency #1, I thought it must be him, ready to take revenge on the students for whatever treatment he received in the dining halls (where he worked. Us college students can be mean sometimes). I was terrified for the whole 5 minutes, until the emergency was declared clear. It turns out there was a robbery on Hillsborough, and the man was arrested near Syme dorm (hey...that's where I live...). Scary.

I never underestimate what can happen in such a short amount of time while at the gym...especially last year when I was manning the snacks station at a basketball tournament. Crazy day.

Life is short people!! Make everything be like it's your last.

Another little story about last night...

Cal and I went to the gas station to fill up his car. I stayed in the car, playing on my phone. I heard a noise and thought Cal was singing, so I looked up at him but couldn't tell. Then I heard a loud commotion and looked straight in front of me where this middle aged (white) man had haphazardly parked his van in front of us, yelling at this (black) man. I figured they had a fender bender or something so I looked down. I heard more commotion and looked back up to find the van and the white man still there, but the black guy and his car were gone. I tapped the car window and pointed the scene out to Cal, but he was already 2 steps ahead of me! Apparently, Cal noticed it from the start, thought the runaway guy looked a little antsy, so he wrote down his license plate number. Sure enough, not a minute later did that guy speed off while the older man was on the phone with the police. So Cal went over, gave him the information, and we waited awhile with him before heading to Cal's apartment. Cal gave the man his info in case the police wanted to talk to him (we hadn't witnessed the accident, just the guy running away).

I always make fun of Cal thinking ahead...like when he pushed my head down while we were in a movie theater and the movie/lights went off (to protect me from an attack)...and how I know when we enter a crowded place he's thinking up a way to escape in case of an emergency...but this time, it paid off! I'm so proud of his thoughtfulness and planning ahead!!! One of the many reasons I always feel safe with him!