Darren's, Heather's, and Gavin's adventures: And you thought you had a rough Monday?

Darren's, Heather's, and Gavin's adventures

Open up the door and take a journey with Heather the Hillarious, Gavin the Gifted, and Darren the Dashing. Will Master Dare slay the witch with his X-wing? Will Gavin want a pet lion? Will Heather's aim hold true? Find out as we enter Through the Wardrobe.

April 25, 2006

And you thought you had a rough Monday?

--"But how am I to know the good side from the bad?"--Luke
--"You will know... When you are calm, at peace, passive. A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack."--Yoda

"Man! This is no way to spend a Monday." I told myself while getting a small break under a small shade tree. By that time is was 2pm and we were all still outside. Port-a-potties were just set up in the back corner, and the Red Cross truck was enroute. Whoever sent out the two palates of bottled water came as a relief. The crowd 500 plus quieted their whinning for a little while. I can now imagine what the crowds were like when Jesus fed 5000 people. "I need to go potty." "I'm hungery." "I'm pregnant." "I'm hot." "Why isn't the water cold?" On and on Jesus dealt with that. In situations like I was in, I couldn't just sit back and watch everyone else work. I'm part of the First Responder/Area emergency Team. Needless to say, I spent the majority of the three and a half hours in the middle of the parking lot helping the EMTs and other emergency personnel give out supplies or directing people where to get medical attention.

No, this is not a book I'm currently working on. This happened to me at work yesterday. "Well, what happened?" I'm glad you asked. It all started around 11:30... (visual effect should now make the screen go all hazy and wavy. What? Didn't happen? They told me they fixed it. I trusted them to fix it. It's not my fault. [Lando]).

I had just gotten the scorecard from the printer and just sat back down at my desk when life turned upside too quickly. La Mel, one of my co-workers, came through the office announcing there's an emergency and we have to evacuate the building. Let me point out the La Mel also serves as our comedian. When he first said this, he was calm and not excited. He then went on to expain. "Pat just called. She wants everyone out. A bomb threat was just called in at our building." Everyone else didn't take him serious. I did. I know LaMel well enough that he wouldn't joke about a bomb threat. I locked my computer and headed out. Simple, right? I'll be the first one out, right? Sorry, not going to happen. As I stated before, I'm part of the First Responder/Area emergency Team. That means I have to help get people out of the building. First, I went to get the key for the first aid cabinet. Key wasn't where it should've been. Forget that. Going back through halls toward the break room, I heard an announcement being made to the call center floor. I got to the break room. Full of people. "Everyone listen up! We need to evacuate the building there's an emergency." They did what all people do when something like this is announced. They stared at me all thinking I'm nuts. Second time I put more force behind my voice. They started for the exits. Shortly after that, someone finally pulled the fire alarm. Thus the adventure begins...

Over 500 people left the building very quickly and made it to the safe zone. Everyone was as calm as muddy water. It took 10 to 15 minutes before the first fire truck reached the site. (note to self: O bother) The ladder truck pulled in, found out the problem, and backed out. The truck then blocked the entrance. A second fire truck blocked the nearest intersection. I wouldn't be surprised if a third fire truck was somewhere else. All kinds of Little Rock police officers were around. FBI got involved because this deals with a federal contract. Two bomb-sniffing dogs were used. It took over an hour to locate one. (The owner I'm sure was at Krispy Kremes). There were three different EMT vehicles helping to provide water and medical attention. (Three hours is a long time in heat of the day without any water). Central Arkansas Transit brought out 4 buses for the pregnant and medically ill. Three port-a-potties were placed onsite. I'm sure if you can think of it, it happened at the call center yesterday.

The all clear was finally given around 3:00. It took about 45 minutes to get everyone back inside the building. Everyone had to go through the same door, scan their badge, have their cell phones checked, and the purses were inspected. Each person that came in was eyed very close by the eyes of the FBI. Why do they have to wear sun glasses while inside the building? That's just too weird. After the masses were inside, I volunteered my service for trash pick up. I'll tell you why in a minute, but first a word about the trash. Why can't people pick up after themselves? Why couldn't they just placed all the trash is one area instead of being spread out over all the parking lot.

With all this going on, we still had an important person coming to the call center at 5:45. The Secretary of Human Health and Services was coming. With him comes the media, the local politicians, and everyone else who wants to rub elbows with someone important. I didn't want the media to pick up on the fact that the parking lot and grounds could be the next land fill for Little Rock. I helped my company look good in the eyes of our bosses. Oh yeah, people from Medicare was coming as well as our contractor, Pearson Government Solutions. It was just another Monday? I think not. I think and pray not!

I'm tired. I'm crashing. I'm toast. My face is the same shade of red as the Star Wars room in my house if that gives you any clue.

posted by Dare @ 6:33 AM

1 Comments:

At 6:13 PM, G. said…

DUDE!!!
I can't wait to get with you and talk about that adventure. Man!
Good work Dare! Way to stay on top of things.
You'll be moving on up to the eastside in no time.