An incredible thing happened to me on Friday and it not only turned around what was definitely a bad start to my day, but it gave me a much needed boost for my weekend.
I was scheduled to teach a class at 8:00 am on a topic outside of my usual repertoire, and as it was full of technical, detailed information, my handout for the attendees had taken a lot more time to complete than I had anticipated. To give you an idea, my usual hand outs are two to four pages in length; this one included numerous screen shots to illustrate the information, resulting in a final 25 pages!
A combination of unexpected family concerns, the sudden death of my computer, the need to obtain information from outside sources, and yes, poor planning on my part, left me finishing up my preparations in the much-too-early-to-arrive hours of Friday morning. By 7:15, I was waiting in the parking lot of a large copy center, muttering "Open, open, open", hoping the doors might be unlocked earlier than the posted 7:30 opening time. Keeping in mind the 8:00 class time and on-campus parking issues, I figured I had just enough time to make it.
Except that 7:30 came and went, as did 7:35 and 7:40 ... and still the copy store remained dark. As the minutes passed (and my heartbeat increased), I quickly thumbed through the directory on my phone for my next closest option. Ah, I found one, but upon calling, I learned that a few years ago the business had changed not only their name but also their focus; as a marketing company, they still offer commercial printing, but they are not set up for walk-in customers. Hoping for mercy, I explained my situation - I was sitting in the parking lot of a copy place that was supposed to be open, but wasn't, in need of 11 sets of copies, 25 pages each, for a class that was supposed to start in a little more than 15 minutes. Help!
"Come on over, I'll take care of you!" ... the sweetest words I could have heard at that moment. While the business technically didn't open until 9:00 am, the young woman let me in, made my copies, rang me up and had me out the door in about five minutes, enough time so that I made it to my class before our 8:00 start time!
The copies were still warm when I handed them out.
