So my company paid for a charter bus to take enough people to fill the committee room to show support for the State Representative that was introducing the bill. The ride was smooth and comfortable. The company paid for Jimmy John’s sandwiches, chips, cookie, pickle and a bottle of water for each of us. That was really nice and tasty! It took about two hours, but the time flew by (Especially since I was watching old episodes of the BBC America show called “Skins” on my iPod). We arrived in Jefferson City, looked around the State Capital for awhile, both inside and out, and then made our way to the Ways and Means committee room.
One thing I found surprising was that we never went through a metal detector (I guess it is a sign of the times, that I was surprised.) The bus was parked at the back of the Capital and we entered through a side door, but if they had metal detectors at the front doors, what’s the point of that, if you don’t control the other entries to the building? Oh well, not my problem. We sat through the committee meeting which had a few bills to discuss before ours, and then it was our turn. Our State Representative introduced the bill, several people spoke in support and then they asked if anyone was opposed. One person spoke in opposition on behalf of the government group that is trying to take away our license. Then a committee member asked him several questions. And then it was over. We’ll find out in a few weeks if this bill will make it out of committee.
Then it was time to leave. We left the committee chamber and I get a phone call on my way out. I finish my call but I need to make a call before we get on the bus. I see everyone else going to the bathroom and I think that’s a good idea. So, I decide to make the phone call after I go to the bathroom. I’m juggling my purse, my bag, my coat, and my phone in the stall and I set my phone down on the toilet paper dispenser instead of putting it in my purse. I think as I set it down that I’m going to forget it. And that’s exactly what I did. I forgot about making the call because everyone was gone by the time my group left the bathroom. I took a group picture and then got on the bus.
When I finally remembered the call I was going to make, I thought that my phone was either in my purse or in my coat pocket which was stored in the overhead bin during the ride. We watched the Michael Jackson concert movie “This Is It” on the way back and it’s actually much better than I thought it would be. I’m not usually a fan of the “making of “ type of movies, but this was actually interesting and whatever you think of the man, he was very talented. We finally got home and I get my coat and purse and start looking for my phone to make a call and I realize it’s not in my purse or coat. Immediately, I remember that thought I had in the bathroom that I was going to leave my phone, and I know, in an instant, that is exactly where it’s at. I don’t have a home phone and I don’t have anyone’s phone number memorized, except my parent’s. I had no way of getting a hold of my boyfriend who I knew was going to call my phone like 8 times, trying to catch me that night. I had no way of alerting my sister that if she’s texting me, to not bother, and I can’t call my mom in case she called me wanting to tell me something. That sucked. Apparently, a security guard found the phone or got it handed to him by someone and he texted my mom (who is an emergency contact on my phone), but then she had no way of contacting me to tell me because, like I said, I don’t have a home phone.
So, as soon as I get to work the next day, Becki helps me start trying to call The Capital to see if they’ve found my phone, and after about 5 tries we get to the right spot and they do have it. We leave a message with the person in charge of Lost and Found items and wait for him to call. I go back to my office where my mom finally gets a hold of me and tells me a security guard called last night and has my phone. She has the phone number of the person I need to call. As soon as I get off the phone with her, I need to get on a conference call for work and I go to my computer to get the call-in info which I get and then dial-in, but my computer is telling me I’m being attacked by Trojan viruses and it won’t let me get to the internet, so I shut the computer down and re-start it, hoping it will magically be better, but that doesn’t work (surprise!). So, I’m on the phone, but I can’t access the power point presentation we’re supposed to follow along with. I don’t have my cell phone, my e-mail access has just failed and my phone is now tied up on a conference call. I was stuck in my office, unable to contact anyone for help. Fast forward an hour and a half and the conference call is finally over. Then the IT guy spend the next four hours fixing my computer. While, the IT guy is working on my computer, I’m upstairs, trying to square away the phone situation. We end up having to Fed Ex a Fed Ex package to the State Capital Police because they won’t take our Fed Ex account number and just Fed Ex the package to us. So, Thursday was a long day for me, but thanks to the help of Becki and Bruce, my computer is working great and my cell phone is hopefully in transit back to St. Louis.
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