Sometimes Interesting Things Happen to Me

I teach piano lessons. 

I have 2 students.

Usually I get paid for lessons on the first Wednesday of the month.

I went to the William Fitzsimmons concert last Tuesday.

I usually never work at the dorms on Wednesday nights.

(I know I promised this would be interesting. Just Wait.)

How are these things connected? 

Well, it just so happens that all of these facts had to be present for me to have the experience I had last evening. If one of them was missing, the circumstances would have fallen apart, and these happenings would have never taken place. 

Isn't that interesting?

So the story goes that one of my families I give piano lessons to had forgotten to pay me for April lessons until yesterday. I had stuck the check in my back pocket because I am sometimes a little airheaded and it seemed like a logical/safe idea at the time. However, because this was a silly idea in the first place, my pocket and the check conspired to spite me and at some point between RUF and my home, the check slipped out. 

Now, at the time I realized this, it was around 11:45pm. The logical thing would have been to run to Dale at that point and search for it. 

But that's where the second circumstance came into play. 

Normally, I have duty on Monday nights, and some weekend night. But last week, Jena wanted to sit my Monday night duty so that I could sit her Tuesday. Normally this would be fine, but I was going to Tulsa for the William Fitzsimmons concert, and knew I would not be back in time to work. So Jena asked Nikky (the Wednesday night sitter) if she would join in our multi-switch. So Jena sat Monday, Nikky sat Tuesday, and I was to sit Nikky's Wednesday.

Unbeknownst to me, Nikky had also switched with Thursday girl (Vanessa) last week, and Thursday night girl was planning to sit Nikky's Wednesday. So when I arrived Wednesday of last week planning to sit, after much explaining, we realized Nikky's duty that night was double-booked, so I agreed to pay back my shift this week. 

So, at 11:45pm, when I realized the check was missing, I had to be at work 5 minutes from then. Obviously, there was no time to go to Dale.

But this one check is a significant portion of my monthly income, and I was not ready to let it go so easily. (Especially considering I registered for Summer Conference this week and bought U2 tickets. Ouch, bank account hit.)

So when 5am rolled around, I walked through the silent night to the parking lot where Jena's car was parked. 

5am is an eery time of day. 

It's like this strange not quite night but not yet morning kind of time. All your senses are heightened. Every CSI episode you've ever watched comes flashing back in your mind as you expect at any moment to be grabbed from behind or for someone to emerge from the shadows. 

I drove the half mile to the empty Dale Hall parking lot and scanned the lot from my car to see if I spotted a check on the ground. Not.

I walked towards the West Doors and pulled. Locked. Blast. 

I looked to the North towards the parking lot, and noticed a figure coming slowly through the parking lot towards me.

Also at 5am, every figure is suspicious and probably has intention to kill you. This is a strange feeling.

Unfortunately for the sake of this story, the figure was not a serial murderer. But apparently OU has people who drive cart-pulling adult size tricycles that deliver the newspapers in the mornings. How did I not know this? (Anna, I think I've found a job for you.) 

For some reason, wandering around campus in your sweatpants looking lost and peering in doors of buildings at 5am does not draw any attention. This was strange to me. Tricycle-driving newspaper man didn't even acknowledge me, but simply proceeded to deliver his newspapers. My 5am mind thought, "maybe Newspaper Man thinks I am a ghost. I wonder if he sees many ghosts mornings he is working."

Just as I was about to give up, after tricycle man drove away into the night, I saw a figure unlocking the west doors. He also did not acknowledge me. So I wandered into Dale, past some staring janitorial staff workers (they did seem to notice me, but didn't pay me much attention, so I'm sticking with my ghost theory) and scoured the RUF classroom at Dale. 

Nothing.

Dejected, I walked back to my car and came home. 

Someone had taken my parking spot.

Yes, that's right. You'd think that leaving for 10 or 15 minutes at 5 in the morning would not jeopardize your parking spot, and that it would be awaiting your return when you arrived back.

But, no. You'd be wrong. 

The moral of this story is:

Sometimes interesting things happen to me, but only when a series of uninteresting things combines to present strange opportunities I would never have experienced otherwise.

This morning I had an email in my inbox. Someone found my check outside of Dale.