Thursday, October 29, 2009

Oh Yeah, I'm Doin' It

Who's with me?

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Am I Blue?

Detail, painted utility box, Hillcrest (San Diego), California.

Playing along with the Women's Colony again! If you haven't visited, check us out!

Monday, October 19, 2009

Orange You Glad It's Monday?

Resin beads, Bowers Museum, Adornment Festival.

Playing along with the Women's Colony...


Sunday, October 18, 2009

Not the Same as Rose-Colored Glasses

You know, I actually think I gave myself pinkeye in BOTH eyes by falling asleep with my eye makeup on last night. Unbelievable! Tonight I went to the mall to see Whip It (loved it!), and while I walked around and window-shopped to kill time before the show, I wore my sunglasses as long as I possibly could so no one could see my Night of the Living Dead eyes. Bleah. That'll teach me to wash my face before doing anything else after coming home. No more walking in the door and crashing on the couch!

So...Work Was a Bit Interesting on Thursday

My son had a two-week break from school, so I brought him with me to the church where I work. He likes to hang around, play video games, help out with small tasks and play with my co-worker's son at times. On Thursday, the kiddo told me he was hungry around 11:30 a.m., so we left for lunch. We grabbed some food nearby, then headed back to the church to listen to the radio in the car and eat.

While we were sitting there, I saw a CHP (California Highway Patrol) officer walking in the parking lot. I figured he'd pulled someone over for some reason and was using our parking lot as a stopping point.

Then I saw a police car with its lights flashing. Then I saw another police car...and another. Then I saw at least ten police officers with rifles, walking in front of the church office building. My stomach felt queasy, and I told my son to put on his seatbealt as I put the car in gear.

My cell phone rang, and I saw the call was from the church. I didn't even say hello. "What's happening in there?" I asked. "Well," my office mate answered, "a guy grabbed Miss Edie [our Spanish-speaking custodian] and we're all on lockdown now because the police think the guy might be hiding on the premises. Pastor B. and I are trying to find out more from Miss Edie, but it's a little hard. She's really shaken up."

We had a very small staff on Thursday; a lot of our staff take Thursdays off because they work on Sundays. Only three of us were in the office, and we had only Miss Edie on custodian duty. One congregant had entered the office just before the police arrived. However, we also had about 108 children on the premises, in the preschool and childcare center. This includes infants to pre-K. We also had a lot of teachers, as well as the director and assistant director of the preschool and childcare program.

I wasn't sure if my son and I would be safe in the building, and I definitely didn't want to stay in the parking lot in case a shootout took place. Still more police cars were pulling up and officers were jumping out with rifles. The situation didn't look like it was slowing down, so I left for home.

My son processes things verbally, so he was asking question after question, and I was doing mjy best to assure him that the police were taking care of the situation and would check everywhere to make sure the church was safe. I suggested he relax in a warm bath, so he hopped in the tub for all of five minutes; then we played Othello for a while and I called the office to see what was happening. After about 90 minutes, my office mate called to tell me the police had found the bad guy hiding in a storage alcove in the sanctuary and had arrested him. We were cleared to return to the office, so we headed back.

Needless to say the rest of the afternoon was completely unproductive. The phone rang with calls from the newspaper, concerned congregants who had seen the church on the midday news, police officers checking information, etc. I later found out that the childcare center director, her assistant and a teacher had tried to sneak around outside behind the church to get to the infant room to make sure the babies were okay. As they were tiptoeing, the back door to the sanctuary opened a couple of inches and they ran back to the office.

That door led to the space where the bad guy was hiding, and I honestly think hearing the ladies' footsteps is what kept the bad guy stuck in the alcove for the police to find him. The alcove has four doors: the one that leads to the sanctuary locks behind you if you're not careful; the door the storage closet is locked; the door to a classroom is locked; and the door leading to the outside is unlocked on the inside. Basically the bad guy was screwed.

As the staff compared notes after things started to settle down, I learned that the bad guy had robbed a gas station right by my house, then made the gas station manager drive him a few miles on the freeway. The two fought in the car and the driver pulled over and jumped out. The bad guy jumped over the freeway railing, tried to carjack a woman in the post office parking lot next to the church, then assaulted two of our employees in an effort to get their car keys. He wound up hiding and getting arrested.

Phew.

Luckily Friday was a boring day. ;-)

Saturday, October 17, 2009

In Case You Haven't Seen This Yet