| I just came back from a 3 day business trip in St Louis. I'd definately say that this wasn't one of my favourite trips. It started and ended with bad tones. When I got into town, Avis wouldn't give me a GPS unit for my rental car because they were "sold out". Instead, I got a really crappy paper map (imagine the whole city on a letter sized paper). Luckily, my paranoid self installed Streets and Trips on my laptop the night before, so I had better maps. (Not like driving on the highway while reading a laptop on the passenger seat is the safest thing to do). Of course, I accidentally left my GPS extension at home, so it was just maps...no navigation  Hotel: I booked a hotel out in the sticks! It was far from everything which meant A LOT of navigating while driving. The 1st evening, when I was driving back to the hotel, I got lost pretty much in the middle of no where. Following Streets and Trips turn by turn, I drove to an area where it was single lane traffic with no road lights...in the middle of the night by a farm. Way to get a girl SCARED. I couldn't believe it, I followed the directions to the dot. Then I remembered that I also have GPS navigation on my phone, so I punched in the hotel's address...drove for 5 minutes and ended up in the same place. Freaking out doesn't begin to describe it. Stuck in below freezing weather...in the mid-west...alone in the dark, by a farm. One last attempt: I used a service on my phone to search for local hotels and found mine. Apparently this farm has the exact same address as my hotel except for the zip code. Who would've thought? I used my cell phone to navigate me back to the hotel...but then the battery started flashing. Great! I was out of battery juice! Luckily, the phone got my back to the hotel before dying shortly afterwards. Next day: I slept in and was late for my own presentation. Fortunately, I was less than 10 minutes late. "Somehow" I just happened to wake up at 9:10 (my presentation was at 9:30), so I was able to rush out and not be too late. Given my fatigue level, I could've easily slept till noon, so once again, I'm grateful for what I'll credit as divine intervention. After my presentations, I drove around the city and saw the sights and sounds. After an evening of shopping at The Mills (there biggest shopping mall...includes the ice rink where the St Louis Blues practice!), I drove back to the hotel when the mall closed. When I got back to the hotel, I parked 30ft from the side entrance of the hotel, grabbed my bags and headed in. Sure, it was 10pm, but it was just a straightaway. When I got to the door, I swiped my room key to unlock it, opened the 1/3 - 1/2 the way and slipped in. I'm very used to this type of entrance from work because we have to make sure no one follows us into the building. When the door shut behind me, I heard a rumble, so I turned around. There on the other side of the glass door was a man in a puffy jacket and hood. Apparently, he was following me and I didn't even know. I mean, I wasn't on the phone nor was I wearing a hood/hat that would hinder my peripheral vision. Somehow, I was completely unaware of him. He couldn't get in because he didn't have a hotel key and didn't expect my quick entrance (he wasn't a hotel guest because if he wanted to get in the hotel, he can go through the front entrance which didn't need a card key). Anyhow, I just ran to my room, locked the dead bolt and sat in terror for an hour and a half. At the end of the day, I just have to say that God is my Protector. He protects His children regardless of their spiritual condition or current state of mind. Handing my life over to Him is the single best decision in my life. I don't know where I would be without His constant guidance and care. |
