Always follow your instincts, always

Being the 'creature of habit' that I am, there are times when being off schedule rocks my day. From this day forward, I promise to stick to my first instincts.

I woke up a few minutes later then I wanted to because my alarm simply didn't ring. I was wide awake and ready to go; I had an appointment in Charlotte at the District Court to reduce a speeding ticket I got for driving 11 miles over right after passing the sign that indicated the change (I'm not lying, I got pulled over right after passing the sign) and I didn't want to be late this morning. I left the house before drinking cup of coffee, I wanted to go to Starbucks or Panera or better yet, Port City Java, unfortunately, that was mistake number one.

Instinct 1: Make and drink at least one cup of coffee before leaving the house, for any reason, especially early in the morning. It is my habit to drink a cup every day before leaving the house, I shouldn't break that one any time soon.
I wasn't too tired so I trusted I'd make it to the city, patiently and in one piece.

Instinct 2: Stop by the ATM machine before getting on 77. As I drove down Sam Furr Road, I changed my mind and drove by the bank. I figured I'd wait til I got to Charlotte to withdraw the cash I needed because the court house only accepts cash, I don't know why I thought that waiting to get there was a good idea.
To my luck, traffic wasn't bad and I got to my destination without a problem or losing my patients. I arrived an hour and a half before the actual time I needed to be there.
I drove around the area looking for parking, then I decided to park in the garage I had always parked in last winter when I worked at the Hearst Tower. So off I went to Seventh Street Garage knowing I'd park on the third floor hill in the same spot (as last winter). When I pulled in the garage, I noticed the Early Bird Parking for $5 sign was missing. I remembered last winter, there were days that they forgot to put up the sign and I still paid $5 for 9 hours of parking. As I pulled in the garage, I worried that the $5 special wasn't available anymore. I took a deep breath believing it was and moved on.

Instinct 3: If you don't see the sign, don't proceed forward. As predicted, I parked in the same spot I parked in almost every day last winter. I knew the bank wasn't too far away, so off I went walking down the street hearing my five inch heels clickity click on the pavement.
I made it to the ATM machine in a short time and after withdrawing my cash, I walked across the street to finally get a cup of coffee. As I crossed the street, I realized I forgot my receipt.

Instinct 4: Always get your receipt from the ATM machine.

I walked in the coffee shop and was greeted by the wonderful smell of coffee and pastry. I ordered my coffee and bagel and was out the door in minutes.

I'm a former city girl and walking the many blocks to the courthouse wasn't too bad of an idea, what was a bad idea was drinking hot coffee. Haven't I learned in the past year that it gets very hot in the south, especially when you have to walk a long distance?

Instinct 5: Always order ice coffee between the months of May to November when taking long walks in Charlotte.

I arrived at the courthouse at 8:15 and I was proud of myself for being on time. I sat on a shaded bench to finish my coffee and bagel and when I was done, I was ready to face the judge.

I walked in the building and the AC hit me immediately, it was a nice relief. I walked through the security and the alarm went off. I was told to take my shoes off. I shook my head but took my shoes off anyway.I walked through again and this time, without a problem.
Then the security guard asked, "Ma'am do you have a camera in your purse?"

"Yes," I answered.

"Well, you can't take that in here and we can't hold it for you."

I looked at him shocked and surprised. Quietly and polietly I informed him that I needed to be there in time for nine and my car was parked on Seventh Street.

"That's okay," said the second security officer with a grin plastered across his face.
He was so polite and I couldn't think of what to say next. I showed him my ticket.

"It's administrative and there's no set time for that," he explained patiently, "you can come back at two if you want and it won't matter."
He noticed the look of confusion on my face.
"They just set the time for nine so that they can get things rolling in order. Don't worry, trust me, you won't be late okay."

I trusted this man and walked out of the court politely saying goodbye to both guards. I was thinking however how stupid of a rule that was but still,I should have emptied the unnecessary contents in my purse and kept my wallet, keys and phone in there.
I walked back to the car upset, hot and wouldn't you know it, with sore toes.
By the time I made it to the garage, I felt the sweet run down my back and my calf's were burning.

I sat in my car and that's when I understood that following your instincts is always the best idea.

I looked in my purse and realized my debit card was missing. I didn't believe it at first so I searched. Shit. I knew I should've followed my instinct to get the damn receipt, I probably would've seen my debit card in the damn machine had I decided to hit "yes, I want receipt" button on the machine.

Then I drove around the garage and made it to the exit to pay and I bet you guessed it, the $5 Early Bird deal was no longer available. So I paid the $8 fee for the freaking hour and 14 minutes I was parked. I drove away from there, upset with myself for not following my intuition. As I drove down the streets back to the courthouse, I saw signs for cheaper parking lots. I cursed under my breath and this time, I decided to pay the damn $1 at the parking meter across the street from the courthouse.
I have this cute small purse that only holds my cash, cards, cell phone and keys so I put the bigger purse with more valuable things in it like lipsticks, camera's, voice recorders (I'm a journalist, a story could pop out of nowhere), pens, notebooks and glasses in the trunk of my car and walked back to court.

I made it back to the building and the damn line in the entrance was so freaking long. I tried to calm down. I watched the people ahead of me. One guy kept trying to go through the security but it kept beeping at him, so he took his shoes off; then he took his watch off; then he pulled everything out of his pants and it still beeped.
"Damn, is this guy going to get naked?" I silently wondered.
By the time I went through, the security guys had discovered the problem with the gentlemen was with his arm brace, there was a medal in his air cast. Poor guy had to take it off to prove that was the problem. I felt so bad for him. I hope taking it off didn't hurt his arm more.

When I got downstairs, the line to the courtroom for traffic violations was very long. At that point, I wanted to pull my shades over my eyes and cry. I looked around, there were so many people around me and it didn't look as if the line was moving. "Damn, I only have an hour at the freaking meter," the voice in my head said.
The blood was already rushing to my toes and the pain in my feet was becoming more acute. I took a deep breath, being angry wouldn't solve the problem and it would only make the wait longer.

At that very moment, an attorney with a loud voice came out and stood nearby saying, "If you're here with a speeding ticket and you want it reduced come see me I'll take care of it now. But you have to have your ticket with you."

I walked out of line with a smile on my face, the bricks were coming off my shoulders and my feet still hurt but I was one of four standing next to that very nice attorney.
Thank God I had my ticket in my hands. I gave him my ticket and told him I got caught just as the sign changed, he read the citation with a smile on his face and told me he'd reduce it to five over.
I felt relief and smiled as I walked over to the line to pay my freaking speeding ticket.
The line wasn't long and I made it to the cashier feeling a better. She told me my new total, it was only $20 less then the original fee but I wasn't going to complain. Then she asked, "Do you want to pay it today or later?"
"How many more days do I have?"
"Twenty days," she said as friendly as a southern woman gets.

I exhaled, smiled and behaved as politely as she was, "I'll just pay for it now."
I learned that I could've paid for it online. My eyes rolled in the back of my head as I thought, "I didn't even have to go to the damn ATM machine."

After paying, I walked out of there feeling relief. I had only been there ten or fifteen minutes so I walked to my car slowly and forcing myself to control my breathing.

By the time I reached my car, the blood in my legs was rushing so much and the pain was getting more severe. I wondered how long it would take before the numbness kicked in.

I drove back to the area where my bank was; there wasn't much traffic and I found a spot to park within reasonable distance. However, the line in the bank was long with business people who had huge cash deposits.

I stood there patiently hoping the pain in my legs would go away, but it didn't.
By the time I reached the counter,I explained to the Teller what happened and she told me she'd check to see if they had found my card. To my luck, they did. I felt mind relief, not foot relief unfortunately.
I stood there waiting as she filled out the paper work I needed to sign to prove I was the one retrieving my card and decided to compliment her outfit. She did look super cute after all. Besides, complimenting someone always makes me feel better, especially when I'm honest.
We talked some more and I decided to ask if she knew if the bank was hiring. She said yes.
That made me smile and forget the pain in my feet.
She gave me instructions on how to apply.

By the time I walked away, the mornings problems left my mind. I had one more business situation I needed to tend to so I crossed the street to the tower and took the elevator to the 21st floor where the staffing agency I normally do business with is located.
I didn't get to talk to my recruiter, but, the receptionist told me that there was a job opportunity in the works and she'd call me later on.
I walked out of there with a hopeless heart. I've heard that line too many times to believe it.

I called my sister and we made plans to meet at Target. Fast forward to an hour later, I got a call from the staffing agency with a job request. She explained the details of the assignment, the location, salary and company and excitement filled my heart.

"Are you interested and can I forward your resume to the hiring manager?" She asked.

"Yes," I answered honestly. I was feeling a shot of hope in my heart and a shot of pain in my feet. At this point, my toes were blistered, swollen and the skin was ripping.

We ended the call both hoping that this opportunity would work in my favor.

I bought a pair of cheap flip flops to get me through the rest of the day and I'm home now, with my feet up feeling relaxed and calm.
I admit, I'm naive enough to believe I'll get the job; I've heard too many cool things about this place.

The moral of my story is really, always trust your gut instincts and if you're feeling intuitive like I usually do, go with it.

As for wearing heels, well, no amount of pain I'll feel wearing five inch skinny heels will ever be worse then the pain I feel living unemployed with an expensive college loan to pay off.