Not kidding, that’s what happened yesterday. Check out the SJ Mercury News article and coverage by SFist. Here’s one of SF’s finest at our building’s entrance, toting some serious firepower:
About half the analysts were just sitting in the bullpen, working on presentations, and the other half were at lunch. One of the senior partners walked in, and announced, “Everyone, I have an announcement. We can’t do anything about this right now, but we just got word that there was a bomb threat on a floor above us and they’ve sealed off the building.”
Amazingly enough, there was no panic or mad rush to the door. I think we were all pretty stunned. When we had all gone to the windows and marveled at the SWAT van and tens of police cars cordoning off the street, a few of us gathered up our belongings and left. We didn’t take the stairs, since we were worried the suspect might be in the stairwell, so it was quite an odd elevator ride down. I kept waiting for the car to stop, shake, or lose power, but we reached the lobby uneventfully and were ushered outside by waiting policemen.
There in the 70-degree sun, we sat on the steps of the Mint, checked status updates on our BlackBerries, and took calls from family and friends reassuring them we were fine. What a surreal afternoon it was… for such a serious situation, I couldn’t fathom how everyone stayed calm, including me. Crazy how you get so set in a routine, and then one event has the potential to change life as we know it.
I had my gym bag with me, we were out of harm’s way, and they weren’t letting anyone back in, so I went to the gym to clear my head. Mulling it over on the elliptical, I thought about all the different endings that story could’ve had. Hey, if the guy had been really bent on doing damage, rather than a disgruntled Price Is Right reject, I might not be writing this right now.
In the hospital, we saw death every day. It’s right there, staring you in the face, while you and your team pit modern medicine against the inevitable. Sometimes you succeed, for a while at least, and sometimes there’s no way to prevail. What resonated most with me was each patient’s way of coping with illness: some fought to the point of exhaustion, some were an eye of calm and acceptance in a swirling vortex of labs, meds, and procedures. While I have no way of knowing how I’ll react when my time comes, I got a glimpse yesterday.
Nobody’s perfect, and I’m sure I’ve made my share of poor decisions, but in the end what matters most is that I’ve been able to spend time with the people I love, and I have absolutely no regrets about that. At the end of the day, the true measure of your life will be reflected in how others remember you.
Live so that you have no regrets– that’s the guiding philosophy behind every decision I make. We can plan for the future as much as we like, but life can surprise us. Don’t deprive yourself of the things that nurture your soul.
On a more practical note, I am really glad I’d set up my affairs: I’m an organ donor, I have a durable power of attorney that allows my mom to make my healthcare decisions should I become incapacitated, and I’ve discussed end-of-life issues with my family and boyfriend, just in case.
Please consider planning now for your healthcare. It doesn’t have to be a long conversation, but enough so that others know where you stand and what measures you might want to be taken, should they need to make those decisions for you.
Have you ever been in a situation that made you reflect on your life? What conclusions did you come to as a result?
