A lesson on tardiness

I have never been a timely person. Generally I am running about 5 minutes late, no matter what. When I moved to D.C. I vowed I would be better, and for the first week I did awesome. Soon enough though my old habits started up again and the arguments between getting up or sleeping in were being won by my bed. Last Friday however, it was necessary for me to arrive at the steps of the Supreme Court at exactly 10am. I was going to have the privilege of meeting the first woman on the Supreme Court, Justice Sandra Day O' Conner. A once in a lifetime opportunity, laid at my feet, and all I had to do was show up. 

Enter ::Murphy's Law::

Once leaving my apartment, my morning took on '24' like suspense and I was Jack Bauer,"I must get to the Justice!" 

9:15 Leave my apartment

9:26 Board Red Line Metro

9:45 Exit Union Station 

9:46 Walk up the wrong road

9:50 Find the correct road, head towards Supreme Court

9:55;30 Wait for cross-walk sign

9:56:30 Cross street, pause in front of the steps to change my shoes

9:57 Enter Supreme Court Building

9:57:15 Get stopped by security and wanded because my belt sets off the metal detector

9:58 Go through the first entrance, find security guard, tell him where I need to go

9:59 Go up stair case, find another security guard start jogging behind him as he quickly heads toward a gate. 

10:00:15 Watch Sandra Day O'Conner walk down a hallway into the East Conference Room and the door shut behind her, all while standing behind a locked gate. 

10:00:20  Fight back tears as the security guard tells me he cannot take me into the room once the Justice has entered, and that I will have to wait until she finishes speaking before I am allowed to go in. 

10:00:30 Game Over. 

So that's it kids. I had the chance to sit in a room with no more than 30 people while listening to Sandra Day O'Conner speak and I missed it. If one thing had been different, if I had left my apartment one minute earlier, or I had decided I didn't need to switch from flats to heels, or I had a better sense of direction in this stupid town, one thing and I would be writing a very different blog post. But alas, my life never seems to be the story, but the lesson learned. 

In this town, you can never take a moment for granted. Never hesitate or second guess because the moment you do a large gold gate is shut on your face (literally), and you're left talking to a security guard about why he doesn't like the Beavers after they beat Maryland in the Emerald Bowl a few years back. 

I came out here to pursue my career, and hopefully get lucky enough to meet some of the most influential people in the nation. What I've learned, is that in order to make that happen 15 seconds means everything. 

( After her talk I was let in long enough to snag a pic. A few other interns, Sandra Day O'Conner, and me)