Last week at the OEC was full of excitement, with the highlight being a mad dash to the Athenaeum, which my boss is considering as a venue for a future OEC event. This field trip opportunity popped up unexpectedly and, naturally, nothing happened the way it was supposed to.

First, the other intern I rode with and I both realized shortly after beginning our drive that neither of us had remembered our wallets on the way out the door, and thus had exactly zero money for downtown parking. “Hey, that’s okay,” we reassured each other, “we can probably find somewhere to park for free!” Of course, since we were trying to park in downtown Columbus, that was not the case, and (spoiler alert) we ended up having to borrow money from our boss.

Upon exiting the parking garage, we quickly realized that we were much farther from the Athenaeum than anticipated. What followed was a sprint down Gay Street, which I’m sure entertained passersby forced to dart of the way of two young women in full professional garb.

Once we finally reached our destination, we burst triumphantly through the front doors, startling the woman and the front desk and disrupting the quiet calm inside. “Hi…we’re with…the OEC tour?” the other intern gasped. Thankfully, the rest of our group was just an elevator ride away. We did a slow lap of the room to catch our breath, and listened to the tour guide spout facts about the facility’s Freemason history. Our boss asked a few questions, took a few pictures, and then…everyone shook hands and the tour ended. Approximately ten minutes after we had flung open the Athenaeum’s doors, we found ourselves on our (long) way back to our car.

This situation was certainly high-stress at the time, but looking back on it now I laugh at the memory of the way we skidded around street corners and sprinted along crosswalks, and (more importantly) I’ve now learned the importance of always being prepared. Life here at the OEC is a fast-paced one, and I will certainly never take that for granted (or forget my wallet) again.