What goes around...

"It'll be an adventure!"

This is what I said in response to the wary glance by our intern, after I asked him to please drive to the biggest, busiest, pointiest building in the middle of commerce heavy parking hell downtown Houston. I had permission to ask him to drop off the papers, and I felt a little bad about it, but then again I've DONE the intern thing and had my share of the pick-up drop-off game. It goes with the territory. I'm an associate now, and associates don't have to run silly errands--we get people to run them for us.

So. With the tiniest twinge of guilt, I printed out a map, wrote out directions, hooked him up with as much contact info for the drop off as I could, and sent him on his merry way. Meanwhile I giggled over instant messenger about how good it felt to NOT be the intern anymore and not have to run the "are you kidding me?" errands.

Thirty minutes later, intern calls. Intern is lost! Intern cannot find Louisiana (the street, not the state) and has wound up at a major university instead. I try to call back and cannot get through. Clever intern, I think... (for I, myself, have tried the "maybe if I can't find it they won't send me on any more wild goose chase errands" approach, to no avail.)

Intern arrives back at the office after accomplishing his other errands (I wasn't the only one with a "pick up drop off go here and go there" errand today) and tells me, quite sincerely, that he tried three times and just couldn't find the road and he'll be happy to try again in the 45 minutes before he has to meet with his advisor about making smart decisions for college (oh no! he mentioned college! you just _cannot_ argue with college... intern has played a trump card!).

So what do I say? "Intern--get back out there and EARN your minimum wage!!" No, of course not; I may be an associate, but I'm still kind of a softy. I apologize profusely for his trouble, and tell him that I'll do it myself, no worries.

Fifteen minutes, down the road, I realize that the DUMB ASSOCIATE gave really bad directions, and Louisiana does not, in fact, intersect with the road I am on. And sure enough, when I reach the big, busy, pointy building where Mr. Board Member agreed to meet me outside, Mr. Board Member is in a meeting. I park in the nearest parking garage (1-10 minutes: free. 11 minutes - 1 hour: ONE MILLION DOLLARS!!!), speedwalk to the building, take the elevator to the 23rd floor (my ears popped--seriously. how long has it been since i've been that high off the ground?), drop the papers off, and race back to my car. Having just slightly under the one million dollars required for anything over 10 minutes, I anxiously ask the cashier, "Did I make it?" and she smiles and says "Honey, you sure did. Right on the money."

It was, as foreseen by yours truly, an adventure.

The moral of the story is that one day, if I work really hard, I'll be a director...

*footnote: I love our intern and he's GREAT and if anything in this story implies otherwise, it is merely for dramatic effect.