After a beautiful sunny day yesterday, I got in the car with a colleague to drive to UCLA for a conference event. We had barely gotten out of the driveway before droplets starting appearing on the windshield. Before we hit Camp Pendleton, it was a full-fledged downpour! And then the ribbon of sunset started to peek out from below the blanket of clouds.
The conference center/hotel at UCLA was tucked away from the freeway, forcing us to navigate narrow streets with cars parked at odd angles…and avoid the abandoned scooter right in the middle of the street. After taking the odd u-turn directed by Google maps, we arrived at a strange stopping place in front of a building that may or may not have been a conference center. Lucky for us Milton was out front–obviously used to confused conference center seekers. He was funny and welcoming and got us situated, checked in, and headed toward an equally odd driveway to a narrow underground parking lot.
When I arrived at my room and peeked out the window, I found myself looking out at a football field, bolding marked UCLA.
This morning after walking on the treadmill before what I knew would be a sitting day, I headed into the shower to get ready for the day ahead. As I was getting dressed I kept hearing a sound. Is that chanting? Does someone nearby have the TV on loud? I looked out the window to find an entire squad of young men in matching uniforms shouting through their calisthenics!
And as if that was enough of the unexpected, as we headed downstairs for the conference, we noticed a strong and visual security presence. We learned throughout the day that there was some kind of protest going on outside. (Although we never did learn exactly what the protest was all about!).
As we left for an oh-so-long and not-really-unexpected-LA-traffic-filled drive back home, the conference center was teeming with security. Men standing at attention, ear pieces in place, barriers everywhere. We actually had to have a guard move a physical barrier to be able to leave the parking area! (After another policeman jokingly told us we’d need to stay awhile!)
Luckily, the event was interesting and felt like worth the time and effort. And I didn’t have to suffer the long and traffic-filled drive home alone, instead my colleague and I were able to talk, debrief our experience, and otherwise entertain each other in the pain of stop and go traffic.
It was truly an expect the unexpected kind of experience–including the somewhat unexpected enjoyment of the event itself. I’m trying to learn to embrace the unexpected, and realize that unexpected is just another opportunity to learn and grow and make a choice to see what surprises me as a gift rather than an ominous talisman of trouble to come!
How do you respond when the unexpected shows up at your door?
Thinking Through My Lens 