Flashback Friday -- Heavy on the Flash

For my first Flashback Friday, I'm going easy on the back and heavy on the flash.

Time: Summer of 2007

Place: MRU Enrollment Office

Late summer is one of our busiest times at MRU. This day, the Enrollment Office was buzzing with students gearing up for fall semester. I was wearing a cute, knee-length summer skirt and one of my favorite pair of flippy heels. I don't have a printer in my office, so my practice was (and still is) to print a whole batch of papers at once and be-bop out to the lobby to retrieve my documents from the printer about once an hour. This gives me a chance to look away from my computer screen, get out of my office every so often, and see if there's anything exciting going on.

This particular day the lobby was especially busy (as was I), so I started high-tailing it back to my office hoping to avoid getting caught by student out there. I am be-bopping away from the lobby full of students, back toward my office, when suddenly my shoe slips out from under me. I try, desperately, but in vain, to catch myself as all the papers in my hand go flying above my head. Somehow (and I really don't know how *sigh*) I end up on the ground, legs in the air, FACING the lobby, one shoe completely off, and papers everywhere.

Remember the part where I said I was wearing a skirt? Yeah.

This whole fiasco takes place right in front of my co-worker's office. AND she's not in there alone. Ooooh nooooo... there were students in her office as well. I mean, of course there were, right? Would my luck have it any other way?

As quickly as I could, I scramble into my own office (I am only about 4 steps away). I leave my shoe, I leave the papers, and I leave my dignity in the hall.

I sit down in my chair just in time for my co-worker to come running in to see if I'm ok. She saw everything. The students in her office saw everything. The students in the lobby saw everything.

I. was. mortified.

AND bleeding. I had cut my arm on the wall as I was trying to catch myself. I really needed to go to the bathroom to wash the blood and dirt off. Unfortunately, the only way to the bathroom is through the lobby.

So, I did what I had to do. I put on my shoe, picked up my papers, straightened my shoulders, swallowed my tears, and walked right through the lobby -- right through all the people that saw my unmentionables because my skirt was around my neck -- and went to the bathroom.

My co-workers (who laughed shamelessly at me for this later) said to look at the bright side: After that incident, enrollment will surely be up!