Sometimes Life Throws a Curveball
In which Mike finds flexibility and cooperation work best.
Suquamish, WA - 20 Jul 2025
The clinic I work for has buildings scattered about the central, north and south portions of the county. I work in the Northern clinic. As a side hustle I teach CPR to clinical staff. To accommodate me I have access to a training room. I keep my equipment there and on the days I have class, I move a couple of desks to the space outside the room and set up the mannequins on the floor. I have been doing this for decades and have got accustomed to and made habitual the routine.
One of the features of the corporate building is our Urgent Care clinic. It has always been a smaller space, but the growing population here made it necessary to increase availability. A decision was made to expand the urgent care which meant relocating the IT personnel to another location in the building and using that space for expansion of Urgent care.
A recent change in my personal life is going to take me away from holding these classes for a while and coincidentally, the people needing to update BLS status has increased. They need a current BLS card as a requirement of employment. Human nature, being what it is, makes folks wait until the last minute to request my services. By last minute I mean they have let their cards lapse and HR is breathing down their necks. Desperate times were imminent. I have a long list and little time to get folks qualified.
Yesterday was to be the last class in a while, so I made arrangements with the facilities department to move some things around and give me space for a larger class. Then I called a bunch of folks and offered them a last minute chance to get their cards updated. All was well. Or so I thought.
Once I got the class scheduled and had everything ready, the facilities manager called to inform me that he would be tearing up the carpet right outside the classroom to lay down new flooring. The problem was, I had a big class arranged and he needed me away from that space on the very morning the class was scheduled. Urgh...
He was upset and so was I . What to do? Facilities' needs trump my class and rather than get in a pissing contest, I conceded to his needs and had to figure out what to do about my class. The one I had just set up and confirmed minutes before. Double urghh...
There is a little conference room that I could use. It has everything I need except floor space. Picture a small room with an oblong table in the middle of the room. An unmovable island that occupies the majority of free space with enough perimeter to allow tables around the conference table and little space to circumnavigate it. It was my only option if I wanted to have the class and not anger facilities or the folks I had just arranged a last chance opportunity to.
I arrived early to get the transfer and set up of the tight little classroom. The facilities manager was already there and we made nice, exchanging apologies and commenced to haul all of my training materials and equipment to the tiny alternative space. I set up the classroom to work and he commenced to rip up the floor.
Things worked out well all around. I had the room set up, made apologies to the students, though they couldn't really fuss - things considered. It was stuffy and close, but we got through it okay. They got their updated cards and facilities was well on its way to laying down the new floor.
When the class was finished and everyone made their exit. All I had to do was figure out what to do with my stuff. If I left it in the conference room I would be hearing about it. The facilities manager said he would return it when he was done with the job, but I have my own way of stowing the gear. I have a tiny cabinet to keep it in and the only way I can get it to fit in a sort of organized fashion is to recall my Navy training for putting a room's worth of gear in an upright cabinet space. It's like the wardrobe to Narnia. It seems small on the outside but there is so much more to be discovered beyond the doors.
I asked the guy laying the new flooring how long he thought he would be. He said an hour give or take - more take than give. I made good use of this and got on over to Costco, just down the road and did my Saturday shopping, then hiked over to Trader Joe's to get the rest of my groceries with a good long walk around town. In the end I was back and the floor was just about done. There was a six foot gap to the classroom door and the manager was kind enough to lay a "bridge" down for me to carry my stuff into the room and get it stowed. I was done and out allowing for completion of the floor job with little interference.
I lauded the manager with many thanks and accolades of appreciation.
In the end, everybody won. Floor down, training mission complete and staff members were off the hook. Once again old navy training paid off. Cooperation, quick thinking and a good contingency plan made it as smooth as smooth could be.
Keep on truckin'
-Mike
