Many years ago, I was a finalist for a higher ed marketing job at an out-of-state university. It was a mad dash to leave work in middle of the day, fight Myrtle Beach traffic, and make it to the airport on time. Once I finally arrived at the airport the pressure didn’t let up as I had to sprint across the parking lot, navigate the check-in line, and make it through security. Needless to say, I barely made my flight.

I arrived at my destination that night and checked into my hotel. My interview was the next day so I had some time to relax after a very hectic 12 hours. Despite some interview jitters, I slept well that night.

The university I interviewed at was about 90 minutes from the airport I landed at. The drive to the university (which was GORGEOUS) was pretty relaxing after the hectic late morning/afternoon. The drive back the next day? The exact opposite of relaxing….read on to find out why.

The next morning, something dawned on me as I ate a minimal breakfast that corresponded to the nerves I had in my belly. My keys were missing. I figured they were somewhere in my hotel room as I had carelessly thrown my stuff on the bed when I checked in the previous night. Surely they were somewhere on the floor, under my duffel bag, or on top of the other bed. I looked for a few minutes but I had to head out for my all-day interview.

Make no mistake about it, when I left the hotel I was a little concerned. On a morning where I should have only been battling interview stress I was now also entertaining the stress of what would happen if I couldn’t find my keys.

Once I started my interview itinerary, I was able to forget about my lost keys to a degree. However, whenever I would have a couple moments between sessions, my mind would go right back to where they could be. As the morning went on and the interview went well, I started to build some confidence. “Those keys were probably right in front of you. You will find them once you get back to the room.”

Because the hotel was actually on the campus (such a cool concept!), I was able to return to my room in the middle of the day during a break and do a quick search. Nothing. I was really starting to get nervous now.

The second half of the day went well but once I finished my culminating presentation to the university’s marketing and communications department, I wasn’t worried about an ensuing job offer. Rather, I just wanted to find my keys. Back in my hotel room I turned it over trying to find them. When my man-made tornado search yielded no results I checked the hotel’s lost and found. When that turned up empty I walked to the student center that I had visited the night before and checked their lost and found. Nothing again.

Mind you, I didn’t need my keys that night to leave the state and get home. My rental car key was in my pocket and you obviously don’t need a key to board an airplane. But something just felt so deflating about losing my house/car/work keys in a random state. I thought about all the work that would have to be done to replace and re-key. What would I tell my current employer…Sorry, I lost my office key 1,500 miles away while interviewing for a different job?

After the final room search and the lost and found inquiries turned up empty, I had to face a sobering truth: I wasn’t returning to Myrtle Beach with my keys.

Upon leaving town I had dinner with the hiring committee chair. I actually disclosed to him that I lost my keys. He was supportive and cautioned me not to stress too much. After dinner I called Sidney and let her know about my dilemma. I was more distraught over the keys than I was pleased with how the day went.

Before jumping in my car to drive the 90 minutes from the college campus to the airport, I did one more fruitless “tracing of my steps” between the hotel and student center. This put me way behind schedule and it was another nerve-wracking drive to the airport as I was once again in jeopardy of missing my flight.

Thankfully I made it just in time (once again) to catch my scheduled flight. After the frantic dance of turning in my rental car, checking in, passing through security, and getting to my gate, I finally had the chance to relax for a few moments once I slumped into my seat on the plane.

That’s when I saw it. I looked down at my phone to see that I had a text notification from my wife. I opened it up to see a photo of my car in the Myrtle Beach Airport parking lot. The image showed a note placed on my dash. In scribbled handwriting it said:

You left the car running. The keys were brought to the police office. Locate any airport police officer to get your keys back. 🤦🏻‍♂️

This was the actual note that was left inside my car. After all the searching I did on the college campus, my keys had actually never left Myrtle Beach.

I was so frantic and so rushed upon my hasty arrival that I just grabbed my duffel bag and laptop and made a run for it without giving a second thought to turning off my car. I wouldn’t have the presence of mind to realize I didn’t have my keys any longer until the next day when I was on the other side of the country. By that time, I had just assumed I lost them on the college campus.

Yeah, it was a stressful trip.

I got my keys and I also got the job a couple days later. I declined the position, figuring my self-inflicted shit show was an omen to stay away from that particular state. I think I made the right choice.

Honestly, what spurned this whole story is an unshakeable feeling I now get. Many times when I catch the bus to work via the Jefferson Park & Ride, I find myself sprinting from my car to avoid missing it. As the bus rolls out onto the highway, I always find myself thinking, Did I turn off my car? Did I lock the doors? Do I have my keys?

Although that last question is easy to answer, sometimes I am kept guessing about the other two throughout the day. It is slight torture. But I don’t think anything compares to the panic and anxiety I felt that one day on that one college campus. Don’t Blink.