Somebody set up us the bomb

It has been an interesting day at work. I've been busy, gettings some documents completed and juggling some tasks to wrap up the shipcheck and start the associated project. Lunch time rolls around, and I'm thinking about nuking my leftover macaroni and cheese and checking the baseball scores from yesterday while I eat. Then we all hear a pipe over the intercom: "ATTENTION. Evacuate the building immediately, there has been a bomb threat." Well, that's new...

We all get outside to where we assemble for fire drills, and a whole slew of police cars are pulled up around the office complex. There are Federal Protective Service agents, Alexandria PD, Metro Washington PD, etc. We are instructed to move farther away from all the buildings.

After talking with one of the Alexandria cops, we find out that the threat was to the building next door, which houses some USDA offices. I can't imagine why anyone would want to threaten the Department of Agriculture, but that's what we heard.

We decided, since it was lunchtime anyway, to make the best of it. A few of us walked over to Five Guys and had a very tasty lunch. And the weather is beautiful, so it's a nice day for a stroll. While we eat, we call the front desk to see if everyone has been let back in yet. No answer, so we figure we've got time.

By the time we amble back to the office, everyone is still sitting around, or has wandered away for lunch like we did. One of the officers says "It could be 30 minutes, it could be 6 hours" before we get the all clear. Drag. A few minutes later, they let us back in. Kind of anticlimactic, but it beats the alternative.

Filed in: Work Alexandria