I feel so much safer now

Because I know I can fit under my desk in the case of emergency.

It was very ordinary work day until we were all gathered together and told that there was going to be a drill at some point today as preparation for a possible attack on the building. We were given a sheet of paper with instructions as to what we should do in the case of attack which is all fine and good since I know what I'll be doing...hiding as fast as I can.

The good news is that hiding was one of the main instructions along with staying away from the windows and not drawing attention to yourself. These sound like relatively good ideas.

The "attack" occurred several hours later and consisted of a man walking in with a siren and bullhorn. We promptly scrambled for our hiding places and watched their feet and legs wander through the room. Fine and dandy, we were "safe."

Now, let's talk about real life actions should someone walk into the room with a siren and bullhorn. In that situation, I'm sure I'd have gone to the door to see what was happening; y first thought wouldn't have been to hide. And just how likely is it that someone with the desire to do us bodily harm would actually announce his presence in any way? Wouldn't he most likely walk in and begin the bloodshed method of choice? Is there any way to be prepared for such things?

I know this is in response to the shootings at Virginia Tech. It's nice to to talk about what should have been done prior to such events but it's highly unlikely there is ever a way to prepare for it or for there to be a way to be safer should it occur. I prefer to believe that it won't happen because I refuse to live my life in fear. I felt that way even when I was in Washington DC during the sniper attacks several years ago. This is out of my control. How can we prevent random acts of violence?

Of course, this didn't prevent work conversations trying to determine which of us would most likely go postal. You'll be happy to know that no one selected me as the primary candidate.