My First day at work, I almost died.

(Yes there’s a touch of running in this story, but trust me, it’s not what you think… so keep reading)

I started a new job on Monday, November 6th.
That day, I almost died, and if I hadn't died, I definitely would have had to call in late. I was to be there at 9am, which to me is like sleeping in, as I’m used to getting to work between 6:45 and 7:30, so I can leave at 4:30 and not feel too bad about it.

So intead of sleeping in, I decided to go for a long trail run with Karma in the morning before heading out to work.

Rewind 2 weeks prior…
A few weeks earlier, Karma and I were trail running, and he took off into the trees and brush. When he does this, I just keep going, and eventually, he shows up on the trail after having chased down a smell, a deer, or something nothing. This time, he doesn’t come back, so I yell, and eventually here he comes. Karma’s not a stick dog. He doesn’t care to carry a stick around, but he was bringing along a long 4 foot long L-shaped stick. His tail’s-a-waggin’... he's one happy dog! Anyway, he comes up close, and that stick ain’t no stick, it’s a deer leg bone! Probably a few days old, still some stuff on it, and he’s all proud of his find! I tell him to RELEASE, and he sadly drops the bone, I kick it into the bushes, and we keep going.

back to Nov 6…
We’re running the trail and Karma takes off into the bushes / trees as usual. No worries, he’ll be back as usual, but again, his delay is a tad longer then the usual 30 seconds to 2 minutes. I yell, and I eventually hear his collar tags coming my way… He has a stick again, but I know it ain’t no stick. It’s a smaller stick-bone this time, I’d say about a foot and a half, probably a front leg bone…. I tell him to RELEASE and he complies. I kicked it off the trail, and we take off again.

We keep running and as I have a long time before going to work, we’re going farther than our usual morning trail runs. So I start thinking about the deer carcass, and the Coyote that killed it.

Rewind to a year or so ago…
Coyotes have been spotted in Central Texas, and as I lived in Dripping Springs, I paid attention. If you spot one, (or if you kill one, I guess) then you need to alert either the sherriff’s dept or maybe it was the Park Rangers. Who cares who it is you need to call, you need to let people know.

back to Nov 6
So I start thinking, someday, I’ll probably run into this Coyote, what will I do. With my luck, I’ll probably run into him today, and he’ll jump me or Karma. I’m not going down to a skinny Coyote. I’ll take him down. I start imagining how, I’ll let Karma go at him first, and then I’ll grab a big ass rock, and beat him on the head till he’s dead. I’ll be bloody, sure, but I’m taking him down. But then, when I finally get back to the car, I’m going to have to call the Ranger, or the Sherriff or whomever I’m supposed to call and let them know there’s a dead Coyote that I killed by smashing his head in with a big rock.

With my luck, I’ll be asked to hang out till someone comes out, because I have to lead them to the dead animal because, well, there’s no way I can explain what turns I took back in the trails to accurately lead them. So now, there’s no way, I’m going to make it to work by 9am.

So now, I have to call in and tell them I’m going to be late, on my first day. Should I call the Recruiter I’ve been working with, my Hiring Manager whose number I don’t have, or my friend Sally. Which one will be able to explain that I am not a crazed lunatic that beats animals on the head to death?

Fast forward to just a week ago…
Karma pulled up from a run-off with another bone. Actually, it was part of a rib cage, I think. He’s so proud of himself when he shows up with pieces of a deer to show me!

I’m glad I didn’t almost die that day from a Coyote attack, or from any other Trail run, for that matter, but I'm ready to take him on.