The Time I Got Stuck In A Vestibule At Work

To explain the ridges security system of this office:

• Visitors only have access through the front of the building - they must be buzzed in.
• Visitors have no access to inner doors unless accompanied by someone with a card
• Employees have cards to scan ourselves into the lobby - then into the working space
• Employees can only gain access through the front and back entrances. 
• Anyone can exit through any door. 
• Front and back entrances are filmed - other doors are not

I do this thing where I walk through the office to exit on the other side of the building which puts me closer to my car while keeping me in somewhat climate controlled and carpeted space. It reduce my time outside without adding any unnecessary steps.

To outline, my goal:

• As few steps as possible
• As little time outside as possible

There are two exits which put me an equal distance from my car - one is through a conference room and the other is outside the copy room on a length of hallway. In my obsessive need for maximum efficiency, I don't go through the conference room even though it is actually a little closer to were I park.

Reasons: I cannot see if the conference room is being used until I am standing at the door - if it is, I would have to walk back all the way back to the hall door. The way I average it, if there is one meeting a month in the conference room, I would have walked about 1 million more miles than necessary. Where if I only use the hall exit, I might walk more steps outside but I am walking less steps overall.

Wild card - the hall door opens to the outside so you need a card to get it to unlock. But, then it opens to a vestibule requiring you to have a scan card to unlock the actual external door and taste sweet, sweet freedom.

This is the only vestibule set up in the entire complex. All other external doors are just sitting there. You scan or are scanned and walk out. Since this is the only set-up, our security minded facilities crew got drunk and decided how they would make this area impervious to the outside world.

I imagine the conversation went like this:

Dude 1: Do you think we should hire actual security people?
Dude 2: I feel like I could make good security decisions. After all, we have Google!
Dude 1: That sounds like Leadership potential right there!
Dude 2: Ok, listen. We'll give everyone these scan cards they have to use to get into the building through any door. I saw that in a movie once. And to get out, too, they need to have the cards or the doors won't open.
Dude 1: That's f**king brilliant! Wait. What about in the event of a fire? People could be trapped and might sue us. Hmmm...
Dude 2: Ok, when the fire system goes off, anyone can exit?
Dude 1: How much does that cost?
Dude 2: 1 billion dollar.
Dude 1: That will really cut into the badge production. Besides, if we spend less, more for us.
Dude 2: F**k
Dude 1: Ok, how about this. No one needs a card to exit the building but...here's the savings-idea, people can only get into the building through the front and back entrance. We will even set up cameras to film people coming in.
Dude 2: What about people leaving?

Dude 1: F**k that sh**! I don't care if people work forever and die here. I only care about people entering.
Dude 2: You're right. That is logical.

I'd be safe if the conversion had ended there.

Dude 2: Did you see this on the blueprints? This is a box of space here with two doors. That's different. It's a vestigial vestibule!

Dude 1: I know what we have to do. Allow anyone to walk from the inside into the vestibule. But they need a card to get out of the second door.
Dude 2: Why would you do that? It's an exit, right? Why couldn't they just walk out both doors?
Dude 1: What if someone comes to the external door and breaks into the vestibule? Because no one can see them in that space, then they would be able to get into the building by the copy room. We can't have that. I say we lock that exit down. Also, they have to scan to get into the area. Yes! That is how it shall be! Scans everywhere!
Dude 2: Brilliant! Let's do that! This building is complete secure from forces we have yet to identify! Hey, how about we set timers that after something is scanned, it auto-locks for an arbitrary period of time? But, the catch is, we don't tell anyone.
Dude 1: Y.E.S!

I walked down the hall and scanned myself into the vestibule and walked to the external door and it beeped red meaning it knew I had a scan card to exit, but, I had not moved fast enough from the one door to the outside door and it locked down. I looked over my shoulder and saw the other door close - there is no card reader at that door because you can only enter the building through the two main entrances and this door enters the building... 

I was literally stuck in the vestibule. I could not re-enter the building and I could not exit. My thoughts were (in order):

• This is stupid
• I'm going to take a picture of how close the outside world is
• I can't go forward
• I can't go backward
• This is like my life
• No one is coming
• I'm doing to die here
• Will anyone miss me if I do die?
• THIS IS WHAT YOU WERE TRAINED FOR!

Actions taken:

• I knocked on the hall door but since it faces the copy room and no one else is really around it, no one heard me. Plus, it was the end of the day so no one was in the cubes closest too me
• I tried the external door again - no luck. It was still locked
• I attempted to card the lock. No luck
• I checked my phone - everyone at work had already left for the day that I could text. The one person I did text did not reply
• I had no items of which to break the window or door
• I brainstormed pulling the fire alarm - but the door would not open, I knew this, and everyone knew I went home so no one would come looking for me if they actually counted people

Then it happened - someone else walked through the door!

Maddie: OMG, don't let that door close!

Lady: AHHH!!!! (She also had an Indian accent which made her sound far smarter than me)

Maddie: I have been trapped in here for 20 minutes!!

Lady: No, you just need to wait a minute and the other door opens.
Maddie: It's been 20 of those minutes!
Lady: No, I don't think so
Maddie: ...

She walked to the external door and it unlocked, she opened it and we both walked out.

Further research into this situation showed that when she walked into the vestibule, her scan card reset everything in the area and after about two second the external door unlocked as it normally would since the hall door closed behind her.

And that's the story of how I got stuck in the vestibule and plan to trap future enemies in said vestibule.