My alarm went off last night and this is what I learned

I moved into a new apartment recently and found out one of the doors has a faulty alarm sensor. But I learned that the hard way. So 30 minutes after I had laid down, and already half asleep, my alarm beeps loudly to let me know a door has been opened. This is how I found out about this faulty sensor. But in the moment, this is what I learned/realized:1. It took me about 3-4 seconds just to realize that it was my alarm that had beeped and not my neighbors (you can hear the alarm beeps of the apartment next to mine)2. I keep my gun in my CCW holster in my nightstand, top drawer. It took me several more seconds to find the drawer handle, open it, reach in, find the grip of my gun, get up from bed, and unholster my gun.3. At this point I realize I can't see shit because it's dark but also because I'm not wearing my glasses4. I fumble all along my nightstand trying to find my glasses while also focusing on my bedroom door, aiming my gun at the door, and listening for steps, movements, noises, etc5. I finally have my glasses on and now I've come to a decision point. Do I turn on my bedroom light and announce which room I'm in? Do I leave it off? Do I just stop and listen? Do I move forward quickly to secure the stairwell? I live on the second floor apartment but the stairs to reach the second floor are inside i.e. you open the front door and climb a set of stairs to reach my apartment.6. Luckily I have the WiFi Philips Hue lightbulbs in my stairwell, so I tell Google to turn on those lights (never even thought how handy this could be in a situation like this)7. I open my bedroom door and enter my living room. At this point I need to make a decision: do I move forward to the stairs, do I sweep my kitchen which is to my right, do I aim at the stairs or my kitchen as I walk, etc8. In the end, it was just my faulty door sensor but it made me realize how many steps I need to take in order to have my firearm at the ready and able to actually aim/focus on a threat. It's also made me much more aware that I need a plan were this to have been a real intruder i.e. do I secure my bedroom only, do I approach and lock my bedroom door, do I take the time to get my AR15 from it's case under my bed, what if my spouse was sleeping with me that night, what/where do I tell them to do/go, who/what is on the other side of my apartment walls (neighbors sleeping, other guests in my house, etc), is my 9 round Shield 9mm enough to protect me and my household?TL;DR: Have a plan for when shit goes down in your home, and practice the steps you'll take. via /r/CCW https://ift.tt/2LzXS2y