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lousy elevator ride

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-eight years and a million words

Toronto, 2011.06.03

The elevators in our building are notorious for their poor behaviour; today I had my first real taste of their dysfunction.

The elevator rose normally to the fourth floor, where everyone else got off. Then a lady stepped on, and hit the '6' button. I was already dialed in for the eighth. We rose a floor and then wham—the elevator lurched to a back-jarring halt. "Shit," I exclaimed. Looking at the control board, I noticed that all of the buttons were "unpressed".

"Oh, don't say that," my in-mate then pleaded. I'm not sure if she was speaking to me or the elevator.

Pointing at the control board, I said, "Uh, I—"

The elevator began to slowly rise again. The two of us made worried sounds. Then—wham. It stopped again. "Oh, don't say that," the lady repeated. It then lurched upward dramatically, "Oh no," she called, reaching for me.

I started pressing buttons. Would it perhaps let us off at 7 or 8 before plunging to its doom?

But we passed seven at the new, higher speed. "Uh, fu-"

Ding! The doors opened on eight.

Quickly, we jumped off. The lady asked me, "Can I use your back door to get back down to four?"

I showed her where the door to the stairs was. "I think it's locked on each floor, you can't get back inside once you're out."

"I don't care!" she exclaimed.

I went back to me desk.

Three good things that happened today:

1. It's a beautiful day.

2. I met some interesting people at lunch.

3. I survived the elevator trip.

rand()m quote

One day you will take a fork in the road, and you're going to have to make a decision about which direction you want to go. If you go one way, you can be somebody. You will have to make compromises and you will have to turn your back on your friends. But you will be a member of the club and you will get promoted and get good assignments. Or you can go the other way and you can do something [...] for yourself. If you decide to do something, you may not get promoted and get good assignments and you certainly will not be a favorite of your superiors. But you won't have to compromise yourself. To be somebody or to do something. In life there is often a roll call. That's when you have to make a decision. To be or to do.

—John Boyd, US Air Force