Go Up, Go Down, or GTFO!

I’ve written more than a few posts about elevators, people and elevator etiquette before, and as much as I try to ignore it, it still baffles me.

Just now, going to lunch, people approached the elevator bank slowly, oblivious to anyone around them. They then went to the button panel and pressed their chosen direction, and then stood in front of it, blocking anyone that might have wanted to choose the alternative.

Another time, we were stuck at the ground floor because the two men who’d maneuvered their way to be the first ones off the elevator, then had a politeness war with each trying to offer the other one the option to go first, then both looking behind them and deciding they should get out of the way and allow the women to go ahead.

There has been a theory put forth that people, on an elevator, tend to adopt the same positions as pips on dice. What I’ve actually found is that most people, especially when alone, adopt the same positions as a ninja. While it might seem natural to enter the car, move to the panel and then stay tucked in that corner, it can scare the heck out of someone boldly stepping into what looks like an elevator, only to have someone pop out and act as if such behavior is perfectly normal.

I kind of miss my morning elevator tales, but I’ve changed my shift to come in much earlier and don’t observe as much odd behavior from others. I also wear headphones a lot more which discourages chatter and conversation. Maybe that last part I don’t mind so much.

We often talk about adulting and people not knowing how to do it well. But viewing the way people behave around elevators — an frequently unique experience where you really aren’t thinking that anyone else but you exists — makes me think that a lot of us need to remember humaning/how to human too.

I’ll be honest, this post was mostly written to test whether a feature I’m trying to add¹ to my blog works, but it still turned into a nice little ramble. I am trying to write more in the moment as pre-written “future release” posts really aren’t my thing. And I’m trying to get away from the notion that each post has to “say something” or announce an event, or pull in a press release. I have years of posts many of which were barely 50 words about my day. And there ain’t nothing wrong with that!