How to Get Out of An Elevator - One Day in the Life of Me
Posted: Sunday, January 10, 2010
by Teresa Ortiz
Freelance writer/Speaker
In the spirit of this "How To" season here on SearchWarp, I have decided to add my "How To" to
the list of helpful information.
The company I work for is located on the second and third floors of a 10 story building; not a big deal to 99% of the population, but to someone who has a bad case of Claustrophobia and whose biggest fear is getting trapped in an elevator, this is a very big deal!
~~~~~~~~
8:15 am :
Step into the elevator in the basement of the parking garage - take a deep breath because the door takes one half of a second too long. Exhale when the doors open.
8:19 am:
Step into the elevator on the ground floor of the building. Smile at the others in the elevator while being grateful that I will not be the only one trapped, but also wondering how much more of my air they will breathe if we did get trapped.
8:22 am:
Say a prayer of thanks that I did not get trapped in the elevator.
11:00am:
Step into the elevator, swipe the magnetic key pad and press "2" several times until it lights up. Stop at the 7th floor, because the key pad didn't accept the magnetic key. Panic because the door does not open. Take a deep breath, swipe the key pad again. Smile because the elevator begins to move again. Get frustrated because the elevator does not stop on the second floor, but stops on the ground level because again, the magnetic key pad does not accept the key card.
11:02am:
Panic because the door still doesn't open. Pressing buttons avail nothing. Stop. Breathe. Ponder the thought of hitting the help button, while wondering how many people are laughing through the monitors hooked to the hidden cameras that must be in the elevator.
11:05am:
Hit the "open door" door button....
~~~~~
Maybe I am exaggerating; maybe this is a true story, this is really not the issue.
The important thing to remember is that when you are in an elevator and the door doesn't open - hit the "open door" button - because this my friends, is how you get out of an elevator.
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Top-level comments on this article: (10 total)Teresa,My first laugh in the morning. Sorry, didn't mean to make it sound like I don't sympathize but you have that wonderful humor. My advice? Find a job on a one level building but, in the meantime, keep on breathingl. It really does help.Good morning Nancy!I'm so happy I could be your first laugh of the day :-)Seriously, it figures I would get a job that consisted of so many elevators. Taking the one down to the basement parking garage is always fun. Usually I am not alone. Sheesh! Maybe God is telling me its time to get over this irrational phobia of mine. Have a wonderful day!I got over my fear of flying once I "saw" His huge hand following along right underneath the plane....
If you were anywhere but LA I'd say to walk up the stairs and get some great exercise but that might be more scary than the elevator (not exercise but LA stairwells?) Hugs, MarijoYeah, um, I tried the stairs, had to go all the way to ground level because the doors were locked, and I do not care to take the stairs again. Hugs to you!
I am a terrible person because picturing you panicking in the elevator had me laughing. Hard. My friend recently got stuck in an elevator for a short time, once out decided to take the stairs, then the doors locked behind her and she realized she was locked in the stairwell. The main door of the city building had been open, but there was no one working due to a stat. holiday. She had to call on her cell for help.I'm a terrible friend, because I laughed at her story too. Sorry Teresa, but thank you. I needed that.Brianna you are far from a terrible person. The whole reason I shared this fictitious story is to give my friends a laugh. So I am glad I was able to help you in some small way. And I do feel for your friend, Oh My! I feel her pain. By the way, I laugh at the worst things too :-) Blessings to you....meanie butt. lol
Sage advice Teresa :) For a second I had visions of you trapped in a lift like Twitterer extraordinaire Stephen Fry famously was, but from the timings it seems like you followed your own advice and reaped the reward of freedom!Well thank you Ben :-) I haven't heard of Stephen Fry, but I am glad I found my way to freedom nonetheless!! Thanks for the comment. Happy new year to you!
Cute article. Thanks for the lift up. Linda D
Hi Linda, I'm glad you were lifted up :-) Hugs, Teresa
» left by efoghorjos
from Bonny Island, Nigeria 2 years 25 days ago.
18 fans. Follow efoghorjos on twitter!Thanks for this lecture. The use of elevator can be so frightening for some people really.Hello Efoghor, welcome to searchwarp! Thanks for stopping by. I look forward to reading some of your work. Blessings to you!
You need to take a lesson from Gil. Just sit down, chill and get rescued by lots of cute firemen.LOL! I hadn't thought of being rescued by lots of cute firemen...hhmmm :-) I hope all is well in Eugene. I miss all of you!
hi t,even though this comes across as a funny article (very clever), i know the panicof being stuck in small places. i am scared to death to cross long bridges, go into elevators, or ride in backed up traffic-how would they get to me if something were to happen? claustrophobia is a concern for all that suffer through it, and i'm right there with you.if you look up, you will know who allowed you to get off that elevator, and not be stuck for hours:)thanks for sharing,my best,sueHi Sue - my good friend, how are you? It has been rough getting back into the grove. I miss you! Glad you enjoyed this - talk to you soon! Hugs, t
Very helpful!
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