I think the building management here is about to ban me from using the elevators. I’ve managed to make two go wonky in the past week.
Last week, I was using the freight elevator, going from the 5th to the 3rd floor. I get in, press 3, then Close. The doors close, and the elevator goes up. The display counts up to the 7th (top) floor, pauses, then goes down. The display counts down to 1, then <bang> the elevator makes a rather *firm * landing and the doors appear to open about a quarter-inch. The doors do not open any further. I press Open - nothing happens. I can see light through the doors, so I pretend I’m in a movie and pry the doors apart enough to climb out as the elevator went about two feet below the floor. The doors remain partly open, and I head over to the building office to let them know the freight elevator’s busted, then go back up on a regular elevator.
Last night, time to go home. I wait for an elevator to arrive where I am, on the third floor. I get in and press 1. The doors close, and it goes up. Up to the fourth floor, pauses, then goes down to the lobby on the first floor. At least this one landed normally and the doors opened as usual. On the way out, I tell the security guard that elevator #2 is misbehaving.
I hate elevators. My worst nightmares are always about wonky elevators. Twice in my life I’ve been in elevators that have “slipped.” By that I guess I mean fallen…luckily not far. The first was when I was in high school and my art class visited a multi-story furniture store to do some sketching. A few too many of us got on a rather elderly elevator and it descended rapidly to the basement. Luckily we were on the first floor so no real damage was done. The second time was in my former office buiding which was only a few years old at the time. A reasonable number of us got on a down elevator on the sixth floor. The doors shut. Suddenly all the floor lights on the button panel lit up, went haywire and then all the lights went out and the car plummeted down one floor. It was not fun. The doors would not open and we had to wait for the custodians to get us out. Another time in that same building decending to the lobby floor was a very HARD landing. I won’t even go into the times I got stuck in the dorm elevators in college. I really, no really, don’t like elevators.
[QUOTE=VunderBob]
We won’t go back. The menu was not surgery friendly, and the service sucked. My order may have been poisoned, come to think of it…
[QUOTE]
My parents went to a Red Robin recently (I’ve never been to one.), and although they didn’t have quite as bad an experience as you did, they said they wouldn’t go back either. The food was overpriced for what it was and the service was really slow. Don’t know if it’s the whole chain or just a couple bad restaurants, but it’s not on my list of places to try.
The elevator in my dorm used to get stuck all the time. I was once stuck in there for four hours–fortunately, I’m not claustrophobic. Even more fortunately, I had an entire pizza and a cute boy to share it with.
Of course, when I got back to my room, my roommates were not at all concerned with the time I’d been gone–rather, they wanted to know where the hell their pizza was.
i have nightmares about elevators that do bizarre things like shoot thru the roofs of buildings before going back down to the floor selected; or going sideways and never quite ending up where I want; or the doors closing just as I get to it, even tho I hollar “please hold”; or there never being the button for my floor; all sorts of weirdness - but never enough to keep me off them - with my knees, stairs are not really an option
My nightmares are usually about me driving off something very, very very high and not being able to stop myself. My friend Robyn didn’t realize that this is the reason I’m afraid of bridges, and therefore told me a story about somebody driving off the Tappan Zeewhile I was driving on the friggin’ Tappan Zee!!!
I have not driven over it since. When we go to Maine (like we’re doing this weekend), Roomie drives until we get to Connecticut.
Thesepictures more accurately articulate my terror. I can never decide if I hate the flat part or the arch part more. I have visions of myself just suddenly turning right and plowing throug the guardrail for no reason whatsoever.
I’ve been meaning to update from last week’s MMP - the ceramics classmate who was all bossy britches apologized to me this past week. Apparently someone else in the class pointed out to her after I’d left that she’d been out of line. Miss Priss said she used to be a teacher and for some reason, she was in a bad mood that day and she’d slipped into that mode.
I was nice and didn’t tell her I’d strained my eyes from rolling them so much that week. And, in reality, I’ve had to deal with many more annoying folks than she. I don’t get into confrontations - I just non-verbalize. Then I come on line and bitch about it! It works for me, and I won’t mess with success!
Remember the scene in Annie Hall, where Christopher Walken describes his death vision of suddenly swerving into oncoming traffic to “end it all”; then he drives Woody Allen and Diane Keaton to the airport. . . .
I have visions like that, but never on the highway, only on residential streets . . .
Man, now I want to do the Bay Bridge Tunnel!! ** FCD** and I were looking for a weekend getaway thing - maybe a trek down that way? I must toss that idea out.
We did the Bay Bridge/Tunnel just a couple months ago. I frankly didn’t find it nearly as neat as I’d hoped I would – it probably didn’t help that it was a really grey day and so there was hardly any shipping out to look at, plus the tunnels are just a little too old and narrow for my claustrophobic self. I’ve managed to conquer most of my post-Northridge claustrophobia – there’s nothing like being 10 miles from ground zero of a huge quake to awaken fears in you you didn’t know you had – but tunnels still cause me problems.
I also hate elevators if they act even slightly wonky. The fact that I knew a lady who fell six stories :eek: :eek: in an elevator, breaking both her legs in the process, doesn’t help. I have lots of elevator anxiety dreams to this day. Sometimes, though, like last night, I have cool turbolift-style elevator dreams which are fun, where the elevator goes up and down and around and through to take me where I’m trying to go. Turbolift dreams are good. Too-small plummeting elevator dreams are bad.
I love big bridges, though – which is a good thing since I had to cross the Crescent City Connection any time I wanted to go anywhere, including to work, when I lived in New Orleans. And I love crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge up at this end of the bay; the view is spectacular. Draelin, they have pull-offs on both sides with a phone number to call to have someone drive you across the bridge, in case you ever need to cross it.
I haven’t got a lot to say. I got my belly button pierced! So trendy and surfer-girl, I know, but my best friend from dance and I did it together. I might take a picture of it and post later if I can get my sister to let me use her camera.
I really, no really, don’t like elevators.
I drove it once about ten years ago. And then I had to stop on the other side and lay down for a little while.
