. You see... I am actually WORKING!! Yes, I now have a full time job... perhaps I will write more about my job later on. Anyway, this story is about my observations at work...
My office is on the 32nd floor of the Menara Lion Suzuki building... naturally, we have express elevators to get up that high. As you can imagine, we have quite a few lifts in the building and during peak hours (e.g. lunch time) heaps and heaps of people move up and down. Well, some of them are naturally in a rush... but what I can't understand is why do people continuously push the "elevator calling button"?? Picture this... there is a bunch of people who are waiting for the elevator in the foyer... one is always in a hurry and that person is the one who keeps on pressing the button over and over again. What is the point? Does that person think that by pushing on the button continuously, he / she is manually pumping the elevator to arrive faster? Perhaps that person doesn't know that once a button is pressed, the signal is already activated that you can't activate it "more". It is either a yes / no situation... the same thing happens at pedestrial crossings... you know, pressing the button so that the lights will change in your favour? Weird huh? These people think that by continuously pressing on the buttons, things will move faster... NOT!
I have to admit that a majority of Malaysians are rather rude and uneducated. We have heaps of people moving up and down in the elevators and at times, the elevator cars does tend to get rather packed. The stupid thing about Malaysians (I have NEVER experienced this in Australia) is that as soon as the car doors open, the ones who are waiting to get in rush in... and the people who are already in the car have to squeeze to get out! I mean, come on... if the car is packed, logic would denote that people have to get out before you can get it for there isn't any space!! Correct?? I find that this is especially true amongst non-executives. Of course, there is a mad struggle for people to get out as well... so there is a minor human traffic jam. These people literally stand 6 inches away from the doors and as soon as they open, they push their way in. Talk about your all time rude... not a day goes by at work when I don't experience this.
Here is another button pushing exercise that I have noticed. Picture this... you are waiting for an elevator and you have already pressed the relevant button. Then someone comes along and pushes the same button! Do these people think that just because you pushed the button, the elevator isn't going to come? Do they think that they possess some sort of magic touch that only they have? Do they think that things only work for them and not for other people?
People tend to make themselves as small as possible in an elevator... it doesn't matter if they elevator car is packed or not. You see, humans in general are quite protective of their personal space and they feel violated if that space is invaded. Sociological and psychological studies have proven this. Humans in general don't like to touch strangers or even co-workers. These people are conscious of this and are thus being considerate to other people... but then, there are those who don't care! There are those who take up as much room as possible in the elevator car.
Have you ever noticed how people act in elevator cars? Some tend to talk to one another... usually in a hushed tone (but then, after they leave the car... they become louder and more chatty). But a majority of them just stand facing the door, looking up at the floor counter. Naturally, this is the logical thing to do but if I were an alien being observing this, I would think that human beings all have a neck problem. Now, this also happens in those elevators which have those robotic voices announcing the floor. What else are people supposed to do in elevators?
I would love to "do" security in a building one day. I would love to be in charge of elevator security... that way, I can observe what people do when they are alone in the elevators. All elevator cars have some sort of reflective material... people are constantly checking their reflection in elevators. If the cars don't have mirrors (a rare occurance), the doors are always metallic and you can see yourself in it. I have noticed that some people are constantly grooming themselves in the cars... it doesn't matter if the cars are packed or not... people are always checking their reflection in the cars. It would be fun to watch people pick their nose or straighten out their underwear or something... I am pretty sure that a lot of people forget that there are security cameras in elevators.
Seeing that I am on the topic of elevators... I am willing to bet you didn't know that there is a law in Singapore prohibiting people from peeing in elevators . It is interesting that a law actually exists.
Another thing that I have observed is that when there are two people in the elevator car, both parties tend to stand at opposite ends of the car... it doesn't matter if the other party is a stranger or not.
Seeing that you are packed in a tiny space with other people, people tend to hold in their bodily excrements till they get out e.g. coughs, sneezes, farts etc. That is the polite thing to do... I mean, you don't want to share your germs and unearthly smells with strangers do you? I have noticed how people tend to get embarassed when they accidentally let out a cough or sneeze. They try to be as discrete about it as possible which is fair enough... but then, don't you hate it when someone lets out a large fart in an elevator? The whole car absolutely stinks up and no one says or does anything... they just look embarassed (for some really weird reason seeing that they aren't the offender), politely cover their noses and continue looking at the elevator counter. If there is space, they will move away from the offender... this is also true if a person has a bad case of body odour.
Next time you have to take an elevator... take notice of what happens around you... it really is quite interesting.
