I know what some of you are thinking… Wow, it’s been a while since Girl got stuck in an elevator.  Well, fear no longer, it just happened.  For those of you who don’t know, I tend to get trapped places.  It’s not a good characteristic and I tend not to list it on job applications. 

Today, my boss sent me to fetch her a cup of coffee, a daily occurrence.  It is the only time during the day I take the elevator – because I have to.  (We’re not allowed to walk through the Museum with food or beverages so the stairs are not an option).  So, I get in the elevator (1 of 3) that we’re supposed to use when we have food and/or beverages.  Great.  I’m in the elevator.  The doors are closing and – nothing.  The doors are left open, a sliver of the outside world is still visible, but the elevator is clearly dead.  I stand still, wondering if there was an earthquake and I missed it.  Nope.

There are still lights on outside the elevator, so I assume no power outage.  Do I just wait in there?  I don’t know.  Am I supposed to pry the doors open?  I don’t know.  It’s not like I’m in between floors or something.  I could open them, I supposed, but is that bad for the elevator?  Could I even do it from the inside (as most elevators allow prying the doors open from the outside in but not in reverse)?  I decide to wait for a minute to see if it turns back on – it doesn’t.  I’m just hanging out in an elevator… while my boss waits for her coffee.  She’s a patient person, so probably hasn’t started to miss me yet.  My cell phone gets no coverage in the elevator. 

Finally, I try the doors and… nothing.  They won’t open from the inside.  So, more waiting for someone to happen by.  Great.  After a minute, I hear talking in the distance.  Someone has come out of the other elevators and, woohoo, they are going to the office, which means they have to pass my elevator.  It’s the Director’s Assistant and the Ops Manager.  Awesome!  I do what all damsels in distress do, as I wanted them to hear me – I yelled “Help!  Please get me out!” 

They seemed surprised and the Dir. Asst. looked horrified at my predicament.  The Ops Mgr. is surprised, but killer cool, so he immediately drops his stuff and, you know, gets me out of the elevator.  My Hero!!!!  He didn’t even phone it in first, as I was the first priority.  Fabulous!!!  Then, he calls it in, alerting the security staff (who have video feed of the entire place, including inside that elevator, so you think they would have noticed either the feed dropping out or me hanging out in the elevator for a ridiculous amount of time, but whatevs), the facility department, and the engineers that the elevator is powerless. 

My boss, who had a concerned expression when I returned, was happy to have her coffee and asked me what happened.  I explained the story and she was comendably sympathetic.  She let me tell the entire tale, wasting five minutes of her (very precious) time… I hate elevators.  I always have, ever since my first being-trapped-in-an-elevator experience.  As these experiences go, it wasn’t bad.  I give it three stars out of a possible five.