I cursed. I closed my eyes hard and tried to escape to my happy place. I clenched my fists and dug my uncut nails deep into my palms. I was frustrated.
I had just missed the elevator as it left the ground floor of my university residence building. As I heard the doors close and saw the LED display change from "G" to "2" I became irritated. Ever since the second elevator for my 17 level, 408 person residence building broke down a week ago, I have found myself in this situation too many times. As the elevator made its way slowly to level 17 without me, I stood there nursing a stress-induced peptic ulcer and considered lying down for a nap while I waited for the lift to return.
It was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. I asked myself "Why is this elevator not fixed? Why is this elevator suck at the 9th floor?" I decided that some form of protest was needed. I needed to make a point but do so with as little effort as possible (as I am extremely lazy). Some bad ideas came to me.
"Speak with someone working in the residence office". Yeah, like that has ever resolved any issue I have ever had in the past. DUMB!
"Re-enact the Ten Plagues of Egypt in the residence office the next day." Nope, too Biblical, too messy and too hard to pull off a good Moses dress-up without a beard.
"Door knock at a few flats to collect signatures for some dissatisfied resident petition." Nah, too Jehova's witness-y and even if it wasn't, in the process of doing so, I would have to wait for the elevator many times and would become very frustrated.
Then I had a good idea. I would leave post-it notes on the elevator doors in the hope that others sharing my frustration would do the same and collectively we would send a message to the residence office.
The moment I stuck the last of the sticky notes to the broken elevator's lifeless doors, I felt myself slip into a state of ease and comfort. Even if no other resident was to add a post-it note, or worse, was to re-arrange my post-it notes to create some witty anagram, I was rid of my frustration.
So begins the exploration of my new coping mechanism, in which I utilize 76 mm canary yellow square notes to label everything that is wrong with the world.
Fun times ahead!
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