The woman on the 7th floor...

Every building has one of those... The ultimately annoying unhappy grumpy one that sees a failure in everything and everyone they know.

I see this person almost everyday while entering the building.. unhappy about the quality of the food and coffee the canteen is serving.. or complaining about how terrible the job their colleagues are doing... Or sometimes just simply I hear them shouting at other people when the elevator door opens briefly between floors.

I still am fascinated by the elevator as an invention.. you'd be surprised how informative this mean of transportation is... You get to know news from all over the floors at the building you are at.. even business information that no one knows.. sometimes you get to know who the employees in the other departments and companies dislike or which boss is being rude and annoying, ironically.. sometimes you get to know who is being fired before that person does!

This one is special, in her own unhappy and uncomfortable way, how sometimes she can make someone feel uncomfortable out of nothing just by looking at them or by simply not returning a friendly smile. She really made me re-evaluate the way I talk to people, because you wouldn't believe how much a simple word can affect another person's day.

Yeah, it's obvious she is angry at everyone, maybe her shoes are too tight, or her coffee machine is broken, maybe her dieting is not working as well as she was hoping, maybe that relationship didn't work out the way she really was hoping it would, or perhaps her apartment is too empty because her family is too far away. What if her rent is too high and she barely can manage her expenses? What if all she needed was some help? or just simply love?

Sometimes you can try to hide behind that very thick layer of strength but all your mask will reflect is your very deep hidden loneliness. 

Woman in an elevator...

I briefly scanned her the minute she walked into the elevator, this small tiny room that transports people to their destinations, for a while, she looked tacky... obviously she didn't shower this morning, her lazy hair laying on her shoulders, her broken nail polish and swollen eyelids clearly indicated she didn't have enough sleep or woke up really late to work, barely had time to brush her teeth and get dressed.

And I coudln't help but notice that lazy walk... She was basically dragging her feet while walking... Yes I know... We are all sleepy, but we come here for one reason and one reason only... to WORK! Nobody cares if she was having a bad day.. No one gives a crap that she might have cried herself to sleep last night.. nor if her job was at risk because of a small mistake no one knows who made it... We are only there to "work" and be "machines" that are incapable of sympathy and understanding.


I felt the need to give the woman a break... in fact I felt bad for both of us.. Maybe her day was crappier than mine... maybe her 2 years old boy needs a nanny and she cannot afford one... (Yes, clearly she is a mom... no single lady would leave the house like this)... You might think: well if she can't afford one maybe she should stay at home! raise her own child... BUT.. Oh yeah... don't forgot... Money... we can't live without it these days can we? Rents are too high... expenses are ridiculous, family back home is depending on her probably...


Apologies to the random stranger lady in the elevator... we are not all understanding and compassionate. To a lot of people she's just a not very attractive working mom who probably lives in a cheap apartment somewhere in the city and wakes up early every morning to catch the bus to work. But to me... I saw a prisoner... trapped behind life's very tough bars that no one can escape nor defy, keeping her from reaching reaching her potentials and achieving her dreams.

To whom it may concern....

Just another diary, only this time it's not about me... and I'm not writing it for my children to read when I'm too old or dead. It's about the people around me... it's about the people i get to meet and interact with everyday, the "pass-by" individuals who come across my life for seconds, minutes... sometimes few hours... days or years and then disappear.. leaving small marks in my life that define my actions, feelings and views. 

I dedicate this blog to those who we never write about... we never remember... or notice them when they are gone.