24 YC: Be friendly to a stranger in the elevator...24 times
Dear Jules definitely struck a cord with her challenge. Being friendly to a stranger in the elevator is not the easiest thing to do- besides the limited time window, the general disinterest, the complexity of opening lines and the very real possibility of failure- I AM HORRIBLE WHEN IT COMES TO HUMAN INTERACTION. Seriously, I'm just too weird to pull it off properly.
My mother put it best when she said I'm more of an acquired taste. It takes a long time for me to warm up to people enough to have a decent conversation with them and even longer for them to understand my humor. So being friendly to 24 strangers ain't gonna be easy. But of course, I'll try. Here goes:
Stranger #1- Cute guy in my building elevator.
Me: Hey... question...do you watch Homeland?
Him: Um...yeah. Why?
Me: If we plan a viewing party [side note- this was actually in the works] for the premiere, would you go?
Him: Yeah, probably. My roommate loves it, he'd totally go. Why, are you planning one?
Me: Well, I'm working on it. I'll keep you posted.
THE END.
Stranger #2- Old man in work elevator.
Him: Oh you clearly haven't been outside today.
Me: Huh?
Him: It's really very warm. You won't need that jacket.
Me: Huh. No, I haven't been outside. It's so cold in my office. It's freezing. I guess you might be right.
Him: Trust me, you won't need it.
At this point the elevator doors open and we both awkwardly walk in silence to the door. The old man was right. It was an unseasonably warm day and I hit a wall of humidity and that special New York stench the second I walked out.
Him: I told you.
Stranger #3- Ginger man in my building elevator.
I was craning my neck to figure out what book he was reading (never said I wasn't awkward), when ginger man noticed and decided to just silently show me the cover. It was something by Salman Rushdie.
Me: Ha. Thanks.
Him: My aunt published it in the seventies, so I thought I'd read it.
Me: Wow that's really cool! Is it any good?
Him: So far so good.
Me: Cool. Bye!
Stranger #4- Spanish speaking couple in my building elevator.
Me (to her, after recognizing her accent as one of my own): De donde eres?
Her: De Puerto Rico.
Me: (thanks captain obvious) De que pueblo?
Her: De guaynabo.
Me: Ahh, yo de Las Marias.
Him: Ah, no eres de Guayamon?
Her: Que no es Guayamon, sino Bayamon y Guaynabo.
Him: Pero al principio me confundia y le decia eso a sus papas.
Me: Jaja... bye!
THE END.
Stranger #5- Girl wearing Georgetown sweatshirt in my building elevator.
Me: What year were you?
Her: 2008. You go to Georgetown?
Me: Well... I did. I'm 2011.
Her: I'm always bumping into Georgetown people in the city, starting at work..
Me: Same here. Where do you work?
Her: Citi.
Me: Oh! I have a few friends that work there, maybe you know---
Her: --yeah, no. Too many to know them all.
Me: O...k...
Her: Also in this building, so many.
Me: I know! I see people in the laundry wearing Hoya Saxa tshirts all the time.
THE END.
Stranger #6- Lady in work elevator.
Me: Ugh I hate it when I have to turn back for something after I leave.
Lady:
She was totally not having it. Instead she stared at those number buttons in the elevator so hard I thought she was going to set them on fire, leaving me feeling dejected all the way to floor #2.
Stranger #7- Girl with Dog in my building elevator.
Dog starts madly barking at me.
Me: Hi baby! Are you going to bite me or is this you being friendly? Can I come closer? [to dog, not girl. That would be extra creepy]
Girl: She'll be friendly.
Dog goes NUTS, running in circles and yapping and doing her thing. I had nightmarish flashbacks of the one time I doggie-sat.
Me: Woah. That's A LOT of energy.
Girl: Yes, we're about to walk it off.
Me: Good luck with that. Bye.
Stranger #8- Lady in work elevator.
Me: It's so nice out today, no?
Lady: Yes, it is. It's supposed to be like this all week.
Me: Really? That's awesome!
Lady: Yes, should make for a good weekend.
FIN.
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