Its pretty hard sometimes

to organize your thoughts and expell them onto a computer screen. I often find myself staring blankly at this glowing box, analyzing every possible way I could convey an idea. I usually get really confused with verb tenses and get so frustrated that I just quit, and move on to other things.

Today I am attempting the describe the old man that operates the elevator in my building. eMi is housed in a very old building most likely erected circa 1926. There is this ancient elevator that is immediately to your left after you enter the front door, and move up a flight of stairs. When I first saw it, I passed by quickly and gave it little notice, as I was too busy rushing into my soon to be office. When I looked at it more closely later, it was revealed to me that this was not any old elevator.

The elevator is built inside of a screen, much like the Arabic window opening known as a mashrabiya. This opening allows for people to see out of the structure when within it, while hiding them from the view of others. This concept is predicated on the nature of our eyes, and our inability to see dark areas, when viewing them from a bright place. This is all somewhat irrelevant to describing this elevator, but it seemed an interesting tangent. Back to the vertical circulatory device. It is really old and has to be manually operated by someone that is familiar with this ancient technology. This someone is a very old man, that looks much too old to be doing anything other than eating or watching cool tv shows.

This man sits there all day and transports people between floors. This is his only responsibility. He sits in a chair in the elevator and watches people pass by all day. When I am an old man I hope to do something rad like that, just chill and hang out with people. He seems less than content than I would expect however. Every time I see him, he seems to get older and sadder and less friendly. I wonder if this is because he realizes he is dying and is left alone everyday at the elevator to think back on his long life and all the oppurtunites he missed and the shots he never took. I think this might be what he is feeling but I have no way of knowing. After all, I'm not an old man. I think I will become friends with this guy. Maybe he can tell me some cool stories about the old days, and sneakers, and how he used to be a good boxer. I would like that.