Thursday, April 30, 2015

Stairwell Mystery

One of the only things I hate about my building at work is that our stairwells are locked.  You can enter the stairwell on any story above the first floor, and you can exit on the first floor.  But you can enter on the first floor.  And if you enter on floor 2 or higher, the only place you can exit is the first floor, unless another door is somehow propped open.

It irritates the crap out of me.  Stairs are good for people!  Much healthier and more energy-efficient (well, not counting human energy) than taking the elevators. 

For a long time, I talked security into opening the stairwell on 1 for me, and then I texted my accounting buddy and got her to come open the door on our floor (9). 

But then building management determined that I should not be permitted to take the stairs.  Major irritation. 

Now, on days I run to work, I take the elevator up to 9, go to my office and check email while grabbing my shower bag and outfit for the day, and then I go fill my water bottle, then I head down the stairs to 1.  I prop the door open slightly behind me.  And when I get to 1, where the gym and locker rooms are, I prop the door open slightly.

I shower and get ready in the locker room, and about 30% of the time, the stairwell door has stayed propped open.  If that's the case, I trek on up to 9.  If the stairwell door has shut, very rarely I will take the elevator to 2 and then take the stairs up to 9.  Usually, if the stairwell on 1 is locked, I'm lazy and I just enjoy the ride up to 9. 

Well, today, the stairwell on 1 stayed open, so on the way up to my office, I took pictures of my current question. 

What do you think? 

 
I wish the quality of the photo was higher.  It was not there last week.  Is that cotton candy?  Or is something like asbestos or insulation?  Would I be able to tell if I touched it?  Or would I have to taste it? 

3 comments:

  1. Looks like typical fiberglass insulation to me ... which means you definitely do NOT want to ingest it. Truth in advertising ... fiberglass really IS glass fibers!

    As for the stairs situation ... ugh, that would annoy the crap out of me! I seek out stairs everywhere I go :)

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  2. alright, i got behind on reading your blog but now i'm all caught up and i want to say i'm SUPER happy you added a follow by email sign up! YAY!

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  3. I used to work in a law firm that had the same thing - if you got in the stairwell the only place you could get out was the first floor. My boss was in charge of recruiting and interviewing summer associates - one kid was a bit nervous and decided to walk from the 16th floor main reception to the 17th floor to where I would meet him. He didn't realize until he got into the stairwell that he had to walk down all 16 flights of steps before taking the elevator back up - he was a sweaty mess for his interview!

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