The Elevator Debate

Do you ever wonder what to do when standing in the elevator with a complete stranger? How awkward is this? Let's say you are the first one in, headed to the 34th floor. Someone else gets in on the 2nd floor, heading to the 36th. You are going to be spending a considerable amount of time with this person.

Do you make small chat? "Weather sure is nice today", "Nice Elevator huh", "Check out those ergonomic buttons"

Do you stare straight at the ceiling while the other person does the same thing?

Do you look at your shoes? Make sure you are wearing some!

Do you look at your phone?

Does the other person look at their phone like they have been in a time warp and cant remember what time it was 14 seconds ago? Also, NO SERVICE! "Can't check the facebook account in here amigo"

Do you look at the buttons? Don't look at the buttons. The ceiling-stare is better than the button-watcher

Staring at your watch? Yep, just as I thought, 3 seconds after the last time I checked.

What if the person smells or has an egg salad sandwich in their bag? Do you plug your nose and make a scene? Maybe chuckle because you think they cut cheese?

Did the elevator stink before you got in and now the person who just stepped on thinks it was you? They think they are walking into your smoke screen?

What if the elevator is packed? Do you talk to everyone? Crack a good joke? No, no, just keep staring at the ceiling.

When you get off, do you say bye if you had some idle chit-chat?

Can you hit on someone in an elevator? I would say yes if you are in a place like Vegas, where rules don't really apply to anything. But if you are in a place of business, don't ruin the girl's day by trying to get her digits. She already had to listen to you yammer on about the dry muffin you just had at Starbucks.

What do you do?