lights out

If you had entered my building's lobby last night you would have been able to find quite a few of my elderly, infirm and obnoxious neighbors.

At around 6pm the lights went out in my building.  There was just enough outside light coming in through my living room for me to locate my phone, which has a fantastic flashlight feature.  I finished changing for rugby and stepped out into a pitch dark hallway.  As I was descending the stairs with my trusty phone flashlight I could hear loud mewling in the building lobby from at least three flights above.

When I arrived at the lobby I saw a lady who was berating our building's harried looking doorman.  Since the lights were out across the block I don't think that he could have fixed the problem.  Standing next to her was a British lady who was loudly demanding that the person on the other end of her phone line tell her when the problem would be fixed.  I then passed the elderly couple who always greet me in the morning when we share the lift and an elderly white man who I had never seen before.  Outside the lady who lives on my floor was patiently waiting in her wheelchair and chatting with a few other elderly residents.

I felt sorry for the building residents who require the use of the lift because they were stuck waiting in the lobby with the other unstable residents who seem to be downstairs losing their sh*t at every inconvenience.  Two years ago a major water main broke, sending an impressive flow of water down Wong Nai Chung Road, and the same crazy lady was berating a different harried doorman because she didn't have water for her shower.

Comments