
Unwitting Participant
In June this year I somehow graduated from university. A month later I surprisingly got a job. I’m not sure if I was employed out of curiosity or for the potential a may be harnessing. I have studied in China for the past four years. Let me just say, I’m not particularly the best student there is out there. I can’t even speak or understand much of the Chinese language after four years!
Anyway, I’ve been at this job going on two months now. I take the subway to work every morning for approximately two hours. I get up at about 5:45am to get ready for work so I’m deprived of a lot sleep as you can imagine. I have to take three different metros (S1, Line 3 & S8) to get to work. There was one switch that always fascinates me, Line 3- S8.
When switching from S8 - line 3, there’s always a number of commuters that come running to the corner at the back of the stairs. For a long time, it never made sense to me why they ran like that until I tried it sometime last week. Turns out there is an elevator that takes you directly to Line 3! What I still don’t understand is why they are so many that head to the elevator. The maximum carrying capacity is 13 people. But when I think about it, waiting for the elevator beats taking the stairs. In the moment, taking the stairs feels like going into a maze shoulder to shoulder with a hundred people.

You’d think seeing people do this every day would keep me woke, keep me from falling for these ‘zombie’ antics. Nope, not me. I’m different!
At my arrival station, Getang, there’s an option to take the stairs or an elevator to the ground floor where all the taxis and buses are found. This morning as I walked towards the elevator, it began to close so I decided I’d take the next one. Firstly, because I wasn’t about to start running for elevators. Secondly, I was still afar off and lastly-probably the most important reason- I am lazy. I’d need to weigh a few options before I begin running even if it was to save my own life.
Ahead of me, a few ‘proactive’ people ahead of me ran and managed to catch the elevator. This happened again. So I decided I might as well run and catch this one. I ran and caught the elavator. After I got in the same thing happened. Twice! Then I realized. No one had actually pressed the button to go to the ground floor this is how everybody was getting the chance to catch the same damn lift!
As I pressed number 1 button, I realized how I had unwittingly participated in the same zombie movement I made fun of…
