Elevator Cat Walk

Working in New York is not that different from working anywhere else. BUT working for a really large company has distinct idiosyncrasies. Take, for example, the level of security. Both a badge and a fingerprint check are required. Pretty space age.

But the really interesting part of the Big Company scene is just the sheer number of people showing up for work every day. Throngs and throngs of people pouring out of the subways, marching like little pengins to the various office buildings in the financial center.

So many are heading toward my company alone, that there are two distinct traffic jams:

• one at the 8 or so security kiosks
• one at the elevator bays

For my floors (38-52), there are about 10 elevators. Starting at about 8:45 and lasting through about 9:20, people line up to wait for elevators. This creates an interesting "elevator cat walk phenomenon."

People group themselves near a certain elevator, waiting for it to open so they can ride up. Because of the huge numbers of people, there's no way you can be stationed across the bay and expect to make it on an elevator at the other end. This creates a kind of "cat walk" or "receiving line" by which everyone can see and be seen in the morning - checking out who's wearing what, who is arriving when and who is talking to whom. It's a veritable society breakfast/new york fashion (or un-fashion) show, as the case may be.

It certainly makes one pause while getting dressed each morning and asking the question, 'How will this outfit fare on the "elevator cat walk."'