Executive Wife Action Doll

It finally happened.
After years of paranoid nighmares that I would crash in an elevator (thank you THE EXORCIST), I got stuck in one.
I was stuck for 30 minutes -- It felt like two hours.

(no Musak to pass the time either!)

Allow me to set the scene:
The office manager forgot she had an Express package that needed to ship today and I hadn't been out of the office at all, so (no good deed goes unpunished) I offered to take it down to the drop box for her.

Now, I've been thinking for awhile now that I should take the stairs since we are on a lower floor, but... (yeah, I know). So I took the elevator down with no incident, dropped the package off, even went for a little walk around the building to stretch my legs... (scintillating, my life is)...I get on the elevator and notice someone approaching as the doors close. I do what anyone in a good mood would do (despite my thoughts of "leave it, they'll catch the next one") and press "DOOR OPEN."

The door stops halfway.

I press "DOOR OPEN" again and nothing happens.

I press "DOOR CLOSE" and the door closes -- or so I think until the elevator starts moving up.
I stop singing SISTERS and look at the door when I hear the door mechanism on the car hit the door mechanism on the shaft (word of the day it seems) and ... the elevator stops.

The door is open two inches and I am stuck 11 inches below my floor.

SPECIAL NOTE TO BUILDING ENGINEERS: Make sure the phones in your elevator cars actually dial a WORKING NUMBER. I pressed the alarm bell, not loud and obnoxious, just enough to get someone's attention.
I noticed the emergency phone and figured, "what the heck" and give it a try.
"We're sorry. The number you have dialed has been changed to ###-###-####. Please make a note of it." (Not very reassuring folks. )
Finally one of my building neighbors calls the building engineer and lets my office mates know where I am.
SPECIAL NOTE TO WOULD-BE RESCUERS: Don't, I repeat, DON'T try to pry the doors open when someone is stuck in an elevator. I know, they always do this in the movies and on Television but there isn't a stunt team waiting to take over if you screw up. All you will do is break the equipment further and risk the life of whoever is in the elevator. Leave it to the professionals so if something goes wrong, they get sued.
The building engineer realized the door mechanisms weren't working so he decided to "reset" the elevator. While he was figuring out how to do this, my co-workers had this to say:

1. Are you O.K.?
2. I can see you (they weren't interested in my "would-be rescuers" advice).
3. Maybe we should open the door and you just step up?

While this is going on, the building engineer calls me on the emergency phone. SECOND NOTE TO RESCUERS: don't figure things out out loud. It generally isn't a good idea for the person you are supposed to be helping to hear you panic.
And now for the grand ACTION ADVENTURE FINALE: he reset the elevator, I pressed "DOOR CLOSE" again, and the doors closed! BUT THE ELEVATOR DOESN'T MOVE..(Wow, you've been on pins and needles this whole time. Right?) ...so I press my floor's button and, Tada! I am safely delivered to my floor to hugs and applause. (and a Nabisco cookie -- one of my co-workers thought I would be famished after my ordeal.)

You've made it this far, so I can tell you the BEST PART: I didn't look at the package I was given so neither the office manager or I noticed that it didn't have a label on it. (All dat fo nuttin!)