pondering the boundaries of small talk.

the elevator at my place of work has been broken for the past 2 days (not like its usual level of operation ever seems to be more than a mere cable away from broken), which is turning into a bit of a nuisance. one would say "take the stairs, since you haven't been to the gym in 2 weeks", and i would, happily, as i'm only on the third floor. however, our stairwell is something out of a horror movie - i'm not exaggerating, its narrow and dank with little alcoves where someone could hide..they could seriously film Saw 76 in there - and when i have no choice but to use them, i run down as though my life depended on it. if there's a camera (or surveillance alarm clock) in the area, i'm certain security gets quite the laugh when i flee down the stairs.

so with the stairs a life-threatening option, our only other choice right now is the service elevator. which moves much faster (read: normal elevator speed) than our usual one, so that's nice; but it also services the entire apartment building we're connected to, and thus takes awhile to get back down from floor 25. which means a longer wait time than usual. which means, getting to know your building neighbors.

so i've seen this guy in the elevator before - he works on the floor below us, and is always super chatty with coworkers of mine. as i've never been formally introduced to him as i've only nodded in agreement while he talked to others i was standing with, nor am i much of an "elevator chat-ter" in general, when i saw him approaching i did my usual "hi, we're both waiting for the elevator" smile but didn't make any overtures towards conversation. he immediately did.

which was fine. at first. he introduced himself, asked how long i've been working here, commented on the current elevator situation, the weather - it was your totally normal morning small-talk between two strangers. then we segued into uncharted territory:

chatty guy: you know, its always so nice to meet new people, especially since new york is such a big place.
chrissy: oh, i know.
c.g.: i mean, i've been here for 10 years already and its still so hard for me to make friends.
chrissy (to self): isn't there a big difference between "meeting new people in an elevator" and "making friends"?
chrissy (aloud): yea, that can be difficult sometimes.
c.g.: especially friends to hang out with on the weekends.
chrissy (to self): is he suggesting i become a weekend friend?
chrissy (aloud): mm-hmm.
c.g.: you know, it can get very lonely in this city...
elevator door opens on c.g.'s floor. he steps out. chrissy rejoices.
chrissy: have a good one!

while i don't necessarily think he was angling for a space on my weekend agenda, if he had been, why on earth would he take the "i'm so lonely, i have no friends" route? since when did personal relationship issues (well, or lack thereof) become fodder for elevator talk? save it for therapy! and people wonder why i err on the side of silence. maybe now i need to work on my "i'm a bad listener" face...