Dropped Keys

This is the first time it's happened to me/us. The little one insisted on engaging in her almost daily routine of opening the letter box. She still has some problems doing it properly as there is a certain technique of turning the key which she hasn't mastered yet. So the little one (not so little anymore actually as she turns 4 on Monday) passed the keys and a single letter to me after the job was done but I asked her to hang on to it and pass it to her papa, since I was holding on to so many bags. She was walking in front of me towards the lift, and Papa was holding the lift door open. Before I knew it, we all heard the keys drop, and then disappear... Meg had dropped them at a strategic spot between the lift door and the ground floor and the keys were instantly swallowed up by the slit in between the two. Uh-oh! Meg said, "Sorry Mummy, sorry mummy!". Luckily I had my set of house keys or we'd be spending the night outside our front door. All this happaned just past midnight last night (technically early this morning) and I don't believe I've given my mum a set of our keys, so getting a spare is out of the question. I sometimes don't bring my keys along but fortunately, yesterday wasn't one of those days.

The EMS (Essential Maintenance Service) guy came at 10.40am this morning, and made me flll out a form and then proceeded to retrieve the keys. It was a three minute job at best, and I was asked to help in the process by holding the door open for him so he could climb down a wall attached ladder about 2 metres down to retrieve the keys which I'd identified for him. I asked him if this happens a lot, and he said, "Yes, a lot", though he didn't elaborate on the figures. Within 2 mins, I had the keys back in my hands. The whole experience was painless enough, and I have to give a special mention to the people at EMS. From the time I called their emergency hotline number til the time I retrieved my keys, their service has been excellent. Their officers who man the phone were polite even at midnite, and another called me to let me know what time to go downstairs to wait for their guy to arrive, and I've just received a "follow-up" up call to ask if I've gotten my keys back. This, I say is really service which makes my day! And if you're wondering what the bottom of a lift shaft looks like, wonder no more...

The floor of the lift shaft is filled with scraps of paper, strewn with discarded flyers, and any other junk which made its way through the slit.

The slit hole which swallowed up the keys. It's a good inch and a half wide, so beware!