3 posts tagged “toilets”

dabysan: so here's a question

dabysan: as someone who also thinks about bathroom etiquette

hotrod: oh dear

hotrod: shoot

dabysan: no -- it's not bad

dabysan: I'm actually just perplexed

dabysan: so in my new office

dabysan: we have a three-stall number

hotrod: okay

dabysan: and it's shared by the other companies on our floor

hotrod: right

dabysan: so getting there is a minor production

hotrod: we've got two stalls, two urinals

dabysan: not major, but once you're there you're going to want to take care of business

dabysan: anyway so as I said, three stalls

hotrod: right

hotrod: okay

dabysan: obviously, classical etiquette dictates that you take one of the end stalls, if you're the first to arrive, and that you take the other of the two end stalls if you're the second

dabysan: leaving a buffer stall

dabysan: that's just bathroom 101

dabysan: but here's the problem,

dabysan: One of the end stalls is a handicapped stall

dabysan: and the toilet is so high as to be uncomfortable

dabysan: I'm not a short guy, but I can't actually get my feet all the way down while sitting on it

hotrod: right, i'm with you

hotrod: ah, one of those

hotrod: that's unfortunate

dabysan: this is clearly suboptimal

hotrod: i LOVE the handicapped stall

hotrod: it's always my first choice

dabysan: see, usually mine too

dabysan: bigger

dabysan: but this toilet situation is just untenable

hotrod: yeah, it's like a suite

dabysan: I don't know how one is supposed to enjoy one's morning constitutional with his feet dangling in space like a 2-year-old

dabysan: so now I avoid the handicapped stall at all costs,

dabysan: even if that means jumping into the middle stall

dabysan: which makes me a little uneasy

hotrod: yeah, that's a tricky situation

dabysan: the even bigger question though is

dabysan: do I just go for the middle stall as a first arriver

hotrod: i think i'd rather suffer the dangly feet than the middle stall

hotrod: i hate the middle stall

dabysan: since I think it's less used than the other, normal side stall

hotrod: that's an interesting point

dabysan: and since virtually nobody goes to the handicapped stall

dabysan: probably because of the ridiculous foot -dangling issue

hotrod: that, to me, is another strong argument for dealing with the dangling feet

hotrod: yeah, it's not optimal

dabysan: I find it really uncomfortable

dabysan: like not a deal breaker

dabysan: but really not at all comfortable

hotrod: yeah, see for me the middle stall is a deal breaker

hotrod: it's too risky

dabysan: right, but if you happen to get in there when nobody else is taking care of business, clearly it is the preferred location

dabysan: clean, normally proportioned

dabysan: like I said, it's not as easy as these questions usually are

hotrod: but, in the middle stall you always run the risk that somebody will sit down next to you before you're through

hotrod: which always amazes me

hotrod: like i said, we have two stalls

hotrod: and if one is occupied, i hold it for a few minutes

hotrod: only under the most dire circumstances will i sit down next to an already occupied stall

dabysan: well that was my exact situation in the last place

dabysan: two stalls

dabysan: and I'd never, ever go in there if one was occupied

dabysan: but

dabysan: those stalls were in my office proper

hotrod: and it shocks me still that some have no compunction about sitting down next to me

dabysan: the current office

hotrod: right- you share

dabysan: I need to remember my keys, walk out of the office

dabysan: down the hall

hotrod: in our last office, we had two separate small bathrooms

dabysan: punch in the code

hotrod: which was ideal

dabysan: it's just a bit of a fucking production

dabysan: and I'm disinclined to turn around and leave after I've gone to the trouble

hotrod: yeah, i have to leave the office too, but i sit right near the door opposite the bathroom door

hotrod: so it's less inconvenient for me to return to my desk

hotrod: that is a conundrum

dabysan: it is

hotrod: you're right, there's lots of gray area there

dabysan: it's really a toughie

dabysan: I pride myself on having good bathroom etiquette

dabysan: but should that be at the risk of a comfortable environment

dabysan: these are the questions that haunt men’s souls

hotrod: indeed they are.

reuters is tackling the hard-hitting news stories today:

NEW YORK, Jan 9 (Reuters Life!) - Home renovators looking to bring life to the smallest room in their home now have the chance -- with a toilet that doubles as an aquarium.

...

He said the company, which specializes in water conservation equipment for home appliance, had worked with a marine biologist to design a tank that ensured the fish were not harmed when the toilet was flushed.

it's nice to see some of us are doing the important work and really contributing to society.  buy one here.

if you had asked me last week, i would have set the over/under for the acceptable amount of time for a turd to fester in the bowl of a stopped up toilet in a "class A" office building at about two hours.  that seems fairly reasonable for building management to get somebody in there to take care of the situation.  apparently, though, you should take the over.  if it was set at two DAYS, you should take the over - at least in the dump, so to speak, to which i commute daily.

i've stopped consuming liquids at work and i'm about ready to walk over to starbucks just to use the restroom.  don't ever let anybody try to tell you marine biology is a glamorous field.  i should consider myself lucky that we even get flush toilets.

PS.  this is not my company's fault.  we reported the floater on monday.  if you're in the position to make these decisions and are thinking of leasing office space from brookfield properties, i might reconsider if i were you.

[UPDATE: the offending commode was FINALLY dealt with at some point in the four hours between the writing of this post and when i left work.]