Wednesday, July 09, 2008

calm the revulsion

In the ladies at work there are 2 stalls. one has a functional, locking handle. the other has a handle that has all the mechanisms needed to function as a lock but lets one down again and again. if someone opens the outer door of the bathroom, the lock fails and the stall door swings open. if someone opens the other stall door, this stall door swings open. if someone "forgets" to wash one's hands after using the toilet, the stall door swings open. i generally avoid the broken stall door stall but today when i peeked into the preferred stall i saw something distasteful on the toilet seat so opted for the broken stall door stall. of course someone tried to come into my stall but i was ready with my hand up to prevent the intrusion.

During my time there the person who tried to join me in my stall talked to another person who was washing hands, etc. the other person has an energy about her that makes me as nervous as a tampon. as nervous as the tampon itself as it awaits its destiny and as nervous as the person who is about to use the tampon. Sure, i know many people aren't skittish about using a tampon but sometimes...anyway, this person's energy is always strident, always fake, always unnatural, forced and it really makes me...wince. when i thought about these two women sitting on the questionably adorned toilet seat, i winced again. then i assuaged myself with the thought that i have sat in much much worse, probably, in places like Fenway or some public beach bathroom after a sunny, well-trodden day. this soothed my sense of revulsion.

1 comment:

dbr said...

That's a lot more interesting than my work bathroom story for today, but here it is anyway: went to pee, while peeing heard someone enter the bathroom, then another person enter the bathroom, but no one ever actually showed up in the bathroom.