Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Urinalysis: a multi-part study of the behaviors, codes, customs and characters of the workplace restroom


In this episode: The Over-social Urinal Partner.


For most people, working in an office setting does not allow much time for silent reflection. Between phone calls, emails, cubicle "pop-ins" and, for 18% of the American workforce, actual work, it hardly leaves time for quiet reflection.

Which is why trips to the bathroom should be cherished. With just a ween in hand and a ceramic tile wall to stare at, that precious :20 - 2:00 (depending on coffee intake) is all yours to ponder, meditate and muse… away from the distractions and stress of modern-day office minutiae.

That is, until that guy pulls in to the stall next to you. And at that point, "me-time" is over and your urinal turns into The Tonight Show couch.

(Above) Quiet time.

Flapping his gums before his stream even hits the pink toilet mint, he starts chatting you up, acting like it's the office Christmas party instead of what it is:

2 guys with their cocks out, standing next to each other with maybe a foot separating them. A 2"-thick, 3' foot tall metal barrier does not change this fact.

I realize proper office etiquette dictates that any eye contact you make with a co-worker MUST be immediately followed-up with no less than :30 of inane "I hate Mondays" chatter. That's cool. I'm generally social and affable.

But when my dick's out, please, just shut the fuck up. We'll catch-up later at the paper towel dispenser.

7 comments:

Lucy Parker said...

so happy i'm a chick

Anonymous said...

You said, ms. Parker.

You'd be even gladder if you ever had to experience the abomination that is the trough. Splashback, stagefright, feelings of inadequacy… it's all there.

John Marshall said...

Especially annoying if there is an additional urinal that would provide more space, but that guy wants to get really up close in personal with ya.

As for troughs, I believe that any establishment that has one deserves for me to urinate on their walls instead. So I do.

Anonymous said...

@john marshall: "As for troughs, I believe that any establishment that has one deserves for me to urinate on their walls instead. So I do."

rotfl... instituting this as personal policy starting today

@lucy parker: "so happy i'm a chick"

i'm so happy i'm not. i'll take over-social urinal partner over periods, not being able to pee standing up, making $1 to your 75cents, pregnancy, giving birth, the wnba, shaving your legs, counting calories, constantly trying to prove yourself in a male-dominated society, putting up with men like me… i mean, shit... i would've killed myself a long time ago if i was a chick (not suggesting you should kill yourself, just marveling at the relative grace with which most women deal with the above).

Lucy Parker said...

hahahaha anonymous . . . somehow, I'm still happy that I'm a chick . . . except that I would like to play professional sports . . professional sports that aren't laughed at

Merton Sussex said...

Guys aren't supposed to shave their legs?

Ha! Reno owes me ten bucks.

Anonymous said...

I pee in the sink.