Monday, December 31, 2012

Public Restrooms, Smoked salmon, and "White" New Years Parties

I've just had a notable bathroom experience that I would like to share.

As I wandered over to the bathroom of the coffee shop I'm currently in, I noticed the owners were sitting near the bathroom which I thought might have been to make sure only paying customers used it. I strolled down the short hallway, away from them, through the door to the women's restroom and sat down in my stall of choice. As I was going to the bathroom I realized that I could very clearly hear the owners speaking. Perhaps even more clearly than I could when I walked passed them. It was almost as if they were speaking into a microphone that projected straight into the women's bathroom. They were speaking in a language that I couldn't understand and, as I sat there, I wondered if it would have been more or less uncomfortable if I knew what they were saying. I guess it would have depended on what they were talking about.

Throughout my many years of using the bathroom, as opposed to diapers, I have come to learn a few things about the setting I prefer for using the bathroom:

1. I must be the sole inhabitant of the bathroom. This one's pretty straightforward, I like to go to the bathroom in private.
2. Said restroom must have multiple stalls and locks that make it clear when they are occupied (red or green are exposed on the lock depending on its occupancy). There are few things more awkward than pushing open a stall only to find someone already on the pot, exposed... Multiple stalls prevents the pressure that one may feel in a single bathroom where that particular bathroom may be in high demand.
3. If I am not the sole occupant of the restroom there must be background noise loud enough to cover up or blend the sounds of going to the bathroom. Some examples of acceptable noises are a hairdryer and a shower. I fear judgement of my bodily sounds. 

I suppose my experience in this coffee shop didn't violate any of my basic requirements but it was still odd. 

That's all for now. Have a wonderful New Year!



P.S. I ate a lot of this my first week home. Can you guess what's on that delicious nutty, wheaty, bread?

from bread up: goat cheese, avocado, onion, and smoked salmon

P.P.S Got invited to a "white" New Year's party. In case you've never heard of "white" parties, they're not racist parties where only "white" people are invited but rather events where one must dress in all white. I'm pretty sure I've heard about Kanye West's white party in the Hamptons on many Bravo reality television shows(or some other celebrity). I have some collared, long-sleeved, button down shirts I could wear, or a cute cami but still brainstorming what to do about bottoms. And I might feel a bit frumpy in the long sleeves, but too exposed in the cami. It seems like there aren't a lot of white clothes during the winter season (though I thrift most of my clothes so I may not have the most accurate perception of this). It's also just not a color I feel like buying in the winter. I'm always cold so I like to wear colors that are warm so even if I'm freezing, perhaps I can give the illusion that I'm not. Unsure how strict this dress code is but I obviously don't want to stick out for completely ignoring it. It's just, I've been waiting all year (okay.. a few months...) to wear this 3/4 length, boat neck, charcoal, jcrew shirt completely covered in sequins...


1 comment:

  1. Happy New Year!! Best wishes for food, fashion and bathroom sucess (see cell phone post above).

    ReplyDelete