Sometimes the smallest thing…
So, about a week ago, I am at my client’s office (who shall remain nameless, to prevent any embarrassment to anyone) and I leave my temporary cube for a moment to use the restroom.
I enter the aforementioned facility, and something strikes me as, well, just not quite right. I look around for a moment, and I realize what it is… there are no urinals. It’s all stalls, from wall to wall. I am a bit surprised that something this subtle is so striking, but it is. The whole room feels very uncomfortable.
I take care of my business (and I will spare you the details, it was nothing unusual, I assure you) and on the way out of the room, I am stopped dead in my tracks with sheer terror.
There is a tampon dispenser on the wall.
The blood rushes to my head as I realize I must have gone into the wrong bathroom, and while common sense would tell you to get out as soon as possible, I can hardly move. How could I have been so dumb, and what will the client think if they see me walking out of the women’s restroom?
I manage to get outside, and there it is… â??Menâ?
If anyone had been around, the giant question mark over my head must have been visible. Why on earth would anyone convert a women’s restroom to a men’s restroom (as it obviously had been… there was a women’s restroom right next to it) and leave the tampon dispenser in place?!?!?! I mean, does this mean that they bought a second one to put in the new women’s restroom, and no one considered the idea that maybe the men didn’t need one? And… did the women have urinals?
I came to the conclusion that it must have been a practical joke, but I watched several long time employees enter the appropriate restroom without a second glance. I am certain that there was a story there to be told, but I just didn’t have the heart to ask.