Bad bathrooms, again

I hate to seem fixated on toilets, but what can I say? When you don't have standard plumbing for your gender and you have to use public facilities, it's always going to be an issue.

Previously I wrote about standing to pee in men's room stalls. Those of you who use men's rooms know that the condition of the toilets is often less than pristine. But given the difficulty and risks of using a urinal sans penis, I put up with the grossness so I can do my bidness in private. Tonight (on campus) I encountered a mess that even I couldn't face.

In this sort of situation, if you're lucky, there will be another, cleaner stall you can resort to. But in many men's rooms you don't have a choice; there's just the one stall. You can either clean it up, hunt down a more decent bathroom, or take your chances at a urinal, if you've got the right equipment with you.

I chose the latter option, which I rarely do. As I explained in my previous post, it's awkward and I don't want to take the chance of getting spotted with a length of rubber tubing hanging out of my fly. Usually I only piss in a urinal for kicks if the bathroom is one where I can lock the door. But the urinals in this bathroom had serious dividers between them - so high and wide that you would really have to crane your neck to see your neighbor's package.

Urinals are badly designed. Can I just say that? These were the kind that go all the way down to the floor and I don't see how guys piss in them without getting splashback all over their shoes and cuffs. Gross.

Anyway, because I was uncomfortable, it took forever for me to get a flow going, and during that interval I figured someone was sure to walk in. But I was undisturbed. Nevertheless, because of the awkwardness and not being able to drop my shorts, I had a little spillage inside my briefs (I hate it when that happens). Nothing major, fortunately, just a small wet spot I had to endure for a couple of hours.

Geez. Pissing shouldn't be such an ordeal. I really wish that someone would design a stand-to-pee device that actually works.