Fact of Life #37: Public Restrooms are Awkward.

I am a woman of routines. I have a routine before I go to bed: lock the door, turn off the TV, wash my face, brush my teeth, lotion my face, hop into bed! I even have a routine when I clean my apartment: do the dishes, pick up the front room, finish the kitchen by wiping down the counter tops, mop the floor, clean the bathroom, vacuum the front room and bath mats, pick up the clothes in the bedroom, vacuum the bedroom, done. I don't know if it is how I was raised or if I picked it up on my own but routines and order play a paramount role in my life. Knowing this, it is no surprise that I have a morning routine when I get to work. I clock in, go to the restroom to "assess the damage" from huffing and puffing up the hill to work (check hair, make-up, etc.), walk to the other side of the building, go outside, pick up the paper and then go to my office. Simple enough. I do these same things day in and day out and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Today as I was "assessing the damage" I noticed a stain on my under shirt. Easy fix, I went into the stall and turned the shirt around (gotta love tagless shirts). While I was in the stall I could hear two other girls walk into the bathroom. They just needed to wash their hands. I walked out of the stall and one of the girls who was going for the last available sink kindly gestured and said, "Oh, I can wait." I didn't need to wash my hands and cheerily said, "that's okay!" and walked out the door. It wasn't until after I was walking down the hall that I realized what had just happened. Those girls didn't know I was just making a wardrobe adjustment... they thought I had used the bathroom and didn't wash my hands!!! Sick! It was one of those moments that I wished I could just go back in time and fix. If I was thinking straight I would have just washed my hands anyway, you can never wash your hands too much!

Now I have to try and avoid eye contact with those two girls (both of whom work in my building!). I am now known to them as the sicko that doesn't wash her hands after using the bathroom. Awesome. This is just another prime example of the fact that public restrooms are and always will be AWKWARD.