Wednesday, April 11, 2007

It's the least I can do

I was in the ladies room at work this morning, serenely washing my hands. I have been more careful lately to limit my water consumption. I use my wrist to flip the water on, then off during sudsing, then on again to rinse. The process takes a little longer – but it’s more economical.

I was rinsing when I first heard the *thrrip*,*thrrip*,*thrrip*… I turn… slowly, as the realization of the origin of this sound washes over me. As my sight slowly hones in on the source, it continues... *thrrip*, *thrrip*, *thrrip*.
Yes, six times. I am pretty sure I recall hearing it six times.

I stare. Incredulous.
I falter, suddenly realizing my water is still running.
Damn. Wasteful.
I quickly slap the handle down with an audible pop.
I look back … curious… miffed.

And there she is. Wiping, mopping you might say, her just slightly dampened hands with SIX paper towels.
6!
Oh… the horror of it.

She tosses her WAD of nearly dry and unused paper towels in the receptacle and brushes past me toward the door.
I want to call out.
“Why?”
I don’t. I stand, dumbfounded … speechless.

I will not use any paper towels today.
I feel I need to balance the scales.

8 comments:

Amaya said...

Last night, as Logic and I were parking at Target we saw a couple opening a box and pulling out a new carseat. Not thinking anything of it, we went into the store and did our shopping. But when we returned to our car we noticed that they left the HUGE carseat box on the side of the road. Who does that? Without a garbage in site, we decided to leave it there. I hate inconsiderate people.

Syd said...

I'm so relieved the *thriip* wasn't what I was expecting.

She tossed her WAD?... Are you trying to make me choke? hahahaha

Middle Girl said...

tossed the wad got me going too.

I work in a an office building virtually empty of other tenants. Until very recently,I was the only female using the 5 stall bathroom. Paper towels and toilet paper generally last for quite a while. Which is good considering Ishmael's miserable schedule and timing for replenishing the paper products.

sporksforall said...

My assistant director practically thriips with glee when I hand her stuff that I have printed and don't need anymore. She prints on the back. I'm fairly certain she would erase already printed stuff if she could.

There are good things about living in cali, some eco-awareness being one of them.

Geeky Dragon Girl said...

Ooh I HATE it when people do that. Unforunately I see it all the time. Exactly how many sheet of paper towels does it take to dry water from your hands? ONE. Why does anyone need that many?

Since the water faucets use motion detection here, my conservation efforts include using no paper towels at all. I just wipe it on my pants and it evaporates in minutes. It's just water.

Suzanne said...

weese kept me company every time I visited the bathroom today.

I wasted not a square nor drop.

maxine said...

I am a three towel grrl. I have tried two and my hands are still wet. I want my hands really dry. What I really hate is when all that is available is an energy hog of a hand dryer because they just. Don't. Fucking. Work.

By the way, three towels equals six pumps on the pump style towel dispenser. I am telling you this just so you don't have a coronary should we be frequenting such a circumstance.

LeLo said...

There are lots of fabric rolls in restrooms here in Portland. They take a little getting used to, pulling down a clean area each time you use them, but I like them so much better.