Is any place sacred?

[indysteel]

I just walked into the public restroom across the hall from my office (I work in a Federal Courthouse) and found a woman sitting in the chair that's in the bathroom talking on her cell phone. Let me make it clear that this isn't a bathroom with a "lounge." The chair is about two feet away from the stalls.
I know this may seem insane, but I would prefer to potty in peace. I don't really want some stranger on the other end of a phone listening to me do my business. I don't even like it when someone in another stall talks to me.

Would this bother anyone else or am I just crazy? And it's okay if it's the latter. I'll admit that I have a low tolerance for all things cell phone. While I realize it's a practical necessity for many, I resisted getting one until three months ago, and I only did so because of my road riding. I probably only make about one or two calls on it a week, if that.

[paigette]

My mother is THAT woman! She doesn't understand why I do not talk to her when she is in one stall, when I'm in another; she takes the cordless phone into the bathroom with her "just in case" and thinks nothing of flipping open the cellphone & gabbing in public restrooms.

Even though I am slightly cellphone obsessed, I also have my limits & the potty is one of them!

[indysteel]

I'll admit that every once in a while, in the privacy of my own home, I will continue a conversation while peeing. This is only with my CLOSEST of friends, however, and I always give them fair warning (and an option for me to just call them back). That said, I would not subject them to the sound of other people going to the bathroom, nor would I assume that other people are comfortable with me chatting away on my phone while they potty. Not to be gross, but sometimes things get "explosive" in a public restroom. It's not exactly a feast for the senses!

[run it, ride it]

This is the rule on public restroom conversation: if you are continuing a conversation that started before you entered the stalls, it is permissible to continue it as long as both parties reciprocate. It is not permissible to strike up a conversation while you are both in stalls unless you are either in need of toilet paper or a feminine hygeine product.

I don't understand how people can spend so much time on cell phones. I keep one on me to coordinate the car I share with my brother (two calls a week, at most), and so that the barn my horse is at can get a hold of me in case of an emergency. Aside from that, it's good to have around when I'm driving, trail riding, bicycling, xc skiing, or wandering out on my own.

My mother doesn't even have a cell phone. She's got OnStar in her vehicle and spends the rest of her time with people who DO have cells!

[Geonz]

She may have gone in there to be out of hte stream of general public; until you came in, was she the only one in there?

I was nonplussed the first time I went into a stall and heard somebody talking merrily away... but then I realized (this was at a bar/restaurant) she was fairly young, and trying to get somebody to pick her up 'cause she didn't like the stuff the crowd she was with was planning on doing, and I thought, "go cell phones!"

[SadieKate]

I went through huge cultural or generational shock or something several years ago when someone went into the stall next to mine talking very loudly. She performed all the bodily functions very loudly (if you get me drift) while continuing her cell phone conversation with a guy that was not her husband, boyfriend or brother (she said something in the conversation that gave me this clue). I know I can be very prudish at times but this is one personal rule I really, really appreciate in myself and others.

Geonz, yes, in the bar situation I completely agree but she wasn't actually using the restroom for its primary intended purpose.

[xeney]

Oh, man, this is such a problem in my office. Or at least it's a problem for me. I don't want to have a conversation while I'm in the bathroom. I don't want to talk about work, or how my husband is, or what I'm doing this weekend. And we only have one person who does the cellphone thing, but it drives me crazy and I have actually talked to her supervisor about it, to no avail. She is our receptionist, and the person she talks to (in goofy schmoopy tones) is her boyfriend, who is also the son of one of my other coworkers ... so this is a guy we have all known since he was a kid, not just a random stranger. And there he is, in the bathroom with us.

It drives me crazy and I don't understand why anyone would even WANT to do that. If my husband ever called me from a public restroom (and I am cracking up even imagining what would make him do that ... maybe if he'd fallen and couldn't get up?) I would hang up on him.

[indysteel]

Sue, she was the only one in there at the time. I'm not sure that mattered much, though. When I walked in she didn't bat an eye or acknowledge me at all. I then turned on my heel and walked out. Tuesday mornings area a little nutty here, but there are other quiet places to go.

I think there should be a Code of cell phone conduct. In addition to certain safety issues, there are better and worse ways to use a cell phone. My brother works for a local tv station that has banned the use of cell phones once you enter the building. Apparently, the the noise of so many different ring tones, along with the office phones, became too much. The AA in my office keeps her phone on all day and some days it rings nonstop. I got so tired of hearing it that I finally asked her to turn it to vibrate. She seemed surprised that it bothered me. I'm not sure she considered this, but she's just advertising to our boss that she's on a private call. He's so laid back that he likely doesn't care, but still. . . .

I had lunch the other day after a group ride with two guys who kept their Bluetooth earpieces in the entire time. Aside from the fact that they looked like poseurs, I found it rude because it implied that if a call came in (which, thankfully, it didn't) they would have picked it up. One of them had even done the ride, while on a tandem, with his earpiece installed. I would have been annoyed if I'd been his stoker. Pay attention to the road dude or we don't ride together!

Really, my "issues" (and clearly I have them) go beyond cell phones. I just find it increasingly difficult to find any peace and quiet anymore. We're surrounded by noise and, worse yet, we're growing impervious to it. I think that's kind of sad.

Now, where did I put my iPod?

LOL!

Kate

[HappyAnika]

This is the rule on public restroom conversation: if you are continuing a conversation that started before you entered the stalls, it is permissible to continue it as long as both parties reciprocate. It is not permissible to strike up a conversation while you are both in stalls unless you are either in need of toilet paper or a feminine hygeine product.

Yes, what she said.

I do have a cell phone, but have it mostly for the safety aspect and the free long distance, which I use like I would normally use my home phone, sitting on the couch in my living room talking to my parents on a Sunday afternoon.

In addition to public restroom use, I still have a hard time seeing people everywhere talking loudly to themselves. I momentarily don't realize they have a headset or a bluetooth ear thing and I think they are all crazy. It seems to me that people just don't care about their privacy anymore. I personally don't feel like discussing any aspect of my life while strangers listen in, but I think I'm in the minority these days.