Is any place sacred?

[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.

[Kano]

When I'm in a public restroom and someone does this cell phone thing, I always feel like I have to stop what I'm doing and wait for them to stop chatting...

DH, on the other hand, would start deliberately being louder!

Karen in Boise

[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

[Offthegrid]

I find talking on cell phones in public bathrooms completely disgusting. The only exception would be an extreme situation where privacy is necessary and can't be had anywhere else. But the calls I've heard while in the bathroom are over stupid, mundane things that can wait.

[kaybee]

I once had a conversation with a client who said he was in the shower! Believe me, that conjured up visions that I did NOT need to see!

KB

[paigette]

I once had a conversation with a client who said he was in the shower! Believe me, that conjured up visions that I did NOT need to see!

KB

LOL, I've come close to that. When I was living with my brother, I had just stepped out of the shower(bathrobe on) and he brings me the phone with "Someone is on the phone for you". It was my boss & I was so thrown when he asked me "What are you doing?" I didn't think & answered "Well, just stepped out of the shower" LOL. Yeah....there was a LONG pause after that.

[indysteel]

I once had a conversation with a client who said he was in the shower! Believe me, that conjured up visions that I did NOT need to see!

KB

That is SO funny. Thanks for sharing!

[Aggie_Ama]

I work with those women!! One day I was in the bathroom feeling not so hot and there was a woman ARGUING with her husband. I was teetering on the edge of throwing up or something just as gross and here she is yelling at him. All I could think is "Does he realize she is in a public restroom?"

The other day another co-worker was hashing out her financial issues in the bathroom with someone. I don't need to know that her husband went through a job change and now makes less or about their debt ratio- I want to use the restroom for the reason it is there.

I do work in a cube farm, but there are plenty of conference rooms that are unlocked and unoccupied at any given moment. I usually take the stairs down 2 floors to the parking garage. You would be amazed how much isolation you can find with just a short walk.

I admit, I am a bit of a cell phone addict. Since DH and all my family are free to call (plus anyone with T-Mobile- anybody want to chat? ), I often find myself jabbering about the stupidest things on my phone. BUT it is usually sitting in my car in our garage at lunch or on my patio after work. The bathroom is for bathroom stuff. PERIOD.

[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.