econgirl
  • Home
  • blog
  • Recipes
  • Links
  • Liz's 15 Minute Guides

BLOG

Why am I a pee procrastinator? Oh yeah, that’s why.

6/15/2012

4 Comments

 
As I was leaving the office the other day, I realized that I’d been planning to make a trip to the bathroom for the past 3 hours, and hadn’t yet done it.  This sometimes happens when I get busy.  Growing up taking 4-hour bus trips to get to athletic events will do wonders for your ability to hold it.

However, the day hadn’t been that busy, so as I made my way to the office bathroom, I wondered why I’d put off my bathroom break so long.  After finishing my business, I noticed there was no toilet paper.  Well never mind, par for the course in Ghana.  That taken care of, I went to unlock the door and vacate the bathroom. I turned the key in the lock—but the bolt remained firmly in place. I frowned, then rotated the key another 360 degrees. Same result.  I sighed. Why do I put off peeing? Oh yeah. This is why.

If you are male, your urination options are almost infinite in Ghana. No need to worry about exposing yourself near schools and playgrounds; all the kids are peeing and waving at you anyway! Peeing and waving! It’s the best ever.

If you are female, you are theoretically free to join in the peeing and waving. In reality, if you are female and white and you do this, the kids will likely stop peeing and waving and start staring.

If you choose to forego the peeing and waving approach, bathroom options become much more limited.  Bushes would seem like a natural option in rural areas (although my more cosmopolitan friends inform me that the majority of Americans have not actually peed in the bush before), but even rural areas are pretty populated in Ghana, so unless you are really out in the boonies, peeing in the bush can readily turn into peeing and waving. 

Non-bush bathrooms in Ghana range from swanky to biologically hazardous and probably combustible.  When confronted with a Ghanaian bathroom, you will face a choice: pee or hold it. To assist you in your decision, here is my handy pee procrastination tool:

1.       How many 250 ml servings of water have you had since you last peed? Add one point for each serving.

2.       How many hours will it be to the next convenient bathroom option? Add two points for each hour.

3.       Add one point for each of the following that the bathroom has: toilet seat, toilet paper, running water, soap, enough light to see without your cell phone light

4.       Can you see feces? If yes, subtract 2 points.

5.       How many flies are there? Subtract 1 point for every 10 flies you see.

6.       How many canaries would the smell kill? Subtract 2 points per canary.

7.       Subtract 1 point for every cockroach, toad, rodent or bathroom attendant who hits on you. Subtract 10 points for every mamba. 

8.       Is the bathroom unisex? Refer to #firstworldproblems.

If you score 10 or higher, congratulations! Go ahead and pee! If you score below 10, procrastinate.  

You are now likely wondering how long I spent in the bathroom coming up with this metric.  Well, after the door failed to unlock, I contemplated alternate escape options. The window was glass paned, screened, and barred on the outside. Not promising. I turned my attention to the door knob. Firmly screwed in place. I dug in my pockets and was disappointed to find I had no coins that might function as a screwdriver. Next stop was the door hinges. They were painted over, and wouldn’t budge. The one tool I had on hand, a toilet plunger, seemed unlikely to help me extricate myself.  Just when I was starting to think about the most comfortable way to sleep in the tiny room, my coworker came to check on me—she had heard my struggles with the lock on her way out. She unlocked me from the outside, we posted a sign with a dire warning against locking the door, and I went on my way convinced that this was one more reason to pee as rarely as possible.   

4 Comments
Locksmith Services link
5/13/2013 01:23:04 am

If you need assistance with locks then you are at right place.

Reply
visit here link
5/28/2013 04:43:34 pm

Due to the busy life sometimes it is not able to use the restroom. The experience that you had for the day that you explained above is very interesting. But this is not the only problem for you, it is a common problem for most of us.

Reply
free handbrake link
9/8/2013 09:03:17 am

Hello

Reply
bedding link
10/8/2013 10:48:10 am

Aw, this was a really quality article. In theory I'd like to write like this too - taking time and real effort to make a fantastic article... but what can I say... I procrastinate alot and never seem to get something done. Yours trully.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    About Liz

    I have worked in economic policy and research in Washington, D.C. and Ghana. My husband and I recently moved to Guyana, where I am working for the Ministry of Finance. I like riding motorcycle, outdoor sports, foreign currencies, capybaras, and having opinions. 

    Archives

    December 2016
    November 2016
    July 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    March 2013
    February 2013
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    October 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    February 2009
    January 2009

    Categories

    All
    Auto Industry
    Behavioral Economics
    Budget
    China
    Conflict
    Corruption
    Crime
    Currency
    Development
    Dollar
    Economic Data
    Economists
    Environment
    Fashion
    Federal Reserve
    Finance
    Food
    Gender
    Ghana
    Haiti
    Health Care
    India
    Inflation
    Microeconomics
    Money
    Politics
    Poverty
    Race
    Rcts
    Reading Recommendations
    Regulation
    Religion
    Sports
    Stimulus
    Survey
    Taxes
    Technology
    Trade
    Travel
    Viewing Recommendations

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • blog
  • Recipes
  • Links
  • Liz's 15 Minute Guides