The place where I work is trying very hard to become more “green.”  Some surveys showed that the museum is looked upon by visitors as a quiet leader in sustainability, and we’re trying to live up to that.  One of the things that’s been done is the installation of low-flow toilets in the restrooms.  I’m all for sustainable options.

That is, until I met the low-flow toilet.

There are actually two in the restroom by my office area.  One is handicapped accessible and it’s a little high.  My feet don’t actually dangle, but they come close.  And let me tell you, I’m not short.  Anyone much smaller than me would practically have to hop up to sit down and the classic hover-squat move is not an option.  Naturally,  I started out using the regular one.

(Warning, upcoming scatological content)

I first noticed that about 75% of the time, there would be icky shredded paper in the bowl.  I would foot-flush and go on about my business.   I found that you had to hold down the lever for a while to get everything to go down.  But the first time there was a little more than liquid involved, it became a real problem.  One day, after a “download” (as Alex likes to say) I flushed, holding down the handle.  Most went down, but not all.  Let’s just say, there was some streaking.  I flushed three more times in order to clear everything out.  Needless to say, the whole time I was desperately praying that no one would walk in and hear all the whooshing water.  I was pretty sure that I wasted enough water to offset any savings by other people. 

I once saw an episode of King of the Hill where everyone was forced to install low-flow toilets.  Hank had to flush five or six times regularly, and Peggy maxed out at thirteen.  I laughed pretty hard at that episode.  I never thought I’d find myself in a similar situation.   I soon switched to the other toilet; I figured they must not have replaced that one because it worked just fine.

At first, I thought it was just me; that I had some sort of nasty problem that I was NOT going to be telling anyone about.  Then one day, I walked in and heard the following:

Foosh!

“Dammit.”

Foosh!

“Errgh.”

Foosh!

A coworker slammed open the stall door.  “Damn low-flow toilet,” she grumbled before washing up and stalking out.

My relief was huge. 

I later found out that this was the only toilet with problems.  It would seem that low-flow potties work well most of the time, but when they don’t, they are an incredible pain.

The other day, someone was already in the handicapped stall, so I went back to the tricky toilet.  Since I’m not the only multi-flusher, I felt I’d be ok.  As I carefully held down the lever, it flushed beautifully.  It was a veritable rushing whirlpool.  But this time, it kept flushing.  And flushing.  And flushing.  I had to call security to get maintenance to come in and fix it.

I am never going in that stall again.

As Alex and I walked to lunch and the drug store today, we passed a Turkish music band outside of an arabic-themed store.  Not only were they playing, they also had a belly-dancer!  People were gathering to watch, despite the fact that it was chilly today.  Alex and I smiled with delight at the scene and satisfaction over our decision to move to such a groovy neighborhood.  Ok, maybe we didn’t decide, R & K did and we just glommed on.  But hey, we’re here and when we get to move to our own place we’ll probably choose the same or a similar neighborhood.

Are you happy with your neighborhood?  Maybe you don’t need to walk to shops or you don’t want belly-dancers blocking the sidewalk.  But I’d like to know what makes your neighborhood the best place for you. 

If you’re not happy where you live, maybe it’s time for a change.  It may seem impossible or inconvenient; I’m finding that most of us are better at coming up with reasons NOT to change.  It may be easier to stay in a rut in a place you dislike.  But how healthy can it be if you don’t walk down your street (or lane, or the field nearby, or the hallway of your apartment complex) and you never smile at what you see.