Another post about toilets

Last Friday started like any other day at the office. I walked from the subway to my building, climbed the stairs, and murmured hello (not too loud, not too soft) to the other people in my vicinity.

I then set my bag down at my desk (folding table), deposited my lunch in the fridge and turned on my computer. Task of the morning: read the 524 messages sent to the general inquiry email address that I'm responsible for checking.

Need help optimizing your website for search engines?

Delete.

I haven't received my membership card in the mail and it's been 2 whole hours.

Forward to someone who cares.

Do you guys sell heritage livestock?

Delete.

After about an hour of similarly mind-numbing work, I decided it was time for the first bathroom break of the day--not because I needed to go, but because that's how you break up your day when you work in an office.

Everyone does it, and every place of business has an inter-office bathroom rhythm. Test it out. The girl with horn-rimmed hipster glasses that works in some unidentifiable department?

She goes every morning between 10:02 and 10:10.

The middle-aged secretary who wears white sneakers for her commute? She throws her stuff down and goes to the bathroom the second she walks in the door.

Anyway, I try to change it up as much as possible--you know, keep things real. On this particular day, I decided to take my break a little earlier than I typically would. I mosied down the hall, turned the corner, pushed open the industrial metal door and walked to my favorite stall (you have one too).

I pushed the door with my fingertips, drawing the ritual out as long as possible. The hollow door swung open to reveal a perfectly clean toilet, untouched toilet paper and bubbles still floating in the basin from some kind of lemony-smelling detergent.

I'm not going to lie: I felt joy. Not "I just aced that test!" or "Free bagles this morning??" joy, but a different kind of joy. A tiny but pure burst of excitement.

I, Holly, was the first person to use the bathroom that day. Judge me--I don't care. Because I know that it has (or will) happen to all of you and you too will feel happy.