#6: Probably Why Toilet Seat Covers Were Invented

  So, I'd just gotten out of my miserable Italian 201 class (the class that still reflects my worst grade in the last 9 years) and I needed to make a stop to the lady's room. Now, at the time (pre-mission), I was a little paranoid about germs due to horror stories of e-coli. and a germaphobic father. That said, when I got to the bathroom, to my slight disappointment, there were no toilet seat covers available. Well, that was fine. I just tore off two strips of TP and laid them on the points of contact to protect my bare bum from getting any possible disease left by previous users. I did my business and left.
   Now, to appreciate this story, I need to deviate a little and describe the layout of the part of the building I was in. For those familiar with BYU, I was in the bottom floor of the JKB. The restroom is at one end of the hall, the stairs to exit are at the other, with lots of classrooms in between. Along the walls there are built in benches for students to sit and study, sleep, talk, wait, etc. This part of the day was in between class periods, so the hall was pretty busy with lots of college students on their way to or leaving from class. I had made my way through the hall and was almost at the stairs that would direct me to outside, when I feel a tap on my shoulder.
    I turn and it's someone I've never met before. I think it was a girl, but that detail became minor after what he or she informed me: "Hey, just so you know, you have toilet paper hanging out of your pants."
   I reached around my backpack to the area of my caboose and sure enough, there was a 4-square long strand of toilet paper hanging out of my rear. I had walked down the entire hall, with a toilet paper tail flapping behind me in the breeze for all to see. I think I thanked the kind stranger who had most mercifully stopped me before I had wandered outside into the open university quad and quickly threw the toilet paper away. Apparently, when I had pulled up my pants after using the bathroom, one of the pieces of toilet paper I had laid on the seat had gotten caught and just went right out the door with me. Wow. I am awesome. I hurried out of the building to get away from onlookers as fast as I could, and tried not to think about what would have happened if had I actually made it outside naively with...*shudder*. And I can't imagine what possibilities people were coming up with as to how I had accessorized myself with my new bathroom belt...eew. Best not to think about that one.
   When I got to work, my supervisor told me of something embarrassing that had happened to her--she had slipped and fallen in front of a bunch of customers. To make her feel better, I told her of my experience that day. Not only did it successfully make her feel better....she laughed about it during the rest of my shift. Sigh. At least my moments of humiliation provide better self-esteem to others.