Location: Gregory Gym First Floor
Utilities: 2 sinks, 1 stall, 1 urinal, soap dispensers, paper towels (automatic)
Often times after eating a hearty meal at Jester City Limits, I'll need to use the facilities. Unfortunately the closest bathroom to JCL, first floor Jester by the Wendy's, is horrifyingly disgusting. So for a while I've been searching for a good alternative in the area. One day, my traveling companion Jesse recommended the bathroom in Gregory, not the locker room bathroom but another one closer to the entrance.
After having used this bathroom several times, my feelings are still very mixed about it. I love its proximity to JCL, and because I'm usually headed in that direction anyway, its never an out of the way trip. The location is easy to get to as it can be found almost immediately to your left upon entry (you don't even have to swipe in). But at the same time, its sort of tucked away from the public eye, so it isn't used as heavily. Its usually fairly clean, and the smell is fine.
Unfortunately, it is a tiny bathroom, and while it doesn't get much in the way of traffic, even just one other person can destroy what would otherwise be a pleasant pooping experience. At least half the time I try to use it there's someone else already there. For this single flaw I have to knock down what would otherwise be a perfect bathroom to three flushes out of five. I guess the search for a good Jester alternative continues.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Business School Assumptions Shattered
Location: McCombs School of Business (CBA) Second Floor
Utilities: 3 sinks, 4 urinals, 4 stalls, soap dispensers, paper towels
I'm going to be honest: As an engineering student I have a pretty set idea of what business students are like. They're all lazy, dirty frat boys and sorority girls. And when I took microeconomics last semester, it seemed to support this theory (well maybe not the lazy part). But after visiting a bathroom in the heart of the business school I may have to change my opinion.
I entered the building from the glass doors on the east side from Speedway. I located a map of the building and found a pair of unisex bathrooms I thought I'd try. Unfortunately both were in use. This next part was my own fault because instead of going back to the map I decided to wander around the building looking for another restroom. After too much time, and some directions from a friendly faculty member, I found one further down a hall to the left of where I had entered, and boy am I glad I did.
This bathroom was immaculate. The layout was simple. The stalls were all clean. Each stall was decked out with a metal case that dispensed seat covers and toilet paper and had a little shelf for whatever. The lighting was comfortable and supported by the pleasant earthy tones of the tile on the floor.
The only thing that was unusual were the urinals. Two of the four were not separated by partitions so that you just have this pair of urinals right next to each other. I cannot imagine a situation in which I would want to stand that close to another man while I pee especially with no wall to separate us. Its not a huge problem. It just seems unusual.
Overall, I would give this bathroom 4 out of 5 flushes. Its near perfect, but the difficult location is kind of a problem.
Utilities: 3 sinks, 4 urinals, 4 stalls, soap dispensers, paper towels
I'm going to be honest: As an engineering student I have a pretty set idea of what business students are like. They're all lazy, dirty frat boys and sorority girls. And when I took microeconomics last semester, it seemed to support this theory (well maybe not the lazy part). But after visiting a bathroom in the heart of the business school I may have to change my opinion.
I entered the building from the glass doors on the east side from Speedway. I located a map of the building and found a pair of unisex bathrooms I thought I'd try. Unfortunately both were in use. This next part was my own fault because instead of going back to the map I decided to wander around the building looking for another restroom. After too much time, and some directions from a friendly faculty member, I found one further down a hall to the left of where I had entered, and boy am I glad I did.
This bathroom was immaculate. The layout was simple. The stalls were all clean. Each stall was decked out with a metal case that dispensed seat covers and toilet paper and had a little shelf for whatever. The lighting was comfortable and supported by the pleasant earthy tones of the tile on the floor.
The only thing that was unusual were the urinals. Two of the four were not separated by partitions so that you just have this pair of urinals right next to each other. I cannot imagine a situation in which I would want to stand that close to another man while I pee especially with no wall to separate us. Its not a huge problem. It just seems unusual.
Overall, I would give this bathroom 4 out of 5 flushes. Its near perfect, but the difficult location is kind of a problem.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Going Green
Location: Third Floor Biomedical Engineering Building on the West end
Utilities: 2 Stalls (one handicap), 2 Urinals, 2 Sinks, Paper Towels, Soap Dispenser
I was on my way home from Kinsolving one evening headed East on Dean Keeton on the South side of the street when I decided to pop into the glass lobby of Biomedical Engineering Building to use the restroom. I'd used this bathroom before because it was convenient for my walk home after dinner and not as heavily used as the Men's bathroom in Kinsolving itself. The bathroom is really easy to find, almost visible from the street through the glass walls of the main lobby.
I'm really a fan of this bathroom for several reasons. For one, the building is almost entirely labs, and labs mean grad students, and grad students, typically, mean clean restrooms. That's usually the case with this one.
For another thing, the tile color scheme is fantastic. It fits in with the rest of the building's decor, and uses a delightful combination of earth tones that are dark enough to hide the dirty grout in between tiles. I find it very pleasant to look at while using the facilities.
The other major plus of this bathroom is its water conservation technology. Instead of having automated stalls it offers the typical public restroom flush handle with a twist. It is immediately clear that something is different because the handles themselves are green, which according to some panels on the wall is due to the fact that it is coated in a germ fighting material. The panels on the wall also describe the other function of the handles, namely that depending on the type of waste you in the toilet you press the handle a different way. It uses less water for liquid waste than solid waste thus conserving water for those of us who like to pee sitting down. I'm a fan of this as it makes me feel like I'm relieving the environment while I relieve myself.
I highly recommend this bathroom as it is convenient, clean and environmentally friendly. It gets my first five flushes out of five.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Poop on the Shelf
Location: Art Building and Museum First Floor
Utilities: 5 sinks (automated), 5 urinals (automated), 2 stalls (1 handicap, both automated), foam soap dispensers, paper towels
I was on my way home from Cypress Bend Cafe one afternoon when I decided to try a bathroom in a building I'd never been to before. As it was immediately to my right, I decided on the Art Building and Museum. Entering from San Jacinto near 23rd Street, I found the restrooms easily located down the hall to my left.
Upon entering, the layout was a little confusing. The sinks were placed to my right, but the stalls and urinals are down another hall to the left. The walls and floor were covered in two inch tiles that all looked a little too grimy for my taste. Personally I don't like little tiles like that. They're unpleasing to the eye, and because there's more grout gunk gets caught in the tile easier.
Everything about the bathroom seemed pretty standard. That was until I went into the handicap stall. First off, the seat was kind of rough and not well attached to the toilet. But more importantly there was no toilet paper dispenser. At all. Instead they had put a shelf in a corner of the stall with toilet paper rolls on it. And the shelf wasn't even low enough to get to from the toilet. You have to pick up the roll and hold it while you go. Its not the worst thing in the world, but its really inconvenient and not a difficult problem to fix.
Overall I give it a 2 out of 5. Feel free to pee here, but unless you enjoy handling your own toilet paper, poop elsewhere.
Utilities: 5 sinks (automated), 5 urinals (automated), 2 stalls (1 handicap, both automated), foam soap dispensers, paper towels
I was on my way home from Cypress Bend Cafe one afternoon when I decided to try a bathroom in a building I'd never been to before. As it was immediately to my right, I decided on the Art Building and Museum. Entering from San Jacinto near 23rd Street, I found the restrooms easily located down the hall to my left.
Upon entering, the layout was a little confusing. The sinks were placed to my right, but the stalls and urinals are down another hall to the left. The walls and floor were covered in two inch tiles that all looked a little too grimy for my taste. Personally I don't like little tiles like that. They're unpleasing to the eye, and because there's more grout gunk gets caught in the tile easier.
Everything about the bathroom seemed pretty standard. That was until I went into the handicap stall. First off, the seat was kind of rough and not well attached to the toilet. But more importantly there was no toilet paper dispenser. At all. Instead they had put a shelf in a corner of the stall with toilet paper rolls on it. And the shelf wasn't even low enough to get to from the toilet. You have to pick up the roll and hold it while you go. Its not the worst thing in the world, but its really inconvenient and not a difficult problem to fix.
Overall I give it a 2 out of 5. Feel free to pee here, but unless you enjoy handling your own toilet paper, poop elsewhere.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Like Peppermint and Sick
Location: Fourth Floor Texas Union on the North Side
Utilities: 2 Stalls (automatic), 2 Urinals (automatic), 2 sinks, Paper Towel Dispensers (automatic), soap dispensers
I've found that the further up you go into the Texas Union the cleaner the bathrooms are (particularly because the homeless are so fond of the second floor). This is why I often make the trek up to the fourth floor to the nicest (albeit smallest) of the bathrooms on the north end of the building. When you come up the north stairwell the bathroom is only a short walk down the hall.
Everything about the bathroom is relatively standard. The stalls are usually very clean and well stocked with the standard one ply toilet paper (the Union custodial staff does a pretty good job).
However when it comes to the sinks the water never seems to effectively rinse all the soap off of my hand. Upon further inspection it turned out this was a problem with all the faucets in the Union. For some reason, its too light to get the soap off which kind of bothers me.
My only other complaint is the smell. Like all the other bathrooms in the Union, this one contains a sent dispenser meant to cover the normal smells of the restroom. However, unlike the other restrooms, this one is about a third of the size. Unfortunately, the sent dispenser is not similarly down scaled so that the concentration of sent, a sickly sweet sort of peppermint, can be annoying at times. That isn't to say its rendered unusable because of this; it simply means it can hit you a little if you aren't prepared for it.
Overall, its a simple, clean restroom with a few forgivable problems. I give it four flushes out of five.
Utilities: 2 Stalls (automatic), 2 Urinals (automatic), 2 sinks, Paper Towel Dispensers (automatic), soap dispensers
I've found that the further up you go into the Texas Union the cleaner the bathrooms are (particularly because the homeless are so fond of the second floor). This is why I often make the trek up to the fourth floor to the nicest (albeit smallest) of the bathrooms on the north end of the building. When you come up the north stairwell the bathroom is only a short walk down the hall.
Everything about the bathroom is relatively standard. The stalls are usually very clean and well stocked with the standard one ply toilet paper (the Union custodial staff does a pretty good job).
However when it comes to the sinks the water never seems to effectively rinse all the soap off of my hand. Upon further inspection it turned out this was a problem with all the faucets in the Union. For some reason, its too light to get the soap off which kind of bothers me.
My only other complaint is the smell. Like all the other bathrooms in the Union, this one contains a sent dispenser meant to cover the normal smells of the restroom. However, unlike the other restrooms, this one is about a third of the size. Unfortunately, the sent dispenser is not similarly down scaled so that the concentration of sent, a sickly sweet sort of peppermint, can be annoying at times. That isn't to say its rendered unusable because of this; it simply means it can hit you a little if you aren't prepared for it.
Overall, its a simple, clean restroom with a few forgivable problems. I give it four flushes out of five.
The Worst Bathroom I've Ever Seen
Location: First (?) Floor Battle Hall
Utilities: 4 Urinals, 2 Sinks, Soap Dispensers, Paper Towels, 3 "stalls"
I figure I ought to begin with the bathroom that inspired it all.
The location is pretty manageable. I first discovered it while walking from Dobie towards the West Mall. There is a pair of unassuming doors off of inner campus drive next to an outdoor set of stairs. I walked in and only had to turn a few corners to find the gates of hell.
When you walk in you can already tell something is wrong. The sinks are not attached to the wall, not including the pipes, but are rather balanced on a single porcelain leg. This is clearly a sign of the devil's magic at work. They are also roughly the size of bath tubs which make them great for washing blood off of your forearms.
The urinals seem fine enough, and the smell isn't even really that bad. But this is all probably because this bathroom never gets used due to the fact that...
THE STALLS ARE HORRIFYING. Now I'm not saying they are unclean or anything. They're relatively sanitary. Its actually the toilets themselves. You see, most common public restroom have a flat porcelain top on which a plastic seat can be rested. For whatever reason the plastic seat has an opening at the front so that the seat doesn't make a complete oval. On these toilets, instead of a flat porcelain top to the toilet the porcelain at the front is raised about an inch and a half, and the toilet is just short enough that sitting on it comfortably means resting your genitals on this nasty raised bit. This is all compounded by the fact that the plastic seats aren't even designed for this type of toilet. Instead, the part of the seat that would overlap with the porcelain has just been sheared off and not cleanly either, so it just jabs into your leg the whole time. The entire experience feels like a tiny man is simultaneously holding your junk up with one hand and stabbing your leg with the other.
So that's it. The most poorly designed bathroom I've ever been in. I give it zero flushes out of five (and a get the hell out of there while you're at it). Consequently that is the baseline for my bathroom scale, so keep that in mind as I review others.
Utilities: 4 Urinals, 2 Sinks, Soap Dispensers, Paper Towels, 3 "stalls"
I figure I ought to begin with the bathroom that inspired it all.
The location is pretty manageable. I first discovered it while walking from Dobie towards the West Mall. There is a pair of unassuming doors off of inner campus drive next to an outdoor set of stairs. I walked in and only had to turn a few corners to find the gates of hell.
When you walk in you can already tell something is wrong. The sinks are not attached to the wall, not including the pipes, but are rather balanced on a single porcelain leg. This is clearly a sign of the devil's magic at work. They are also roughly the size of bath tubs which make them great for washing blood off of your forearms.
The urinals seem fine enough, and the smell isn't even really that bad. But this is all probably because this bathroom never gets used due to the fact that...
THE STALLS ARE HORRIFYING. Now I'm not saying they are unclean or anything. They're relatively sanitary. Its actually the toilets themselves. You see, most common public restroom have a flat porcelain top on which a plastic seat can be rested. For whatever reason the plastic seat has an opening at the front so that the seat doesn't make a complete oval. On these toilets, instead of a flat porcelain top to the toilet the porcelain at the front is raised about an inch and a half, and the toilet is just short enough that sitting on it comfortably means resting your genitals on this nasty raised bit. This is all compounded by the fact that the plastic seats aren't even designed for this type of toilet. Instead, the part of the seat that would overlap with the porcelain has just been sheared off and not cleanly either, so it just jabs into your leg the whole time. The entire experience feels like a tiny man is simultaneously holding your junk up with one hand and stabbing your leg with the other.
So that's it. The most poorly designed bathroom I've ever been in. I give it zero flushes out of five (and a get the hell out of there while you're at it). Consequently that is the baseline for my bathroom scale, so keep that in mind as I review others.
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