HNT - Prelude To A Pee

A few weeks ago, I was at a CCRA meeting in Montreal. It took place at the Novotel Montreal.

The meeting rooms were top notch and the meetings were, as always, intense and jam-packed with no shortage of agenda items and issues to talk through.

So when I went to the men's restroom off the main lobby, the one closest to the bar/restaurant, I was a little distracted.

When I walk into restrooms I like things to be simple and part of the regular script. That way I don't have to think too hard. The first "off script" item was the sign on the front of the door indicating "Men" (to ensure I got the right room) -- I like those simple -- ie "Men/Women" or that universal black and white stick figure -- or even the sometimes cute variances I've seen based on theme. And, being in Quebec, I would even have expected "Hommes"

There was a not too familiar symbol on the door indicating "Men" -- not enough to confuse me badly, but enough to jar that subconscious way we usually go about our restroom activity. (IE, again, not a lot of thought required for the basic functions - and I'm okay with that)

Then I walked into the washroom. It was pretty swanky. Frosted glass vanity countertop directly across from the door, darker lighting, fresh smelling scent. There were two small stalls on the right side, and across from them on a wall was a beautiful waterfall about four feet across, where the water cascaded down over more frosted glass that fed into a trough filled with ice.


I've seen many restrooms fill their urinals with ice so I figured this must be the urinal.

As I stood in front of the urinal I marvelled at how unique this particular one was. But as I was starting to relieve myself, a thought suddenly struck me. This work of art was simply too nice for me to be peeing on. What if I'd made a mistake? What if this wasn't the restroom? What if someone walked in an yelled at me for peeing into this waterfall display? What if this was just here to help facilitate the flow of the kidneys or to calm down stressed out minds while people used the stalls across from them? What if this was just there to create a background noise to mask the grunts, groans, splashes and other not so pretty noises that sometimes come from the stalls?

I started looking over my shoulder in a bit of a panic. Nobody had walked in and yelled at me. Well then, I thought, maybe there was a hidden camera. Montreal was the home of the "Just for Laughs" festival after all -- and the French do have a wicked sense of humour, after all. Maybe that was what it was. They wanted to see how business travelers reacted to this strange situation.

But no. Nobody came in and yelled at me for peeing on their precious arty display. Similarly, nobody told me I was on some sort of hidden or candid camera type show.

I relieved myself, went to the sink to wash my hands. (A bit more careful than I normally am when washing my hands -- the sink top and counter were, after all, quite stunning), then went back to my meeting.

But it was the most bizarre and interesting (and beautiful) urinal I have ever seen. So I couldn't resist pulling out my cellphone and snapping a few shots of it. (After I'd washed my hands, of course)

In case you're wondering, NO I'm not peeing in this picture.
I do, after all, need both hands for that.