Things of which we do not speak

Carmen started down a long, dark, distasteful road, a road that few people are willing to traverse: the unspoken thing that is workplace bathroom etiquette.

As far as I can tell (or probably any modest, polite person could), the prevailing attitude is "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil." But in this case, I'd have to add "smell no evil." Because how else can you face the woman who sits three cubes over when you know she's just done something that stank up the joint? The answer is, of course, to pretend that nothing is wrong and no unpleasant odors exist. Many times that is easier said than done.

My company generously stocks the ladies room with mouthwash, dental floss, tampons, hair spray, hand lotion and, most importantly, a big, fat canister of Citrus Magic that lives on the counter by the sink. It would be gauche to put up a sign about how and when the Citrus Magic needs to be used, but sometimes I think they SHOULD spell it out because there are times when the ladies room smells less than magical. In my opinion, if you've created a need for the Magic, than be considerate and deploy the Magic. Not everyone subscribes to this theory. And it's embarassing when you have to work next to them, and all you can do is think, "stinker!"