sisyphus

this week saw us put in charge of a visit by a certain secondary school
to ocs. While the actual event itself went off without a hitch,
preparation for it was, to put it mildly, a pain in the butt.



personally, I felt the area cleaning was the worst bit. Because area
cleaning, for me, involves having to clean the platoon's toilet. Being
a relatively pampered child (or so I think), I've never appreciated how
hard/distasteful/frustrating it is to clean a toilet. Until now.



I don't think I should go into all the gory details, but suffice to say
that being a toilet cleaner is a shitty job (pun intended). Experience
has led me to the conclusion that a small but significant proportion of
the s'porean male population has never been properly toilet-trained (or
suffer from severe sphincter problems). The evidence is overwhelming,
especially in its stink.



ladies, you have been forewarned.



the worst part about cleaning the toilet is the futility of it.
Essentially the toilet is only clean during area inspections; after
that the collective urges of dozens of bladders render all your
previous efforts useless. The only way to maintain a perfectly spotless
toilet is to bar everyone from using it. Which, as you'll no doubt
point out, defeats the purpose of having a toilet. The task of a toilet
cleaner is therefore a sisyphean one, which only adds to the
frustration.



so here's a thought: the next time you enter a public toilet, spare a
thought for the poor sod who has to clean it. And be thankful that the
poor sod isn't you.