Tuesday, May 12, 2009

You Go, Girl!

I don't know about you, but I have some pretty remarkable stories related to, well....peeing in public places. For one, to make a very long story short, I was once rushed to a hospital (7 months pregnant) in an ambulance, only to find out that the contractions were mostly caused by a full bladder, which I was unable to relieve because of drugs I was on to stop contractions. (Read more about that wild ride here.)

Since then, I have had other moments of intense-need-to-pee-but-finding-myself-in-places-that-were-not-conducive-to-doing-so. For example, I once peed in a diaper, inside a mini-van, on the top floor of a parking garage, in a strange city, on the 4th of July. Yup, really; I did. (And let me tell you-- toddler-sized diapers were not designed to hold adult quantities of urine!)

Another time, we were stranded (parked actually) on I-294 in Chicago when the urge hit me so badly that I ended up having to pee in a large, empty, McDonald's coffee cup. I'm sorry!! What would you have done?! It was an EMERGENCY! (And remember, I am an expert on peeing emergencies!)

Believe it or not, there are other stories even worse than these, but I don't want you to think any worse of me than you already do now, so I'll quit there on that part, but I'm really excited, because I was poking around the internet recently and came upon a product so revolutionary that I asked if I could do a review and Giveaway! The answer was YES.

The GoGirl is a "female urinary device" (a.k.a. "FUD") that allows women to pee under circumstances they might not otherwise be able to. (Congratulations, Lilu, for guessing! :) Ever been in a nasty bathroom with a toilet that you're afraid to sit on? (What? You've never been to my house?! JK) How about on a boat for hours, miles from a bathroom and too wimpy to jump in the water? Or in a tent in the middle of the night with pouring rain outside and an urgent need to hike to the outhouse a half mile away? In a line of 20 women to a filthy porta-potty? On an impossibly long road trip? It cracks me up to write this, but there is a solution! Check it out: I was amused by this idea, but I am impressed by the GoGirl. First of all, it's an American-made product; the brainchild of Sarah Dillon, a soccer mom who lives in Minneapolis! Introduced only just last January, the GoGirl's packaging is fun and functional, fitting easily into my purse. One Go-Girl is only $5.99 plus $2.39 for shipping, and you can save two dollars by buying three. (If you're not sqeemish about reusing it; it's also hand-washable.)

Here's a video of me demonstrating the product....(dont' worry; it's quick, and definitely worth
watching.)

I did use my GoGirl (for research purposes only, actually) and found that it was nearly impossible to pee standing up, with pants on, but I was able to use it facing the "normal way" and squatting, as in the "hover" method in a bathroom so nasty you wouldn't dare sit on the toilet. If you do this, do be a dear and wipe the seat if you drip on it (I HATE it when women who are freaked out about toilet seats hover, drip, and walk away! Disgusting!! If you're going to pee like a guy, lift the seat like a guy (or most guys, hopefully.) I really look forward to taking this baby on the next trip through Chicago!

What do you have to lose by taking a look at the GoGirl website? (You know you're curious.) It's actually kind of entertaining, and they have a quarterly GoGirl Sweepstakes, in which 20 winners can choose up to $500 in prizes, like mountain bikes, camping equipment, and gift cards!

As part of this product review, I am giving away "GoGirl" samples to two lucky winners. All you have to do is leave a comment. Link to my Giveaway in a post (about your own "bladder confessions," perhaps? to earn two more entries (leave the link in a separate comment, please). The deadline to enter is Sunday at 12am.

What are you waiting for? Go, Girl! (or Boy!)

8 comments:

  1. This is quite amusing! What if we all just converted to toilets like they have in Europe? You know, holes in the ground with treads on either side. Much easier, much more sanitary.

    The more I think about "GoGirl," the wider my smile is becoming...

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  2. That would have been a life saver when I was having trouble getting from my office (actual office with a door but no windows) down the hall (long hall) to the ladies room when I had a knee injury! In fact my knee is better now but there are still days when that could be a life saver.

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  3. O M G. That was the funniest thing I've ever seen in my ENTIRE life. You peed. On your BLOG! Standing up.

    You totally rock.

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  4. Haha oh my gosh! I must've missed this post last week! I get so mad that the men here have public urinals that they don't have to pay to use and us ladies have to shell out for a real toilet! I think this solves the issue. I love it!

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  5. Ok you had me on that video. I thought wow this lady is nuts. But then you turned around so quickly.
    I very sure I've never seen this post but somewhere I read about this product.

    On this general subject of unusual locations -
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Uuxv8NV3y8

    I posted this video and additional info back in 2009.
    http://afcsoac.blogspot.com/2009/02/drive-by-news-update.html

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  6. At first I thought, "How does a person become LESS crazy over the past two years?'' You had me there!

    I know the contest is over but one time my boyfriend and I were driving our stuff back to our parents' homes as the college year had ended. We were following his roommate and his girlfriend. Her parents owned a Cuban restaurant and she wanted to expose us to some great Cuban food.

    Jim and I had no idea where we were going, we were following them. This was before cell phones. I had to pee so badly, but Jim was worried that if we pulled over we would lose them on the highway.

    I'm begging him to stop and suddenly he reaches behind him and grabs something. "Here, pee in this." It was one of his drinking glasses! I said that I wasn't a guy, I couldn't just go in a glass and he said to give it a try.

    So I sort of stood up in the front seat and did my best. I can't remember if I missed but I was so embarrassed! It was dark so I left the full glass in the parking lot of the restaurant!

    I have Ulcerative Colitis so my stories about "#2" are much, much worse. Trust me, you don't even want to know!

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  7. I am so glad you linked this up for SS, because somehow I missed it...and this is definitely one NOT to miss! lol.

    I can think of a few times when this would have been a helpful thing to have around.

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  8. Okay, I don't need to win because I can only pee sitting down.

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