Kimchi, not for me

Can I ask a personal question? I mean, really really personal? On average, how many squares of toilet paper do you use for a wipe job? (That's per individual wipe, not the total number of squares needed for a satisfactory level of nether-region-cleanliness.) And ladies, do the number of squares change according to what you're...ahem....doing? But wait...there's more...

There were some places in Israel and some places here that have toilet paper dispensers on the wall when you walk into the bathroom (not the stall, the actual room) and you have to get it before you go in. This requires more predictive abilities than I personally have, so I always end up taking too much. Then there are places in Korea with no toilet paper at all (my purse stays stocked, I assure you), and in China the norm is no toilet paper and no stall doors. (Important: someone please tell me if I have blogged already about squat pots and going to the bathroom using a squat pot.)

I used to be opposed to bathroom discussions, but working at the vet cured me of that. Now I converse freely about all bodily functions, both mine and my pets'. It's not very feminine and definitely not delicate, but I am usually appropriate. (I only talk about it with people I'm close to and who are comfortable.) In fact, I've found that my closest friends are the ones that I can talk about poop with. I wonder if we can talk about it because we're close, or if talking about poop makes us closer? I remember the relief (no pun intended) I felt when, eating dinner with Kylie and Donovan at Outback on Friday night after our first week of work, that I mentioned something about poop, and Kylie exclaimed, "Oh yes! You like to talk about poop too!" And I don't mean making crude jokes...just poop - the good, the bad, the ugly, and the kind that makes you sick.

Plus I've been forced to be more open about bathroom issues over the past year. I had an issue with the plumbing in my apartment in Tel Aviv and it ended up being horrifyingly embarrassing. Then there's the necessary to prejudge how much toilet paper one would need prior to even entering the stall. In fact, it was thinking of that that prompted this whole post. In Israel, Jerusalem actually, Mary and I had both gone to the bathroom and she was in the stall before she realized we needed toilet paper. I went to fetch some for us both, and she said, "Geez, you think you got enough there?" It was the first time I realized my toilet paper habits could be wasteful. Then, one of my friends who came from a very large family said that she uses about four squares...for both kinds of jobs. I don't count the squares, I just pull...but Kylie and I (while sitting in my apartment away from the bathroom) experimented tonight, and we both use about eight squares on average...also for both kinds of jobs. So, what do you think?

And just in case the questions have been lost in the midst of my senseless rambling:

1. On average, how many squares do you use for each individual wipe?
2. Ladies, is the number different according to the kind of job?
3. Wet wipes: is there a place for them in the bathroom life of adults? (was going to title it "Wet wipes: cleansing and soothing, or cold and clammy? but clammy wasn't quite the word I was looking for - wait - my sister just said that they make wet wipe warmers...that changes the whole thing...but still, as an adult, do you have any use for wet wipes?)