It can be very, very frustrating when you need to pee and your roommate goes in to take a shower. Most often, this is allowed to happen because you were under the impression that he or she was, like you, merely in need of the toilet, not the shower. Using the toilet is considerably less time-consuming, and it would be unjust to imply that you had any greater right than your roommate to relieve the pressure on your bladder.

..But you've just been screwed. You wait breathlessly in the hallway, aching to hear that flush.. Then, you hear the water come on and some part of you cries, "Nooooooooooooo!"

So what do you do?

Do you take the rude and somewhat obvious approach and bang on the door? Sure. This works especially well if your roommate has just turned the water on, as he or she is likely not dripping wet with soap in his or her eyes. Otherwise, you'll probably have to wait. If you have a considerate roommate, they will hurry up, but if your roommate is a selfish ass, they probably won't do a thing differently, unless they decide to vex you even more by slowing down. In the latter case, if your bathroom doesn't have a lock, it may be best just to go in and use the toilet anyway. And flush. This method may also not work if, for whatever reason, you can't hear over the water when you're in the shower.

There are many sneaky ways to get the roommate out, with varying degrees of inherent evilness. You could just run the hot water until they have to come out, then smack yourself on the forehead and claim not to have made the connection between your water usage and their comfort. You could set off the smoke alarm, unless you're in an apartment building or dorm or other place where such frivolous use of safety devices may upset the neighbors. There's definitely room for creativity.

Finally, you can be a passive, gutless chump about it and get in your car and drive to the nearest business with a public restroom. If you live several miles from any such business, it's likely that you live near some kind of woods or other uninhabited area, and you can just go outside and pee.