Who doesn't have a little dirty laundry in their life?
I'm not about to expose any secrets or try to blackmail anyone, I really am referring to dirty clothing. I will not knowingly play a game of "true confessions," as my friends refer to it, on this blog. Not until I know you, the reader, a bit more, or have a few too many glasses of wine.
This week marks the second time I’ve been effectively cut off from doing laundry, given that the “last call” is at 8:30 for washers and I strolled in around 9, then immediately strolled out after being reprimanded for my tardiness. The laundromat staff have no patience for 2 things: dirty clothing and working later than 10pm.
Lesson #14: Not everything in this city is 24/7! Therefore, save yourself the exhaustion (and clean clothes) by remembering these things. Don’t assume that the city revolves around your hours and convenience! Sure, if you have the money and will, you can get about anything done or delivered to you (I could go into detail here, but I think you get the gist). But for the other 99.9% of us, it isn't always so simple.
Small details like this will be my ruin if I don’t pay more attention. Also, I know this isn’t Western Michigan, where every Godly place is closed on Sunday (and no alcohol is sold, since Jesus wouldn't approve. Except when for that time he turned water into wine for the masses.), but there are plenty of places that close at “respectable” hours.
A quick side note: you might feel ridiculous the first time carrying bags of laundry down really, really busy streets...but then you'll look around and see someone carrying something infinitely bigger/more interesting/probably illegal. That and you'll also soon realize that people don't really make eye contact on the street very often - some view it as confrontational, similar to animals in the wild. It's a concrete jungle out there, after all.
Of course, there's always somewhere to eat (though being on a 3 week long cleanse doesn't require much of that). This city is full of convenience, but you can really only take advantage of this if you learn from your missteps!
Keep on writing. I am enjoying reading all about NYC.
ReplyDeleteMarmie
You hit the nail on the head.
ReplyDeleteI have to cross 1st ave. to get to the closest laundromat and I'm always paranoid that my bag is going to burst in the middle of the street as I'm crossing and that people will stand, stare, and laugh (because nobody would help) while I dodge crazy cabbies as I scurry to collect my clothes. Havoc would ensue...
This is not related to NYC, but my first day in LA (which is kind of a big city...kind of, I borrowed my roomate's car to carry a fouton from a place about a mile away to my house, only to realize when I got back home that that one massive pole that kept the bed together from side to side. I also forgot the little bed stand I bought.
ReplyDeleteFiguring that a mile wasn't "that far" and that I was a strong young man, I decided to walk it out (in a city where nobody walks).
That said, if you think it looks weird to carry what is an obvious bag of laundry down the street in pedestrian city, imagine being the only person on a sidewalk on a Sunday night, grunting and sweating (and ocassionaly stopping for air) while carrying a huge medal rod and a wooden bed stand.
I'm still surprised I didn't get accosted by cops or befriended by bums.
Ryan - that sounds like a short film a la Charlie Chaplin, no?
ReplyDeleteIlya - I can totally picture that! And the very first day, no less? Yeah, at least in nyc, no one will take a second glance at you.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteCathlin, you're a genius! How did I not realize that? I could totally see Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton in this situation? A budding producer, you are!
ReplyDelete