Tuesday

So today I did get three miles run, and I did eventually get my laundry done. However, between those two accomplishments, I had to jump start my car, purchase a new car battery, purchase installation of said battery (across the street), buy snacks for a department event, ride to school,* hold office hours, attend the department event, attend lecture, and ride home. Following all of this, I had my first meal of the day.

Today was high on spending and low on calories.

I was able to actually wash the clothes before heading to school, but due to the battery adventures, not fully to dry them--they sat damply in my hamper for the six hours I was at school. I finished drying them at the rather questionable laundromat down the block. I had never been in, although I had frequently admired their peeling but cheery "We agitate clothes--not customers!" hand-painted sign.

Whereas Giant Wash (which offers free drying, Monday through Thursday from 9:00-2:00) had been a teeming multi-ethnic metropolis (it's generally better to get there early as early as possible if you want access to a dryer--and some personal space), I had Lee's Cleaners and Laundry entirely to myself. I threw my clothes into a couple of mustard-colored dryers and explored the tiny building. A "wall-funnies" poster from 1989 had faded to just its blue ink behind a glass panel, and posters, some hand-written and most in Spanish, had been taped to it. A 6" TV sat on a desk in the corner, with a pair of antennae and two knobs for adjusting channels. A sign on a post advised me that the building was under 24-hour surveillance and that there was to be no loitering, and no selling or using of drugs, although I never did locate the camera. The paint on the walls was faded and dirty and the whole place had the vaguely creepy air of a seedy motel somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

It was a rather exciting adventure, in fact--and right in my own backyard!

*And what's worse than biking in snow? Biking in rain mixed with snow, of course.