having experienced no laundry room difficulties in eight months of living at my current apartment complex, i figured such things to be relics of my past. however, my hopes and dreams were dashed - in striking fashion - this evening.

i headed down to the laundry room at 730 this evening, during a commercial break from the oddly enthralling john stossel special on abc. i arrived in the second-floor room to hear a dryer or two or three buzz and whir to a stop. (there were also damp socks and underwear on one of the dryers. still not sure why.) all five washers were unoccupied. i had made the decision to go with three washer loads (cost - $3) and four dryer loads (cost - $3). so i put in the laundry, and returned to my room, cleaning up and then preparing dinner.

thirty minutes later, i arrive downstairs to see all five dryers occupied, with clearly warm clothing. that is, the same clothing that had whirred to a stop thirty minutes earlier, as i began doing my laundry. what to do? my decision: empty the four dryers - - put the clothing in the empty laundry basket - - put my stuff in the dryers. after all, this person (with a keen fashion sense, i noted) clearly wasn't concerned about my laundry-doing convenience...why should i worry about his clothing?

flash forward 55 minutes, as i return to the laundry room (a bit delayed) to claim my now-dry clothing. who should i see, but some guy folding laundry that i had removed from the dryer. awkward city. he tried to make conversation. i avoided eye contact. i don't know if he realized that i was 'the guy.'

that's all.