Laundromat Friends

Who would’ve thought you could make friends at the Laundromat! Today started out so great with a drive into LA for lunch with Chrystal at Joan’s on Third. I might make it my first Yelp! Review on my bucket list. It was definitely a learning experience driving on the 405 to the restaurant/deli and back. I’m a slow (I like to think cautious) driver so driving around LA is definitely new to me: the fast lane switching, the high speeds. It’ll take some getting used to.

After lunch, I decided to try and figure out how I’m going to do my laundry for the rest of the time I’m here. Since I’m renting out a guesthouse, there isn’t any laundry in my unit so it’s off to the Laundromat. Before today, I’ve never used a Laundromat. I wasn’t sure how long the wash cycle would take or the dryer. I spent all morning being anxious about how to do my laundry there: do I stay there and watch my laundry? Can I leave it there and come back for it later? Will someone try and steal my clothes? Who will see my clothes? MY UNDERWEAR!? Luckily, there was a nice man there would frequented both the Laundromat and Berkeley! He let me know that the 25 cents I put into the dryer was ten minutes and I figured 30 minutes was good enough. He was really nice and told me about his time in Berkeley, which is not so different from what it is today.

I also made my first Redondo Beach friend at the Laundromat! It was his first time at the Laundromat as well because his washing machine broke at home but how lucky that someone else decided to do laundry in the middle of the day! My social life won’t be as stunted as I feared!

Going to the Laundromat is definitely not an anxiety attack scenario but being in a new area and doing something that I normally do in the comfort of my own home can be frightening. But I had nothing to fear. I went in with a fistful of dollars and they had a quarter dispensing machine. The machines are not unlike the ones I used in college - well the dryer was industrial sized and I think I could have definitely fit my whole self in there. But Laundromats aren't so bad. I'll have to find a good time every week to get my laundry done, but if I don't wait too long between loads, I don't think I'll ever have a problem.

I’m packing for Baltimore and Boston but I am procrastinating till the end as always. If there is a skill a learned from college, it’s procrastination.