3:33 PM
So I'm at the lanudromat this afternoon. As is typical, I waited far too long to do laundry--until it was either do laundry or wear nothing but dirty clothes while I'm out of town this week--so I was of course jealous when a guy came in with nothing more than a medium-sized backpack full of dirty clothes and starts loading them into the next row of washers.

Then:

When other people would start pouring detergent into their machines and getting their change ready, this fellow just keeps loading...the clothes that he's wearing. He tosses his jacket in, his socks, his sweatshirt, and his pants. Stopping when he's at t-shirt and boxers, he then does the detergent-change thing and sits down to read a magazine. As for myself and other nearby patrons, we marinade in a peculiar broth of shock, amusement, and feigned disinterest.

It was about ten minutes later that the girl running the laundromat spots him and comes over. Mr. Strip doesn't see that he's done anything wrong, and the girl points out the ubiquitous "no shirt, no shoes, no service" policy. Mr. Strip reaches under his chair and pulls on his dirty sneakers. Girl says he has to put on pants or leave. Strip says his only pants are in the wash.

Here's where Girl turns Hero: she goes over to the laundry service counter, digs around behind it, and comes out with this enormous flowered caftan thing, tosses it to Strip, and says "Wear this or get out."

(I should point out that even the sports fans aren't watching the NCAA tournament on the television anymore. The place is silent, except for the occasional snicker.)

Strip stays slumped in his seat for a minute, looking down at the caftan, then stands, steps into it, and puts it on. The laundromat erupts in laughter and hoots. Strip, embarassed, keeps his eyes on the floor while raising an acknowledging hand to the crowd.

Then everybody goes back to their business. He was still wearing the caftan when my driers finished up and I left.

So what I'm wondering is:

1) Things like this actually happen outside of commercials and sitcoms?
2) How could Strip possibly be embarrased to put on the caftan (and he was) after he strips down in the laundromat?!?!?!!?
3) Next time I go, will the policy be amended to "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Pants, No Service"?

Doing laundry is an enormous pain, but if it's ever going to be this entertaining again, I'm going to have to do it more often.

I leave for GAMA and GDC tomorrow, but some freelance stuff I need to work on dictates that I bring my laptop with me. So hopefully between it, my never-ending ability to procrastinate, and my wacky cell phone/modem hookup, you'll hear from me throughout the week. Until then--