Earlier in the week I came to the realization I was getting low on clean socks, and I was perplexed where all my t-shirts went, so I knew was time for a trip to the laundromat. I loaded up one laundry bag with towels, socks, boxers, shirts, pants, and t-shirts, plus had my bottle of liquid tide.
A laundromat opened up a few blocks from me during the spring of 2011 and ever since I've been using the machines at this establishment. I only needed two of the machines to wash, which cost $2.50 each, and afterwards two dryers in which I put about another $2 each in for a half hour of drying time. The wash time usually takes about twenty-eight minutes, and in that time I usually wait in my car with the comfort of a soft seat and radio. During the dry time the clothes need closer monitoring whether they're done early, or if more time should be required, or perhaps some can be taken out early and folded while the rest need more drying time. With all these uncertainties with the drying phase, I usually don't wait in the car and instead wait in the laundromat.
As I was inside watching the clothes dry, I was keeping an eye on the TV inside which was airing an episode of 'General Hospital'. Then all of a sudden a lady entered the laundromat and went up to everyone inside, asking if they were interested in a DVD. This is pressuming they are bootlegged DVDs of movies currently showing in theaters across the country, and possibly porn they hide underneath the pile of non x-rated films. One laundromat patron did have interest and from what I saw, it looked like a purchase was made. Although I'm a movie fan, I have yet to see a good quality bootleg I would be willing to waste $10 on. Since movie theater prices are about $10 also, why not just see the real thing? After this first DVD lady exited, about ten minutes later a second one enters the store with the same offer. It had me thinking, are these two ladies in competition with eachother, or do they work for the same group and are careful about going over all sales opportunities with a fine-tooth comb? The second DVD lady didn't spark any interest at all and she was quick to exit. My clothes were finally dried enough, so then came the final task of folding them in neat piles to place back in the laundry bag. As I was folding, a gentleman entered the place holding a boutique shopping bag. He first said hello and complimented me on the gray sweater that I was wearing, so naturally I was waiting to sell what he had to sell. It turns out it was boxes of cologne and perfumes.
He placed one of the boxes in my hand to hold while he box out his sample bottle to spray some for me. I knew his hopes were of me purchasing the one I was momentarily holding in my hand while he was demostrating, but the only catch with that is I had absolutely no interest in buying it and I had absolutely no money in my pockets. The deal was one box of men's and women's that originally retailed for $50, but he's selling them both for $20, and since he needs to get rid of them, on this today he was willing to let me have them for just $10. Taking a step back for a moment, it wasn't exactly a terrible deal, and from the spray sample they smelt okay. Again, even if I wanted them, I had no cash on me at the time. I told of the financial situation I was in and he claimed I could just grab money from the ATM in the store, but the tough part was there was no ATM inside the laundromat, so he was out of ammunition. He conceded his defeat and tried his pitch on other patrons, but none gave him nearly as much time and hope as I did.
In addition to clean socks and towels, I learned a valuable lesson to not carry cash if you don't want to lose it...
A laundromat opened up a few blocks from me during the spring of 2011 and ever since I've been using the machines at this establishment. I only needed two of the machines to wash, which cost $2.50 each, and afterwards two dryers in which I put about another $2 each in for a half hour of drying time. The wash time usually takes about twenty-eight minutes, and in that time I usually wait in my car with the comfort of a soft seat and radio. During the dry time the clothes need closer monitoring whether they're done early, or if more time should be required, or perhaps some can be taken out early and folded while the rest need more drying time. With all these uncertainties with the drying phase, I usually don't wait in the car and instead wait in the laundromat.
As I was inside watching the clothes dry, I was keeping an eye on the TV inside which was airing an episode of 'General Hospital'. Then all of a sudden a lady entered the laundromat and went up to everyone inside, asking if they were interested in a DVD. This is pressuming they are bootlegged DVDs of movies currently showing in theaters across the country, and possibly porn they hide underneath the pile of non x-rated films. One laundromat patron did have interest and from what I saw, it looked like a purchase was made. Although I'm a movie fan, I have yet to see a good quality bootleg I would be willing to waste $10 on. Since movie theater prices are about $10 also, why not just see the real thing? After this first DVD lady exited, about ten minutes later a second one enters the store with the same offer. It had me thinking, are these two ladies in competition with eachother, or do they work for the same group and are careful about going over all sales opportunities with a fine-tooth comb? The second DVD lady didn't spark any interest at all and she was quick to exit. My clothes were finally dried enough, so then came the final task of folding them in neat piles to place back in the laundry bag. As I was folding, a gentleman entered the place holding a boutique shopping bag. He first said hello and complimented me on the gray sweater that I was wearing, so naturally I was waiting to sell what he had to sell. It turns out it was boxes of cologne and perfumes.
He placed one of the boxes in my hand to hold while he box out his sample bottle to spray some for me. I knew his hopes were of me purchasing the one I was momentarily holding in my hand while he was demostrating, but the only catch with that is I had absolutely no interest in buying it and I had absolutely no money in my pockets. The deal was one box of men's and women's that originally retailed for $50, but he's selling them both for $20, and since he needs to get rid of them, on this today he was willing to let me have them for just $10. Taking a step back for a moment, it wasn't exactly a terrible deal, and from the spray sample they smelt okay. Again, even if I wanted them, I had no cash on me at the time. I told of the financial situation I was in and he claimed I could just grab money from the ATM in the store, but the tough part was there was no ATM inside the laundromat, so he was out of ammunition. He conceded his defeat and tried his pitch on other patrons, but none gave him nearly as much time and hope as I did.
In addition to clean socks and towels, I learned a valuable lesson to not carry cash if you don't want to lose it...
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