The laundromat raised prices 25 cents on their front-load washers. So now the rates are:<\/p>\n
* top load: $1.25
\n* double-load front load: $2.25
\n* triple-load front load: $3.00
\n* quad-load front load: $4.00
\n* $0.25\/10-minutes for the dryers<\/p>\n
I found 3 quarters in my apartment and I had two dollars in my wallet; I didn’t know about the price increase.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The east-west sidewalks have been shoveled; the north-south on Brearly less so, and my lack of traction on my shoes makes it treacherous with a bag of laundry, a box of detergent, and a book for reading in my hands. All but two front load washers were in use when I arrived, and most of the dryers were full but finished. Only two people were sitting around.<\/p>\n
I discovered the price increase and realized that I had enough for one load and then 20 minutes in the dryer, which would have to do unless I wanted to leave, find a Tyme machine, and then get change at either the nearby bookstore (Star Books) or down the street at a gas station. 20 minutes it was.<\/p>\n
I made it through part of another chapter in House of Leaves<\/em>, which is still amazingly engaging, although I find myself only reading it on the bus or at the laundromat. I also read parts of Special Topics in Calamity Physics<\/em>, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell<\/em>, and The Historian<\/em> at the local laundromat — just a brief record for posterity.<\/p>\n Not long ago I recommended Brian K. Vaughan’s Y – The Last Man<\/em> to an acquaintance, the wife of a friend, and after an intensive work project was done she managed to read the first trade paperback; she’s now enthralled by it, and to return the favor recommended Magic for Beginners<\/em>, a short story collection by Kelly Link. I can get it at Memorial Library at least, so will save money there.<\/p>\n Last night I finished Dar Williams and loaded thirteen David Bowie albums onto my play list. I’m now on the album Outside<\/em> (with the happening “The Hearts Filthy Lesson” playing now), with about six hours of music to go. Dead Can Dance follows.<\/p>\n Bowie makes important if not significant appearances in three movies I’ve watched: Labyrinth<\/em>, a cult favorite of 20 and 30 somethings everywhere I suspect, and an early appearance by Jennifer Connelly (she had already appeared in Once Upon a Time in America<\/em> as well as Phenomena<\/em> [a Dario Argento horror movie of sorts with iffy production values but lots of creepy bugs]); The Hunger<\/em> (along with Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon); and Christiane F. – Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo<\/a><\/em> (1981), in which he does not act, but a Bowie concert early in the movie plays a role. I haven’t yet caught The Prestige<\/em> (Bowie as N. Tesla for science geeks) or earlier works, such as The Man Who Fell to Earth<\/em>. He turned 60 two weeks back on the 8th.<\/p>\n A side effect of listening to so much music these days is a desire to play music again, and so I browsed Amazon.com, Craigslist, and a few other sites looking for electric\/digital pianos. The high enough quality<\/em> ones, with weighted keys and such, are still out of my price range, alas. I don’t have a thousand or two free to drop on a new keyboard, and all the inexpensive ones ($100-$200), while perhaps touch sensitive, are not weighted, and are usually not even full keyboards (usually 60-70 rather than 88 keys). The mid-range ones, in the $500-$700 range, seem to have at least semi-weighted keys, but it appears that while they work for the casual performer — and I guess I qualify as only casual these days — they don’t seem to do classical music (and the range required) very well. I also miss my viola, which I left back in Idaho in August; if I had gone back in December for the holidays I would have brought it back with me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The laundromat raised prices 25 cents on their front-load washers. So now the rates are: * top load: $1.25 * double-load front load: $2.25 * triple-load front load: $3.00 * quad-load front load: $4.00 * $0.25\/10-minutes for the dryers I … Continue reading