Blustery

Intelligent Design

The most amazing thing about this chronicle of laundry isn't even the validation that our neighbors do indeed do laundry every day of the year.

What is most astonishing is that patterns seem to be emerging from what seemed pure random disorder.

A few days ago for instance, there were a lot of socks drying.

Today, all the rugs in the house are drying, relegating all the floors to their natural state, which I assume is tile or hardwood floors. Not many people put this many rugs on top of carpet.

So was it planned to have lots of warm socks ready in the face of impending cold feet on rugless flooring?

And if there is sort of method to the madness, what does it mean when there is nothing but underwear hanging on the line?

It boggles the mind.

Happy (Belated) National Towels and Sheets Day

Federal holidays are so confusing, especially in San Francisco. Is Columbus Day bad, Cesar Chavez day good? What exactly are we supposed to do on Labor Day? Are we celebrating working by taking the day off?

Flag Day and President's Day used to be holidays when I was a kid, but here on the west coast I never hear about them anymore.

Well blogger was down yesterday, so it's a belated well wishes to everyone on Towels and Sheets day.

What would we do without them? Yes it's difficult to imagine a world where we would have to air dry after a shower, or shake ourselves furiously like dogs do...a world where on warm nights you'd probably have to kick at least one leg out from under the heavy blanket at all times because there was no such option as "sheet only." Let's give thanks to our wonderful blessings.

What a country!

Mysterious Fancy Garments

So as Mike pointed out earlier, there are some garments that look like robes or dresses. Something not for your normal Monday (yesterday) afternoon hanging-out and doing laundry time. Something for a special event, perhaps an age-old tradition, a meaningful, memorable time whose garb gives insight into the import of the occasion.

It got me to thinking...I wonder what these clothes actually look like on the people who own them? All that we know is that they are Chinese, as we see them once in a while out on the balcony (note: I am Korean so yes I can tell the difference.) The possiblities are endless - my imagination ran wild...

What if, all this time, there were really important things happening across the yard in these two buildings, and we had no idea? Perhaps really important people only wear their clothes once (even jeans!) and then their servants wash them by hand.

It's all starting to make sense.






















Yes that is Chairman Mao hangin wit Madame Kai Shek.

Public Responses Thus Far

Boy oh boy is it cool to get feedback on this here blog. We have been verbally lambasted (called selfish, probably wealthy and don't know how to save a buck, immature) and lauded (called hilarious, genious, inspiring, thoughtful) and to top it all off (we still can't believe it): We actually connected with someone who collects laundry photos and who wants prints!

Well suffice it to say that even though being called selfish is never pleasant, (especially by someone whom, if s/he knew how wrong s/he was about us, would probably not make such rash judgements ever again), there are lessons to be learned from everything. Every reaction, every emotion, every thoughtful comment.

So thanks for writing (and reading). Keep it coming.

And Kathy, I'm putting together a way for you to order prints online through a 3rd party photo sharing service (we don't make or keep prints here), quite easily and cost effectively. Will keep you posted.

Missed opportunity

Today there was a nice big fresh load of colorful clothing, but when I went to take the photo the sun was shining right at me. Too bad. Can't really see the clothes, but it does make for a kind of artsy shot I suppose.


Makes one consider procrastination and its ill effects. Everyone remembers the time he wished he would've asked the girl out (and now she's married), or decided to impetuously hop on that train like a young Kerouac (now you're too old to run and jump). There is a certain nostalgia that accompanies missed opportunities - that age old question of "What if?" will haunt you if you allow it.

Take a lesson. Go for it. Do it now. Whatever it is. You might as well...

Lonely Lingering Lingerie

Poetry of Panty.

Day Four

Ok we are on a roll. Today's load is quite colorful and there is an abundance of underwear, especially at the house on the right. What do these people do in their clothes every day? Do they have a mandatory mud-football game each evening, after which they must retire their garb to the multiple washbasins?

How many washbasins must there be?

















The house next door seems to be using all available space most efficiently, even hanging some stuff on the balcony railing itself. They probably think that they can continue indefinitely to improve efficiency by finding more and more ways to hang clothing in a small space, but they probably haven't heard of Moore's Law, and the oft-times overlooked Maytag law, which says that there is a finite improvement for laundry efficiency per year.








It's actually sunny today, for a change. Perhaps it will all dry soon...

01 October, 2006, Another Cloudy Day

Sunday morning. Wake up, rub the sleep out of your eyes, start a fresh pot of coffee and sit down the with the Sunday paper. Look out the window at the beautiful greenery...




















But wait, what is that over to the left I see?

Oh yes, it seems two neighbors are drying their laundry today. Oh wait, that's quite similar to yesterday. And the day before. And the day before. And every damn day of the year.

And wait, is that underwear I see?








And yes, of course, next door at the pink house there is a fresh batch of clothing...
This may look like the same clothing as yesterday, but look closer. No, it's another fresh batch of outfits drying in the sun.



Wait, it's cloudy today. There is no sun. So we can bank on the fact that this laundry will be hanging, to our delight, ALL DAY LONG.

We Live in San Francisco

We love our apartment. It's not huge, but we have vaulted ceilings which allows us enormous windows facing out behind our building. We don't have a backyard (the space is a parking garage instead, which I can't really complain about because parking is a godsend in this town), but we can look into other people's backyards.

There is a huge majestic tree (pine, I think?) in one yard that's great to look at. We all know that trees are good for our environment because they take in CO2 and help us to regenerate clean air to breathe. Trees are also great for psychological health, as they also seem to clean out our field of view - too many buildings with no nature makes for a "polluted" view, in my opinion.

Above the trees, and slightly to the left, we have the reason for this site:
















As you can see in Exhibit A above, there is a family (or group of families that lives in the same small dwelling) that likes to dry their laundry outside which, in and of itself, is not such an egregious thing.

But imagine if you will, that there is laundry drying outside, in plain view, EVERY SINGLE DAY OF THE YEAR. Notice in this photo, which was taken today, that there is no sunshine. Thus, it probably takes quite a number of hours for this laundry to actually dry. No matter! When you dry laundry irrespective of the weather, day of the year, national holidays, atomic fallout, you do not care about these petty details.

Also, note that, if you look closer at Exhibit A, there is a lot of granny-panty going on here: