Yesterday, in a burst of morning industriousness, I tidied up the apartment before I left for work, including stripping the bed and changing the pawprint sheets. I was so proud of myself for being on top of this task and I took the dirty sheets with me when I left for work at 8 a.m., intending to drop them off at the laundromat on the way. (Our washing machine doesn't handle king-sized sheets very well.)
Imagine my annoyance when I discovered the laundromat didn't open until 9 a.m.! Then I figured I could leave them at another laundromat on my walk -- I pass several -- but of course all of those were closed too. I swear this has not always been the case. Pre-Covid, I often dropped off clothes on my way to work. I guess the laundromats haven't quite bounced back from the pandemic.
Anyway, long story short, I wound up carrying my big bag of sheets all the way to work (almost two miles!), stashing it under my desk and then bringing it home again in the afternoon before I could finally leave it to be washed.
Completely insane.
I bought my plane ticket to visit Florida in April, so I guess I'm really going this time. And once again, the travel gods smiled upon me. Remember how, last summer, I applied for a refund on our Brazil trip just a few days before the deadline, purely by chance? Well, the same thing happened yesterday. I had a credit with British Airways for a ticket I hadn't used, and when I put it toward my new ticket I discovered I had to use it on a flight before the end of April. Whew! Talk about the skin of my teeth.
Finally, a few weeks ago I got invited by Imperial College to participate in some kind of Covid study, and I had to complete a questionnaire and a Covid test for that. So I answered all their questions last night, mostly about my history with Covid, my vaccines and my habits in terms of potential exposure to others. One of the questions asked my weight and insisted I provide it in stone. You know how I'm still fuzzy on measuring temperatures in Celsius? Well, I'm even more clueless on measuring weight in stone. I had to convert my weight in pounds to stone using an online calculator, and I hope it's right. (I came up with 12 stone and 12 pounds. Hopefully that's not the weight of a hippopotamus.)
Covid means clothes don't get dirty and sheets don't need washing? How odd for laundromats to be closed until 9am. Maybe passing traffic.
ReplyDeleteYou did well with flight credit, unlike us with our car wash credit.
While I grew up with stones as a weight measure, I have totally forgotten them. 12 stone 12 pound sounds heavy. Checking...Ah, that is what I am. My weight is not a problem. It's the distribution of it that irks me. Interestingly young people here have an understanding of pounds for baby weight and weight of babies in kilos is unofficially disappearing.
Many businesses did alter their hours (if they didn't close entirely) during our lockdowns and I think some just never returned to their previous schedules.
DeleteI also grew up with stones and pounds for weighing purposes, but have weighed myself in kilos for many years now. 12.12 sounds very reasonable for a man of your height! No hippos in sight!
ReplyDeleteGood! I'm glad I calculated that correctly! (Or Google did, I should say.)
DeleteTwelve stone and twelve pounds? Are you suffering from anorexia? Eat more pies!
ReplyDeleteHa! It's all my walking!
DeleteI’ve never had a problem converting to stone. Having family in England, I grew up with that. I can fairly quickly estimate Celsius and Fahrenheit, too. But kilos and centimeters give me a headache. I’ve looked for an Idiot’s guide to the metric system with no success. I’ve been known to carry the trash to wherever I’m going — except the trash bin. And I did once take my dress shirts from San Francisco to Berkeley on BART instead of dropping them at the (open at the time) laundry on the way to the station.
ReplyDeleteDid you ever study the metric system in school? When I was in elementary school during Jimmy Carter's presidency we learned metrics because the belief was that the whole world would function on the metric system in the future.
DeleteI’m afraid that’s an indication of the difference in our ages. Not that I’m old, it’s just that you’re so very young. I was out of college by then and didn’t bother investing the time until a decision was made. (It was the wrong decision I think.)
DeleteBack to stones and pounds: Although I can easily convert, I’ve never understood why my friends can understand when I say I weigh 13 stone 2 pounds. But have no clue what I mean if I say I weigh 185 pounds (which is 13 stone 2 pounds). An odd system if you ask me (but then nobody asked me).
3 pounds, not 2 pounds!
DeleteThis was the best blog title ever! Hahaha!
ReplyDeleteIt might be the only good thing that came from that escapade! LOL
Delete"Take your laundry to work." Jennifer's right. That is a great blog title!
ReplyDeleteWhat a pain!
Stone to pound is weird, isn't it? "Stones" sounds so Flintstonian. Or, you know- Jaggerian.
This was the first time I've been forced to use stone. Of course I hear it all the time but I've never paid much attention!
DeleteI might have been tempted to chuck the lines rather than haul them to work and back, but I'd have kicked myself for doing so.
ReplyDeleteYou really do seem to have an 'in' with the air travel goddess. I'm impressed.
Then my head hurt thinking of stone weights and such.
No, our linens are like GOLD for us because we have an American king bed and we can't get them here. British king beds have different measurements. So I have to buy sheets in the states!
DeleteEver considered why it is Americans tend to think more is better as in we need a king sized bed with really big sheets that won't fit in a smaller room in a flat with a smaller wash and dry combination unit which many Europeans have because spaces and rooms and beds there tend to be smaller? You could have some fun with this...
ReplyDeleteBut that's so American, isn't it? More is better -- it's the essence of capitalism.
Deleteand what is killing us, too.
DeleteYou probably have super immunity now, having been vaxxed and boosted, and also getting a dose of the natural antibodies too. We recently found that travel is just like going about your daily life in different spaces, just stay masked and all will be well. I think.
ReplyDeleteI hope my immunity hangs on for a while. I'd like to think it will give me added protection on the plane!
DeleteI grew up with stones, and had to get used to pounds in the US. I remember ny weight in stones from my twenties, just did the math and I'm a few pounds lighter, not much, same neighborhood, hm.
ReplyDeleteI liked your title a lot! Amazing that you have a choice of laundromats. Our last local one closed years ago. Apartments have laundry rooms, other housing have their own machines, I guess they ran out of customers. But they were handy for big things like quilts.
We have quite a few laundromats around here (or "launderettes," as they're called). I guess in the city many people don't have space for a washing machine in their flat.
DeleteI once had to carry a 40 lb bag of rice across Liverpool. I managed but swore never to make that mistake again.
ReplyDeleteHa! OK, I think you have me beat!
DeleteYou really were lucky on those airline tickets. Your timing was perfect. It seems strange to me that they wanted the weight in 'stone'. I guess I didn't realize that measure was still used.
ReplyDeleteWe hear it now and then in conversation but I'm not sure I've ever encountered it on an official form. Then again, how often am I asked my weight? Not very.
DeleteSo glad you're going to be able to make the trip to Florida and that you had a nice surprise refund just in time. Perfect!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever heard of stones as a weight measure. I love learning something new.
It's a very British thing. Fourteen pounds equals one stone.
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ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely surprise to be able to use the refund, just in time. King size bedding is the reason we have a queen size bed. It's so expensive and so hard to wash.
Yeah, I am SO LUCKY I bought this ticket when I did. Using the refund was somewhat offset by the fact that it was incredibly expensive, though. Traveling during Easter week is always pricey.
DeleteHow nice that you will be visiting your family soon. Don't forget your mask, and have a safe trip. Hugs, Edna B.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm looking forward to it!
DeleteYes On April Travels - Gr8 News - Please Keep Us Updated With The C19 Study - I Was First Introduced To Stones In 1987 During My First Trip To Northern Australia - Way Before The Coined Term " JUST GOOGLE THAT SH*T" - And Olga Girl, Photos Or Stories Please
ReplyDeleteCheers
That must have seemed very confusing back before Google! I remember encountering stone in books when I was younger but it still seems surreal to use them in person.
DeleteAh, the google pounds-to-stone calculator is a big help! Great news on the refund and perfect timing, too. Now that omicron is easing, your trip should be much more fun.
ReplyDeleteI hope it continues easing! Fingers crossed!
DeleteI will be in Dallas in April and I think Mitchell will be in New York. Must be the right time to head to the US! Just leave the laundry at home, though.
ReplyDelete"Take Your Laundry to America Week" -- LOL!
DeleteAha, Firefox is allowing me to comment today so I don't have to switch to Chrome. It's all very random.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, I was just going to say that all businesses here reduced their hours at the start of the pandemic and very few have increased them - and NONE have gone back to their full open hours. So it doesn't surprise me that the laundries are all using later schedules there. They've found that people are - surprise! - able to get their stuff done in fewer hours and it costs the businesses less in wages, so why not keep on?
I love the title today. But sympathize with the extra work!
Exactly! That's what's happened here. Covid really transformed the way we all do business!
DeleteLike many (Most?) places, it's probably a staffing issue. I don't imagine that people line up eagerly to work in a laundromat. Carrying the sheets all the way to work made me smile. :)
ReplyDeleteI think they have one less employee now, and they've shortened their opening hours accordingly. Whether this is their decision or they can't find someone I'm not sure.
DeleteI'm thinking a stone is about 14 pounds? I have a handy dandy (free) app on my phone that covers ALL types of conversions.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you had them in a bag of some sort, but the vision of you walking into work with a wadded up set of sheets made me laugh.
Yes, exactly -- a stone is 14 pounds. It seems like a very random unit of measurement to me!
DeleteOh, and yes, the sheets were in a bag. :)
DeleteAww Steve,
ReplyDeleteYour post today was just hilarious! I can sympathize with the frustrating taking your laundry to work with you.
Years ago, I put some laundry in a backpack for my son Matthew to take down to the laundry after school and my lunch in another backpack and getting the last-minute things done before leaving for work, I grabbed my backpack and out the door I went. Imagine my dismay when I went to lunch and opened my backpack to find the laundry! LOL I didn't make that mistake again.
I am so glad that you're going to be able to go to Florida and it is great that you were able to get a credit on your flight. How long is the flight from where you are to Florida? I have always wondered what I would do on a long flight as yours.
I really love the photo at top of your post. Spring is coming! Have a wonderful day. xx
Oh no! I would not be happy if I had to suffer through a workday with no lunch!
DeleteYour post reminded me of the old song "Dirty Laundry" by Don Henley. As someone commented on a video of it on line, "never more apt".
ReplyDeleteI remember that song well! Yes, very appropriate nowadays. Except it's not just the media airing dirty laundry -- it's ALL of us on social media.
DeleteI can't believe you got asked your weight in such an archaic unit! How many pounds is stone?
ReplyDeleteFourteen pounds to one stone. Do they use stone in Canada?
DeleteGlad you are getting a chance to visit your Mom. I enjoyed your post!
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to it!
DeleteSo...today you gave a sheet.
ReplyDelete*Borscht Belt cymbal crash*
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