Ex Bibliotheca

The life and times of Zack Weinberg.

Wednesday, 13 February 2002

# 3:30 PM

I needed to do emergency laundry, went down to the basement, and discovered that the washing machine's cold-water hose was leaking all over the floor. Called the washing-machine company, and was initially told that they didn't have any machines at that address, what was I talking about? Perhaps the owner of the building had bought the machines outright? For a horrible moment I thought they might be correct. I've previously been told by the owners that they were not in any way responsible for the washing machine, but I wouldn't put it past them to lie outright.

It was rapidly cleared up once I produced the machine's bar code number; I think the customer service woman misheard the address. I've also been assured by the owners that someone will show up and clean the laundry room (which is filthy) Real Soon Now, but they have said that before. I am willing to give the washing machine company, which is a national concern with a good reputation to maintain, the benefit of the doubt here; not so the landlord.

# 1:30 PM

Two very strange dreams. In the first, I was getting a haircut, except that instead of hair I had big fat green plant stems growing out of my head. I remember being rather disturbed by this and having the hairdresser assure me that it would go back to normal when it dried out. Then she set up some mirrors so I could see the top of my head, and there was a centipede crawling along between the plant stems. At this point I woke up in a cold sweat.

In the second dream, I was preparing to go on a dogsled race, or maybe it was just a long trip. I was packing far too many books, and having to take them out again. One of the books had come unglued and split in half and I wasted a great deal of time trying to repair it. In the end I went off on the dogsled without any books and was convinced that I would be lonely and bored all the way. But then someone who called herself an "ice dryad" came out of the woods and kept me company so that was okay.