Monday, January 30, 2006

The End of an Era

There was a time, I famously told many people, when I could go an entire semester without doing laundry. That time was when I was a grad student at the University of Toronto shortly after I moved from Laundromat heaven to Laundromat hell. Suddenly, there was no Laundromat within a reasonable distance. And, the slumlord reneged on his promise to install machines in the basement.

I hit a laundry crisis. I lived too far from a Laundromat for it to be even remotely useful. So, I came up with a radical plan. Instead of doing laundry, I bought new clothes. The dirty laundry piled up in the closet while I took detours home along Spadina Avenue to Chocky's (which, sadly, no longer exists, at least not in it's original form). Mostly, I bought socks and underwear and, my were they fine underwear.

Most of them lasted this long. And so, I say goodbye to my last pair of special underwear. They'll hit the trash can this week. The material is still in good shape, but the waistband is shot. I considered replacing the elastic, but that seems like an extreme measure.

I wish I could tell you more about them (I will avoid posting a picture of them), but all I know is that they were made in India with some really nice cotton. My plan, then, is to sell them on eBay. After all, they are the age of some really fine wine, and I'm sure they'll go for big bucks.

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15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, your underwear will sell big time on eBay. Have you been falling off your bike without your helmet?

Anonymous said...

"Alas poor underpants, I knew him, Horatio!"

Hmmm, exactly how many years old ARE these bloomers?

Anonymous said...

I second R42K's comment.

Anonymous said...

How OLD ARE THEY?

Anonymous said...

Hey, I am sure these will be ahot seller.

Anonymous said...

OMG, a man that throws his own underwear away? I have to confiscate and dispose of my husband's, or he'd wear them with 2 threads remaining.

Anonymous said...

Lol...I had my last lucky undergrad t-shirt stolen recently. Didn't fit me anymore was threadbare, etc...

But my lucky boxers (same deal, dude)...

I'm still fighting it.

Anonymous said...

Nugget Maven: I think they are 12 to 13 years old. In other words, ready to die.

Anonymous said...

Now I have to reconsider a post I have half written about some old socks of mine. Thanks. Thanks a lot. At least if you posted a picture it might have been worth it :-P

Anonymous said...

Zydie, I think you've crossed that thin line that you've been teetering on for some time now.

Congratulations.

Anonymous said...

There is no way you have had a pair od underwear for over ten years??????????????????????????????????????

Anonymous said...

I can relate. I was a two-hour drive from home while at UWO, and while my apartment had laundry facilities, they were overpriced, and my coffee habit didn't ever seem to leave me with any spare change. Re-wearing only goes so far, so visits home became necessity-inspired, so to speak, with huge bags of laundry accompanying me on each trip.

Still, it was better than my father's technique. When he was in university, he was too far from home to make it back very often. He was in your situation - no laundromat in a realistic distance. So, he went out and bought thirty-one pairs of underwear and socks (pants and shirts being, for the most part, re-wearable for a sustainable length of time). The once-a-month he got home (or to a girlfriend's house), they all got washed.

Where there's a will - there's always a way. Though I don't think he ever quite figured out why his girlfriends only stuck around a couple of months.

;-)
G

Anonymous said...

You really believe your "vintage" undies are going to sell for big money? Are you famous? =) I'd be interested to know what you sell them for...

Anonymous said...

Hmmm - no pictures hey? This would suggest that you have kept some sentimental snaps, for old time sake, of course, but not for sharing. For the latter, I am grateful.

Personally, I'm just pissed-off that women's undies would NEVER last THAT long. A year, 18 mths, sure, but not much longer than that, and some for far less time. Women are totally suckered and ripped off.

Men don't know how lucky they are, and how cheaply they can keep themselves clothed when compared to women, and all without looking scuffy, or unemployed and homeless.

Anonymous said...

I can totally sympathize with you man. What a loss.