spin cycle

'it's meditative, in a way,' i say, as i lean over the washer and stare down through the lid. when the spin cycle gets fast enough, the shiny dome on the bottom of the basket shows my face, distorted through the reflection of my face on the glass top. the screen flashed 'UE' at me when i came to move my clothes into the dryer, everything crumpled at the bottom in a wet heap because it was unable to finish the spin cycle.

i have to manually reach in and rebalance the load, predicting where each article will end up as it crawls up the sides of the basket, hoping everything settles in a way that doesn't spook the computer's sensor. at the peak of the spin, the machine vibrates slowly away from the wall, and i brace against it to keep it from slipping into the uneven spot around the floor drain.

the display counts down, from 12 to 9, then to 11, then to 4, then to 15, then to 10, then to 8. i feel a glimmer of hope at 3, thinking that it's not too much further from 0, but then it stops spinning and floods the channel with water again.

i'm not sure what this game is anymore.

11 March 2018 20:49