And THAT is why she is the old maid with dogs

Remember the episode of Friends when Rachel gets into a fight in the laundry room with a woman who has tried to steal her machine, her basket and her dignity?  This evening, I had a similar experience while laundering about a month's worth of clothes.  We have five washers in our section of the building.  Five washers and fourteen floors of four apartments each.  Fifty six units with sometimes up to four people living in them.  And yet, only five lowly washing machines.  You can imagine the dilemma.

I have never had any altercations with anyone in the room, although my roommate has had a few.  However, tonight when I was waiting twenty minutes for four washers (as I mentioned, it was for a month's worth of laundry), a lovely little Kentucky girl decided to throw her stuff into my fourth as I was loading another.  When I mentioned that I was planning to use it, she glared at me and said "I don't think one out of four is asking too much."  In an effort to avoid a confrontation in front of an 85 year old man who had taken the last thirty minutes to fold five items, I let her have it.  The washer that is.

Frustrated at her attitude, and also that my total laundry time would be delayed by at least a half hour, I headed for the elevator back up to my apartment.  And who would be in it to greet me with her pleasantries and positivity...my next door neighbor, the "dog" lady.  This woman is the epitome of an old maid, and lives with four of the mangiest dogs you have ever seen.  She is bitter, hateful, and abrasive...and this evening was no different.  She asked me if the laundry was hectic, and why I seemed agitated.  Much to my dismay, I told her what had happened, and she proceeded to lecture me for thirteen floors.  She told me I should stand up for myself in this building, and that she has had to do a lot of that over the last thirty years of living there.  Apparently she once cursed a man out for using her machine, and threw his clothes into the hallway.  As she went on and on about her "courage" and my lack thereof, I realized that this is exactly why she was the old lady with dogs. I would prefer to continue to give up the fourth dryer if that means I can avoid that title in the future.