Living with just one towel

September 12, 2023. Today, it thundered and rained all day, the sky covered with dark clouds. As I got off the bus, I took out a 2 euro coin from my pocket and flipped it twice. On the first throw, I said, "If I get heads, Anna will message me today." I got heads. Then I announced, "If I get heads again, I'll meet Anna today." Once again, the coin landed on heads. I was actually on my way to HanoMacke, but it was still closed. So, I marched to the cafeteria. After a café crema with oat milk, I strolled into the library. "Damn," I thought. My semester card was nowhere to be found. "It must still be in my other gym shorts," I reasoned. So, I headed back home. Just before the Christuskirche, I received a message from Anna saying that she was spontaneously shopping in Wolfsburg.

I picked up my semester ID at home and headed to the library. On the way back, Anna messaged me that she was also there, along with Wiebke, her friend who was there when I first approached Anna. Unfortunately, I didn't meet Anna today.

At home, at half past seven, I hand washed my microfiber towel and my merino shirt. Now I'm wondering when they'll dry. "If the towel dries quickly," I pondered, "then I'd only need one towel." I could simply hang it on the radiator after washing, where it always hangs, and use it while still damp. For example, if I showered just before and needed to wash my face or hands afterward, I could simply pat dry with the damp towel. An additional towel would be unnecessary, and I could wash the lightly smelling towel directly under the tap.

I was so fascinated by this idea that I immediately put it into action. I placed the towel in the corner of the room to dispose of it later in the used clothing container.

Afterward, I also hand washed my shorts. "If they dry quickly enough too, one pair of shorts would suffice," I thought. With shorts that double as swim trunks, it doesn't matter if they're slightly damp when worn. When it's warm outside, the shorts dry quickly on the go and even have a cooling effect.

In the evening, the lightning and thunder intensified. I sat on the windowsill with the window open, trying to create lightning through hand movements. It seemed to work.