Roommates From Hell (vanity)

PA TImes | 9/22/05 | Dr. Pissant

[pissant]

Most of us remember the excitement of the BIG DAY. That day, after living in your parents' home for 18 (in some cases 25) years, we finally asserted our independence and moved out of the house!

Whether we were heading off to the "city" to work, or starting our college lives, joining the armed forces, or just finding a space so we could party with our friends, the sense of finally being an adult was intoxicating.

Then Reality set in. We quickly realized that the paltry money we were earning barely covered the rent. Top Ramen instead of Mom's potroast, generic Corn Flakes instead of Captain Crunch. The solution to this problem, of course, was roommates.....at least in theory.

Since we've all survived those crazy days between leaving home and getting married, it is time to share the tales of Roommate Horror!

I'll start.....

[caseinpoint]

Oh man, did that bring back memories!

My freshman year our apartment had its challenges with six girls but one of our biggest problems was a couple of male sponges who liked to clean out the fridge regularly. We did the same thing you did: made brownies with the added ingredient, chocolate-flavored of course.

The guys took the bait, hook, line and sinker but we overdid it. They took the brownies back to their own apartment and shared them with a roommate, who shared them with his teammates. The next day the university lost a track meet because half the team had "the runs".

We kept quiet, of course.

Spending a lot of time in college--seven years to be exact, with usually five roommates at a time, I had my share of nightmare roommates. Hysterical amnesia protects me from some of those memories. I have to laugh because now my daughter has her own nightmare roommate, coincidentally with the same first name as my first nightmare roommate: Becky.

[b4its2late]

LOL. Glad I wasn't one of those male sponges... LOL! I was a good boy....

[b4its2late]

Did you nap alot back then? ;-)

[Guenevere]

Yes, in a fetal position.....(lol)

[baker_girl]

My evil roomates name was Becky too!

[sassbox]

I'm guessign you are reasonably attractive and get lotsa male attention? Nothing pisses an angry feminist dyke off more than that. That being said, there are plenty of very nice lesbos out there too.

Well Mr sassbox thinks I'm pretty cute :-) When I was in Rome, however, I was not receiving much male attention, save for the random sexual harrassment from Italian men in the streets. But that happens to every female that goes to Italy, even nuns. At the time, I was still reeling from two very traumatic break-ups that had happened the previous school year. I remember one time I was hanging out with a group of pepole and the ogre was there. I was talking about how I had loved this one guy and how he broke my heart and how it still hurt months later. I wasn't even talking directly to the ogre but she overheard and looked rather PO'd at me for even mentioning such a thing.

I don't think all lesbians are nasty psychos like her though. One of my aunts is a lesbian, and fairly butch too, but she's also very nice and would never treat anyone like that.

[mowowie]

Blaring country music every day at 5AM. He called himself a hunter and we had a freezer full of dead, Frozen Squirrels.

[RockyTop4GOP]

#125..Yipes!...Did you get my roommate???? That's where I went too!- See my earlier post.....LOL

Haha! I was living in the Zoo (aka Hess Hall) at the time.

I later went on to do 1.5 years in Andy Holt (student apartments) with an entirely different group of girls. First year was 4 girls living in 1,000 square feet with 2 sinks and one shower. My roomie had a Build-A-Bear that she slept with. Every day she woke up and changed it's clothes. At night, she changed it into pajamas. It was rather freaky to see a college junior doing this.

The second year, I lived with 2 other girls in the same building. One roomie hated me simply because I was happy with my life. She was into online dating and would sleep with a guy the first time she met him.

The other one literally had OCD. After her daily sweeping and vacuuming of the apartment, she would take the vacuum cleaner apart and clean it. She also used to take the trash out if one thing was thrown in the bag, and scrub the bathroom down with comet each time she took a shower.

Once I had enough time to grab a snack and then run to class. I came back an hour later and all hell broke lose because I had dropped a piece of shredded cheese on the floor.

I lasted until Thanksgiving when I got my own place. I never told them I was moving and over the holiday my parents helped me move. It sucked for them because I had brought the entertainment unit, most of the DVDs, stereo, all of the kitchen stuff and many other necessities for living.

[Guenevere]

LOL....I'm worn out reading your post....

..(and to think I was complaining about a little 'throw-up'....sheesh!)

[b4its2late]

LOL!

[caseinpoint]

LOL. Needless to say I was never tempted to name one of my daughters Rebecca or Becky. I guess there's just something about that name. Just got off the phone with my daughter with her Becky. Battle royale is Becky likes to keep reusing cooking oil and now that it is rancid, it fills the kitchen with its odors. Becky refuses to part with it. Or to clean up after her cooking messes.

The one good thing about roommates from you-know-where is that it teaches you what you can and can't put up with in a spouse. Had the same roommate for twenty years now and we are still happy. We even sleep in the same bed. Course, we've got a license to do so. ;)

[hindsfeetnhighplaces]

The first apartment I lived in I didn't have a room mate...exactly. The place was furnished in funky velvet--velvet couch, velvet chair, velvet pictures on the wall. It also had that icky knotty pine paneling.

The walls were incredibly thin. When they built the place they just slapped the knotty pine paneling on one side, a little insulation, and then more knotty pine on the other side. Only thing was, some of the knots on the knotty pine panels had popped out. One day I was sitting in the living room and I heard this weird sound coming from he wall behind me. When I turned to find out what was going on, I see this finger poking through the insulation through one of the knot holes. Then I see the eye staring at me. I was pretty freaked out needless to say.

Another wonderful thing about this place is that the walls and floors were so thin you could hear the person upstairs in their bathroom unzip their pants to "take care of their business".

Plus I had a snoop for a landlady. I often worked the closing shift at the grocery store so I would leave the light on. That way I wouldn't come home to a dark apartment or have to fumble for the light switch which was placed rather awkwardly. Well, many times I would come home and the light would be turned off. Nothing was missing or moved or anything, just the light would be off when I knew I had left it on.

I didn't live there long but my second place wasn't much better. I did actually have room mates at this place. Lots of them in fact. I shared the place with a nest of scorpions that crawled up into my closet from around the pipes of the water heater. Had one skitter across my blouse as I was putting it on. Found a few in my bed. I took to sleeping on the couch. Also, I never could figure out how to keep the wood stove regulated. I either froze or else roasted. After someone tried to break into my bedroom window I decided to move.

[hindsfeetnhighplaces]

Oh, the memories LOL. I was thinking on that first year on my own and had to add to my other post. I was sooo broke back then. I sure ate a lot of Top Ramen. Mac and cheese too--made with just water as I usually didn't have any butter or milk on hand. Dry cereal. Sandwiches for lunch and dinner on a lot of days. Kool aid.

Wanna know what I did with my tax return refund that year? I got back around $250. I spent it all on groceries. Stocked my freezer full of meat and my cupboards full of can goods and staples like sugar and salt. I was sooo happy to have some real food. I ate like a queen for several months off of my refund.

Sigh. The good ole days. Or as the saying goes, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

[pissant]

He deserved at least that!

[pissant]

What a pleasant night that must have been. LOL

[pissant]

Fart spray? I never heard of such a thing!

[pissant]

Argh, why don't you move down to the states already!?

[pissant]

You are a rebel!! ;o)

BTW, I hope you banned the NKOTB from ever being played in the house. Egads.

[pissant]

Good Story Paula!

Yes, you definitely needed the nuns' prayers! ;o)

[pissant]

You listened to the Cure? No wonder she didn't like you. LOL.

Thad & Marcy sound like gaggers, to be sure! ;o)