In need of a break...
This post is not about my work. I recognize I am prone to over-commit myself and have been working on this character trait the last few years. Saying 'no' to something new is not a problem; saying 'no' to something new that I am excited about is. But, as I said, I have been working on this and this post is not related to that.
No, this post is about my roommate.
I have held off on writing about this for some time while dwelling on the question of whether or not it is Christ-like to vent on someone behind his or her back. Although I'm not sure this is the venue to address this, I've reached a breaking point.
The frustration started late last summer even before we moved in together. We were trying to secure a rental--a really nice house with a great price within walking distance of a nice coffeehouse and campus. Having briefly met the owner of the house a day or two before, I somewhat knew what to expect and what she would be looking for. Clean, neat, responsible. I shared this information with my now current roommate and half-jokingly reminded him to be sure to shower and dress accordingly.
He showed up in ratty clothing and smelled as if he hadn't showed in several weeks. I literally struggled with the smell to the point that we drove to the house with my windows down even though my allergies were a mess. Shortly after our visit, I received a phone call from the owner letting me know she was choosing to rent it out to someone else...my roommate being the issue.
Someone wiser would have seen the writing on the wall and acted accordingly. Being naive, I thought I could make this work.
I have had a number of roommates through the years, some good, some bad. You learn to compromise and work around things in close, shared quarters, but, even so, I find myself very much in need of a break from my current roommate.
As a way of getting this off my chest, I've decided to share some of these items, highlights (lowlights?), if you will. Highlights from the past year that I am referring to as The Woeful Shortcomings!
STOVE/OVEN...This specific example is meant to be a window on the overall condition that he keeps things in. I could talk about the knives with peanut-butter on them thrown into the drawer of (previously) clean silverware or the path in the carpet that has formed from the front door to his bedroom and from his bedroom to the bathroom (trust me, it's there, and it's gross). However, his use of the stove and oven have hit a low I didn't know was quite possible. On separate occasions the stove and, later, the oven, have produced smoke, in large amounts, when in operation due to the residue of grease and food chunks scattered over them. It's frustrating knowing that I have a 50-50 shot of using the range or oven without having to backtrack and clean it first lest I trigger the smoke-detector.
TOILET...Guys are not the cleanest of creatures, I am well aware of this. The Deerslayer and I may not have kept the cleanest of bathrooms (huge understatement), but even so, we were aware there were limits to how far it could slide. My current roommate is oblivious to this unspoken rule. On several occasions over the past year I've had to speak to him about cleaning up after himself if he should miss the central portion of the toilet while going to the bathroom...and I'm not talking about the yellow stuff.
SNEEZING...This is the latest addition to the list of woeful shortcomings. With allergy season upon us in full force, many of us have a much greater need for a Kleenex than we normally do. However, that requires effort; effort to get up off the couch and search for one. My roommate has decided this is too much effort and simply sneezes allowing a layer of snot and mucus to blanket all furniture and flooring in front of him. The other day we had guests over at our place and I was thankful that when he sneezed he covered his mouth and nose with his hand rather than let it fly as he normally does. I was horrified to watch as he then wiped his hand clean in his hair.
The guy is a nice guy...and maybe I should have started with this. But I have been wanting to vent on this for some time and I think I'm reaching a breaking point.
Our lease is up August 1st. If any of you should be in need of a house-sitter for June or July, let me know. I am in need of a break.
No, this post is about my roommate.
I have held off on writing about this for some time while dwelling on the question of whether or not it is Christ-like to vent on someone behind his or her back. Although I'm not sure this is the venue to address this, I've reached a breaking point.
The frustration started late last summer even before we moved in together. We were trying to secure a rental--a really nice house with a great price within walking distance of a nice coffeehouse and campus. Having briefly met the owner of the house a day or two before, I somewhat knew what to expect and what she would be looking for. Clean, neat, responsible. I shared this information with my now current roommate and half-jokingly reminded him to be sure to shower and dress accordingly.
He showed up in ratty clothing and smelled as if he hadn't showed in several weeks. I literally struggled with the smell to the point that we drove to the house with my windows down even though my allergies were a mess. Shortly after our visit, I received a phone call from the owner letting me know she was choosing to rent it out to someone else...my roommate being the issue.
Someone wiser would have seen the writing on the wall and acted accordingly. Being naive, I thought I could make this work.
I have had a number of roommates through the years, some good, some bad. You learn to compromise and work around things in close, shared quarters, but, even so, I find myself very much in need of a break from my current roommate.
As a way of getting this off my chest, I've decided to share some of these items, highlights (lowlights?), if you will. Highlights from the past year that I am referring to as The Woeful Shortcomings!
STOVE/OVEN...This specific example is meant to be a window on the overall condition that he keeps things in. I could talk about the knives with peanut-butter on them thrown into the drawer of (previously) clean silverware or the path in the carpet that has formed from the front door to his bedroom and from his bedroom to the bathroom (trust me, it's there, and it's gross). However, his use of the stove and oven have hit a low I didn't know was quite possible. On separate occasions the stove and, later, the oven, have produced smoke, in large amounts, when in operation due to the residue of grease and food chunks scattered over them. It's frustrating knowing that I have a 50-50 shot of using the range or oven without having to backtrack and clean it first lest I trigger the smoke-detector.
TOILET...Guys are not the cleanest of creatures, I am well aware of this. The Deerslayer and I may not have kept the cleanest of bathrooms (huge understatement), but even so, we were aware there were limits to how far it could slide. My current roommate is oblivious to this unspoken rule. On several occasions over the past year I've had to speak to him about cleaning up after himself if he should miss the central portion of the toilet while going to the bathroom...and I'm not talking about the yellow stuff.
SNEEZING...This is the latest addition to the list of woeful shortcomings. With allergy season upon us in full force, many of us have a much greater need for a Kleenex than we normally do. However, that requires effort; effort to get up off the couch and search for one. My roommate has decided this is too much effort and simply sneezes allowing a layer of snot and mucus to blanket all furniture and flooring in front of him. The other day we had guests over at our place and I was thankful that when he sneezed he covered his mouth and nose with his hand rather than let it fly as he normally does. I was horrified to watch as he then wiped his hand clean in his hair.
The guy is a nice guy...and maybe I should have started with this. But I have been wanting to vent on this for some time and I think I'm reaching a breaking point.
Our lease is up August 1st. If any of you should be in need of a house-sitter for June or July, let me know. I am in need of a break.
posted by The Bearded | 12:54 PM
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