Roomie

This is a true story. It all happened somewhere in yesterday...

    So I just had a new roommate move in- a friend of mine from back home who lived at home still until now. It makes me think about the first time I moved out of my parent's place and started to be all independent and "mature". I have two times that I could consider my first moving-out experience.

    The first time was when I moved into the dorms at UVic. It was a great experience, but I don't like to consider it my first time off on my own. This is mainly because it was just a dorm room, not an apartment. The room consisted of a bed, a desk and a wardrobe. It was tiny. The bathrooms were public (one for girls and one for boys on each floor) and we ate food in the cafeteria everyday. We also had community leaders to keep track of everything. It did give the illusion of independence though. We could go anywhere we wanted without having to check in and I did spend a lot of time at my boyfriend's apartment. However, I still went back home to Chilliwack at the end of the year. I stayed there for a month before finally moving back out to Victoria to live with my boyfriend.

    My second experience, which I consider to be the proper one, was when I moved in with my boyfriend in Victoria. Now, at the time it was him and another friend of mine living in a one bedroom apartment. It was cramped. My boy had the bedroom and our friend lived in the living room. It was incredibly frustrating and we got at each other throats a lot. So, inevitably, our roommate moved out and we got the place to ourselves. So, for about a year we lived in that apartment all by ourselves. I felt quite mature, juggling work and school and paying rent and buy groceries. It was great. The only problem was the apartment itself and our new building manager (the old one got cancer and had to move out :( Not sure how that turned out). Our apartment was small and on the fourth floor. We still had a hole in ceiling when we moved out from where they drained the water when it was leaking down from the roof. The kitchen was also terrible. It was tiny and closed on one end. As someone who is a little claustrophobic, it was really hard for me to be willing to cook/clean in a kitchen like that. So, when our current roommate went through a breakup with his now ex-girlfriend (who is also one of my best friends) and met his new girlfriend on a visit to Victoria, we offered to find a two-bedroom with him out here. So, we did and he moved in a couple of days ago. It's great.

    So anyways, there are a few things that I would say everyone should pay attention to when moving into a new apartment. Firstly, make sure to leave room for your roommates, even if they're moving in after you. It's their place too. Don't decorate the group living areas without them or arrange the furniture in a way that they hate. Also, make sure to start doing the dishes all the time. The build up sucks more than just doing them right away. Trust me. Change pots are also a great idea. Have a place where you can all put your spare change. The buildup of change can be used for laundry and buying communal stuff for the apartment. Have a designated mail spot too. That way, everyone gets their mail, even if only one person has the key. In general, just try to work things out so it's easier for everyone. Don't be a dick. If you want your roommates to go out of their way to make your life easier, you have to be willing to do the same. Also, buy groceries! Your roommates will eat your soul if you're the only one not buying groceries. Watch for them labeling things. It's a sign that you need to buy more shit.

So, my assignment for you today is to clean your respective apartments/ rooms. Make your living spaces easier to deal with and try to keep them that way.

-Ciao!