If we can't watch our roommates, how will we ever learn?
And so the office has "added a new stipulation to its guest policy," according to the paper, "that prohibits any sex act in a dorm room while one's roommate is present."
That policy would also seem to preclude sex between (or among!) roommates. What a bunch of prudes.
2: No, they just have to find an empty classroom or office.
Even discreet masturbation appears to be disallowed. So much for preparing students for later life.
Geez, hang a tie over your roommate's eyes. Like this is complicated?
I only had a room roommate freshman year, so I was about to say I'm Expelled! and my freshman roommate is Expelled! But then I remembered, that, no, it wasn't my roommate, it was my friend having sex in my roommate's bed. Good times.
Hmph, no mention of the term "sexcommunication" (but "sexile" does get used in the comments).
I never had sex in front of my roommate. This follows directly from my never having sex during that era in which I was (1) attending college and (2) living in a dorm. It is probably for the best, as my roommate during this period was named "Ducky".
It depends on what the definition of "act" is.
Tweety—that semi-famous guy you know whom I also know? He locked me out of the apartment on a miserably cold night in order not to be disturbed while he was having sex with the crazy Israeli woman from down the hall. Apparently he was playing by Tufts rules before they were even formulated.
The obvious way around this is to invite the RA to any and all in-room threesomes and orgies.
I am forced to wonder what complaint or complaints led to this being codified. It has the potential to be a great story.
10: I have absolutely no memory of who that guy might be. So, yay?
The played-by-Steve Zahn guy. Not yay.
Oh!
Ahahahaha.
That adds to my knowledge of him in a both unexpected and absolutely hilarious way.
In his defense, he always seemed a bit less sleazy and scammer-y than the rest of the... members of his profession that I had occasion to... be familiar with.
Yeah, he's neither sleazy nor a scammer. But I still remember wandering about in the cold waiting for them to wrap things up.
This was probably the thing I dreaded most about college. Far more than the two things my parents warned me about, losing money in card games and having sex with girls who would later regret their actions and accuse me of taking advantage of them.
Fortunately none of those things were problems.
waiting for them to wrap things up.
Well, at least it was safe sex.
18: both pretty easy to avoid, really.
17: I didn't go to Tufts. Since I never met you, I'd assumed you must have.
Indeed, the entire concepts of "card games" and "sex with girls" -- let alone specific subsets of those things -- were no more than theoretical notions for a couple years.
We used to play Pitch and Euchre quite a bit in high school and college. It was a simpler time before beer pong and whatnot.
Also: that poor Bernie Madoff who only wanted to fit in with the other rich assholes really shouldn't have to spend the rest of his life in prison. Hasn't he suffered enough already, what with the loss of most of his fortune and social status? No recidivism risk there.
My three-year college roommate and I caught each other masturbating within like a week of being randomly assigned to one another. Once we both acknowledged that it had happened, we decided to remain roommates until her drug and alcohol addictions became a problem during our junior year. Masturbating while I'm trying to get to sleep? Fooling around with your boyfriend? Not problems. Stealing my Vicodin and throwing up on my rug? Problems.
My three-year college roommate and I caught each other masturbating within like a week of being randomly assigned to one another.
Simultaneously? Is that like how girls in the same dorm all get their periods at the same time?
Roommates, a dialogue:
AWB: Hey, what are you . . . hey!
Roommate: What? uh (rumpling sheets) . . . hey, what are you . . . hey!
AWB: What? uh (rumpling sheets) . . . hey!
and etc.
In the UK it's very rare to college students to be asked to share the same room, or at least that's my general experience. At Glasgow there was, I think, one large hall of residence with some shared rooms, but all the other student accomodation had private rooms.
I did once, though, go back to a privately rented flat with a girl, and then realise [mid dastardly deed] that i) she had a room-mate [which was quite odd in itself], and ii) the room-mate was awake and watching.
I assumed college kids today just shrugged and took an Ambien in these situations.
Sophomore year I had a small bedroom with bunk beds and a study, so I suppose that that would have been okay. Senior year everyone had a single bedroom off of a suite which seemed so much more civilized. Her boyfriend at the time was in a triple, and I think that he had the single room at the time, so they spent most of their time there.
One year I had a horrid roommate who was annoying for other reasons who had really loud sex and then would leave her boyfriend behind in the morning who would then walk out with the door unlocked. I complained to her, so she made a key. I was (no doubt being a prude) a bit peeved that she hadn't asked whether it was okay to make a spare or told me in advance, so I went to our tutor/RA. SHe got so fed up with the rules that she basically moved into his suite. I knew some of his roommates (a guy who had come back mid-semester was a friend) and while they had no ill feelings toward me, they weren't happy either.
Freshman year I lived in a dorm with hallway bathrooms. One of my firends down the hall was in a suite with a fairly sheltered girl from Thailand. One of the guys across the hall from them would pretty routinely get himself locked out of his bedroom after showering on Friday mornings. He'd wait in my friend's suite for his roommates to come back from breakfast or their first classes.
The Thai girl successfully got transferred to a single on thisd basis. She also didn't like the idea of having men in the suite after 9PM. That was all fine, but the way she put it was that she was uncomfortable with having naked men in the apartment.
My friend and her roommates had to endure an excruciatingly embarrassing talk from our proctor/RA about the importance of self-respect and caring for their own bodies, since he didn't know what was going on (and though nice and great at most aspects of hsi job, he was a nerd who watched too much Disney).
24: But NPH, Madoff harmed wealthy adults (you know, real people).
Still they gave him the money willingly, and they must have known. How could they not have known? It's like they set him up!
28 is also my experience. Though the first-year accommodation at $COLLEGE did have extremely thin walls, which left one in no doubt what everyone else on the staircase was up to. On the bright side, you made friends fast.
In the UK it's very rare to college students to be asked to share the same room, or at least that's my general experience.
But how do they prepare students for prison?
35: The drudgery of enduring their state-administered health system is a prison, Tweets.
35: boarding school.
I seem to remember a study in the 1950s that found that officers were much more likely to survive imprisonment as POWs without lasting psychological damage than other ranks were; and this was because, for an average Tom, being in a POW camp was a traumatic experience - being away from family and loved ones, underfed, confined, living in spartan conditions under brutal discipline - while the average Rupert was happy as a clam because it was basically just like being back at Winchester.
I'm pretty sure I simply couldn't have sex with an uninvolved third party in the room, and if my roommate did that to me I'd most likely dump a glass of water on them both and tell them to GTFO.
A friend of mine had a roommate who was one of those classic hippie child of privilege douchebags who embraced hippiedom almost entirely because it provided a philosophical justification for doing whatever the hell he felt like. One night hippie douchebag comes back to the room drunk off his ass, strips naked, passes out in friend's bed, and shits himself. When friend returned and went ballistic he got the whole "chill out man, don't panic, it's organic" speech. He went to the RA and got transferred, but he really should have just killed the guy. What jury would convict?
I only had a roommate in college my freshman year, and I don't think either of us were gregarious enough for this to be a problem - we both had girlfriends for at least a while, but they were both back in our home states. If he ever had her over for a weekend and got busy, I guess I slept right through it.
The only card game I played in college was Magic: the Gathering.
I remember this being really, really common for people to complain about, when I lived in the dorm.
A friend of mine had a roommate who was one of those classic hippie child of privilege douchebags who embraced hippiedom almost entirely because it provided a philosophical justification for doing whatever the hell he felt like.
Distinguishable from other philosophical justifications how?
Isnt this part of the reason you go to college?
To endure these kinds of embarassments?
"Hey, sorry about that. I didnt know that she would start singing The Good Old Song right in the middle of us having sex."
or
"WTF, dude! Would you eliminate the spanking at 2 am?"
"chill out man, don't panic, it's organic"
And biodegradable.
42: I don't understand the question. There's no need to distinguish philosophical justifications for being a douchebag. Different douchebags embrace different justifications for their douchebaggery, and for this guy it was pseudo-hippiedom.
I suppose I should count it a blessing of sorts that,for the most part, neither I nor any of my roommates ever really got busy in college.
We were very considerate and used the shower instead.
37: Heh, reminds me of me and Tae Kwon Do. I took classes for years from a pretty serious school while I was a teen. I was lucky to have such a good one in the area. I mean, I'm not tooting my own horn, I was probably only an average student, but some other students at the TKD school would come home with trophies from national competitions. And like I said, a serious school. Pushups if the instructor was in a bad mood, knuckle pushups for most of the adults, during warmups sometimes he'd put us in an uncomfortable squat and leave the room with us in suspense about how long we'd be expected to stay like that, etc.
In the years after high school, I've taken classes in some kind of martial art with half a dozen different schools. Now and then I've actually burst out laughing at weird times in incongruous nostalgia, like when the teacher didn't get an enthusiastic enough response to a question or something so he orders the class to get down and give him 20. He's trying to act tough, keep people on their toes, show that it's a serious school, and it just reminds me of the good old days.
I wrote my last paper of freshman year while my roommate was getting it on with this girl in the next room, with the door open, full line of sight. (They were under covers on the top bunk, so I didn't see any genitalia.) I didn't mind at all.
I tend to be incredibly accepting of public displays of affection. If some undergraduates really wanted to screw in my office while I was working, I'd probably let them.
re: 49
Heh. I like hearing those stories. The karate class I used to go to was a little like that. In my experience, it is a very Japanese/Korean thing, though. Outside of that specific milieu it's not usually like that in other martial arts, which is just as well, as not everyone is cut out for the Japanese/Korean way of things.
I tend to be incredibly accepting of public displays of affection. If some undergraduates really wanted to screw in my office while I was working, I'd probably let them
Neil...it's ok to admit that you just like to watch.
You don't have to pretend that it's because you're some kind of humanitarian.
(just kidding!)
52: Finally, some definitional clarity!
Feminist: Likes to watch women.
Humanitarian: Likes to watch humans.
Combining threads: your roommate excuses him/herself by saying that getting it on in your shared room is the only way to keep warm, because the central heating has broken down. Is this OK?
Liking to watch is taboo? I didn't like my dorm roommate much, but I liked watching him fight with his girlfriend, and didn't much mind the drunken making up a couple of late nights.
Isn't watching part of the reason people go to bars and other public places? See and be seen, n'est-ce-pas?
49, 51: I liked that part of karate classes, too, not least because I thought the regular doses of humility would keep me from succumbing to the particular malady of new members of the professional class, who start to believe that because they deserve their power to give orders to certain people (secretaries, legal assistants, drivers, waiters, etc.). I quickly tired of that part of karate classes when it wasn't an elderly Japanese man treating us all like recalcitrant children, but some goateed honky, because I am racist.
re: 56
I didn't mind it, years and years ago.
But I'd find it hard, or even impossible, to put up with now -- partly because I'm older, and partly because of the "have seen behind the Great Oz's curtain" element. I find the 'first names only and everyone having a laugh together' method much more congenial.
54: Yes, but then it's only fair to let them know that you are a little cold, too.
58: Wasn't there a thread about orgies? Can we combine with that thread too?
51: Yeah, I probably would enjoy watching. But supposing that they were kind of ugly or something and I didn't get any fun out of watching, I wouldn't have any strong objections anyway.
I think I would feel uncomfortable if students were making out in my office.
60: Ok, Neil, you're a voyeur and a humanitarian!
On my podcast, Dan Savage asserted that kinky people are almost uniformly nerds. This has a ring of truth to it, to me.
That was going to be a post, but I guess now it's not. Comment on 63 as if it were a post, please.
I used to make out with people in professors' offices to pester them into giving me higher grades. It never worked on Neil.
Things got a little out of hand in SEK's office, but I can't regret it.
I used to just shyly compliment my professor's notebooks.
Megan, I'd write you a recommendation letter that would help you get into grad school. At least, assuming that people like me were on the graduate admissions committee.
Why do all these people keep sucking cocks in my office?
How many grains of sand make a heap an orgy?
Sounds like I should really start going to office hours.
for an average Tom, being in a POW camp was a traumatic experience - being away from family and loved ones, underfed, confined, living in spartan conditions under brutal discipline - while the average Rupert was happy as a clam because it was basically just like being back at Winchester.
Most of those experiences would be relevant for soldiering in general, not just being a POW.
Also, this ties nicely into the heating/aircon thread - Winchester (well, College, anyway) uses coal fires to heat the downstairs chambers (ie communal work areas).
"Out where I live, it gets cold and there isn't good insulation, so we take 13-year-olds to bed in full view of our roommates."
A friend of mine had a huge crush on a guy who rejected her and then, not long after, had sex with her roommate while my friend was in the room, awake. That's one of the more appalling incidences of emotional cruelty I know of.
76: I have the same exact story, happening freshman year to one of my best friends.
63: I thought this was well established.
Also, the internet is pretty solid proof of the popularity of watching other people have sex.
Of course, nothing's prohibited if you don't annoy your roommate doing it -- I figure the point of the rule is just that once a pair of roommates have annoyed each other enough that someone has to move, to mean that the annoyer rather than the annoyee is the one geting the short end of the stick in terms of desirable room assignments.
Heebie has a podcast and Dan Savage appeared as one of the guests?
80: Alternately, it means that when you're awakened by your roommate having sex, you can complain to your RA, and then he/she gets to watch too.
All this crazy roommate and RA and dorm policies and cold in the winter stuff is how people wind up with illicit and embarrassing sex grottoes, you know. We should all have professors like NtEW who can help keep things on the up and up.
83: I support illicit and embarrassing sex grottoes. I have much less objection to people getting busy in semi-public spaces than I do to people screwing right next to me while I'm trying to sleep or study.
Is a sex grotto what Billy Bob Thornton had in Bad Santa?
"Let's go
"To the grotto,"
She said.
I said, "I don't know.
"Maybe we should take it slow."
She sighed
And led me down below
Where I learned
What doesn't show.
49/51: My hapkido instructor used to do crap like that. He was also a teacher at the school, so he had access to our grades and attendance, and if we fucked up he'd take it out on us. He'd announce "Mr. Mortal feels that attending Hapkido is more important than French. He will demonstrate his commitment to a well-rounded education by doing his knuckle pushups out on the pavement." Later, he got fired for sexing up a 15 year old.
We're still the only Google hit for "grottoerotic asphyxiation".
I once walked past a couple having very public sex in Ithaca. A few minutes later, I saw a police car stopping there. Choose your grottoes wisely!
The past three weeks have made me really sick of people making out in public.
"But Italy is so ro-MAN-tic! And it's our HONEY-moon!"
I think I endorse Tufts' policy; my freshman-year roommate regularly had sex in the room, which I was not a huge fan of, but too mild-mannered to say anything about. (It just makes things awkward - you have to get up to pee, but you're busy feigning sleep; you would like to NOT know what they say in bed together; etc, etc.)
One day she suggested bunking the beds, with her bed on top. Her boyfriend was a football-player type - 6'4, 300+ pounds. All I could envision was my death when the two of them got a little too vigorous, so I firmly said no.
One day she suggested bunking the beds, with her bed on top. Her boyfriend was a football-player type - 6'4, 300+ pounds. All I could envision was my death when the two of them got a little too vigorous, so I firmly said no.
I would say that was a wise decision on your part, but your roommate probably figured it was because it would have ruined your view.
88
He'd announce "Mr. Mortal feels that attending Hapkido is more important than French. He will demonstrate his commitment to a well-rounded education by doing his knuckle pushups out on the pavement." Later, he got fired for sexing up a 15 year old.
Yikes. Speaking of child abuse, I understood that knuckle pushups were only for the adults because a child's or teen's bones were still growing and could be damaged by them permanently. And that was a concern on the wood floors of a TKD school, not pavement.
91: I see you emphasized the phrase "MAN HONEY".
I've stood next to people having sex in nightclubs. Several times. And I don't mean in the washroom or something. I mean like on a banquette.
You really shouldn't be standing on the banquettes, unless you take your shoes off first.
98: You know how it is. Me and Paris -- always dancing on the furniture.
So what is the etiquette for standing near people having sex in a nightclub. Do you have to pretend not to notice? Can you watch the way you watch people on the dance floor? Can you whip out your cell phone camera?
We should all have professors like NtEW who can help keep things on the up and up.
But, if it stays on the up and up for more than four hours, you really should seek medical advice.
Can you whip out your cell phone camera?
What about low-hanging fruit? Can you whip that out?
So what is the etiquette for standing near people having sex in a nightclub.
Pardon me, don't mean to intrude, terribly sorry and all that, but I couldn't help noticing your situation and I'd like to offer you a hand.
The proper etiquette is actually to gawk and point; this is the one time it's ok. You can check in any proper manners book, under the heading "the exception to the rule proves that" something or other.
The exception to the rule is in the pudding.
105: If I'd known it was going to be that kind of party...
"Excuse me, may I cut in?"
I dodged this problem the latter half of my freshman year by having a roommate who was busy doing exactly the same thing, so there were often four people in the two (stacked, loft) beds. The downside was that the room was kind of the acoustic center of the house.
104: I think that is basically true! I can only remember saying something on one occasion and it was on the order of "Dayummmmm."
Saiselgy: Shorter than expected.
How long did you expect him to be?
I thought he was quite tall; at least an inch or two over six feet. Am I mistaken, or is this one of those Europeans-bragging-about-how-universal-health-care-has-allowed-them-to-grow-into-a-race-of-giants things?
Swedes are almost as tall as the Dutch, aren't they?
In Europe, people of every statute are permitted to write as repetitively much as they like about urban planning, precious Brooklyn indie music and the schools of which they are alumni.
117
In Europe, people of every statute are
Europeans may be known for their bureaucracy, but I don't think it's quite *that* pervasive.
118: But this is Sowsagelie we're talking about.
118: Harmonization has its limits, after all. Stupid astigmatism.
I'm happy someone went after the low hanging fish. Maybe there's hope for the blog yet.
115: Yeah, I just didn't think of it when MY blogged about being tall. Or actually, I probably didn't know about it then, it was a while ago.
Yeah, you have to remember that due to our primitive health care system, all the Americans you know online are little wizened people bearing evidence of untreated childhood diseases. And we have rickets. Along with the obesity.
Sowsagelie is a guy about whose height there are many expectations.
I'd guess LB is about 5'6", Flippanter is 5'10", and Weman is 7'2".
neb I found taller than expected. But basically if you're taller than I am and you're not a professional athlete, you're taller than expected.
I'm 5'7 ½", thenkyouverymuch. Stately. Imposing. Some have called me intimidating.
I'm happy someone went after the low hanging fish.
or high-bobbing, as it were. putting all that aside, I'm happy that sausagejelly is getting some too.
Flippanter is the same height as Abraham Lincoln and Conan O'Brien.
127: Wow. Such presence in the courtroom you must have.
129: Yet Google says Lincoln was 6'3¾" and Conan is 6'4"! So which is it? I think we're uncovering some mighty suspicious inconsistencies in your story, sir.
Flippanter is a giant!
At 5'5" and change, I feel profoundly average.
Come on. Even Goliath was only six cubits and a span, and the Flip-Dawg has never even been to Israel the Holy Land the land of Canaan Gath the place with all the angry folks.
But basically if you're taller than I am and you're not a professional athlete, you're taller than expected.
All I remember is that Otto is taller than I am. Now I'm wondering if he's a giant, too, and I simply forgot.
134: Are you suggesting that the Railsplitter might have been shorter than a mere talk show host? Good day, sir. I said good day!
132: 68 feet, 9 inches, or 68 meters, nine inches?
At 6'½" (or 72,5 inches, Weman-style), I am a profoundly average-sized giant.
Pardon me, don't mean to intrude, terribly sorry and all that, but I couldn't help noticing your situation and I'd like to offer you a hand some tips.
One of my best friends in college had the top bunk in a bunkbed arrangement. Neither he nor his bottom-bunk roommate were getting any because my friend was buried in the back of the closet and the roommate was just unlucky. All was fine except that the unlucky roommate strung a complicated system of curtains around the bottom bunk and took to really vigorous masturbatory routines. My friend was extremely bothered by how difficult it was to get to sleep in a bunk that was shaking violently.
Unrelated, one of my fraternity brothers was sleeping with a guy who was the roommate of the boyfriend of one of my fraternity sisters at one point. They had basically no options but to fuck with each other in the room. The sister and her boyfriend were on the verge of what turned out to be a long-overdue breakup and we all could tell because the fraternity brother reported with some glee that he had caught her wearing an expression of utter boredom in the dorm room mirror one time when both couples were going at it. High-larious.
I'm not as tall as people think I am.
I am much taller than my physical height.
Yes, and Megan, I'd say, is about exactly the height I expected, but I guess I'm not sure whether I was getting an accurate read on her physical height or whether I was distracted by her towering personality.
I definitely wore him out, so he must have a point.
Unrelated, one of my fraternity brothers was sleeping with a guy who was the roommate of the boyfriend of one of my fraternity sisters at one point.
I had to read that sentence three times to figure out the various relationships involved, but I can't think of any way to simplify that construction.
144: The NBA?
In the accounting department.
141 - no wonder we sometimes think Americans are a bit odd about sex.
||
OT: You can't make this up.
The NBA, fearful of the damage an H1N1 flu outbreak could wreak on the league, has passed down an anti-handshake directive. Players and coaches have been asked to greet each other via more sanitary means of contact, like fist pounding, or maybe chest bumps.
|>
I had to read that sentence three times to figure out the various relationships involved, but I can't think of any way to simplify that construction.I had to read that sentence three times to figure out the various relationships involved, but I can't think of any way to simplify that construction.
I tried to come up with something simpler but variations on "a man and a woman in my fraternity were each sleeping with one of a pair of male roommates" didn't seem any better. Ultimately I decided to just go with links in a chain.
152: The guys at Penny Arcade will have to update their fist-pounding guide.
That's right. Towering. A tall tower, at that. Not towering like some dinky little tower.
We are all towering individuals. Giants among dwarves or however that goes. It's amazing more people don't notice.
The whole problem with giants is you have to stack them sideways if you want to shoulder-stand.
158: That's sad. Selfishly, I am disappointed as I was going to see her this weekend.
We were orchestra nerds in highschool together and spent about a bazillion hours hanging out and growing up and all that shit. I got the phonecall today while I was waiting for Pop-A-Lock to come open my truck after I locked the keys inside. Fuck.
I'm sorry, M/tch. That's even more terrible news than I had suspected. (Also, apologies if my reaction seemed a little callous.)
152: Still? Aren't people bored of swine flu yet?
161: I'm sorry, M/tch. That's awful.
Oh, sad news, MM. My condolences to all her loved ones.
Come on, people, is threescore and ten really so fucking complicated?
Condolences to M/tch and all who are feeling her loss.
You really aren't Prince Hamlet, are you?
Nope. Danes are all too damn tall anyway.
But wait, this ...
Unrelated, one of my fraternity brothers was sleeping with a guy who was the roommate of the boyfriend of one of my fraternity sisters at one point.
... says something more specific, and possibly even different, from this:
I tried to come up with something simpler but variations on "a man and a woman in my fraternity were each sleeping with one of a pair of male roommates" didn't seem any better.
What I suspect you want is: I knew a pair of roomates. One was sleeping with my fraternity brother and the other was sleeping with my fraternity sister.
/wolfson
All condolences, M/tch. I'm enjoying her myspace page right now. "Let's drown our sorrows, honey." She's really good.
Aren't people bored of swine flu yet?
Goddamn, but I'm bored of living in a house crawling with it. I'm now the healthiest of the four in the house, and I'm still not feeling great. But it was a lot more satisfying being left alone during the day to be sick, rather than sharing my quarantine with two restless (but exhausted and grouchy) preschoolers.
173: Wow, that sucks. Sorry if I was too flippant. (So, in the spirit of being serious, condolences M/tch. That, um, sucks too.)
I'm sorry about your friend, M/tch.
173: A piece on the radio today said that you must provide them with parental care in the form of popsicles, poptarts, some kind of sandwich whose name escapes me, and bacon. There you go, then. You have those things in the house, right?
Sorry if I was too flippant.
To me? Fear not. The entire situation is absurd. It's actually a really mild flu. You just can't freaking get rid of it. You're feeling all better and need to get back to work, but you just can't make the cough go away and people don't want you anywhere near them. We're quarantining ourselves like good doobies, but that shit is just running *rampant* all over the southeast. Everybody and their brother's going to catch it anyway.
Luckily, I'm able to do some work from home, since I'm now well into negative sick time.
I do have popsicles, PopTarts, bacon, and the makings for a variety of sandwiches. We made little muffin-sized apple pies out of crescent rolls and a golden apple tonight.
I like a man who says that he's doing his duty like a good doobie. We say "like good doobers" in our house.
I had what I called a cold that left me dragging for a week, but still working. My boss saw me one day and asked if I was sick. I described my symptoms and he said it was probably swine flu. I'm still not sure if he was joking or not. On the one hand, my fever never got over 101. On the other hand, I work for a doctor.
177: Cough cough, cough. Cough! (Seriously. Still. I feel fine.)
Yeah, I had a very late, very intense but short flu last year, right before all the swine flu news, and I'm hoping that maybe it was swine flu and I'm done.
My freshman roomate was constantly having sex while I was there - no big deal, they were quiet, she was very hot. She also really didn't get along with her roommate so pretty much lived in our room. One time she and my roommate argued and she crashed on my bed. I got home late and drunk, didn't turn on the lights, just stripped and got in the bed. Awkward.
Thanks for the condolences everyone. All her local friends are getting together this weekend and we've decided that while we suddenly have greater sympathy for the movie The Big Chill, we're still going to cockpunch anyone who brings it up.
Shock is the common reaction as the general impression was that she was finally, finally reasonably happy out in L.A. and with how her life was going.
Goddammit.
The roommate sex comments can migrate over to the wallpaper thread if they want to.
M/tch, ignoring The Big Chill fear is worth it; hope your get-together is rewarding.
I do have popsicles, PopTarts, bacon, and the makings for a variety of sandwiches.
Shit yeah I do love a popsicle, pop tart and bacon sandwich.
Tweety, what the fuck is going on there?
I feel like before people heard of swine flu through the news media, and more recently it's through people's social networks, so there's a smaller second wave of concern/panic. It certainly made an impression a few weeks ago when I first met someone who had had it (and gotten over it).
It's just becoming really widespread -- as predicted -- and while it affects chiefly younger people (teens and younger, I gather), quarantining is important. I should call my HIV-positive brother to see if and when the vaccine (?) may become available in Mass.
189: the Portland Sea Dogs are just outclassed.
I must admit, actually, that I just got back from Fenway. Couldn't convince mom this game was worth sitting through in 50 degree weather.
The roommate sex comments can migrate over to the wallpaper thread if they want to.
I genuinely appreciate the thought, but no need. Just needed to vent somewhere, and the non-my-friend's-suicide comments are pleasingly distracting in their normalcy.
And damn those things in 188 look good. Recipe, apo? I've got some apples in the larder and baking is probably just the thing.
the non-my-friend's-suicide comments are pleasingly distracting in their normalcy
That's it. I quit normalcy.
196: And McDonald's quit health food.
195: I'm looking at those pictures as well, and damn, not only does Apo's muffin pan look about as well-used as mine, but that looks like it might be not too complicated?
Maybe toss the cut-up apple with a little sugar and cinnamon, and I don't quite know what you do with the crescent rolls, just stick them in there somehow? (they have lots of butter in them, I think), and bake at what, for how long, is the question.
This evening's plans were changed because a friend went in for swine flu. Storefront clinic, I think.
Company shots don't come til October.
bake at what, for how long, is the question.
When in doubt, use 375 for the temp. Take it out just before you get a funny smell.
Bob, October is already started in Europe. I can get the regular flu shots, but I haven't heard when the swine ones will be here.
202: We could probably google for clearer information, but October is when I heard for the US as well. However, it differs state by state, and it's possible it's not widely available to just anyone.
184: Shock is the common reaction as the general impression was that she was finally, finally reasonably happy out in L.A. and with how her life was going.
It usually is a surprise since completers usually do not announce beforehand, and suicidal depression & ideation can be intermittant and downplayed.
My condolences, sir.
max
['Sometimes you just fall off the world.']
I'm puzzled by what McManus means by "company shots" in 200. Does McManus work for the Man?
Oh, but yeah, Moby, if I were going to wing it on Apo's apple tart recipe, I'd go for 375. It's just the crescent rolls ... strange crescent rolls, those things.
Mid-October here, which should give us just enough time for the whole family to catch swine flu before the vaccine arrives.
Okay, I'll call my brother tomorrow; we have to update each other on things anyway. I feel I have to do the big sister thing here. Flu vaccine, yo. You, brother. Do it.
more recently it's through people's social networks, so there's a smaller second wave of concern/panic
Yes, and also, it didn't really slow down over the summer. I mean, I know that's what all the public health people said was going to happen -- the epidemic continuing to tick along during the summer months -- but somehow I didn't really grasp it until friends and acquaintences starting getting it in June and July.
In not-really-related news, I recently came across "MMWR" in an extremely elegant setting, and had to consciously correct myself from thinking it meant this MMWR.
188: Those look nice. Too bad they're plague muffins.
You roll out the crescent rolls with a roller to seal the perforations, and cut out circles with a big drinking glass. Those go down in the muffin cups, then thin slices of apple, then applesauce, then cinnamon/sugar the tops. 15 or 20 minutes at 400.
208: What does "MMWR" mean in an extremely elegant setting?
Wait: Must Masticate With Respect?
Mild Menswear / White ... er, Robust.
Damn.
Swine flu is all over campus, here. I went in for my seasonal flu shot yesterday and was told that the swine flu vaccine would be out (for us) between mid-October and early November. I heard from a reputable source but didn't bother to look it up that it's best to have a few weeks between vaccinations, so get your seasonal flu shots now!
I'm puzzled by what McManus means by "company shots" in 200. Does McManus work for the Man?
"The Company" is insiderese for "the CIA". Suddenly it all makes sense.
I would sure like to avoid getting the flu this year, I must say. Bring on the shotses. Spit spot!
Goddamn, but I'm bored of living in a house crawling with it. I'm now the healthiest of the four in the house, and I'm still not feeling great. But it was a lot more satisfying being left alone during the day to be sick, rather than sharing my quarantine with two restless (but exhausted and grouchy) preschoolers.
Weird--I could have written this comment, without changing a single word.
214: Oh. Right. He does keep saying that he has a history.
My freshman roommate - who was basically fine yet annoying as fuck - didn't fuck much, but there were a few incidents. The one I recall most clearly was coming in late, doo-de-doo, putting away the massive pile of leftover O fries, when his head pops out of the covers and he gives me a "Dude..." that somehow communicated - maybe he added "could you take off," but I don't recall. With a surprisingly hot and desirable woman from elsewhere in the dorm.
But my sophomore roommate was a complete fuckhound. His GF was really nice, but jesus it was tiresome - I never went to bed before 2 or 3, and it seemed like he could have taken care of business before then.
Those were the only 2 years I had roommates, and I was dating my HS GF who was in Baltimore, so I was definitely more fucked-against than fucking.
My roommate freshman year was a football player (nice guy, but we really had nothing in common). There was one time when he told me he was going to need the room for a couple of nights; I don't remember now exactly what I did, but I think I must have stayed with a friend down the hall. Otherwise we didn't really run into any problems like this.
In light of 219, I should add that my roommates graciously decamped when my GF would come for weekend visits (during which we would very Catholicly not-fuck).
so I was definitely more fucked-against than fucking.
You were just a prop for them?
The only time I ran into this was in a hostel, in a room with about 6 or 8 "roommates." One of the guys in the room and a woman from another room showed up at about 3 in the morning when it was really quiet and you couldn't help but hear their pre-sex talk, which was kind of depressing because they obviously had very different expectations about the non-sex part of their relationship. Also, the beds in that hostel were uncomfortably close and I happened to be right next to them. They moved to cover up a bit when they woke me up, but I was turning away anyway so I don't think they bothered. I thought of telling them that if they wanted privacy, they could have tried fucking somewhere other than a room with a bunch of people in it, but I thought better of it.
In the morning, they guy's fratboy friends - they had insignia on their towels - made fun of the couple's sounds after the woman left. At least the guy didn't join in with that. I saw them later in the breakfast room, sitting with their respective friends, at different tables.
my roommates graciously decamped when my GF would come for weekend visits (during which we would very Catholicly not-fuck)
Huh. I think maybe you've mentioned this before, but I think I'd forgotten. Catholic persons, eh? So, was that difficult?
(Teasing! I was all over my boyfriend freshman and sophomore years, and the roommates giving us space was so appreciated, so I'm kind of smiling at the thought that maybe your roommates didn't know that they didn't necessarily need to decamp.)
||
I just want to note that I have an alibi.
|>
You were just a prop for them?
No, I was a second row.
222 is a sad story, in a "humanity is pathetic and/or awful" kind of way.
223: No, we were all over each other, just in a slightly unsatisfying and guilt-ridden* way. It was amusingly awkward when a friend noted that we had (inadvertently) swapped t-shirts from when she'd seen us an hour earlier. Umm....
* much more for her than for me; we're still on friendly terms, and every once in awhile I just want to ask, "So once you got married, did you finally let yourself enjoy the sex?"
did you finally let yourself enjoy the sex?
I am sure I have a few previous partners who wonder this about me. Ahem.
I had a housemate once who played music only when he and his girlfriend were having sex, which was always loud. Whether because they liked the music or because they mistakenly thought they played it loud enough to drown out their screaming, I don't know, but the two always went together.
Condolences, M/tch. Really sorry to hear it.
M/tch, so sorry about your friend.
Speaking of loud sex, my god does the woman in the apartment next to mine ever have it. Her apartment, like mine, is a two-bedroom, and her bedroom is separated from mine only by an apparently very thin wall. There was one night this past weekend when I could hear her for like an hour starting around 2 AM. Not a screamer, but "oh god, oh god, oh god" etc. over and over, with a few short breaks. Her downstairs neighbor happens to be another grad student in my program, and we commiserated over the noise at a party this weekend.
Yes, condolences, M/tch.
(I started commenting without catching up with this thread.)
Condolences, M/tch. That's shitty.
So sorry for your loss, Mitch
Dave Swarbrick Cuckoos Nest
Kate Rusby doing Sandy Denny
I wish I could have done better..
M/itch, I went with a friend to one of my favorite music bars in town tonight (city very near LA) and all of the bartenders and most of the regulars, at least 20 people, had long faces and seemed very, very quiet. I started talking to one of the bartenders, who explained that they were all saddened by the sudden death of one of their friends, and regular musicians; after talking for a little bit, it turned out that this was your friend. I didn't know your friend at all, but she must have been a pretty remarkable person to have created that strong a reaction in so many different places, and I am so sorry for your loss.
Solo Sara Watkins is probably too real
Get some Jackson Browne and James Taylor and three versions of "Louise" and and I could start building a mix tape.
I once walked past a couple having very public sex in Ithaca.
I'd say that's OK, given that he'd been away on business for the last 20 years.
Thanks all. Those links are great, bob.
242: And who isn't turned-on by the corpses of everyone who tried to do your wife while you are gone.
246: Well, the corpses, for starters.
['Sometimes you just fall off the world.']
I found this unusually affecting. So sorry, M/tch.
Here's what a friend of Amy's wrote about her yesterday:
In these last months she had been writing songs and playing with with Exene Cervanka, her absolute hero. One time Exene had even called her to ask her advice, girl to girl, friend to friend. I kept telling her : If I could go back in time and tell teenaged Amy that she'd co-write songs with Exene. She would tell me that grown-up Amy lived the most incredible life ever. In many ways she did, and she was certainly able to fulfill many of her dreams. That is what I focus on today as I try to come to terms with such sadness.
And her brother:
She also recorded with John Doe at one point and of course worked extensively with Dave Alvin - all of these folks were a HUGE deal to us growing up and I totally agree with Liz, had anyone told either of us back then, we'd have absolutely flipped.
I remember listening to X, the Blasters, the Knitters, etc. with her back in our teens. Last night as I was drifting into passed out I was putting together the soundtrack to "The Big Chill: TNG" in my head.
I also just joined Facebook because it's really helpful get the word out and reconnect with her old friends far and wide. But I've gotten all these friend requests from old friends and acquaintances completely unrelated to Austin or Amy and it feels kind of odd responding"Great to hear from you! Would love to catch up! But later, please: I'm mourning someone you didn't know."
250: I did just that when my mom died. People understand, and pretty much give you space. You do wind up writing some replies to their replies that become repetitive; I believe I just said I'd be out of commission for a while.
I dont know about you people, but I'm glad I've never experienced this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evDAi77IDhY
darn it. Didnt mean to sex up m/tch's condolence thread.
Sorry about your friend.
233: We had an upstairs neighbor like this when I was in grad school. Every Saturday at 2 a.m. First the country music would go on, then the bedsprings would start creaking, then the human noises... Loud enough that you couldn't sleep through it. An anonymous note indicating the thinness of the walls and advising that each and every moan was quite audible put a stop to that routine. I'm a terrible person, I know, but I do not tolerate sleep deprivation well.
First the country music would go on, then the bedsprings would start creaking, then the human noises...
Possible Noises Heard From The Room Of Someone Who Regards Country Music As The Ideal Precursor To Gettin' It On:
-- Yee-haw!
-- Git along there!
-- Rawhide!
-- Fill your hand, you sonofabitch!