Growing in to Grown Up

A Warning to the New Roommate | November 19, 2009

My fans [dad] keep asking when I’m going to post again, so I guess a new post is pretty long overdue. Thanks for sticking it out!

Life has been so crazy busy that keeping up with the ole website has really been last on my to-do list.  In the past month I’ve been back to Chicago twice, been working like crazy, had a variety of different events and appointments, and most importantly, have been trying to prevent becoming homeless effective December 20th. 

I was getting so worried about where I’d live once my lease is up and The Current Roommate gets married and moves to China, that I started telling people they could just send my Christmas cards to this address:

Erin
In A Van
Down By the River

You’d think it really wouldn’t be that difficult to find a place to live. And it’s not. But I really didn’t want to live alone. And I also don’t know anyone who needs a roommate. Which leaves one solution: reply to ads on Craigslist.

Y’all? There are some weird people out there. I’ve seen it all: Free rent for women who are willing to help with “domestic stuff” for over-the-hill bachelors, 5 plus people sharing a 3 bedroom houses with 1 bathroom, and people who post photos of the place and/or themselves and just make it look SCARY!

My rule of thumb has been to reply to pretty much any posting that:

• Had twenty-something girl(s) as roommates
•  Reasonably priced rent
• Didn’t go crazy with the ~~~~CAPS, EXCLAMATION POINTS, fUnKy WrItInG, etc.~~~!!!
• And had limited grammatical and spelling errors [because I judge]

And after all of that, I’m happy to announce that I will not be spending the next few months living in a van down by the river! I found a roommate who seems nice, normal & like she’ll be a good roommate friend! [Hi Casey! I figure it's only a matter of time before we become facebook friends and you find this, right?]

So there’s that. Now instead of worrying about finding a place, I have that whole “What if she turns out to be completely nutty? Or thinks I’m a total nutcase?”  thing going on. You know, that’s always a possibility.

I can be a little out there at times…but it’s in an endearing way. So I thought I’d maybe start off this stranger-to-roommate relationship by airing some of my quirky habits for her [and the world] to read. I realize that most of them don’t effect her [or anyone but me], but where’s the fun in only sharing the relevant information?

So here it goes:

• I have lots of stories. And I like to tell them. And they usually don’t have any point. [I think this might be genetic. My sister has the same problem. Only worse.]
• I’m a karaoke junkie. It’s my absolute favorite thing to do on a Friday or Saturday night. I’m not any good. But that doesn’t stop me.
• Sometimes I crochet. I learned in college and get all into it for a few days and then totally forget about it for months. But during those few crocheting days: WATCH OUT! There will be an abundance of home-made afghans.
• If I can’t sleep, I move my pillows to the foot of my bed and try sleeping the other direction. Sometimes it helps. Sometimes it doesn’t.
• If I’m running late in the morning, I’ll eat a popsicle for breakfast. The ones I buy are 100% fruit juice, so it’s basically like eating a pomegranate and blueberries. Right?
• I could eat Mexican food every day of my life. For multiple meals. And sometimes that’s all I eat for a few days in a row.
• You might have to remind me every once in a while that I do in fact own clothing other than my puffy vests, and it might be a nice idea to try wearing it. Especially if we’re going to a bar.
• I like really cheesy TV, movies, and books. Like Lifetime, and Reba, and pretty much any romantic comedy or chick lit. I don’t get all wrapped up in it. But I’m not embarrassed to admit that I love it.

There’s more. I’m sure of it. But that’s a good starter list. Hopefully this won’t scare her off and everything will work out well!