Roommate Adventures

Yesterday, Sara and I went adventuring–to a historical monument in the big city next to us. I had invited Sarah to come along, but being pre-med, she didn’t care to visit local attractions unless they involved surgical instruments. In fact, she expressed her disdain for our planned activities rather vehemently, where I just ended up shrugging off her attitude and headed out with Sara.

It was actually a pretty fun day of roommate bonding. After taking three forms of public transportation to get to the monument, we were sorely disappointed to find out that tickets were sold out for the day. Instead of dwelling on our misfortune, Sara and I took the opportunity to explore the touristy area that she hadn’t gotten to do before. We ate some greasy local food and hit up all the sweet shops on the block.

After consuming several oversized pieces of taffy, I experienced what it was like to be six-years-old again through a little something known as the “sugar high”. Sara and I giggled like kids all the way home despite having to wait 45 minutes for the bus. All in all it was a pretty good trip, and I really hope that it makes Sara value me more as a friend. It’s times like these that make it okay for to just trust my roommates and consider them my best friends, not only because we live together, but also because we know some significant things about each other–and we can have fun together too.

I’d Rather Have You Do Your Share, Thanks

My glorious week of maintaining an empty apartment came to an abrupt end when the door opened with a loud crash yesterday. Sarah walked through the living room with an overstuffed suitcase and several bags.

“Hey, you’re back!” I greeted her with a forced smile. Inwardly, I groaned.

“Yeah… my mom’s outside with more stuff,” Sarah responded. No greeting necessary for her.

“Okay, I’ll go out to say hi and help bring in your things,” I offered.

I found her mom’s humongous black SUV parked illegally blocking our building’s driveway.

“Hi, Mrs. Y! How was your trip? Can I help carry anything in?”

“Hi, Roommate. You can grab something from the trunk,” Mrs. Y answered from the driver seat.

As soon as Sarah and I finished several trips back and forth from the car, Mrs. Y drove off. Sarah promptly opened her huge rolling suitcase and dumped its contents on the floor of her room. Apparently, she hates unpacking and lives out of the pile until it gradually disappears. At least the disaster will be contained in her room.

In an unexpected move, Sarah pulled out an eyelash curler and some plastic soup spoons that she bought for me. It was actually really nice of her to think of me while she was on vacation. Maybe that means that she’s becoming more thoughtful and will start pulling her weight around here!

Probably not.

Pear

I’ve been trying really hard to stay in touch with Sara while she is away this summer because she is moving back into the double room with me come Fall semester… and it’d be kind of awkward if we weren’t speaking.

We were on the phone today, and I admitted that I knew about how Sarah feels about my clothes.

“It kind of hurts to know that she is judging what I’m wearing so harshly, especially when I can’t really help the circumstances,” I said carefully.

“Yeah, I understand.” Sara continued, “I mean, I prefer Diesel jeans because they fit me really well. And Sarah usually has really good taste, but those gray skinny jeans she just bought makes her look like a huge pear.”

“Uh, does she know that?”

“No, I’d never tell her to her face.” [Of course. Backstabbers don't ever confront people.] “Plus she’s really insecure so I don’t want to make it worse.”

Wait, what?! Sarah the Queen of Greatness is insecure?

“That’s why she tries so hard to be ‘in’ with Jason’s hipster friends.” Sara went on, “It’s so obvious that Sarah wants to be accepted in the hipster crowd since she has never had many friends.”

Suddenly, I wasn’t so surprised anymore. It’s a tell-tale sign of insecurity to proclaim your superiority over others. I actually kind of feel bad for her now. I must be going crazy.

Masochism?

A lot of people have asked me why I renewed my lease with these girls. I ask myself that every time they do something crappy and make me feel like I’m a second-class citizen. But then we have moments where we get along really well, and I feel like we’re connecting. It’s hard to believe, but after living with Sara and Sarah for two years and sharing a huge part of my life with them, I’ve seen their weaknesses and they are just like me in that way. Even though Sara and Sarah have been best friends since they were 10, right now we’re all girls going through tough classes, dealing with difficult family situations, and insecurities about our bodies. And once in awhile I feel like they care about me too. So I guess this next year is me being hopeful about them opening their eyes and seeing how all the little things I do for them should mean something. Call me crazy… but I suppose that’s what hope is all about, right?

(And the apartment is really nice)

Maybe I’m Wrong

Sometimes I wonder if I’m too harsh toward the Sara(h)s. This past week, they have both been very supportive in different ways.

When Sara saw me really upset because I got into a fight with one of my best friends from high school, she put down her things and came over to ask me what was wrong and hugged me while I told her about our fall out.

And after a clumsy moment on moving day in August, I had snagged a toenail on something and it ripped completely off. Since then, a new and fragile nail has been growing in and becoming rather painful as it digs into my skin. Sarah, with her medical background (haha) and lack of aversion to such things, helped me put cotton between the nail and my skin and wrapped it up in a bandage for me.

It’s times like these that I really feel like they’ve accepted me into their tight-knit circle.

Temporary Insanity

Even though my roommates exhibit all the qualifications for the “Wicked Witch” awards, I can’t help but consider them my friends after spending so much time together and sharing so many intimate details of our lives. A big part of me tells me that I’m wrong to trust them, but sometimes they do do nice things (sticking up for me when an asshole guy hurts me) and I really appreciate it. It makes me defensive when other people hurt them as well.

Last semester, Sarah met a guy through a friend in her lab class. He’s a hipster (clothes that don’t match, indie music, smoker, etc.) and that is the type of person she aspires to be (she picked up smoking to look cooler), so of course she is head over heels for him. We all spent a lot of time helping her figure out how to get Jason’s attention, and finally she asked him to a date party. All of us went with our respective dates and had a great time.

A month later, they made out in the library during finals week. Before Jason left for home, he said, “See you next semester!” Four months later and he is still stringing her along. Sarah is really upset that they are not officially going out, and I feel really bad for her.

It’s just weird because Jason seems like someone she would never hang out with, other than the fact that she’s crazy about him–he has no real plan for his life, he doesn’t shower frequently, he doesn’t drive a nice SUV… the list goes on. Maybe she has realized that these things she values are not as important as she had thought. There is hope for mankind!