for andrew
I have lived with my brother for the majority of the past year. First, he moved in with me in my tiny apartment. I'd tell you the square feet but I never measured. One bedroom, one bath, kitchen, living room. All of small dimensions except the bedroom where I could squeeze in an office. And, after he moved in, a clothes rack. He slept on the couch.
You know when you are taking part in a not-so-original interview and the interviewer asks you how your friends would describe you? My bet is (1) smart, (2) funny, and (3) independent. #3 does not bode well for living with another human being--any human being--in that small of an apartment. Even worse, I hadn't lived with anyone since my favorite roommate, angelq, in 1998. (Wow, that's scary--1998. I may be getting old.) Add to that, the stress of selling your family home, my recent job change, his recent job change and move to "town." Needless to say, there was some adjustment that needed to happen.
One of the things that freaked me out about that is that if I had to be roommates with anyone, it would be my brother. He's a nice guy. He's handy. I've known him for years and we've put that crazy childhood stuff behind us for the most part and are very close now. But if I was having a hard time living with him, how could I ever expect to live with, say, a husband? Yeah, well, maybe one day we'll have to see how that goes.
After five months of living together in that tiny apartment, I got about a month break. Then moved into his house with him and have been here ever since. The additional space makes it nicer. He can keep his room and bathroom as messy as he wants because, get this, I don't have to go in there. This was not the case with my living room and my own bedroom in the apartment.
Anyway, here are the things that get on my nerves but somehow manage to deal with sans yelling (at least most of the time):
1. Leaving 9,000 pairs of shoes in the living room.
2. The inability to shut cabinet doors, push chairs in, or vacuum.
3. Buying super cheap trash bags that tend to tear if something sharp goes in them (like a cotton ball).
4. Sunday morning car show marathon on TV.
5. and, um, that's about it.
I would hate to see his list about me... Really, for the most part I think he's a cohabitator and maybe I'm getting to be just a little bit myself.
If anyone wants to share their horror stories, feel free to do so. More than likely your roommate doesn't read this. And there's always the option to be "Anonymous."
Little note: Welcome new blogger, Cheryl, to the list of heroes. She will no doubt add some excitement, entertainment, and intelligence to the world of blogging.
Exciting news tidbit #2: AT&T came today. There are 2 phone lines in the office. The only thing that concerns me is that when I have the phone plugged into the fax line and try to call it, it doesn't ring. I get a dial tone and can call out on it, though. Sigh...so close.
You know when you are taking part in a not-so-original interview and the interviewer asks you how your friends would describe you? My bet is (1) smart, (2) funny, and (3) independent. #3 does not bode well for living with another human being--any human being--in that small of an apartment. Even worse, I hadn't lived with anyone since my favorite roommate, angelq, in 1998. (Wow, that's scary--1998. I may be getting old.) Add to that, the stress of selling your family home, my recent job change, his recent job change and move to "town." Needless to say, there was some adjustment that needed to happen.
One of the things that freaked me out about that is that if I had to be roommates with anyone, it would be my brother. He's a nice guy. He's handy. I've known him for years and we've put that crazy childhood stuff behind us for the most part and are very close now. But if I was having a hard time living with him, how could I ever expect to live with, say, a husband? Yeah, well, maybe one day we'll have to see how that goes.
After five months of living together in that tiny apartment, I got about a month break. Then moved into his house with him and have been here ever since. The additional space makes it nicer. He can keep his room and bathroom as messy as he wants because, get this, I don't have to go in there. This was not the case with my living room and my own bedroom in the apartment.
Anyway, here are the things that get on my nerves but somehow manage to deal with sans yelling (at least most of the time):
1. Leaving 9,000 pairs of shoes in the living room.
2. The inability to shut cabinet doors, push chairs in, or vacuum.
3. Buying super cheap trash bags that tend to tear if something sharp goes in them (like a cotton ball).
4. Sunday morning car show marathon on TV.
5. and, um, that's about it.
I would hate to see his list about me... Really, for the most part I think he's a cohabitator and maybe I'm getting to be just a little bit myself.
If anyone wants to share their horror stories, feel free to do so. More than likely your roommate doesn't read this. And there's always the option to be "Anonymous."
Little note: Welcome new blogger, Cheryl, to the list of heroes. She will no doubt add some excitement, entertainment, and intelligence to the world of blogging.
Exciting news tidbit #2: AT&T came today. There are 2 phone lines in the office. The only thing that concerns me is that when I have the phone plugged into the fax line and try to call it, it doesn't ring. I get a dial tone and can call out on it, though. Sigh...so close.
Comments
If that is your entire list - you will be absolutely fine with a husband!
I agree with Bubba's Sis, though, that pretty much describes all men. Except my hubby, but you probably already knew that about him having known him in college. He's much neater than I am. I am ~cleaner~ (i.e. I have to change the sheets and towels on a regular basis, and dust under the bed and clean the bathroom, again on a regular basis), but he is much ~neater~ than I. 'A place for everything and everything in it's place.' He picks up after me all the time. He'll vouch for that, too. His Mama raised him well....
Living with your brother cannot be anything like living with your adult daughter -- with OCD (seriously, she's been diagnosed). I might also mention that I live with my own three SMALL pets as well as her VERY LARGE dog in an apartment. She (the daughter) goes nuts if leave a box of cereal out while I'm still eating, hey, I like to keep adding until the milk is gone! Same daughter thinks long dog hairs over all furniture is no big deal. We've made a pact to find our own places within 2 months. Neither of us has said it, but I don't think we want them to be too close to one another.
Like Matthew, I admit that I have a tendency to leave shoes in the living room. Hey, what if you want to change several times a day? How handy is that. Of the annoying habits you mentioned, I think the car racing would get to me. How long can you listen to zoom-zoom without going mad? Now there's an interesting experiment...