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All Fun & Satire

Roomies 101: The good, the bad and the naked

By Carolyn Turgeon
Associate News Editor

It’s not very likely that your randomly matched roommate is going to become your very best friend, so here are some ways to deal with the worst possible situations. You can also take note of these rez fouls and make sure you don’t fall into the category of terrible living partners.

Some people just don’t know how to clean up after themselves. Chances are they’ve never had to. If you find yourself doing all the dishes in order to avoid a disgusting mess, make an agreement to alternate days or establish a “wash what you use” rule. Has your roomie been leaving their shit all over the common areas? You can dramatically toss it out the window or maybe just inform them how annoying it is.

Just because you live with someone doesn’t mean they can’t respect your personal space. Does your roomie hang around your place butt-naked? Sit them down and discuss why it makes you uncomfortable or, if you’re feeling crafty, constantly open windows until they’re forced to bundle up. If forced to listen to the sounds of their sex life — or lack thereof —strategically blast mood killing music until they get the hint.

Whether you’ve come from a small town or the GTA, you’ve been taught to stay away from strangers. Now you have to live with one. If you have nothing in common from the looks of your rommie’s books, movies and poster, give it time. It could be fun to have a friend with drastically different interests. You just can’t stand to be around them? Try to deal with it by living together and just being polite and friendly. If all else fails, request a switch.

Head to theeyeopener.com for more rez advice, including communal bathroom etiquette and tips on making friends. Then tweet us @theeyeopener with your insane stories about frosh week!

1 Comment

  1. Living in Neill-Wycik would guarantee this situation.

    I used to live with this (expletive) girl who thinks that she can get away with not doing chores because she’s “never home”.

    I ended up doing most of the mopping, sweeping and vacuuming.

    Finally, I decided to expose her non-team working ass in a nice way. All I did was I printed out a paper that has three rows: mopping/sweeping, recycling and taking out the garbage.

    Basically every time you volunteer to do any of the above, you write the date and your name on the appropriate heading. I started the ball rolling on all the categories in the first week, my other roommates followed suit (there were five of us in total).

    It was pretty much the peer pressure of the transparency of her non-cooperation. She eventually got on board.

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