Lived in dorms all four years. Freshman year, I went through three roommates: the first only lasted two weeks until her new BFF and she decided to room together, so we exchanged roommates. I got along great with #2, but a friend down the hall had issues with her roommate, so to be nice, we swapped after the holidays. Well, that "friend" ended up being a real PITA and horrible roommate (by May, we devolved into communication through post-it notes), so for sophomore year, I hooked up with another friend and two others for a suite (two bedrooms and a bathroom). That roommate and I stayed together through junior year, but then she hooked up with someone else and I got another acquaintance for my senior year roommate. We weren't as close as the previous roommate, but it worked out fine for that last year of college.

My freshman roommate was the loudest. snorer. ever. If you heard him, you wouldn't believe that he wasn't doing an over-the-top parody of snoring. His snoring got worse during times of stress, like, for example, finals week. He washed out, and didn't make it to sophomore year.

My first year roommate really wanted to go to Duke because her boyfriend went there. She lasted for two weeks before deciding that she was going to transfer, and therefore she hated all things UVA and everyone who liked it there. She studied constantly because she needed a high GPA to transfer, so I was never allowed to play music or hang out in the room because she was studying. She also went to bed at 11PM in a suite full of night owls. Her boyfriend's nickname for her was "Booper" and he used to leave these saccharine filled messages on our answering machine. Second semester, she was allowed to have her car and she went to Duke EVERY WEEKEND.

She did not get in to Duke, and ended up transferring to Wake Forest just to be closer to him. We never heard from her again.

One day, my BFF (who I met in college and knew this girl) called me up and asked me if I'd looked at the wedding announcements that day. I said no, and she said "do it ASAP!". Imagine my glee when I saw the announcement of her boyfriend engaged to someone ELSE!!!

Oh, so THAT'S why my salary is so far below market.

(Seriously. SERIOUSLY???)

He also had the worst taste in clothes ever, all of which was stained pink, because nobody ever told him how to separate his laundry.

Imagine my glee when I saw the announcement of her boyfriend engaged to someone ELSE!!!

Heh.

I think that learning to have to live with someone else is one of the great non-classroom lessons of college and think all first-years should have to have a roommate. That said, first-year roommate and I were very different and were never friends, but also did not have horror stories and respected each other's space. Soph year I moved from one walk-thru double to another and while friendly was never friends with either roommate, we co-existed. After that I was in singles, once in a suite with friends that turned out to be the actual worst living experience of all.

Heh.

I happened to be sitting in the Dupont Circle Starbucks when reading the paper. Dupont is a heavily gay area. When I saw the announcement and gasped out loud, the guy next to me saw what i was looking at and said "Old boyfriend?" and I said no. Then he said "Old girlfriend?"

Ah, Dupont Circle. Did I mention I once made out with a guy there? During that march on Washington after Clinton was elected....

Ah, Dupont Circle. Did I mention I once made out with a guy there?

well, where else, really?