Thursday, August 26, 2004
College Housing
It's close to a wrap on yet another unexciting day in the life of Amir. Today was the first day of classes. I had two classes, a German section and my lecture to (brace yourselves) Biogeochemistry. It was a pretty decent, light way to kick off the school year. Tomorrow I have five classes, though. *Barf*
My morning class on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays starts at 9 a.m. and is close to a 20 minute walk, completely uphill. It's going to be a challenge to exert myself while I'm still half asleep.
I just got back from our floor meeting. It was the first one of the year, where the Resident Advisor gets on his soapbox and yacks the house rules and policies at you. I was disappointed, though. My RA didn't do any justice to it. He was loosey-goosey, he mumbled, he brushed things aside, he made it sound like we could do anything as long as we don't bug him. Nice? Yeah, I guess. But I'm at the opposite end of the hall, so if I'm being bugged (i.e. if it's loud in the vicinity or who knows what else) he'd be the last to know.
Not to be so critical, but I'm not so excited about this RA. It's the small things that count. Every RA is supposed to make little name signs on the door of every resident. It's not a big deal, and it can get really corny, but it sort of creates a sense of community--you know who lives where, and neighbors aren't complete strangers: at least they have names. My RA neglected to put up our names on our doors. My RA also neglected to post signs on the bathrooms (as they're not labeled which are for men or women), which has led to a somewhat chaotic bathroom situation over the past week. I've been living here for close to a week and the RA hasn't bothered to introduce himself to me or any of the other residents. He's pretty much never around, and I wonder why he even bothers to have this job.
Actually, I know a little more about my RA than I'm admitting. He and I go back quite a bit, though I doubt he knows it. When I was a high school senior, he was the student guide for my group tour around campus. I remember him vividly because it was such a lackluster tour. He would have been a great guide if the school were trying to discourage students from attending. At one point in the tour, he admitted that he hates it here! Well, geez. When asked why he goes to school here, he replied backhandedly, "Well maybe you have a father who works here so you get free tuition." Oh. I see. So if he already gets free tuition, then why not just go the full nine yards and become a shitty RA just so you can get free housing, too? Why I have to be his resident and come under his sour spell, however, is totally beyond me. Some things in this world just don't make sense.
I've been flirting with the idea of transferring to a single lately because of a bunch of different reasons (scroll the the last four paragraphs of the post). My Mom just sent me an e-mail where she calculated that a single would cost me an extra $77 per month. Hmm, who knew that the monthly cost for some peace of mind would only be $77? So doable! I thought I'd just get another low-key student job to earn my extra $77/month. Well, tonight my RA managed to squash the little hope I had of improving my housing situation. "And if you want a single, good luck," he scoffed. "Only 4% of applicants get a single. So basically, unless you have a medical reason, forget about it." Thanks for the encouragement.
My morning class on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays starts at 9 a.m. and is close to a 20 minute walk, completely uphill. It's going to be a challenge to exert myself while I'm still half asleep.
I just got back from our floor meeting. It was the first one of the year, where the Resident Advisor gets on his soapbox and yacks the house rules and policies at you. I was disappointed, though. My RA didn't do any justice to it. He was loosey-goosey, he mumbled, he brushed things aside, he made it sound like we could do anything as long as we don't bug him. Nice? Yeah, I guess. But I'm at the opposite end of the hall, so if I'm being bugged (i.e. if it's loud in the vicinity or who knows what else) he'd be the last to know.
Not to be so critical, but I'm not so excited about this RA. It's the small things that count. Every RA is supposed to make little name signs on the door of every resident. It's not a big deal, and it can get really corny, but it sort of creates a sense of community--you know who lives where, and neighbors aren't complete strangers: at least they have names. My RA neglected to put up our names on our doors. My RA also neglected to post signs on the bathrooms (as they're not labeled which are for men or women), which has led to a somewhat chaotic bathroom situation over the past week. I've been living here for close to a week and the RA hasn't bothered to introduce himself to me or any of the other residents. He's pretty much never around, and I wonder why he even bothers to have this job.
Actually, I know a little more about my RA than I'm admitting. He and I go back quite a bit, though I doubt he knows it. When I was a high school senior, he was the student guide for my group tour around campus. I remember him vividly because it was such a lackluster tour. He would have been a great guide if the school were trying to discourage students from attending. At one point in the tour, he admitted that he hates it here! Well, geez. When asked why he goes to school here, he replied backhandedly, "Well maybe you have a father who works here so you get free tuition." Oh. I see. So if he already gets free tuition, then why not just go the full nine yards and become a shitty RA just so you can get free housing, too? Why I have to be his resident and come under his sour spell, however, is totally beyond me. Some things in this world just don't make sense.
I've been flirting with the idea of transferring to a single lately because of a bunch of different reasons (scroll the the last four paragraphs of the post). My Mom just sent me an e-mail where she calculated that a single would cost me an extra $77 per month. Hmm, who knew that the monthly cost for some peace of mind would only be $77? So doable! I thought I'd just get another low-key student job to earn my extra $77/month. Well, tonight my RA managed to squash the little hope I had of improving my housing situation. "And if you want a single, good luck," he scoffed. "Only 4% of applicants get a single. So basically, unless you have a medical reason, forget about it." Thanks for the encouragement.
