Day 45

A picture of my room:

Vassar, Spring '01

"It has been said of the college male that he is a predictable beast, and perhaps this is truest when he is considered in his home environment.  Pictures of scantily-clad sex objects, favored sports-team paraphernalia, pilfered road signs, and second-hand furniture abound amidst the wreckage of his nightly ritualistic alcohol consumption.  Perhaps, shortly after our intrepid sociologist snapped this photo, these three college males engaged in "video gaming" using the now-archaic Nintendo 64 and television set.  Note the lava lamp to the right of that set; odds are, it saw considerable use as a mood enhancer whenever marijuana was smoked.  The Dunkin' Donuts box suggests to this analyst that, perhaps, marijuana would be smoked that very night."

Ah, the two-room triple, sophomore year.  Adam, Paul and I more or less lived together for three years; there were really rough spots along the way, but we were good enough friends to get through the passive-aggressive bullshit between us.  This picture was taken after our softball team, Old Sissypants and the Little German Girl, won the intramural softball championship.

Regarding our team name, it should be noted: a) Paul's girlfriend Meredith was the girl in question; b) while our team name freshman year was Old Man Sissypants and a Barrel of Poon, we quickly stopped letting Matt's roommate Greg have that particular responsibility...of course trusting Matt wasn't a big step forward; c) our jerseys (professionally screen-printed, natch) read simply "Old Sissypants" because that shit cost money and we were college sophomores.

Of all the things in my Vassar experience that gladden me to this day, I think my room situation makes me the happiest, resulting as it did from random chance.  I grew close to my roommate and to my hallmates - this was how I met Matt, that first day.  I'm glad because having Adam and Paul around meant being socially well-rounded: my friends weren't all performers, and as years passed this proved to be a real protective factor for my sanity.  It made my room a retreat from the drama.