Lone Male Roommate Examines Prior Judgments
As I sat watching American Idol with my 3 female roommates the other night, I began to reflect on the decision process that had landed me in this less than ideal situation.
I had lived with girls before and I knew what I was doing at the outset of my apartment search; when I first graduated and moved to Washington, D.C. and found the experience of living with girls to have advantage over living with 40 guys in a frat house.
(photo courtesy of Mia Mabanta)
The most salient benefit of female roommates is the apartment's cleanliness. When I lived with guys, it was a constant struggle to keep the apartment half way decent. I could straighten up and even embark on some large scale cleaning projects (with the appropriate musical accompaniment), but at the end of the day, it only took about 30 minutes of neglect for the apartment to return to its natural, sordid state.
But now that my roommates are female, the opposite seems true. It is almost a challenge to really mess the place up. A messy girl never really seems to rival the havoc that a guy can create. In an all male household, it was perfectly acceptable to deposit dirty dishes under the couch while the coffee table gradually transformed into a game of beer bottle and Styrofoam container Jenga (the loser being required to throw everything away)
Perhaps an even more important benefit of my current living situation is the level of respect my current roommates and I have for our apartment. Living with other guys, all sorts of disgusting and offensive behavior is not only tolerated, but encouraged to the point of competition. If you live with girls, however, you are much more likely to behave as a normal, decent member of society who takes pride in where and how they live. And some of us need all the help that we can get.
Also, just having diverse perspectives can be helpful. There are some things that I would normally completely take for granted if not for the input of my female roommates. I am pretty sure that this is true, and am confident that I'll think of an example at some point.
Living with girls is ideal, but it's not perfect. Quite often, there are certain chores that seem fall into the lone male roommate's jurisdiction. This includes, but is definitely not limited to, anything of or relating to the disposal of garbage, plumbing and electricity issues, and any heavy lifting.
We plan to revisit this topic in upcoming blog posts and expanding on some of the advantages and disadvantages (such as the almost supernatural ability of girls to detect when something has spilled.) In the interest of remaining fair and balanced, (like FOXNEWS) we will also entertain commentary from Erin Leonard, who will offer her input on the situation.
Let us know how you have fared in your various roommate situations!
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13 Responses to “Lone Male Roommate Examines Prior Judgments"
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May 21st, 2008 at 10:08 am
Girls love to watch reality shows, often involving models - be warned.
May 21st, 2008 at 10:16 am
'scuse me, “less than ideal situation"?
You'll find your dirty mattress on the street as of 5:30pm today. Thanks.
May 21st, 2008 at 10:27 am
Amazing writing. And picture.
May 21st, 2008 at 11:02 am
amen, my friend! amen.
well done.
and may i add that i think that the ratio of women to men needs to be greater in order for the lovely phenomena you speak of to take full effect.
May 21st, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Doesn't the proximity to females also greatly enhance the likelihood of getting laid? I realize that's very shallow of me but still…..kind of important in't it?
May 21st, 2008 at 1:10 pm
given your abundance of experience living with women i would have expected more anecdotes. can we get a volume 2?
also - picking up dead mice is always the man's job and always will be.
May 21st, 2008 at 4:39 pm
i agree about the mice. my male ex-roommate took that particular duty in stride. however, i must contest your take on garbage disposal and electricity. to the last day of his stay, he never knew which day of the week the garbage was to get to the curb, and when the washing machine wouldn't turn on while i was on vacation, i had to call the caretaker to come flip the fuses because he just couldn't figure it out. granted, i do realize that some male roommates are far superior to others and i would certainly enjoy living with one who knew how to fix things or could lift them.
May 21st, 2008 at 8:51 pm
feel free to come over to Oak St anytime you get nostalgic for male messiness. i give the house until tomorrow evening to return to its normal state
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:50 am
thanks for the input, everyone! even becky.
indeed, mimi a true insight into the magical formula of roommate bliss.
and to brandy, a volume two is in the works. topics to be discussed: clogged shower drains, painting the kitchen, socks, remote control authority, netflix, cooking expertise, talking with the landlord.
be sure to check out Erin's response, which I will be patiently awaiting.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:14 am
I am interested in your statement regarding the male tendency to take pride in where and how he lives due to the female roommates' influence. Anyone who has been in your room can attest to the ‘truth' of this statement.
Great article!
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:41 pm
have a pet dog or have Matty D - one is a companion that makes all the chores and expenses a little easier to deal with, the other poops on your kitchen floor and cries before it goes to bed
May 27th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
I can unbelievably relate to the messy male roommate thing. It doesn't matter if I do a full scale clean, when my husband has the weekend off, our condo is a pig sty by the end of the weekend. It's taken me 6 years to get him to the point where 2 days is the maximum amount of cleanliness time, and generally, it takes less than that.
To the commenter who mentioned that girls love reality tv… I'm a girl, and I am not a fan of reality tv at all, especially those terrible model shows.
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:06 am
Nice post, and an interesting blog, too.
I lived with two female college classmates for a couple years after graduation. The advantages were many. But as you point out, there were some divisions of labor.
I mowed the lawn, for example.
I'll look forward to future installments.