I used to liveI've lived in various shared accomodations in my time, but only a few cases spring to mind. I must have been lucky.
CASE 1
When I moved in, there was a girl living in a room at the front on the first floor. She was large and scary, and never quite seemed to get the fact that living in a shared place was a little bit of give and take.
About 2 weeks after moving in, a couple of my friends came to visit to see the place, and we quickly legged it up the pub for a couple of Sunday-night beers. We got back at about 10pm, and near the doorstep something funny was said, and they both started laughing. Loudly.
The following morning I was confronted with large and scary girl who was screaming at me because our laughter had woken her and her boyfriend up, and he'd woken with such a start that he'd damaged the muscles in his neck. By all accounts he'd been taken off to hospital, he wasn't going to be able to play county cricket any more, and she was going to do as much to make sure I was kicked out of the house and was to be sued for financial loss.
I spend the next week bricking it (though working for lawyers myself I had sound legal advice to hand). Strangely enough, when I did see her boyfriend he didn't look anywhere near as bothered by it, and I just said 'sorry about that', and he said 'S'ok'.
To this day, I'm still more worried about the fact that they were in their early/mid-20s and in bed to actually sleep at that time of night, rather than have wild rampant monkey-sex.
But then again, she was scary.
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Mon 17 Nov 2003, 15:18,
archived)
CASE 1
When I moved in, there was a girl living in a room at the front on the first floor. She was large and scary, and never quite seemed to get the fact that living in a shared place was a little bit of give and take.
About 2 weeks after moving in, a couple of my friends came to visit to see the place, and we quickly legged it up the pub for a couple of Sunday-night beers. We got back at about 10pm, and near the doorstep something funny was said, and they both started laughing. Loudly.
The following morning I was confronted with large and scary girl who was screaming at me because our laughter had woken her and her boyfriend up, and he'd woken with such a start that he'd damaged the muscles in his neck. By all accounts he'd been taken off to hospital, he wasn't going to be able to play county cricket any more, and she was going to do as much to make sure I was kicked out of the house and was to be sued for financial loss.
I spend the next week bricking it (though working for lawyers myself I had sound legal advice to hand). Strangely enough, when I did see her boyfriend he didn't look anywhere near as bothered by it, and I just said 'sorry about that', and he said 'S'ok'.
To this day, I'm still more worried about the fact that they were in their early/mid-20s and in bed to actually sleep at that time of night, rather than have wild rampant monkey-sex.
But then again, she was scary.
CASE 2In the same house toward the end of my tenancy, another guy moved in. Was friendly enough, but I always felt a little on edge with him as he was like a powder keg waiting to explode.
He was clean to the point of obsession, and hated the fact that the place did not remain spotless 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. By this point I was 'in charge' of the house and the bills much to my deep regret, so if anything was going wrong I was the first port of call.
As time went on, he became more and more eratic, and on several occasions came up to my room and physically threatened me over a noise that was coming from my place but could never be traced. Eventually, I found out was was a freezer two floors below me causing the noise, which just about appeased him.
It was around this time he moved into a room near the back of the house, and was put on long-term sick leave due to "depression". He started telling me that the place was being "watched from the skies", and had managed to somehow destroy about £3000 of reinforced laptop because people were keeping track of what he was doing through it even though it wasn't on.
He also destroyed a few CDs I'd lent him on the ground I was using them to keep tabs on him as well, and that they were communicating back to the satellite beacons positioned above the house. It was hard to know what to expect one day to the next, but it was obvious he was becoming more aggressive with it each day, and his girlfriend was also greatly concerned.
Needless to say, I didn't really want to live with an utter schitzo any more, so I made alternative arrangements, and moved to a new place with my girlfriend and a mate of ours.
I later found out that our landlord had booted him out of the place about a month after that.
I'd imagine that was probably just before he redecorated everything he owned with tin foil.
(,
Mon 17 Nov 2003, 15:25,
archived)
He was clean to the point of obsession, and hated the fact that the place did not remain spotless 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. By this point I was 'in charge' of the house and the bills much to my deep regret, so if anything was going wrong I was the first port of call.
As time went on, he became more and more eratic, and on several occasions came up to my room and physically threatened me over a noise that was coming from my place but could never be traced. Eventually, I found out was was a freezer two floors below me causing the noise, which just about appeased him.
It was around this time he moved into a room near the back of the house, and was put on long-term sick leave due to "depression". He started telling me that the place was being "watched from the skies", and had managed to somehow destroy about £3000 of reinforced laptop because people were keeping track of what he was doing through it even though it wasn't on.
He also destroyed a few CDs I'd lent him on the ground I was using them to keep tabs on him as well, and that they were communicating back to the satellite beacons positioned above the house. It was hard to know what to expect one day to the next, but it was obvious he was becoming more aggressive with it each day, and his girlfriend was also greatly concerned.
Needless to say, I didn't really want to live with an utter schitzo any more, so I made alternative arrangements, and moved to a new place with my girlfriend and a mate of ours.
I later found out that our landlord had booted him out of the place about a month after that.
I'd imagine that was probably just before he redecorated everything he owned with tin foil.
CASE 3Nick lived in the room next to me (same place again).
He was old, rather dodgy, but a friendly person in small doses. He'd get drunk a hell of a lot and come and sit in my room with me and another flatmate called Neal (who was conversely a top geezer).
He'd constantly force cannabis, cigars, and stuff like that onto us whilst drunk in return for us having to endure him telling us the same story 15 times in slightly different ways. He claimed that he didn't agree with drugs, but "if we ever wanted anything he could get it for us".
He would eat Edam, Baked Bean, Gherkin and tuna sandwiches.
But his piece de resistance was getting very drunk, falling asleep and leaving his stereo on very loud, and on repeat.
There is no words that can describe how emotionally crippling 9 solid hours of being forced to listen to "Sacrifice" by Elton John can be.
(,
Mon 17 Nov 2003, 15:30,
archived)
He was old, rather dodgy, but a friendly person in small doses. He'd get drunk a hell of a lot and come and sit in my room with me and another flatmate called Neal (who was conversely a top geezer).
He'd constantly force cannabis, cigars, and stuff like that onto us whilst drunk in return for us having to endure him telling us the same story 15 times in slightly different ways. He claimed that he didn't agree with drugs, but "if we ever wanted anything he could get it for us".
He would eat Edam, Baked Bean, Gherkin and tuna sandwiches.
But his piece de resistance was getting very drunk, falling asleep and leaving his stereo on very loud, and on repeat.
There is no words that can describe how emotionally crippling 9 solid hours of being forced to listen to "Sacrifice" by Elton John can be.
Maybe it can't be desscibed - but can be matched.We lived in the basement of a town house in Bristol. The rest of the house was one big shared house - full of students. Male students. 10 of them. Their sitting room was right above our bedroom, and there is no way in the world 10 lads and their mates and girlfriends can watch TV togetehr quietly. Most of the time we just put up with it - it wasn't excessive noise - just lads being lads. Until one night they left the TV on full volume - with a play station attached - on the intro screen. I have no idea what game it was, but the music just went round and round and round.
We tried banging on the door and shouting at them - but they never heard us :(
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Mon 17 Nov 2003, 15:41,
archived)
We tried banging on the door and shouting at them - but they never heard us :(
UmMebbe - are you my stalker?
(it was a very good curry house though!)
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Tue 18 Nov 2003, 10:51,
archived)
(it was a very good curry house though!)
mr poowooo, maybe, I dunno. Wouldnt be a very good one, what with the size of my nose and all.
Just as long as you're taking care of the N64, thats all ;)
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Wed 19 Nov 2003, 17:46,
archived)
Just as long as you're taking care of the N64, thats all ;)
why ello there Mr PooWe had a strange suspicion it may be you.
Where are you/what are you up to? haven't heard from you in a while.
The N64 is happy as larry.
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Thu 20 Nov 2003, 14:13,
archived)
Where are you/what are you up to? haven't heard from you in a while.
The N64 is happy as larry.
well, hellooooooo tharHave moved from behind said curry house, and are now next door to a cooked-breakfast emporium :o) (aka. the York Caff - or however you spell cafe without the 'e')
Where are you working now then ? s'been ages since we went t'pub at lunch-time
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Thu 20 Nov 2003, 14:18,
archived)
Where are you working now then ? s'been ages since we went t'pub at lunch-time
and how coolYou find an ex-flatmate on a thread about flatmates!
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Thu 20 Nov 2003, 16:16,
archived)
I lived above one once...stank to high heaven, at the time I was too out my tree to care though
Ahhh...
The old days!
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Thu 20 Nov 2003, 16:18,
archived)
Ahhh...
The old days!
Pavlov's studentsWhen I was in halls at Nottingham University, a friend of mine went away for the weekend, leaving the Shostakovich waltz from Eyes Wide Shut on repeat at full volume. He came back three days later to find us all glazed over and sleep deprived, having failed to break into his room to stop it.
For the next few weeks, he'd hum the opening bars, then laugh while 6 or 7 of us hummed the rest of it. Later he told me it was an experiment to see how simple it would be to condition peolple like Pavlov's dogs. Apparently, it was all too easy. Little cranberry.
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Tue 18 Nov 2003, 13:29,
archived)
For the next few weeks, he'd hum the opening bars, then laugh while 6 or 7 of us hummed the rest of it. Later he told me it was an experiment to see how simple it would be to condition peolple like Pavlov's dogs. Apparently, it was all too easy. Little cranberry.