Student Scum
As a university timewaster now enjoying a placement with a fat paycheque (going straight into a savings account for a mortgage. Thank you AS Economics), I'm often disgruntled at the piss-poor excuses for human beings that I refer to as my fellow students.

Despite getting around £3,500 in loans per year, followed by a £1,500 grant, a few hundred quid in bursaries and only being required to attend 10 hours of lectures a week there exists a clique of whiny, insecure brats who never quite had the umbilical chord cut.

Some of the examples I've had to put up with in the past 3 years:

- One housemate threatening to take my landlord to court because a combination of airing wet clothes, constant electric heaters and a closed window led to the development of damp in her room. She wanted the entirity of her rent returned, the room refurnished and assistance moving her bedroom elsewhere in the meantime. Her rent was £40 per week, paid by direct debit by her millionaire parents. The landlord consequently sent two very large blokes over to move her stuff into the front garden and bugger off.

- One (former) student protesting that if she didn't hand in her essay in she should not fail automatically, but the exam board should wait patiently for her to get the time outside of her busy schedule to complete it without deduction. Her logic was that her rich Chinese family gave the university £15,000 a year to be there, so they should be honoured by her presence.

- A current flatmate having no cooking skills whatsoever. A common situation you may claim. Oh no, this guy has his parents drive from Birmingham to Reading every other week with home-cooked food for "his" freezer. His family hasn't realised yet that he's eaten at a takeaway every day since he moved in as food continues to flow into "his" house

- A sexually repressed flatmate forcing the entire commune to watch Hollyoaks/Eastenders/Home and Away etc, including the "first look" episodes, meaning we saw each gruelling episode twice, as the television in the living room was his and if we argued his parents would come over and take it back. After a few weeks I'd had enough, and removed "my" plug which I had purchased and fitted from the end of the television cable and reclaiming "my" tv aerial. That soon sorted that out.

No apologies for length.
(FoxyBadger (try saying it backwards), Thu 9 Oct 2008, 15:49, 4 replies)

I get where you're coming from
I had to work through most of my degree to pay for the basics, cos my parents where (and still are) skint. I'm not complaining about this at all, but it did get on my nerves a little when others complained that their parents refused to pay for their car tax, or they had no money for clubbing.
(Fredz A graveyard of hopes, a dump of ambition, Thu 9 Oct 2008, 16:01, closed)

People who can't cook...
...reminds me of my boyfriend's ex-uni flatmate. He tried to cook pasta by putting the dry pasta and water in a kettle and boiling it. He also ruined my boyfriend's toaster by trying to make cheese on toast (putting bread and cheese directly into one of the toaster slots).

He works for Channel 4 now.
(claireyfairy There's a smell in here that will outlast religion, Thu 9 Oct 2008, 16:14, closed)

Sounds quite similar to...
...my flatmates from last year. Any slight grievence with the conditions in the flat and they'd be on the phone harping at the maintenance chap to come and fix it. Some how they actually believed that the fact that a light is flickering is directly his fault and having to wait two hours for him to come and change it is a kin to herecy.

My approach was to calmly explain the fault and low and behold I found that he'd come and sort my problems out a damn sight quicker!

I think the worst example was probably when one of my flatmates lost her keys, she threw a hissy fit refusing to pay £40 to get them replaced (posh keys with a keyfob to get into the building too) on the basis that she was only living there for another month. Eventually she backed down after being reminded that someone else will have to live in her room the following year!
(rich.cicatriz should be doing something more constructive on, Thu 9 Oct 2008, 17:08, closed)

Ah so you're a student at Reading
much like my good self. Luckily I have not met anyone quite as spoiled as that, although my new housemate's parents are more than a bit rich. She spent a lot of money in John Lewis today, and of course my housemates and I take the piss out of her for having so much disposable income while being secretly jealous! So long as she remains a nice person I don't mind her having nice things.
(Stu Moo winner of five nobble piece prizes, Thu 9 Oct 2008, 19:38, closed)