Mid-semester rant

[penguinade]

So here's my mid-semester rant:

1. Not that I expect them to, but my two roommates have no idea how to keep the kitchen clean enough for me not to get sick. I've already told them what I react to many times, and that they need to not use my food, pots/pans/utensils/dishes, or cleaning up items, and that they need to wipe down the counters, kitchen table and any other surface they get messy. This never gets done, and i always have to clean up before I start making my meals, which I don't have time for, and it usually makes me sick anyway. I'm always sooo careful about what I buy, and it usually just ends up being raw ingredients, so I know what I'm getting sick from. They always leave their dirty cereal bowls and peanut butter knives directly on the counter, and one girl didn't clean her frying pan for nearly a week.

2. It's been midterms, so I've been staying up nearly all night for quite a few days. Tuesday night was supposed to be my "recovery" night, so I went to bed around 9:30. I was woken up around 1 by the smoke detector, and I went into the hallway to find a fire directly in front of one of the apartment exits. My roommate had decided to put tealights all over the apartment, none of which were in any sort of candle holder, many of which were on flammable surfaces like carpet, shelves, etc. I really woke up just in time to put out the fire and blow out the other candles so they didn't start fires. It's now Saturday, and she still hasn't apologized to me or my other roommate for potentially killing us.

3. I'm usually really good at making friends, but I'm so overwhelmed with work, and the only people I'm exposed to are the 10 first-years in my group. There's one girl that I sort of get along with, so we've started hanging out a bit . . . the problem being that it always has to be at her apartment, I always have to purchase the ingredients for dinner, it has to be known that it's a great concession for her to eat a meal without meat or dairy (even though she tosses some chicken on the stirfry at the end), she gets to keep all the leftovers (including the tub of chocolate soy icecream), and we have to watch the tv shows that she wants to watch. Plus, she always claims that she's got 4 other celiac/gf friends, so she knows how to cook without getting me sick . . . the one time I didn't get sick was when I cooked dinner at my apartment and brought it over to eat straight out of the container . . . ArRrGh. I'm not usually such a pushover, but I'd rather have one "friend" than nothing.

I've thought of applying to be an RA/Don again, but it's soooo much work to apply, a ton of work to come in mid-year, and who knows if my situation would really be much better than it is now? Plus, I'd have to pay to break my lease, and then who would put the fires out?

Sorry for all the whining

[boulder alley]

Room mates can be huge pain- I have had good and bad roommates I have had 3 real nightmare roommates over the years, and a couple that were standard *ants.
Your other 'friend' is not a true friend. I am not saying to dump her, just know that she is not looking out for you, and keep looking for a new friend.

Do you have a Trader Joe's or Whole foods or similar near by? I would have a few snacks or meals worked out/prepared that do not require extensive use of the kitchen. maybe nuts, gluten free frozen waffles, gluten free granola with soymilk, popcorn, corn chips and hummus, grits, Amy's frozen meals, sweet potatos, etc. maybe once or twice a week, prepare food for the next two or 3 days. For example- for quick and easy green salad, wash lettuce leaves, put in a plastic bag with paper towels and put in the fridge. Have your favorite salad toppings in a divided plastic or glass container- nuts, rasins, shredded carrots, etc. Or roast winter root vegetables, store in fridge and eat for 2 or 3 days.

I would store food and pots and pans separately if possible, and/or make it unappealing to your roommates.
With the 'friend', just take enough food for you in your own container as you described, or do something cheap and easy like popcorn.

Also, make sure you get a bit of exercise, relaxation, rest, whatever. School is stressful enough. Swimming is good, do something you enjoy. You are not trying to lose weight or train for the olympics here, just reduce stress.

[Zloduska]

I have an idea for a temporary and somewhat crazy idea for sharing a kitchen with inconsiderate roommates- go to your local Dollar Store and buy plastic utensils, disposible plates, bowls, and lots of tin foil and wax paper in bulk. Store everything in your room. When you prepare food, but a length of foil or wax paper on the counter, so they are still stuck cleaning up their own damn crumbs, and only use your disposible products for eating. I know it's not good for the enviorment, but your health comes first, and it will only be temporary.

You could also get your own cheap hotpot to put in yoru room to make rice noodles (thai kitchen makes an awesome GF ramen substitute), or heat up other soups. A lot of cheap, compact appliances (such as one plate burners, electric skillets and griddles, small steamers or rice cookers) can be bought at Walgreens, dollar stores, Aldi's, discount stores, and just be used in your room to make simple meals and heat up food, without being contaminated by your roomates. Then you can reuse them at your next place. Just try to find space in your bedroom to hide everything, as weird as that may be. I think your stupid roommates will get the point then if you take it all away.

I would try to get on craigslist though-- first of all to look for someone to sublet your apt and get the hell out of there, and secondly, to find some real friends. It sounds like your chances on the internet will probably be better to meet like-minded people that aren't going to try to inadvertantly kill you.

[penguinade]

So I checked my school's sublet board, and what do you know? There's a posting for a vegetarian co-op style house with two cats, and one of the guys who lives there is already gf. At bare minimum, I at least might have some new friends to hang out with if I can't get out of my lease/sublet.

I might try the tin-foil trick. I thought just moving my nice cooking stuff to an out-of-the-way corner of the kitchen would help, but no such luck. I even move my dish-washing liquid and sponge, and they always seek it out (because obviously it's the cleanest ;-) ). Thanks for the great suggestions; its so frustrating having to prepare my meals in my bedroom when I chose an off campus apartment in the hopes of having a decent kitchen to cook in. Sigh.

Oh, and on a side rant today: I jokingly mentioned that my friend got me sick (seeing as I cleaned my kitchen top-to-bottom Wednesday before my roommates left for the weekend and really hadn't eaten anything out of the ordinary until Thursday when we had dinner at friend's house). She denied that it was even a possibility, and how could I even think that she would do such a thing. Urgh. I should have kept the last super awesome gf chocolate cupcake I made instead of giving it to her.