Everyone in life has a path they take. Sometimes the road is smooth, filled with the occasional stone or brook, slowing them on their journey but never really stopping their dreams. Others are filled with deep chasms that force them to look elsewhere as they live along in their life.
Then you have those who has the path filled with such potholes, washed-out bridges, flooded passings that anyone wonders how they make it to the other side. Their stories are comedic, adventurous, and entertaining. The hero (or heroine) never seems to let the hard times destroy them, while making sure to enjoy the good times within reason. It can be amazing, to say the least, that such people exist and such people fail to come out better than before.
When you meet someone like this, make sure to never ever let them slip away. Always keep them as a good friend, or else you may find your life slipping into the mundane.
It has become quite apparent that my friend, the one I called Annie a few posts ago, has lived a most entertaining life. In her short time on earth, she has managed to not only keep me on my toes, but also keep me guessing what's going to happen next. Because of this, it is only fitting that I would include her stories on this blog as I am certain other people would find them just as fun to read. So, from time to time, I'm going to be writing about her life. I'll still call her Annie until she allows me to use her real name (which I presume will be never.)
My friend decided some time ago to experiment with the idea of having a roommate. Normally, this isn't a bad thing, since many young Americans share houses and apartments to make ends meet. However, in the case of Annie, this hasn't happened. Not since her freshman year in college, we're talking close to 10 years now, has she shared living space with other people.
It appeared that the stars were perfectly aligned, also, when a co-worker needed a place to stay for three months while preparing for a wedding. Ironically, this person hadn't lived alone before, ever, and so she needed a roommate before getting married. The two agreed to basic terms, not using a rental agreement, and proceeded to prepare for the eventual move-in date. Naturally, for my friend at least, this is where the fun stopped.
At first, there were moments where the newbie would ask questions that would raise eyebrows, such as fluctuating move-in dates (by weeks, not days). These questions can usually be taken as signs of exuberance in the eventual moving in. Normally, the questions are random and odd, but nothing more than silly things.
But then, things took a turn for the worse. There were the impromptu meetings in the work-place, where everyone could hear what's going on, even when my friend would be on the phone. Follow that up with odd remarks that indicated this person wasn't going to be the best roommate. Remarks that equal a haughtiness about her character, that she is better than my friend. I won't go into details, but the two backgrounds would indicate otherwise.
The week before this girl was supposed to move in, my friend messages me with anxiety over the upcoming move. She doesn't want to have her as a roommate. I first tried to convince her that it was just nerves, since she never had a roommate, and that things would be okay. But then there were other remarks that caught even me off guard.
First she wanted to move in during the weekend while Annie was away. So, she came up to her at work, again where everyone can hear her, and asked for the keys to move in. Without regard to the concept of privacy, she became exasperated when my friend refused to blindly hand over the keys to her house so the newbie can move in and lay claim to the world without consultation. To add to the enjoyment, when my friend thought it would be best to move at a time when they both could be there, the potential roommate turned away, only to text later that she would delay her move by a week.
While this is going on, around Valentine's Day, more problems creep up for my now-stressed friend. A while ago, she befriended a nice guy. Without going into too much detail this guy wanted to date my friend and then disappeared only to show up later on with a wife. Not that matrimony stopped his affection. Shortly after the divorce (who didn't see that coming?) he continued his pursuit of my friend. Of course, Annie is just not that into him and has tried to convey the message that they are friends, but nothing more. Apparently this guy hasn't received the message as Annie was welcomed on Saturday afternoon with flowers on her doorstep from the non-boyfriend.
To add fuel to the fire on Monday, the non-roommate asked about moving in throughout the week, kind of like a puzzle. She apparently wants to move in some of her things throughout the week and then finish it off on Saturday with a larger move. Before Annie could respond, because she was taking care of personal errands (i.e. hair appointment), she received another text asking if it was okay that someone else stayed with them for a few days. To say the least, this was the nail in the coffin of their arrangement.
So by Monday evening she has two problems, how to have a non-break-up with a non-boyfriend and how to end a living arrangement with a non-roommate. Of course the non-roommate got an inkling that something was awry when Annie said that they'd talk about the issues later. Tuesday morning, she comes down to Annie's desk, again so everyone can see and hear what's going on, and asked about when a good time would be to talk about the moving in. Of course, this would've been easier through e-mail, but the non-roommate hasn't quite grasped the concept of e-mail protocol. She thinks e-mails should be like phone calls; you respond the moment you get the e-mail and not when it is convenient for you.
As the day wore on, the anxiety had clearly shifted from having a roommate to having to end the arrangement. At first she was going to end it in person, but then started wondering if this was warranted. Granted, when ending any major relationship; whether it's a roommate situation or a romantic encounter, you should do so in person. However, when she later discovered that the non-roommate was talking to someone else about the possibility of moving in their place all pretense of having to end it in person vanished.
Of course, there was the impending fear of what would happen once this arrangement was ended. Would the non-roommate make things uncomfortable at the office? Would she try to have Annie removed from work altogether (using various lies, of course)? Or would things end smoothly?
Turns out, things ended smoothly. Annie explained that she the non-roommate would want someone else as a roommate since the non-roommate is getting married and wants to talk about the plans or just talk about life in general(something Annie doesn't want to do any of that after work.) The non-roommate agreed and things ended amicably. Looking back at it all, it was a situation that could've been worse, but failed to live up to the pending fireworks. Kind of like Superman Returns.
As for the non-boyfriend...well, that's for another day.
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