So the first week of fall semester began, and woe and behold we had our first real roommate issue. I was very nervous and paranoid that I would oversleep for my first Army workout Monday morning, so I wanted to make sure I woke up extra early, and most importantly, got a good night’s rest. I was thinking to myself that if I went to bed around ten, I could get a solid six hours of sleep in my system before the big first day. My roommate and I had discussed what time we needed to wake up in the morning, but some how we had skipped over the part where we would talk about when each other was going to sleep. So I jumped into bed around ten o’clock sharp and much to my surprise, my roommate was still watching T.V. How in the world was I supposed to fall asleep listening to fanatic soccer fans screaming for their favorite professional team? I figured that if I just shut my eyes really tight and turned the other way the noise and light from the television wouldn’t bother me, but I was wrong. I tossed and turned for hours praying to the god of sleep that he would just knock me over the head so I could rest before my big day, because in all reality, tomorrow was MY day and the world revolved around my wants. Yah, that wasn't going to happen. Around two thirty A.M. my roommate finally went to sleep, and so did I. “O boy,” I thought sarcastically, “now I can get an awesome two hour nap before I have to start my day.”
The next dilemma of the day, dealt with the speedy shutting off of the alarm clock. I’m sure most people can relate, that when moving into a new room, sometimes it’s hard to track down where the hell the alarm clock was placed, especially when waking up when it’s still pitch black outside, and navigation through a dark room is nearly impossible. Four thirty had arrived and my alarm clock started its annoying cycle of beeping and screeching that is only supposed to be heard for a matter of seconds. I felt all around the shelves of the walls and squinted my eyes to try and track down a light switch. By the time I had tracked down my alarm clock, I had committed one of the worst sins man can do to another man; waking them up early in the morning when they don’t have to be up. My roommate had that dazed and confused look on his face, as if he was a bear waking up from hibernation in the middle of the winter. I quickly apologized and prompted him to go back into his deep sleep, a sleep he had only started a little over two hours prior. What I learned from that first Monday morning was that I was going to have to learn to fall asleep, no matter what what going on around me and that I would need to develop night vision in order to change into my clothes in the dark, a feat I’m still working on to this day.
I live in a supplemental dorm, so believe me I know your dilemmas Lol. But I hope now that you and your roommate have talked about lights and wake up times. For example, I have two roommates now and one of them is always there and goes to bed later than me and my other roommate no matter what :(. Before classes started I didn't say anything about lights and her loudness, but that soon stopped. My one roommate and I usually go to bed around the same time. Well I usually get in bed a few minutes after her, but still. Every night I ask my late night roommate if she is cool with me turning off the lights. The problem for her is she doesn't have a lamp, but we need to sleep. But by now she realizes it's not me asking her, it's me saying I'm going to bed and the lights are going off. Although she's still up and loud, she does use her headphones and the lights stay off. The same thing applies for the morning; two of my roommates have 8 a.m.'s on Tuesday. Although the light bothers me, they need to get ready (not in the dark). When they're gone I go back to sleep. Roommates sacrifice the lights, loud noises, or a little sleep because it’s polite. You guys need to talk... Lol
ReplyDeleteBefore I came to college, I was never aware that people couldn't fall asleep with the TV on. When I go to bed, I pass out, and my alarm never wakes me up- I've even slept through fire alarms and burglary alerts. It's so hard for me to be sensitive to people who are light sleepers! You should have said something to him when you were trying to sleep! I hope everything has gotten better by now.
ReplyDeleteOh, man. I've been on the receiving end of the alarm-clock-that-never-ends faux pas. One of my sophomore year roommates didn't even hear his alarm, so it went off for a good five minutes. Eventually, we all started to yell at him as soon as it went off. He then got one of those "daylight simulator" clocks, but that was just as bad. The guy could sleep through a train barreling through the dorm during an earthquake in the midst of a zombie invasion.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, my favorite sentence: "My roommate had that dazed and confused look on his face, as if he was a bear waking up from hibernation in the middle of the winter." Love it!
Adjusting to the new college way of life is exciting yet difficult. We are put into tiny dorm rooms, living with a person we just met and both of you come from different routines and such from home. I remember in the beginning how awkward it was having to get up for my 9 am class and trying to get ready and everything without waking up my new roommate-I didn't know if she was a light or a heavy sleeper and I was afraid how she'd react if she did get woken up by me. Although this happened back in the first week of fall semester, I hope you two have figured out a good time to fall asleep so you can get to your army workouts in time and not be too exhausted from only two hours of sleep at night.
ReplyDeleteI just had a similar roommate issue last night. My roommate is not involved in any extracurricular activities here at all (besides having a new boyfriend) and yet she is up until three in the morning doing homework. Our desk lights are extremely bright. Even with all the other lights off the in the room, and my desk hutch acting as a wall between us, I can still read comfortably in my bed when her desk light is on. I had dozed off around midnight and woke up at three to the sound of her laptop cursor clicking away as she stalked people on Facebook. I tossed and turned on the verge of a major hissy fit until 4:00, when she turned off the lights and started snoring at about 4:02. It's clear by now that I don't fall asleep so easily. Looks like we both need to have that talk with our roommates about bedtime, and the physiological need for sleep.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should watch him play frogball next week, now that is a hilarious sight. Everybody falls at some point.
ReplyDeleteFor the first semester, I had a similar problem every night. I lived in a supplemental dorm with 5 other girls and two of them would never sleep! Of the the girls who slept next to my bed watched movies until 4 a.m. and the other one talked on Skype and kept the overhead lights on well past 2. In the morning, their alarm clocks would go off for over ten minutes and sometimes for hours. I don't have to wake up as early as you do, but it's terrible when other people won't let you sleep!
ReplyDelete"By the time I had tracked down my alarm clock, I had committed one of the worst sins man can do to another man; waking them up early in the morning when they don’t have to be up."
ReplyDeletehahaha you crack me up will.