The Hunt

When I first moved to Cambridge and got my apartment, I had decided that I probably would try to stay in the same place for the duration of Graduate School. Unfortunately, forces beyond my control have changed my situation and I learned earlier this year that I would indeed have to move out. Apparently, my roommate had decided to go ahead and get engaged. With the marriage scheduled for December, and his future wife moving in shortly after, the small two-bedroom apartment that I inhabit would likely get crowded, and moreover, slightly awkward. You're probably wondering, as I was, Why couldn't he wait until you graduated and moved out before getting married? Well, sometimes people think only of themselves.

I did have housing arrangements worked out, but those ended up falling through about a week and a half ago, leaving me in a somewhat rough situation. I then spent the next 10 days or so browsing craigslist for a new place to stay. A few of these options I checked out (or in one case, decided against checking out) I thought were worthy of mentioning here.

The first place I looked at was a four bedroom. The place itself was probably livable, although the idea of sharing a single bathroom with 3 other people kind of put me off. The guy who showed me the apartment would also be a continuing tenant there. He was a bit overweight, hair like Krusty the Clown, and apparently was a performance artist, puppeteer and a mime. I considered for a moment about the potential blogs that may have come out of that living environment, but decided in the end to pass.

The next place I visited was almost perfect, except for when I walked in the door, the pungent odor of cat nearly knocked me off balance. Other than that, it probably would have been ok.

My search online continued for a room. There was a lot of requests for "open-mindedness," and upon further investigation several were looking for "trans-friendly people." I do consider myself to be open-minded, but the idea of living with transsexuals just felt a little uncomfortable for me.

Another option would have been to live with a few of my friends in a "4th bedroom" of their 3-bedroom house. The 4th room was essentially a large storage room. I suspect that there would have been an inordinate amount of "coming out of the closet" jokes had I decided to take the room.

It was Tuesday, I think, when I was scouring Craigslist again and saw an ad that read, "Furnished room for MALE graduate student." I clicked on it, since I fell under said description. Upon reading the ad, I noticed the incessant mention of "MALE Graduate Student" peppered throughout, and while peculiar, I decided to answer the ad anyway, assuming that it was probably just a guy who really didn't want a female roommate. When I received the reply, it was from someone named "Barbara" who addressed herself as "BeeJay." I only knew it was actually Barbara because that's what the embedded name in the e-mail address read.

Now, I was curious and a little suspicious, so I ran a google search on her e-mail, and I found a couple leads. It would appear that "BeeJay" looks to be an overweight woman in probably her 40s, who apparently is a Scrabble fanatic. I'm not one to jump to conclusions prematurely, but something about an older woman that is explicitly seeking a MALE Graduate student as a roommate didn't sit well with me (she even went so far as adding in "Women DO NOT CALL" in the ad). The fact that I had just finished reading Devil in the White City probably did not help either--it is partly about the serial killings of H.H. Holmes in which he lured women to his hotel, seduced them, and then killed them. Granted, the seduction part, I could probably be highly resistant, but you really never know what tools people have at their disposal.

Just as hope was running thin, I sent the following e-mail out to my classmates at the GSD:

"Does anyone have a sturdy box that I could huddle in that won't blow over easily in the winter? It doesn't need to have electricity nor heat. Just a shelter from the rain and/or cold. If not, maybe you have a spare room you want to rent out. Let me know. By the way, if you see me wander in the studios this semester disheveled and unclean, you'll know why."

Fortunately, I was saved by a fellow student at the University. And while I know at least one of you will be disappointed that I won't be living with Beejay, and thus forgoing the blog-potential, sometimes people just think only of themselves.