Apprehension Sets In

Tomorrow is move-in day for everyone else in residence. The people who usually move in early are the RAs, student government officials, and international students with no where else to stay. I applied for early move-in since I didn’t want to schlep all my stuff back to Toronto for the sake of a few days*. It’s much better to pay the extra fees and get the peace of mind that comes with avoiding the chaos of a zillion students and parents and significant others cramming into these small spaces. Officially people can get their keys and move in around 8am but I know the clamour will start long before then. Should be fun, right? I’m already settled so there shouldn’t be any stress but I’m a little uneasy about the whole thing.

People often assume that I’m this bubbly outgoing person because of the tv stuff or even just OpenAlpha. They’re not completely wrong, mind you, just mostly. I’ve made a real effort to be more social this year and I keep telling myself that this fall I’m gonna make tons of friends and actually go out at night (not only to see a show or take a walk) and join a club and get involved in a school activity, etc. Right now I’d feel peachy keen if I spent the next year in my awesome room playing Forza (or whatever) while watching PBS and CBC on my kick ass new TV. This is not the mindset I should be in. While I have a bedroom entirely to myself — with a desk and closet and shelf for good measure — I share a bathroom and kitchen-like area with another girl. I say kitchen-like since there’s a table with two chairs, a small fridge, and a sink. If I want to cook anything there’s a room on the other side of the building I can use and mircowave in the nearby lounge. Thankfully my roomie and I have been talking online the last little while and I can’t wait to meet her in person. She claims that my constant singing won’t drive her crazy but we’ll see how long that lasts ;)

I know that very few of you that read this have actually met me in person but do I come off as intimidating or, worse yet, standoff-ish? Of the people I’ve met so far the people in my actual wing seem to talk to me from the door and never cross the threshold. I want my room to be a hangout place where people can just walk in. I know it’s been 2 days but I hope this is a pattern that soon breaks! I keep telling myself that everyone else here is super stressed since they have to welcome all the new kids and deal with any problems that arise as well as run welcoming events for the next week and not to take any abrupt conversation as a personal slight.

My conversations with a certain student government guy in this res (if you’re reading this, hi!) also brought up some dormant fears. Things you don’t want to hear the day before everyone else moves in: “I can’t wait to hookup my sub woofer! You’re not allowed to have one for your stereo but since mine’s technically for the PC, where I play my music anyway, they can’t make me not use it.” I’m condensing the conversation there and even though I made it clear I’d kill him if I was unfortunate to live under him he went on to stress how RAs can’t do squat about noise levels unless it’s past 11pm or during designated exam study periods. Can you say “disconcerting”? I knew you could. Granted, this is a two way street but I’d rather be the nice neighbour and not the evil one. Call it a personal preference. Man, I sound like a lame goodie-goodie. I am a lame goodie-goodie sometime but not all the time. I want to be more like my room design philosophy that D&D players will be familiar with: chaotic-good. You can do good deeds without having to follow the letter of the law. I think I’ve gotten closer to that this year :)

It’s only 10pm right now. I’ve had a good run this past week getting up around 8am rather than waiting until ten minutes before class starts like I did throughout the summer. This does mean not always going to bed at 3am but I enjoy the switch. It does suck since I don’t get to chat with my friends on the West coast as much but I know it’s more important for me to not miss classes and socialize in person more anyway. Since I don’t quite know what to do with myself right now I think I’ll put on some music and head to bed.

update: ow, my pride ;) Anyway, I should point out that I was specific with my language above for a reason! It’s only the early move in people in my wing so far that hover by the front door. The 3rd and 5th floor people have had zero qualms about plopping on my bed to say hi. Also, for move in day it’s been really really quiet! I didn’t set my alarm since I figured I’d hear people but there’s been nothing yet (9am). Time head out and explore and see if anyone wants a hand carrying stuff.

*and the whole “the football players in the house were really super duper nice but since I was in the basement it was like living with a herd of elephants” thing. The morning after they moved in, and I mean very early morning I was lying in bed thinking “wtf” since it sounded like they were vacuuming. Part of me was really impressed that they would do such a thing, regardless of the time, but as I thought about it some more I figured out that it was just the blender.