Guest In My Own House
Moving into a new place has strange effects: In the mornings I have a desire to make my bed even though I know it’s better not to. I’ve got tons of space in my room and all my stuff is in neat piles (though not yet in their final locations) and my clothes are all neatly hung in the wardrobe. Even without colour-coordinated new IKEA furniture, my room is a caricature of Scandinavian mnimalism.
The rest of the house is a happy-go-lucky jumble of clutter and drying laundry. Finding pots and pans is an exciting adventure before setting down to cook dinner. Well, not really. Being the new guy in the house just makes it feel like it. My flatmates are all actors in various states of employment, meaning they embody the bohemian carefree attitude a fair bit. One is on tour abroad, but I’ve spent two evenings with the other two.
I say spent, but really it’s been the two of them largely concentrating on an essay that’s due or on filling invitation envelopes for casting directors. Invariably, the TV has blared in the background. And that’s where I come in to another strange aspect of being a new housemate in a new place. I guess I could have asked if I could change the channel and watch something boring like the news, but somehow I preferred to chat to them occasionally from the sofa and trying to get some reading done. I like my housemates, and I’m sure they don’t mind having me around. This process is just a type of coming-to-terms with the changed social dynamic.
Tonight I think I’ll try and get done with my presentation outline for next Monday’s class so that I could concentrate on a new project tomorrow. Hopefully the housemates won’t be as immersed in doing stuff and we could have a sit-down and get to know each other a little bit more. Maybe finally crack open the wine I brought on Sunday when I moved.
February 26th, 2008 at 21:06
I can’t begin to think what that kind of change in the social dynamic does to your thinking. My world’s been very stable for the past decade or so, just with the schools and jobs changing… I’d imagine it might have quite a profound effect to find myself in decidedly different circumstances in my time off.
February 27th, 2008 at 20:20
Don’t get me wrong – I think it’s exciting and fun and refreshing. But also slightly weird. But I will get over it, I know.
Waking up to a rattling last night I thought it must have been the wind really shaking the windowframes and getting into the chimney. Turns out it must have been the earthquake! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7266136.stm
I just wrapped the blankets tighter and tried to get back to sleep. Didn’t care much for it.