The Night Before

So you think your rooming group's all set. So you think the lottery forms are ready to be signed and dropped off to the Housing Powers That Be. So you think you're on your way to life beyond Johnston Gate.

So did I. Last year I was typing my International Conflicts midterm, secure in my plans to block with the people upstairs plus a Weldian friend. Then crisis hit.

I was approached by a neighbor who wanted to set up some last minute negotiations: Wouldn't I consider, one more time, blocking with his group?

Decision: I can't deal with them. This was annoying, not only for the people upstairs, but also for the challengers across the hall. As I entered wishy-washy mode, I was trying everyone's patience. But what was I to do? This was a decision that would affect me for the rest of my life!

Thus the night of agony began. There were trans-Yard phone calls to the Weldian. There was shouting. Tears were shed (mine). And I still had to do the midterm. Who needed international conflict when we had this one?

In the end, I signed with the people upstairs. I thought they hated me. I thought my neighbors hated me. I saw the sun rise that morning, and it was terrifying. My life was over, and I was going to fail International Conflicts.

One year later, I can assess the results: No one involved in the Last Minute Housing Fiasco hates me, although some think I'm wishy-washy. I didn't fail International Conflicts. Basically, everything turned out fine.

Maybe your group really is all set. But to be ready for anything in these final hours, you should adopt the Boy Scouts' motto: Be Prepared. Have the kleenex handy, keep the lines of communication open and stay calm. And then, the only thing you can do is wait. --Molly B. Confer

The Morning After

I think I was actually woken up that morning to the sound of people screaming on the floors above me in Pennypacker. Then one of my roommates brought in our little winner's envelope. After opening it, we joined the crowd.

Cabot House? My group of three guys had put down Quadbuster Quincy. We figured if we ended up in the Quad, we'd get Currier which we could live with. Cabot? We never heard of anything going on there.

Suffice to say, if we had made a list of houses we didn't want to live in, Cabot would top it without a problem.

After dreading it all year, we arrived in September and moved into one of the nicest rooms on campus. Make no mistake--Cabot has amazing rooms. What other sophomores live in a duplex with two bathrooms and five skylights? And for the first few months, things were looking up.

But Cabot's social life did slow down. During the winter, there wasn't much to brighten the 15 minute walk in sub-zero wind chill temperatures.