College Life: Episode 3: The Cheerleader and The Boyfriends

For the summer, once a week I'll be sharing a story from my college days at CSU, 1984-1988. I will leave links at the end of each post for previous episodes.

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It did get better once The Cheerleader moved in next door. Her "real" name was Tara, and she was actually a cheerleader, for CSU, so somewhat famous on campus, and a bit of a steadying influence on the trio.  We all know how well triads work in female friendships, don't we?  (Guys: it doesn't.  Someone is always on the outside looking in at a much more solid connection, and someone else is being gossiped about.  A lot.)  I think you can see where this trio headed...

She was kinda the cream to the black coffee and sugar, trying to take something a bit bitter, and unpalatable to some, and steady out the "sweetness" of someone trying to please all the people all the time by adding a touch of something smooth, and easier to take.  I did like her, but she was definitely Mary-Jo's type, not mine.

Tara came with a sorority attitude.  This was the year she was going to pledge, and they spent hours on the floor of my room planning which one, discussing the merits, and of course the all important connection each had with a sort of "brother" fraternity, therefore making this decision all the more critical.  

I just went to my math classes.  They went to most of their classes.  They were both psych majors.  Tara was on her third major.  (Can you see how choosing a sorority might take some time when you can't decide what to study?)

Then came the afternoon I couldn't get into my room.  I'd gotten past the front door, because it wasn't after hours yet, and I had my ID and keys (two items I checked for constantly  - did NOT want to be without them in any circumstance.)  However, I couldn't get my room open.  The doorknob key worked just find, but the deadbolt wouldn't turn.  

Puzzled, I knocked on Tara's door.  No answer.  Of course I had no cell phone, so I knocked on my own dorm room door. "Mary-Jo?  Are you in there?"  No answer.  Dead silence. Frustrated, I sat down to formulate a plan.  I don't know how long I was sitting there until I started hearing faint noises from inside MY room.  I decided to wait it out.  She, or someone, was in there, had surely heard me knock, and was maybe thinking about letting me in.

I was still waiting when I met Deanna.  She wandered by, I knew she lived on our floor, and I said hi.

"Oh, the old forgot the tie on the door thing...how rude. Wanna come down to my room and meet my hideously gross roommate while you wait?"

Why not.  I didn't know about ties, but at least there was another person with a rude roommate, and she seemed nice. Anything to pass the time...

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Episode 1: Rommmates

Episode 2: You've Got To

College Life: A New Series, Episode 1, Roommates

It's probably good that Momarazzi didn't come to college with me, all things considered, but I sure wish I had pictures of some of these people and events.

It's my intention that for your summer entertainment, I write a series of posts about some of the stupid, hilarious, dangerous, risky, and otherwise noteworthy incidents of my college days. Names have been changed to protect...everyone but me.

I graduated from a small, Christian high school in 1984.   We had a whopping 62 in our graduating class.  The Engineer was one of them.  We'd been dating since December.  I was off to Colorado State University, home of a good math program, and a fairly straight forward path to simultaneously obtaining a teaching certificate.  My whole life I'd known I wanted to be a teacher, and I'd always loved (and excelled) at math.

CSU was a comfortable distance from home (about an hour). I was fairly certain there would be no unexpected drop-in family visitors, yet I could easily go home for the weekend should I choose.  

The Engineer was going an uncomfortable distance away to a tiny town in Iowa, home of the Alma-Mater of both his parents, and home town of his mother.  We did not want to be separated.  However, we were reasonable people (surprising, isn't it?) and decided that we'd date others, and just see what happened between August and Thanksgiving, which was when we'd next see each other.

My entire family moved me into the dorm, which I'd chosen carefully, but not carefully enough.  I'd read the descriptions, and chosen the one with the courtyard, with suites, connected by a shared with the other room only, and NOT communal locker-room type bathing amenities.  I was on the fourth floor, on the inside, with a great view of the courtyard.

As we trudged up the stairs with all my stuff, we were greeted at the top with a big sign, "Fourth Floor Girls Have Firmer Thighs!"  That suited me just fine.  All that was left was to meet my roommate, and our suite-mates.  I was of course hoping to be first to stake my claim and all that territorial stuff, but when I entered my (oh my gosh were they small) room, I found that she'd already done so, had stuff strewn everywhere, and had something in every closet, drawer, etc. No discernible difference between "my side" and "her side."

I did not like this at all.  It was bad enough to be sharing a room, but I had NOT pictured to co-mingling of our lives quite to that extent.  She had left me the bed under the window, for which I was grateful.  Now all that was left was to meet her, and set some ground rules of co-habitation.

Meeting the farmer's daughter from small-town Iowa would have to wait though, as she was already off being the social butterfly.  She'd left me a note, though, which I appreciated.

Ms. Mary-Jo Butler turned out to be quite the, um, interesting roommate, and the other room of our suite was occupied by ONLY a junior who had earned the privilege of a single room. Meeting Ms. Cheerleader USA had to wait, too, because she came two days later.  Can you see me fitting in well with these two?  Make your predictions now.

Do you have some college stories to share?  Anyone else who writes random stuff on their blog want to join me in this summer series?

~Tina, lots of up her sleeve, but had to set the stage