Thursday, December 3, 1998

Roommates:guaranteed headache

Part of the whole college experience, aside from lectures, finals and parties, is living with someone you may or may not know as well as you should for cohabitation.

If you live in the dorms, you get a roommate and meet that person the day you move in. If you live off campus, there is somewhat of a choice made in choosing a roommate. And yet a third scenario, answering a roommate-wanted ad and living with a perfect stranger who was not pre-screened by the campus-housing folks.

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Hilary Strickland

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One of the hazards of living with someone you are not related to and do not know all that well is bill collecting.

Bills are a problem in themselves, but when one person's name is on the bill and that person is responsible for collecting money, due problems can and will arise.

After living with flake after flake, I feel I am qualified to give pointers where living situations are concerned.

As obvious as this may sound, do not volunteer to be in charge of the phone bill.

When the bill comes, walking on water may happen before you are able to hunt down your roommate and get his or her portion of the bill.

The phone bill was always my responsibility.

I had to listen to the phone lady try and sell me every feature GTE offers, go through the bill and figure out what each person owes minus their own calls, and all but stalk my roommates to get checks from them.

That is just the situation while living together. Readers keep in mind, as much as you may hope and pray for that thorn in your side to move out and never be seen again, the time will come when the final bill is due.

If tracking someone down who owes you money while living with him or her is hard, just try and find them once that person has moved out.

Do not even waste your time by trying to explain your situation to the phone company; they could care less.

The phone people want their money, you want your money and that deadbeat ex-roommate of yours is nowhere to be found.

The only way to avoid that whole ugly situation is to never get lassoed into it in the first place.

If your new roommate asks you to be in charge of the phone bill, just say no! You'll thank me for it later.

Hilary Strickland is a journalism major at CSULB.