Family Feud
My roommate my first year of college was named Sophia and she was from New York--the actual city--and she could carelessly apply silvery eyeshadow with two swipes of her fingers as she got ready to "go out"--whatever that meant on a weekend in a tiny town in Ohio. I would see Sophia around Kenyon late at night, draped in oversized jackets which I knew looked reprehensible on the hanger, but so glamorous on her, with her icy white t-shirt and her expensive boots. This was the 80s. My prized possession, clothing-wise, when I arrived at Kenyon, was a pair of pale purple corduroy pants from the Limited. (I know I'm losing readership here with this talk of clothing, but I know you see the essential point here: I spotted Sophia on the way home from the library).
I've been thinking about roommates again this week because I've been in the hospital (not to worry--leaving for home soon), and I have roommates. Technically only one, named Crystal, but she has an entourage of sorts. First, we have a security detail at the front of our room, which might seem comforting save that the guard is there to monitor Crystal's visitors, some of whom are banned for sins unexplained to me. Then we have three guys who are sometimes here together, sometimes in rotation, and all seem to be Crystal's boyfriend and to be fairly accepting of the positions the others occupy. And FaceTime opens our world up even more.
I have the curtain drawn most of the time, but mostly Crystal and I are forced into eavesdropping on each other and there isn't a HIPAA disclosure notice in the world that could change the free flow of information in this room. (I have visitors too. My mom is often perched in the corner reading the new book about Thoreau. But you see the parallels with Sophia. I come from a long line of library girls.)
There are two ways to go at this situation. I picked the second path: radical acceptance. I'm not really sleeping--I'm writing this posting happily in the early morning hours. Crystal and company are early on in the long list of roommates I'm going to have as I work through this illness but I can see already they will be providing more than their fair share of comic material.
But most endearing to me: this group of people love Family Feud. Full-on, active participation love. Where is the place you least want to see a tattoo on your grandmother? (Actual question from the Feud for those of you who have been tied up with The Americans). Rolling laughter and an argument about "ta-tas" versus face from the other side of the room. (Both answers made it to the top five). They all gather and watch Family Feud each night at the same time, they have their rituals for watching, and there is real laughter.
Tonight Crystal asked me if I wanted an extra Hershey's ice cream pie slice from the nightly Burger King run. I said no (and regret that decision right at this moment), but later, we did talk a little about insurance--discussions Crystal desperately needs to have on an on-going basis with multiple people once she is discharged because, without disclosing HIPAA information, confusion about what is covered and what isn't, and how insurance works, is at the basis of why she ended up being admitted here through the ER. Not sure that support is waiting for her out there (and for those of you chomping at the bit to scold me, I did not offer to stay in touch).
Thank you all so much for being so supportive of me. I don't have all the answers on insurance, treatment options, or the Feud. But I do have all of you
I've been thinking about roommates again this week because I've been in the hospital (not to worry--leaving for home soon), and I have roommates. Technically only one, named Crystal, but she has an entourage of sorts. First, we have a security detail at the front of our room, which might seem comforting save that the guard is there to monitor Crystal's visitors, some of whom are banned for sins unexplained to me. Then we have three guys who are sometimes here together, sometimes in rotation, and all seem to be Crystal's boyfriend and to be fairly accepting of the positions the others occupy. And FaceTime opens our world up even more.
I have the curtain drawn most of the time, but mostly Crystal and I are forced into eavesdropping on each other and there isn't a HIPAA disclosure notice in the world that could change the free flow of information in this room. (I have visitors too. My mom is often perched in the corner reading the new book about Thoreau. But you see the parallels with Sophia. I come from a long line of library girls.)
There are two ways to go at this situation. I picked the second path: radical acceptance. I'm not really sleeping--I'm writing this posting happily in the early morning hours. Crystal and company are early on in the long list of roommates I'm going to have as I work through this illness but I can see already they will be providing more than their fair share of comic material.
But most endearing to me: this group of people love Family Feud. Full-on, active participation love. Where is the place you least want to see a tattoo on your grandmother? (Actual question from the Feud for those of you who have been tied up with The Americans). Rolling laughter and an argument about "ta-tas" versus face from the other side of the room. (Both answers made it to the top five). They all gather and watch Family Feud each night at the same time, they have their rituals for watching, and there is real laughter.
Tonight Crystal asked me if I wanted an extra Hershey's ice cream pie slice from the nightly Burger King run. I said no (and regret that decision right at this moment), but later, we did talk a little about insurance--discussions Crystal desperately needs to have on an on-going basis with multiple people once she is discharged because, without disclosing HIPAA information, confusion about what is covered and what isn't, and how insurance works, is at the basis of why she ended up being admitted here through the ER. Not sure that support is waiting for her out there (and for those of you chomping at the bit to scold me, I did not offer to stay in touch).
Thank you all so much for being so supportive of me. I don't have all the answers on insurance, treatment options, or the Feud. But I do have all of you
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