Claire

Stiffed again.  I could not wait tables any longer.  The obvious solution? Move to New York City and attend fashion school.  Six months after making this decision, I served my last table and began scouring through craigslist for a place to live.

Two bedroom converted. Bedroom is 7’ x  9’, no windows, but charming early century walk-up.  Full-size refrigerator in the kitchen. Unfurnished. We share hallway coat closet for clothing storage.

$ too much.

Mature 29-yr-old female looking for quiet, responsible roommate.  Must be away during business hours as I work from home.  No late nights.  No guests.  No kitchen privileges. Cat-lover is a must.

$ yeah right.

FREE RENT! Male seeks female roommate for severely discounted or free rent in midtown studio.  Compensated by you occasionally walking around in your underwear, no physical relationship, I just want to look.  $ rape is not rent.

Animal-loving widow seeks responsible roommate to occupy 12’ x 15’ upper west side bedroom.  Private bathroom, windows, furniture, walk-in closet, utilities, internet + cable included.  I have two lovable pets, a large dog and a cat.  Pre-war doorman building 1 block from central park. 

$ yes please!

Though I contacted over 100 of these postings (excluding the underwear perv), the choice was clear.  Gay, the craigslist “widow”, returned my email, drilled my references, and finally called me.  I had made the cut—just 10 days before I was to haul all my belongings 831 miles from the quaint southern charm of Chattanooga, Tennessee to big city bustle.

What a difference a year can make!

Did you ever notice that the years seem to fly by more quickly the older we get?? Do you think it has something to do with the % of your lifetime that year represents?  When you were 6, a year was about 25% of the lifetime you could remember.  So it seemed to take it 's sweet time getting through seasons, to holidays and birthdays...  Now its in the low single digits as a %...
Anyway, to update you:
Anna finally sold the Dorm. ( sob!) and she and I moved uptown to a nice new apartment in the sky.
Less charm, more light but Dorm-mates were scarce to be found. The only other person Anna and I have actually living here, doesn't.  She is a doctor that lives a long train ride away and keeps a room with us for emergencies. So far, not ONE emergency. And frankly, we miss the additional stimulation! We had hopes that a winter snowstorm might bring her to our door for a night, but alas.... nada!  We called her "the Phantom".
Ruby is back home, in Washington, and works part time in LA. We miss her like crazy!
Claire is all grown up with a real boyfriend and a great job in the fashion industry. They come to visit, not frequently enough, but always with the familiar laughter returning easily.
I had put together a consulting project for another apparel company in NY. Nice people, but didn't want to pay what I really needed. So when I got an offer to return to Dallas with a company I knew, in a lucrative executive position, I  made the difficult decision to move on.
What will the next chapter bring to each of the members of the Dorm?

If you have enjoyed reading some of our adventures ( with the names changed to protect the guilty)
Post a comment and let us know what you liked or didn't, as we are considering putting our memoirs into a book called "The Dorm".
Thanks!
XXOO
Meredith