Once I Was The Crazy Girl

You know you've been blogging a long time when you read a funny story on Aunt Becky's blog and that inspires you to write a story about one of your college roommates on your blog, and then you realize you've already written that story because you were inspired by another of Aunt Becky's college stories.

In other words, I just tried to tell a story on my blog that I have already told. It's like we're married.

I didn't have any other crazy roommates in college, but I did get to be the crazy person once. For most of my freshmen and sophomore years, I dated this one guy. We can call him Chris, because that was his name and it's pretty generic. Chris was called up to active duty during the first Gulf War, but all he did was work in a hospital in Philadelphia. While he was gone doing grown up things, he got really interested in us having a SERIOUS relationship.

I got really interested in being single. And in the guy down the hall from me. And in staying in Boston on the weekends.

So I dumped poor Chris while he was on active duty and started trying to entice the guy down the hall. There was much flirting. After I moved off campus the next year, there were phone calls and drives and make out sessions.

But the guy from down the hall, whom we should call Erik because that was his name, had some issues. One of which was that he didn't like me half as much as I liked him. But I persisted - without being direct about it - in trying to date this guy who didn't really want to date anyone.

One night he was supposed to take me out to dinner. He didn't call at the appointed time. Or an hour after that. So I called him and I went off. I just yelled about his mixed signals and the kissing and his drinking too much and whatever other bullshit I'd picked up from Cosmo. After a long pause, the guy on the phone said, "Hey Jen, sounds like you're pretty pissed at Erik. Should I get him so you can tell him?"*

I'd just spent several minutes yelling at his friend. I stammered something and hung up. I had never been so embarrassed in my entire life.

Until they called back a few minutes later, laughing. They asked me to do it again so they could record it. The friend offered to take me to dinner.

I unplugged the phone and spent the next month avoiding anywhere I thought I might run into either one of them.

*This is the kind of shit that happened before cell phones and caller i.d., kids. Be grateful.