The World of Stuff .com

The far side of the Hume

A soft rain fell in the parking lot. Nearby, a girl was on her tiptoes trying to put a garbage bag into a dumpster, only to have it fall back on her repeatedly. My parents carried boxes from the rented trailer. Finally, but with some embarrassment, the girl succeeded in her task. “Epic fail,” she said apologetically to the passersby.

I was back at Hume Hall, the honors dorm at the University of Florida, for my second year of college. Known as a haven for geeks and nerds who do nothing but play video games, the truth is more complex than that. Some of them are in fact ordinary people. And they know how to have a good time.

Tropical Storm Fay has been a bother. First it crossed over Florida, drenching South Florida in the process. While it moved toward the Atlantic Ocean, my family decided that yesterday would be a good time to make a run for Gainesville through the center of the state. We encountered some rain, but nothing really bad. The storm was forecast to move west, hitting Florida again. But before it did that, it stalled out. The storm was stationary from last night till about midday today, which bought me some time to move into my dorm room. Now it’s been raining for hours, but the storm’s large eye should be coming soon.

It is nice being in the same dorm as I was in last year. I haven’t been at good old Hume Hall (East) in almost four months, but it’s easy to get back into the swing of things. Everything is pretty familiar. I’ve already seen some of the same faces (my RA from the spring checked me in, and I had a chat with one of the cleaning ladies). I have a connection to this place. In fact, when I was thinking of things about last year I had forgotten to mention, I forgot to remember that my roommate and I wrote our names in cement that was drying outside the entrance of the building. Now that’s a connection.

I chose a room on the same floor as last year but in the wing farther from the main building. I wasn’t sure who I would get as a roommate, but it turned out that one of my chemistry lab partners chose the same room. That worked out well. I’ve spent this afternoon unpacking. I am now pretty unpacked, except that I haven’t put up my posters due to a lack of suitable tape. Also, I forgot one of my bags. My parents haven’t gone back home yet, though; my sister still has to move in to her apartment.

Ryan, my erstwhile chemistry lab partner and new roommate, had a head start on moving in. He got here a few days ago and has rearranged his furniture to his liking. Actually, he had to do it because he has a full-size keyboard. Incidentally, one of my floormates from last year had a similarly large keyboard and arranged his stuff the same way. Instead of having the bed against the back corner with the dresser against the back wall and the desk along the side wall, they both put the keyboard at the back wall, the desk facing forward in front of it, and the bed in front of that, with the dresser underneath the bed. Could that be the only possible arrangement when one has a large keyboard?

My roommate last year brought a TV, but this year, neither Ryan nor I had one. We didn’t see it as too much of a problem, since neither of us watches much TV, but I reasoned that if somebody offered me a TV for free over the summer, I would take it. A few days ago, a family friend was collecting some donated items and had some surplus stuff, including a TV. She offered it to me. That’s how I became the proud owner of a 13-inch Sharp 137LM color TV. It’s my first TV set. I was the only kid on the metaphorical block who didn’t have a TV in his room. When I asked my mom for one, she would say, “When you’re 14.” When I was 14, she didn’t remember saying that. My sister can vouch for it, though.

The only thing that was missing was a remote control. My dad had a spare programmable remote, but it didn’t know the radio signals for this TV, probably because it’s old enough to vote and drink alcohol. As I looked for a matching remote for sale on the Internet, I marveled at the hidden yet complex world of online TV remote stores. Some of them claimed to have a compatible remote in stock for $40 or $50. No thanks. Luckily, someone was selling an original remote (with new batteries) on eBay for $5.60. It should be arriving next week. Thanks, Internet!

Now, I don’t ask much of you readers, but if any of you feel a need to express your gratitude, friendship, thankfulness, camaraderie, undying devotion, or money, please write:

[Update Tue May 05, 2009 21:49 UTC-5: I don't live at this address anymore!]

I can also accept packages.