Pros and Cons of Living with Less People

Recently, our cozy little flat has undergone a reshuffle. Best friend, Best friend's girlfriend (who is also a friend) and four Chinchillas have moved out, leaving in their wake a lot of space. My girlfriend and myself have stayed behind in the belief that we can use this space. There are definite upsides and downsides to this scenario.

Pro: There is a lot more space.

Con: I miss my friends. Even though I could go for days without knowing if they were coming back or not, I knew that they were coming back at some point. Now I'm just left thinking "where the devil are they? They've been gone for ages this time!" and expecting to hear the key in the lock any moment. I'm probably never going to live with people like my departed friends again. Nobody can live with someone for any length of time in a harmonious manner, but we came pretty close for the most part, which is pretty impressive considering I've lived with my best friend for six years now.

Pro: I have a choice of three rooms to leave my stuff in.

Con: I have a choice of three rooms to try and find my stuff in.

Pro: It's quite quiet a lot of the time.

Con: It's quite quiet a lot of the time. This is excepting the as-yet unfinished unfurnished room in which just typing this is causing an echo. Equally, whereas before I could just write off funny noises as "probably chinchilla related", now I'm much more tuned in to what sounds like the undead trying to clumsily squeeze through our letterbox.

Pro: I'm on my own a lot more.

Con: ...You can probably see a pattern forming here. I'm on my own a lot more.


I know I remember my time in Manor House with fondness, but I also know that after two years we were pretty much ready to move out and another year together might have resulted in us being unable to be the relatively close friends we all are today. I also know that it's been different for the last two years living here as two couples, all four of us running on slightly differing schedules and with different priorities, but that's all it has been for me: Different. Not better, not worse, just different. I've been incredibly lucky with my friends and even luckier that I'm able to keep such people after living with them. I understand people normally move out whilst not actually talking to each other any more.

Additional Notes:
I've discovered that one of the cupboards in the hallway buzzes. There is some form of electrical thingy in there, so I've decided I'm not going to tune in to that frequency of noise anymore and just pretend I haven't noticed anything, hoping for the best in the process. I'm sure it'll be fine. It's not like a little electricity hurt anyone after all. Electricity is there to help you, not hurt you.

On a personal note, I'm delighted to see that after the one hundred and one problems that my friends have had sorting out their new place, they're finally starting to settle and showing all the hallmark signs of being incredibly happy with the place (I have seen it. It is fantastic.) and I will miss them a lot. They have been incredibly good, trustworthy, honest people and it's been a pleasure to live with them.

20/20...Hearing

For the last two months, I have been deaf in my left ear. This was due to my body's rather strange stress response to fill the ear canal with wax, almost like nature's way of putting ones fingers in your ears and going "LA LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU".

Far from alleviating stress, it does in fact do the opposite, because you can't hear anything.

I finally got around to getting it sorted out yesterday afternoon and a poor nurse ended up blasting it out of my ear with an ear-irrigation device (basically a very small high pressured water jet). Not a pleasant job, but she assured me that it's not the worst thing they have to do. Having processed medical applications for an insurrance company for the last two years, I have a few vague ideas about what could be worse.

As a result of this little procedure, everything is now incredibly loud, to the point that I can now hear my hellium-filled upstairs neighbours squawking at three-in-the-morning, the air conditioning unit in my office is a deafening roar and typing makes me jump. The world has become a very noisy place.

Part of me wants to go back to the doctors this evening and ask if I can have the wax put back in...


Additional Notes:

I also have this horrible feeling that I've been shouting at everyone for the last two months. If you have been shouted at by me, I promise I just thought that was a reasonable volume and I am very sorry.

Pointless Prattle: 25 Things

I generally don’t fill in these things, but the specifications for this one were vague enough that I didn’t resent the idea of it. The rules are that you’re supposed to write down 25 random facts about yourself. There’s something else about tagging 25 people that you want to know 25 things about, sending it around the internet and receiving £1,000,000 if you cross your fingers and chant “I do believe in Facebook, I do, I do” But I’m not playing those games, largely because I don’t think there are another 25 people that I will be interested enough in to actually read through the drivel they will inevitably write.

And on that note, here is my drivel.

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I am directionally dyslexic frequently muddling my lefts, rights, easts and wests.

The exam that I stressed about the most and was the most frightened of failing was my driving test.

Driving is the one thing that makes me swear profusely.

It took me 10 years to read Lord of the Rings from between the ages of 8 and 18. The only reason I got around to finishing it was because I was desperate to stay at least one book ahead of the films.

I modified the rules of Dungeons and Dragons and used to play it with my friends in the playground when I was about 10 using 3 spherical dice.

I won the Optimist Regatta Fleet National Championship at the age of 10. That was probably the peak of my success in sailing. I am now a fully qualified sailing instructor.

I have self published 3 issues of a comic called Matt3 that I created after trying to fix Matt’s computer and being bowled over by the layers of complexity to his system.

I can’t stand loud noises because they compete with my brain when it’s trying to think.

I can’t stand high temperatures because it makes my brain melt.

I ceased to experience any kind of enthusiasm for my history degree after about a year and a half of starting it. I still wish I’d done something in Computer Sciences.

I frequently wave at security cameras.

I secretly quite enjoy my job. When I don’t enjoy it, I secretly enjoy hating it.

I keep a list of all the stupid things that people write down on the insurance applications that I have to process at work.

Telephones still terrify me, despite having worked in a call centre for 3 months.

Whenever someone is upset, angry or stressed, my first reaction is that it’s my fault.

I have a full blown addiction to starting new things. I always find myself starting new games, books, articles and projects, rarely seeing them through to the end.

I’ve had my watch since I was 8 and I only ever really take it off to sleep.

I’ve had my computer since I was about 10, but I concede it probably isn’t quite the same computer anymore, seeing as the motherboard, the processor, the CD Drive, the hard drive, the keyboard, the monitor and even the case have now been replaced. It is however still the same mouse and I think there’s still the original 56K modem in the back too.

I’ve always wanted to make animated cartoons.

I’m very patient with other people but never with myself. This makes it very risky whenever I want to cook and I’m on my own.

I’ve never wanted to learn how to play the drums, but I’ve always wanted to be instinctively good at it.

I frequently panic and think I’ve got somebody’s name wrong, even if I’ve known them for a really long time.

I started playing computer games at the age of 3, starting on the original Donkey Kong on the Dragon 32.

I nearly applied to do a masters degree in criminal psychology after I finished my degree.

I consider sleep to be a massive waste of time and I really wish I didn’t have to do it.

Additional Notes:

Weirdly enough, whenever I read these things answered by other people, they often also start by saying “I don’t normally do these things, but….”.