First Love (Pt 1)

Have you ever been in love? I don’t mean school crushes, love of your parents, but the romantic, passionate kind of love? The ones they talk about in movies, books and songs. And not the present-day kind of love where marriages last an average of 6 months (at least in Hollywood). No, I’m talking about the kind of love where the guy flies across the country, swims across the coldest lake, climbs the highest peak, just so he can get the one rare flower that will win his sweetheart. Well, maybe I’m exaggerating, just a little. Sad to say, I haven’t experienced it, but that’s not going to stop me from writing about it!

Even though I haven’t experienced it first hand, I’ve seen it more often than I can count. My college roommate was in love. And boy did that cramp my style. I basically had to move out of my room for a month while she visited. So, I know what being in love is like, because I’ve experienced the unfortunate side-effects. Here’s how it went down. Roommate met girl online. This was a problem because roommate didn’t have a computer. Guess who’s he used? Yup, you guessed it.
Him: “Oh, do you mind if I use your computer for an hour?”
Me: “Well, I kinda need it to write this 10-page paper due tomorrow.”
“Please? I’ll just be on to check my email.”
(stupidly) “Just checking email? Ok, I’m going to get some snacks.”
10 minutes pass. I’m back and ready to go. He’s got a leg up on my chair, while he’s typing away “clickity-clack” while he chews on his crown filling. (Yeah that’s pretty disgusting, but that’s what he does while he types)
“I’m back, how much longer?”
He doesn’t notice me.
“Hello?”
He laughs at something he just read. I give up and go to my friend’s place to play some video games. I come back after about an hour, and yup, still on my PC. I finally finish the paper at 1a in the computer lab, when of course, the printer breaks down.

Anyway, after email, he graduated to phone calls. That wasn’t so bad, since no one really calls me anyway. But it’s a little annoying when I’m trying to sleep, and he’s whispering and laughing under his covers. Eventually I cram enough cotton in my ears to fall asleep. Unfortunately, I think some of them are still stuck in there. What? I can’t hear you!

It was a quick jump from phone calls to letter writing, where nearly every day he would get a letter from her. And of course, the pictures.
“Isn’t she great? Isn’t she just so cuuute?”
“Yeah, she’s lovely. Does she have a sister?”
He glares at me.
“And she’s so smart too… And she…”
I tune him out while I walk out of the room.

Finally came the day I dreaded.
(Looking sheepishly): “Can I ask you a big favor?”
(Still stupid): “Sure anything, what?”
“Well, she’s got a couple of weeks off for break, and I was wondering if it’s ok if she stays here.”
(Still not getting where this is going): “Sure, I’d love to meet her. Where’s she going to stay?” “Umm…. Here? Would you mind sleeping in the other room?”
Some more info might be useful here. We actually live in a 3 bedroom suite. But one of the guys left after the winter semester (probably from bad grades) and no one replaced him. I have a feeling that I was the lucky one, cause if there wasn’t an extra room, I had a sinking feeling I was going to sleep on the couch outside (no, we didn’t have a living room, I mean outside in the dorm rec room).
(hesitantly): “Uh…suuuurree.”
And before I could finish speaking, he had already gotten most of my bedding off my bed and into the new one. And then it was 2 weeks of sleeping in a empty room, with worse, no computer, and no TV. Plus all my clothes were still in my room, so I had to basically figure out what I wanted to wear the day before and then stash it in the extra room.

Well, to make a long story short, he proposed to her, but he got shot down, and now he’s living the good life dating doctors or something. Yet, despite all he put me through, we’re still good friends.

So, what have I learned about love? It’s very time-consuming. I don’t think he spends an hour without thinking about the girl for a little bit, wondering what she’s doing now. People in love tend to talk quite a bit with each other, either phone, email, letters… They talk for a long time and often. They do things for each other, he gives her gifts, while she… well, never mind. And when they are together, they make disgusting googly eyes at each other that makes you want to vomit your lunch. They also are more tolerant of each other’s flaws. I guess the shorter the time you know someone, the less annoying their habits are. Even if everyone else sees it.