Roommate Blues

My roommate, a fellow AE and a grad student, received a job offer from Boeing this week. The job would start in January, and it's pretty much her dream job. She's probably going to take it. Which is nice. I mean in this economy she'll have not just a job but the job she wants. The problem?

That leaves me without a roommate.

I'm a little disgruntled to say the least. Not considering at all the fact that I love my roommate and don't want her to leave me I'm still let with other problems. Everything in the kitchen is hers. The microwave. The pots. The pans. The dishes. The glasses. It's all hers. So unless I find a roommate with a kitchen's worth of stuff I'm going to have to buy myself a kitchen's worth of stuff. The TV is hers. Maybe for you, not having a TV would not be a big problem. But I can't live without TV. Seriously, it's like my oxygen. Not to mention, that if I were living alone because I can't find a new roommate, I would need the TV even more. Something has got to add noise to the background. So I'm going to have to buy a TV, unless new theoretical roommate has one. You can also add a dining table to the list while you're at it. And a bookshelf. My three bookshelves aren't enough for all my books, and half of her bookshelf is currently filled with mine. And these are just my material worries.

What if I can't find a roommate? What if I have to live by myself and pay full price for all utilities? (My roommate has kindly agreed to continue paying her half of the rent if I can't find a roommate, but I can't ask her to pay for the water I'm using, you know?). I am also incredibly paranoid. Living by myself would mean checking the locks twelve times every night before I go to bed. There is simply reassurance and calmness of mind in the idea that someone else is there, though my roommate probably wouldn't be able to protect me from an intruder. She's awesome, but not a ninja.

What if I do find a roommate but they're insane? I don't mean Norman Bates insane. I'm assuming that someone would pass the basic psycho test. But what if they just have habits I can't stand. I know me and my current roommate can live together. What if they like to watch TV a lot too and that conflicts with my TV watching? What if they also want to use the dining table as a desk, even though its in the living room? What if they leave a mess in the kitchen? What if they don't do dishes? So many questions, and no way to answer them.

This was all stress I didn't think I would have, because I knew my roommate would not graduate from grad school until August. I was secure in the fact that I would have a roommate until my lease is up. But now all that has changed.

Not to mention I'm losing a friend. Her job offer is in Seattle. That's far away. My roommate and I have been friends since Freshman year. She is undoubtedly the female friend I've had the longest at Tech.

This has put me into a state of roommate blues that I just can't fight. I really don't know what to do. Anyone out there need a roommate in the Midtown area? May I specify that my roommate needs to be tidy, not a crazy party-er, a Christian, and nice? A love of scifi is a nice addition but not a requirement.