the monthly housemate meat market
Last night we returned from Dahab in another ten hour bus trip which is best left unmentioned.
Today Lisa from Holland and I crossed the road to school where all the new students were assembled for their grading tests, a little ceremony you gotta go through on your first day here. We were scoping for housemates - our plan was simple, just pick out the two or three coolest / best looking people, approach them with an offer of cheap rent/close proximity to the school/endless nights playing towla on the balcony (we unfortunately couldn't offer them a washing machine, clean bathroom or cable tv like some others could). We thought it would be easy, it was just a task of choosing the best from a cast of thousands.
After, like, five hours at the school waiting for them all to do their tests and stuff we worked out that pretty much everyone this term is either from the university of edinburgh or some university in denmark, and pretty much all of them already have appartments. So far we have one, Joel, an 18 year old guy from Phoenix, Arizona who likes TV on the Radio and M. Ward and Devendra Banhart and Derrida and Foucault, so, although we haven't really talked yet I'm sure we'll get along just fine. The real reason I let him stay was because he has both the new Kanye West and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah albums on his iPod. Ha!
The second and/or third new housemates still remain a mystery.
Here are some pictures of arabic singers that I listen to, sometimes, these days. First I am getting to know the pretty girls, later I'll move on, maybe. On the left is Haifa, from Lebanon, she is really not very good at all, but she has this music video that is her performing live, and she has a whole catalogue full of really incredible facial expressions that are cute. Apparently shes, like, 40, and getting married to some extremely rich Saudi. The one on the right is Ruby, she is Egyptian and better, I think. I might even buy her cd today. Ha!
i like your blog.
ReplyDeletebut remember, be careful not to mix your magic and intelligence too often with the realm of "cool". You know, like shopping for housemates based on their appearance? Or their liking Foucault or TV on the Radio. True, they can be indicators, but often misguided ones pointing to people stuck in "cool" and surrounded by the echo that a lack of originality or individuality makes.
wow, i wonder if i know you?
ReplyDeleteits weird, i never really considered people who don't know me reading this thing. i guess i thought with the millions of blogs out why would someone reach for mine?
i think this is a symptom of the whole 'can't register sarcasm and exageration' through the internet type of thing. because i think you'll find this was totally a joke and of course we didnt choose our housemates this way. we chose joel because he was a nice guy, friendly and straight forward, and because, quite simply, he was the only guy who came along. hmm.
sorry, i was interrupted before by having to return to class. allow me to finish.
ReplyDeletei wonder now if indeed you are someone i know...
1. you seem to be saying that joel is likely to be stuck in this world of cool, and i agree with you that this world exists, and does, in ways, sap individuality. when i wrote that post i had had a grand total of five minutes of conversation with joel, he hadn't moved in yet, he had just seen the house, and left. he seemed quiet and sincere, and the only thing i knew about him was that when we talked briefly about music, his eyes lit up excitedly. And i liked that about him.
2. Now i know him a bit better, and he seems like a most capital guy, and someone i will be very glad to get to know over the next month.
3. and we were absolutely, of course, not shopping for housemates based on their appearance, but on whoever wanted or needed a cheap house and didnt mind the ants and the dust and the noise. But, at the same time: when a whole bunch of new kids arrive at a school and you're sitting there waiting for one of them to come up and say they need a place, of course you're checking them out, appearance-wise. i, for one, was of course, looking at the cutest girls in the room, while lisa was examining the chiselled features of the london boys. we would never disclude someone from the house because of their appearance, far from it, we are now likely blindly taking a fourth housemate from germany who is not arriving until next week... but, blah, i think you know what im saying.
me, defensive? probably. because your post seems to both accuse and assume a lot. which i, personally, think is a careless thing to do in this medium.
And i've never even read Foucault in my life.
hi chris,
ReplyDeleteno, you don't know me.
please, do not take offence to what i wrote. instead, find a way to extract the compliments i awkwardly tried to convey to you. remember that my words of caution were just that - words of caution. in not knowing you, and not being able to decifer the humour in your entry, i simply wanted to say that i hoped you weren't being too cool, and that i hope you never will. i like your unique writing style, and that's it. perhaps i am disappointed by many things i read, so i jumped the gun and was fearful that this nice stuff might turn sour.
you are right, of course - sarcasm and tongue-in-cheek posts are hard to detect in writing, especially through a blog setting. just look at my own comment - in my mind, the tone was gentle and wondering, not accusatory or aggressive in the least! Ah but we see a major flaw of the internet - its lack of real humanity, which can only be conveyed in real time, face to face, voices heard, eyes meeting.
but thank you for your interesting response, and my apologies for any insult you may have felt.
And thankyou, anonymous, for your reply, both erudite and a little embarrassing for me, really. I do very much appreciate your nice words and even your warning. I really took no offense at your comments, but was more suprised and worried, I guess. My reaction came likely came from my own shared fear and horror that this blog, newly born as it is, might turn into something like what you suggested. Anyway, thankyou again for reading and for your comments, and I hope to hear more from you in the future. And please, don't shy from criticism, I would be glad to hear it.
ReplyDeleteBest,
Chris
Thank you. I'm glad we were able to iron things out for a more respectful understanding.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't fret about your blog and its purpose. It's quite enjoyable, intelligent, and besides - it's your blog, and you can do whatever you want to...
Good luck with your roommate search - may they be kind, funny, intelligent, cute - and truly "cool"! (...said with a smile and a wink)