SquarePeg Books

Does not play well with others.

Has her own way of doing things.

It never occurred to me that these things might be applied to me. The other day it popped into my head – the realization that in college, I had one hell of a time keeping roommates.  They switched out every damned semester – the roommate I started Fall semester with would not be the roommate I ended Spring semester with.  The longest I had a roommate was a year – and to be honest, I was tolerated because I paid half the rent (on time, every month, no nagging, just to sleep in the living room for the period of one year, as agreed) but once the year was up, I got the ultimatum with no preamble – sign a joint contract for an apartment or get out by the end of the month.

I really don’t remember interacting with any of my roommates that much at all. I slept in the room. Kept my clothes there. Did my homework there. Occasionally, I ate there.  Then slept there, again.

I never touched anyone’s things, and tried very hard to keep my stuff from encroaching on their space. I didn’t use perfumes. I bathed regularly. I didn’t engage in political or religious debate. I didn’t even have a pet goldfish or a plant.

And yet, I couldn’t keep a roommate worth a shit.

Now, I’ve kept a roomie for 20 years, although, to be fair, getting out of that contract involves lawyers, so some days it’s just easier to go somewhere else to cool down when things get unpleasant.

This thought that I might actually be a horrendous individual wrapped in a bundle of mundaneity has possibly occurred to me because I am now job hunting.

And I’m a little fussy.  I want full-time. I want a permanent position. I want a health insurance package.

I don’t want retail or sales. No religious organizations, thank you.  No part-time, no seasonal, not really willing to apply for positions that use the phrase “must be able to work with difficult people and possess humility with a ‘can-do-it-all’ attitude” (that’s a direct quote, by the way). Not interested in applying to somewhere that has a history of a lot of churn.

I guess I’m just difficult to deal with.

Although I’m getting some great fodder for another book.