Roy - Chapter 1

This week I was pleasantly surprised to find I had received an email from my friend Roy. I've wanted to blog about Roy for quite some time, but I honestly had no idea where to begin. There are SO many good stories involving him and our time together. I could probabaly write a book actually. I've decided to simply start with how he came to be a chapter in my life.

Let's go back to April of 2006 (maybe 2005?). I decided I wanted to bring in some extra cash by renting a room to a University student. In my mind, this was a great idea. I wanted a person who would be there for the school year only, who may go home for Thanksgiving, Christmas etc. Ideally, I wanted a male who was studious and wouldn't destroy my house hosting any type of frat-themed party. I went to the University and put up a posting.

Months went by and I didn't hear anything.

Then one day in August I was enjoying a quiet morning on my couch watching The Young and the Restless when I got a phone call. It was a guy telling me he was calling about the room I had for rent. I was caught off guard for two reasons; one - I had forgot about that posting and two - he had a strange accent, which briefly sounded Australian and I had some fantasies of Cane Ashby showing up at my house (sorry, had to make a Y&R reference there).

This guy explained to me he was an exchange student from China who had just spent a year in Ireland and was now transferring to the University in my town. The strange Aussie accent was in actuality, a Chinese/Irish mix. Anyway, he said he was looking for a place to live and asked if he could come over right away. Right away? I really wasn't ready but I said okay. He said he'd be at my house in a few minutes. So instead of thinking about what I should do when he arrived, I frantically began to clean.

Sure enough, a few minutes later he arrived. He started walking around my house and I got insanely nervous. I had no idea what I was doing or what I should say. He told me he wanted to move in. I thought I should ask him for references. Sure, he had references - IN CHINA. I asked him if he wanted to look at a few other places in town and then decide. Nope, no need - he liked my house. Okay. My head was spinning and I was thinking "say something smart, do something smart, handle this sitaution" But I said nothing. I did nothing. He said he had all his stuff in his car. So - he went outside and got it and carried it inside. And moved in. Just like that.

In less than five minutes I went from watching mindless television to living with a stranger from China.

He told me he hadn't slept or showered since he arrived in Canada. He asked if he could have a shower and take a nap. Why not? Could my day get any weirder? Five minutes after he moved in, he was in my shower.

I'm embarrassed writing this. I sound like the biggest idiot in the world. Anyway, he showered and went to sleep.

I panicked.  The logical next step? I bailed.  Left my house as fast as I could. 

Prior to this fiasco, I had plans to go to a bonfire at my friend Tyler's that night. So I went to his house. He tore a strip off me and basically said I was insane. It was well deserved. He soon had me convinced I had let a serial killer move in with me and I was scared to go home. I decided I was going to stay at his house and he'd come home with me in the morning. As the night dragged on my anxiety level was building and I knew I had to go home. Tyler then had me convinced this guy had already robbed me blind. Anyway, I went home and my new roommate was still fast asleep. I went to bed - but I didn't sleep that night. At all.

The next day I was pondering what on earth I was going to tell my parents. I also knew my brother was going to have a field day when he heard the story. Anyway, my 'roomie' finally woke up and came over to me to chat. He spoke English fairly well. He told me about his family and schooling plans. He then told me he wanted to pick a new "North American" name. He decided on "Roy" as he had recently watched a boxing match and really liked Roy Jones Jr. Okay, sure - Roy it was.

He lived with me for the next 9 months. It was an adventurous 9 months and there were some funny moments and great stories. At the time, I may not have enjoyed some of these moments. I was, at times, a crazy bitch to him. I will admit that. I will tell some of these stories later. But before I do, I want to get the nice parts out of the way: Roy was a nice person, genuine, honest and for the most part, only had the best intentions. I never had to worry about him destroying anything or disrespecting my things - nothing like that. Best of all, he was clean. As far as being someone to co-habit with - he was a good roommate. The conflicts we did have were mainly due to our different lifestyles and the way we were brought up. I feel guilty for the way I treated him sometimes. I tried to remind myself that I was basically the only person he knew in the entire continent and he was lonely. Anyway, now that he's gone I am glad we keep in touch and I'm always happy to hear from him.

Future blogs will delve into all that is Roy. I haven't decided what story to share next....him learning about snow, sunken pirate treasures, our fight about the monkey or his call to 911 for 'feeling strange'.

Stay tuned.

Favourite of the Day: 

Well, this wasn't today, but I recently went to see "I Love You Man".  And I loved it.  It was really funny.  If I had to pick something today, it would be my appreciation for Family Guy. Because the writers of that show are ridiculously talented.  I like things that make me laugh.