roomies
by rantywoman
I try to look on the bright side of the roommate situation. He doesn’t cook, so I have the kitchen to myself. He’s quiet. He rarely has people over. He always pays his rent on time and is good about splitting all the other household expenses.
The internet addiction, and the anti-sociability it results in, continues to try my nerves though. I hit a point every week where the entire days he spends on his couch or bed staring at his iPad make me want to scream. I myself spend too many hours on the internet, but he neglects everything else in his life for it. He does read news sites but I think a lot of his time is spent looking at photos of attractive men.
I’ve also been miffed by his new habit of saying he just might apply for every desirable job that comes along that I’m interested in. He usually tosses in, “Then you can go for my job.” Oh thanks. I’m glad to know that my entire job history has somehow been erased and I’m now relegated to positions he plans to be promoted out of.
I gave him one chore around the condo– to clean the bathroom. I take care of everything else. Eventually the bathroom trash started overflowing on the floor, with no signs that he was planning to empty it. I had to remind him about it. He left the rest of the bathroom uncleaned. Sunday evening, after a day he’d spent mainly in the “recline” position, I finally burst. He whined, and I responded with, “You are the laziest person I know. For the record, I used to do everything I do now when I held a job. And I think you have an internet addiction.”
The only sentence I regret is the first one.
He is now looking at buying a condo for himself. If he moves out, the financial pressure will increase on me, but the emotional pressure will release.
It’s sad that I had been looking forward to having a roommate, but it’s another situation where I have to let go.
thebitterbabe 
Yeah, in my experience, roommates are far better in theory than in practice. I hope your situation comes to a graceful conclusion without too much drama!
As hard as it is with him there, I think that he might be better than many many other men.
For example, he’s gay so he won’t make a pass at you. He doesn’t play music too loudly, does he? And if he’s online he might not be watching too much TV so isn’t competing with you for what’s going to be watched or even for the remote control.
Plus if he’s home all the time you have the added sense of “security” that having another person there means. He’s not going out a lot and leaving you alone.
Plus there might be other reasons that he’s not too bad, after all.
Why don’t you write a list of “for” and “against” …… you might just decide to ask him to stay.
And ask him to volunteer another $10 in rent if he doesn’t clean or do anything else you want him to do. Know what I mean?
All good points and that’s a good suggestion too about just asking for more money if I have to do all the cleaning. He’s now looking at buying the vacant unit next door to me. Not good for me financially, but probably better for our friendship.
That would be the best possible result — all the benefits of having a friend nearby, but not actually having to live with him 24/7.