I’m a university student in my first year, living in a dormitory. The first month was filled with getting to know each other and everyone was kind to everyone else. But now everyone’s true colours are starting to shine through.

One hallmate constantly leaves his shaving stuff in the bathroom and never cleans the sink after himself. The sink is then filled with black hair, which is vile, and there’s no room for anyone else to put their stuff down. We’ve called him on it numerous times, and he always initially denies it was him. Futile since his name is on his razor.

Another hallmate plays VERY loud headbanger music until several of us complain and he gets a knock on his door from the hall monitor. This happens almost nightly.

And another hallmate somehow manages to get in the shower before everyone else in the mornings but sits on the ledge and falls asleep. There are only four showers, so his antics are very unfair to the rest of the hall.

I was raised almost as an only child because my sister is nine years younger than me. I’m not used to all of this and I’m having a hard time.

How do you suggest I work around these people and all their quirks?

Dorm Life

The Grateful Dead sing “Such a long long time to be gone/
And a short time to be there,” which is appropriate in this scenario. Blink and your year will be over. Take a virtual step outside of your hall and look at all these people and their quirks. It’s like watching a TV show. Have fun with it all.

Put a sign above the shaving sink that says SHAVING SINK and let everyone shave there. Play very loud classical music to combat his head-banging music and have people vote. Set your alarm 10 minutes early and get in the shower. Have your friends do the same so the shower sleeper must wait. Turn all the negatives into a positive.

This is a very small window in your life. Don’t waste it being annoyed. Have fun.

Recently, while on my early morning walk, I came across a trio of young boys sauntering across a box store parking lot.  As I got closer to them, I realized one of them was tossing small plastic bags here and there as he strolled.  When I asked him what he was doing, he said he was distributing bags for dog poop.  I told him this was not only a bad idea but that it was littering.

Basically, he and his pals ignored me, apart from a couple of insults as I picked up the bags. I’m 78 and I think my age may have been mentioned.  I’m a parent, grandparent and former high school teacher so I have a lot of experience dealing with dicey situations.  Nonetheless, this one stumped me and I keep thinking about it.  Any thoughts?

Poop Bags

Can you clarify if the poop bags were empty or full? If full, then these boys were literally just out shit disturbing. They clearly were hoping to make a mess of the parking lot.

If the bags were empty, then yes, that does seem like an odd thing to do. Yes, it’s littering, but it’s not harmful or disruptive.

I think they saw you before you saw them, and that was BEFORE they managed to fill the bags. So, when you approached them, they came up with that weak story.

Will they try this prank again somewhere else? Probably. I’m not condoning their behaviour, but other than it being dirty and stinky, it’s not that delinquent. Don’t waste any more thought on it or them.

FEEDBACK Regarding the Hair Sniffer (Aug. 9):
Reader – “If I were his wife, I would be soooo offended by his asking me not to wear the perfume I love because he does not want the man at work sniffing her hair. I think she can figure that out for herself without being treated like an imbecile, or his personal piece of property.

“I am so tired of men making women feel responsible for the bad behaviour of other men. He should back off and let her make her own personal choices.”

Not The Boss of Me

Lisi – The hair smeller is a creep. But the husband never mentions that he asked his wife to stop wearing the perfume. You just jumped to that conclusion.

I try to put myself in some situations and I would want to avoid any engagement with this creep. So, I would stop wearing this perfume, just for a while. MY CHOICE!