Inconsiderate F***Holes!

[harv3034]

* WARNING MAJOR RANT AHEAD *

First, the context.
For the past three months, I?ve been in dealing with the stresses and trials of my freshman year at the University of Oklahoma at Norman. Chemistry is kicking my ass (HARD) and Pre-Calculus is little better. Gateway and my Engineering Lectures are complete wastes of my time and I?ve already done three different essays in English Composition (all 6 pages long). The only fun class I have is my Engineering ?Experience? and it?s been canceled three weeks in a row.

This, I can deal with. For the first two months I focused on transitioning into college without a total flameout, while almost completely ignoring anything not related to class. As a result, my social life took a dive, my stress went through the roof, and the ?freshmen 15? is now a fond memory of my weight 30 pounds ago.

But, now that I?m acclimated and have gotten the routine of classes and study down pat, I can shift my focus back to important things. I?m on top of my classes (mostly), I don?t get lost any more, and I?m starting to lose some weight thanks to OU?s KICKASS gym.

Unfortunately, my stress level is still a danger to overflying satellites. I went to the health center to see what I should do and they told me to try and get sufficient sleep (8 hours) each night and I?d be just fine. Here?s the problem; my fat as a pig roommate is in the habit of playing MW2 on Xbox Live till midnight (or later). The fact that he plays isn?t a big deal, I can sleep during the day so the TV is no problem and he mutes the sound and wears a headset so I don?t have to hear the guns and explosions, just him talking to his team.

The problem is; he doesn?t talk, he yells. Not just orders and suggestions, but profanities. And the volume on the headset is so loud I can hear his team yelling back. But it?s not just the occasional curse or exclamation, no; he hardly goes ten seconds without screaming ?Fuck? or ?Goddamn it? or ?Shit?. When he does stay quiet for a while and I start to drift off to sleep, I am shocked awake (and brain myself on the ceiling over my lofted bed) by him spewing a stream of curses that would make a sailor in Satan?s Navy blush, all because he was ?one away from a F***ing chopper gunner?.

The result of this is my only getting about 6 hours (if that) of sleep each night, because I have to get up at 6:30 in the morning for my first class (any later and I have to fight 3 other people for the shower). The easiest way to fix it would be to change rooms, but the deadline for that passed before I recognized the problem. I can?t talk to him because we?re never in the room at the same time (plus he carries this big knife around and I?m afraid he?ll stab me with it if I cuss him out).

*RANT OVER*

I guess what I?m asking for is help figuring out what to do about it. As I said, getting more sleep is the best way (according to trained doctors) for me to get my off the chart stress level under control. AND SLEEP AIDS AREN?T AN OPTION!

*EDIT*

I gather that switching dorm rooms would help. Unfortunatly, the deadline to apply for a change of room has aready passed and so such action is no longer possible.

 

[steeple]

as I still have some time before I finish highschool, I cant say I know how you feel like (though I can understand)...
about your roomate, if he's not a dick then possibly you can talk to him about playing while you're sleeping, maybe not using the microphone at all or just playing while its agreeable with the both of you...
if he IS a dick, then I dont have any good suggestions (except changing rooms or using ear plugs/sleeping aids... but thats not a possibility)

good luck man....

 

[Broady Brio]

Have a item to throw at your friends head? A shoe perhaps? Also you can also add a response such as;
"SHUT THE FUCK UP! I'M SLEEPING HERE!"

But otherwise, I don't really have any good advice for you.

 

[Heart of Darkness]

Here's some solutions:

1) Hide his headset.

2) Hide his Xbox.

3) Talk to him when he's playing and tell him that you need to sleep to reduce stress. If he gets aggressive over it, show him your doctor's note, and tell him that from 10:30 to 6:30 it is quiet time. Do NOT try to cuss him out over this; just politely talk to him about it.

4) Talk to your RA about the situation (if you have one). He might be able to talk to your roommate if you are unable to do so.

5) Give your roommate laryngitis.

6) Buy a pair of earplugs.

7) Or find an alternate way to reduce stress. Do something that you find relaxing enough to make your mind wander away from whatever is stressing you out: drawing, sculpting, playing the accordion, whatever. Get a stress ball. Go for a jog. Pretend you are petting a very fluffy kitty.

8) If that all fails, try to get your roommate expelled from housing for carrying a weapon. Ruin his college career for sleep and your well-being.

 

[WrongSprite]

Tell him not to. The end.

 

[Eagle Est1986]

Make some time and bring up your issue with him. If he's not civil about it hide his game disc or snap it in half.

 

[Mechsoap]

Tell him that he doesn't have to scream every time he gets killed, he should take it like a man and shut up.

 

[Gorden Springel]

Get earplugs or break his xbox. I would say that the first option is probably better but hey, who am I to judge.

 

[Tips_of_Fingers]

earplugs or headphones with the volume up loud enough to drown him out. I had similar problems when i lived in Halls in 1st year; my window was directly above the entrance so people coming back from nights out would disturb me to the point of wanting to cry with fury.

But putting headphones in helped...so hopefully it can aid you too.

 

[Thyunda]

I understand your problem perfectly. My little brother is also fat as a pig and screams and shouts and swears at the TV screen, whether or not his headset is in. Fortunately for me, he has to go to bed rather early, and since I have my own sleeping problems, it's the early hours of the morning before I'm asleep. Soon as my parents go to work, say, 7am, he's up and back on MW2, screaming and shouting all over again. After a 5am bedtime for me, 7am is NOT a reasonable time to wake me up.

And it's not as simple as talking to him, I can sympathise. I don't know if this is the same as your room-mate, but when I tell him to shut up he just talks over me and blanks me out entirely. OR my criticising gets him killed and he directs his swearing at me.

As for his knife. Pretend it isn't there. Don't cuss him out. Speak reasonably. Lay out the problems, and make sure he knows you won't stand for any more of it. If he gets threatening, you just have to make him feel terrible about himself for it. It's hard to explain, it's kind of a skill.

 

[Starke]

I guess what I?m asking for is help figuring out what to do about it. As I said, getting more sleep is the best way (according to trained doctors) for me to get my off the chart stress level under control. AND SLEEP AIDS AREN?T AN OPTION!

Jack Daniels is your friend.

Okay, in all seriousness though:

Here's some solutions:

1) Hide his headset.

2) Hide his Xbox.

No, and no. Both of these will lead to unwanted escalation.

3) Talk to him when he's playing and tell him that you need to sleep to reduce stress. If he gets aggressive over it, show him your doctor's note, and tell him that from 10:30 to 6:30 it is quiet time. Do NOT try to cuss him out over this; just politely talk to him about it.

If you haven't done this by now, this is certainly worth doing.

Also, you may want to check up on the housing policies. Some universities maintain strict regulations about how much noise you can make at night in the dorm.

4) Talk to your RA about the situation (if you have one). He might be able to talk to your roommate if you are unable to do so.

Also, he may be able to get you assigned to a different room.

5) Give your roommate laryngitis.

French kiss the fucker.

8) If that all fails, try to get your roommate expelled from housing for carrying a weapon. Ruin his college career for sleep and your well-being.

While there are many ways this can backfire... particularly with the weapon aspect, the volume and frequency of his profanity may do this one for you.

 

[Deofuta]

Gah, horrible suggestions so far! Well, not all, but most.

Do NOT take anything of his, do NOT break anything of his. This will only cause negative fighting to develop, and may get you in trouble as well. I would try and sit him down and explain everything yu told us here. Make sure to keep good eye contact, and emphaticly mention that it IS affecting your grades and thus, your life. If he does not let up, talk to an RA about it and discuss what the next step should be.
Good Luck

 

[Ham_authority95]

In this order, you should:

1. Get some earplugs to sleep with.

2. Talk to him about it. Tell him that you NEED your sleep and he's not letting you have it.

3. If he doesn't stop after talking to him, move to a different dorm. Talk to an RA about it.

 

[Heart of Darkness]

Okay, in all seriousness though:

Here's some solutions:

1) Hide his headset.

2) Hide his Xbox.

No, and no. Both of these will lead to unwanted escalation.

=o I am shocked that you are calling these bad ideas, as I assure you that they are the be-all and end-all solution to this kind of problem. [/troll]

Nah, but seriously OP, don't listen to Troll-Me. I might have mixed in some more ridiculous solutions to try to draw more attention to myself. It seems to be working, if just a little.

 

[mew4ever23]

1. Ask him (politely at first, escalate requests as needed) to keep it down. You need your sleep to do well. Ignore the fact that he carries a knife. If, however, he pulls it out and threatens you with it, call security.
2. Talk your Dorm Advisor/RA. They should be able to do something to help.
3. Noise canceling headphones. Although you may miss your alarm going off....
4. As an extreme last resort, the carrying a weapon like that is probably against your college's rules and regs. Rat him out to security anonymously and he will see major consequences.

Do not break or hide anything of his to convince him to be quiet, this will only make the situation worse.

 

[Nerdygamer89]

I believe he could see jail time for carrying a weapon on a uni campus if someone were inclined to prosecute, especially if it's a large hunting knife or the like. Turn him in if it comes right down to it, he sounds like a major douchebag. I'd try talking to him first and explaining the situation and how stressed you are. I seriously doubt he'll pull a knife and try to stab you as long as you aren't a dick about it.

As an aside, don't go around being afraid of people like him, or walking on eggshells to avoid any kind of confrontation. He sounds like he's fronting to look tough because in reality he's a wimpy punk.

 

[zehydra]

"stream of curses that would make a sailor in Satan's Navy blush"

I love you.

 

[ThatJagoGuy]

Ouch! I feel for you, man! I had to share a flat in my 1st year and that was bad enough! I can't imagine having to share an actual room!

I agree with the people who said to talk to him rationally or see about changing rooms. I realise the deadline has elapsed but if your institution doesn't have provision for exceptions, I'd be very surprised. In my halls, there was a fairly regular drop-out rate so moving room/hall was a matter of finding someone who had a vacancy.

Hope it all works out for you! I'm glad I didn't have to advocate smoking as a means to de-stress...

 

[harv3034]

"stream of curses that would make a sailor in Satan's Navy blush"

I love you.

Thanks.

But I'd like to point out that this is no exaggeration. When he starts one of these rants the room gets really cold; and about 3 minutes later the religious person on our floor arives at the door, looking like he's ready to perform an exorcism.