Living like a College Student

[Deleted]

I just did it, for 72 hours.

It's best left to college students, or younger people!

I just stayed in a dorm for two nights. The dorm was recently refurbished, and is very nice. I'm sure I would have loved it when I was in college, or even grad school.

But I'm 52. My room was on the second floor, but four flights up, no elevator. The bathroom was two more flights away, either up or down. I had a mezzanine bed, on the top of a ladder.

I'm not as young or fit as I was before, and after four kids, my bladder certainly isn't either.

NEVER, EVER AGAIN!!! I am easy going, but I was SPITTING CATS. When I went into work the next day, I cornered the woman in charge of accomodations, told her I didn't need a five-star hotel, but I did need a minimum of comfort

- an elevator if I'm up four flights of stairs
- and a bathroom on the floor, at worst
- or, ideally, a hotel room

And then I found out that one of my colleagues (the one who has worked there the longest and has the biggest mouth) has decided she prefers student housing to a hotel, so she has told them that all of us will be in student housing.

Seriously, I didn't know who to strangle first.

I am HOME now!!! NEVER again!!!

The lady in charge of accomodations promised me to put me on the first floor next year (only two flights up) with a bathroom on the landing.

By the way, I chucked the bed off the mezzanine and slept on the floor for both nights. Because two flights of stairs there and back to the bathroom in the middle of the night was enough, I didn't need to deal with going up and down a ladder as well.

[swamp]

I'd b e fine with going up the stairs to my room, but I want a bathroom on the same floor. I've had two kids. I have to pee at least once in the middle of the night. I'm also fine with climbing, but not to get to my bed.

[Deleted]

Swamp, same here! I'd be happy to climb stairs to go to bed, but you have two kids, you pee once a night. I have four. Do the math LOL.

Plus all the lights were motion-sensored, with a big WHOOSH every time they went on. My landing, staircase 1, staircase 2, downstairs landing, bathroom, then same on the way up. LOL.

[Opti]

Bummer. My dorms always had bathrooms on every floor. They also had elevators as I think they tended to be 7 or 8 floors. Back then I did take the stairs to the sixth floor sometimes and did have a top bunk my freshman year. I agree I'd prefer the elevator in general for more than a floor or two and beds ground level.

Let us know how the colleague strangling goes. ;D

[Deleted]

I am so happy to be home!!! I told DH, you know I love you, but frankly, I can't decide if I'm happier to see you or my ensuite bathroom LOL.

I'd be FURIOUS about them treating me like this if I hadn't found out from another colleague that Yente has told them we all prefer to be in student housing than in a hotel.

Good thing I won't be seeing Yente again till September, I should calm down by then.

[Deleted]

Optimist, my dorms had several bathrooms per floor too! Welcome to luxury student accomodation in France LOL.

[Deleted]

Optimist, luckily she's there for another week, since this is her "annual vacation from her kids". I did three days out of the eight, she's doing all eight. I wanted to come home to my family, I guess I'm weird that way LOL.

Alas, it would be counter-productive to strangle her because then I'd be stuck with her classes as well as mine.

I really wanted to insist on a hotel but as I calmed down I decided it would be stupid to do that one year ahead of time, so I didn't (not a small feat for me).

But next year they need to do as they promised after my very voluble complaints and put me on the first floor (ie two flights up) with a bathroom on the landing, that's my happy compromise.

ETA: This is all in French floors, ie ground floor is zero.

[Peace77]

Could you stay in a hostel instead of a dorm. Some of them have lockers to use during the day.

[chiver78]

Jun 1, 2012 19:55:39 GMT -5 Opti said:

Bummer. My dorms always had bathrooms on every floor. They also had elevators as I think they tended to be 7 or 8 floors. Back then I did take the stairs to the sixth floor sometimes and did have a top bunk my freshman year. I agree I'd prefer the elevator in general for more than a floor or two and beds ground level.

Lets us know how the colleague strangling goes. ;D

all of that. I know you're in France, but damn! everywhere I went had an elevator, and I'm not in the high-brow finance field - us engineers tote construction gear and work shifts. what kind of school were you crashing?

[cronewitch]

We are both 64 now and I understand the feelings. We stopped tent camping pretty much 12 years ago except once. About 20 years ago I got us army cots because sleeping on the ground wasn't as fun as it was as kids. He was elk hunting in a rain forest sleeping on the floor of the tent for a week. The tent dripped water on his sleeping bag, everything was wet even his sock. I spent one night in his camp then went back to town. I stopped and got an army cot, tarp, dinning canopy, laundry drying rack and a plastic sheeting then went back and fixed his camp. I put his sleeping bag on the cot and covered it in plastic, tarp over the tent, dining canopy between tent and fire and drying rack got wet socks then covered in plastic. I went back to the city and he told me it was the first time the rain didn't drive him out. I had bought a chain saw for camping before so it was the first year he hadn't had to cut wet firewood with an axe. Rain forest as they sound like they would be are very wet.

[violagirl]

In 2008, they decided to save money by having the yearly partner/senior manager meeting at a local university. Some managers/partners found other work to do so they could skip the meeting. It was only after meeting the senior managing partner in the shower in the morning that it got really too close for comfort for my boss. I don't think they will ever go the "dorm" route again. It was a national joke in the firm.

I am only a junior analyst but when we were sent away for training I refused to share a room with someone from another office that i had never met. At that point, i said i would rather pay for my own room than share a room with a stranger. I found it really weird that they would expect me to share a room with a stranger. I might as well have just met someone in the lobby who was checking in and volunteered to share their room!!! What's up with that??!! In future I will not offer to pay for it myself but say I won't go if I can't have my own room. Just because I work with someone doesn't mean i want to share a bedroom with them!!!!!
Besides, what if i had some kind of embarassing medical condition that i didnt' want my colleague to know about?

I realize that perhaps since most junior analysts are people straight out of college and not in their thirties that standards are a bit different but I dont' even share hotel rooms with my friends let alone someone where the only thing i have in common is my employer.

[Deleted]

I did student housing when I went to "Weekend College" as part of a graduate degree a couple of years ago. A colleague and I stayed in what were really student apartments so at least we had a bathroom. However, the beds were covered in major plastic and made a horrific noise whenever one of us rolled over. Also, the a/c made this awful noise. In the middle of the night, one of us (I honestly have blocked out whcih one) just said, "Hit it, already!"

It was a bonding experience that I could have lived without.

[wvugurl26]

I've been spoiled. Before I started at my public accounting firm they stopped sharing rooms. They decided spending 12+ hours around each during tax season was enough, that everyone should have a room to retreat to.

At my current job we get our own rooms.

That sounds like a nightmare debt! Even the crappiest dorms at my school had at least one bathroom for each sex on the floor if they were mixed sex floors.

[Deleted]

I never lived in a dorm with the lavs 2 flights down, even in college. I agree- that would be a deal-breaker. And I've never had to share a room with anyone exceot the time I was checking into a hotel for a convention and they were oversold. One 2-BR suite was left and they offered each room to any two people willing to share it. I introduced myself to another actuary- I knew who she was and we were about the same age- and asked if she wanted to share a room (2 double beds). She said OK. A married couple not with our group took the other. We never saw them again. The suite was 2 stories with a living room and kitchen, and we had a marble bath with a sunken bathtub, and an ice bucket with champagne and a bowl of fresh strawberries waiting for us in the room. It was a real letdown when they moved us to regular rooms after one night!

[zibazinski]

I belong to a emergency response group. Every year there's a convention and we buy X amount of rooms. I went last year and when we got there I was expected to stay with another woman! I was told that I would not be sharing a room which is why I went. Needless to say, I did not share a room. Yuck.

[movingforward]

I'm with you OP. I loved living in a dorm in college but those days are behind me now. Also, having to go up and down stairs just to go to the bathroom. Hell no! I think my bladder must be the size of a pea because I typically have to go to the bathroom twice during the night. I do drink a lot of water though...

[Deleted]

Oh I slept SO well last night! LOL!

Peace, they're asking me to travel, frankly, I don't feel the need to find a hostel. I could argue for a hotel but it's also nice to be with my colleagues. We get along well. If they can't meet my very reasonable needs, next year, I'll insist on a hotel.

It's a relief to see that I'm not the only one with a pea-sized bladder!

SS, my boss said exactly the same thing you did. "Well, that was an experience, and visibly a very unpleasant one that you could have lived without."

There were three of us in the residence (the other teachers are local). The other two were supposed to share a room. I had told the woman in charge of our accomodation that I won't share a room with colleagues. So she gave me my own (dorm) room, and put my two colleagues in the same room. When they found out, one of them (not the Yente, the other one) insisted on having her own room as well. Seriously, making colleagues share a room in nearly empty, FREE student accomodation?! Ridiculous!

So we'll see what happens next year. If I get a first-floor room only two flights up and near a bathroom, that's fine. If not, I'll insist on a hotel.

At that point, i said i would rather pay for my own room than share a room with a stranger.

Viola, I nearly told them the same thing, except that in my case, the issue was having a bathroom on the same floor. If push came to shove I'd probably do it, but they don't need to know that in advance.

By the way, this is a four-story building (so six flights up) with three rooms on each floor except the ground floor, so nine rooms. There are two communal bathrooms that alternate with two communal kitchens.

I'd MUCH rather be on the same floor as the bathroom, and walk up / down to the kitchen ONCE a day for breakfast! (Lunch was provided at school, and the three of us each had a dinner allowance.)

Thanks everybody for sharing your stories!

[alabamagal]

I just passed up on the joy of staying in a college dorm. My youngest is going to orientation tomorrow and Tues. Since school is ~4 hours away, they put the parents in dorms (separate from students). I'm not going for several reasons, for one I was not looking forward to being in a dorm. At DS school, though, the dorms are way better than when I was in college, mostly 4 BR/2BA apartments, some with double beds. The school he goes to is a fast growing state school, some of the older schools have old type dorms.

My other son also goes to the same school, and he offered to let me stay in his house - 1950s era run down house with 6 guys living there (most gone for the summer). I thaked him for the offer, but no way would I stay there!

Worked it out so older DS is taking younger DS to orientation.

[Deleted]

Nazgul, after that first night, I totally lit into her. After the second night, she came up to me again, and said, "So, are you enjoying your stay here?" I said, "Are you joking? Or do you really want to know that last night I had to pee only once, so yes, I slept a bit better than the night before?!"

I'm VERY happy at my job, except for this incident. So they are TOTALLY not used to me complaining.

My two colleagues are going back tonight for another week of it. I only signed up for one week out of the two because a friend asked me to help him at his school, and I didn't want to leave my family any longer than I felt I "had" to. So I did last week at the main campus of "my" school, and I'm doing this week at my friend's school. (I'm doing oral interviews in English for prospective students.)

That means getting up very early, putting in very long days, but sleeping in my own bed, with my DH, and my ensuite bathroom LOL.

[roselia]

College days are a blast of fun.

[Deleted]

College days are a blast of fun.

Especially when you're that age! LOL

[Deleted]

Jun 3, 2012 17:03:47 GMT -5 @roselia said:

College days are a blast of fun.

No, now the drugs are a lot more dangerous, the music isn't as good and you can get stuff penicillin can't cure. I want the 70s back!

[greenstone]

I can totally understand wanting decent accommodations as well as single occupancy when traveling for work. When I am on travel, I work very long and physically demanding days. The last thing I want is to wait to shower or brush my teeth, listen to other people talk on the phone as I am trying to unwind, or wait for someone to turn off the light or TV when I want to sleep.

When I started working with my company (early 90s) it was just becoming standard for people to have their own rooms on travel. I am so thankful for that because although it is not as cost effective it makes a huge difference mentally, even to have just a few minutes to yourself at the end of the day.

To put it in perspective though: The last work trip I was on, I shared a room probably no bigger than your dorm room with 5 other coworkers (both sexes, in bunk beds no less ). We were 2 hrs offshore, at a fish camp. It was a protected wildlife area (fish camp was grandfathered in, so these were 5-star accommodations for the area) but you had to bag your TP and double .

[roselia]

Jun 3, 2012 17:07:01 GMT -5 @debthaven2 said:

College days are a blast of fun.

Especially when you're that age! LOL

So you say, debthaven2. Being blessed with education during youth is something different than old age when one has to face it with other responsibilities. I have seen grandparents attending college and sitting in the same class as teenagers. It may be embarrassing at a certain degree but education has no age limits.

[roselia]

Jun 3, 2012 18:38:56 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Jun 3, 2012 17:03:47 GMT -5 @roselia said:

College days are a blast of fun.

No, now the drugs are a lot more dangerous, the music isn't as good and you can get stuff penicillin can't cure. I want the 70s back!

How are the drugs a lot more dangerous than before?

I agree with the music being rubbish nowadays.

[wvugurl26]

Jun 4, 2012 8:45:31 GMT -5 @roselia said:

Jun 3, 2012 17:07:01 GMT -5 @debthaven2 said:

College days are a blast of fun.

Especially when you're that age! LOL

So you say, debthaven2. Being blessed with education during youth is something different than old age when one has to face it with other responsibilities. I have seen grandparents attending college and sitting in the same class as teenagers. It may be embarrassing at a certain degree but education has no age limits.

Going to class is a much different animal than staying in a dorm. Debt wasn't referring to the education portion.

[973beachbum]

Jun 1, 2012 23:37:14 GMT -5 wvugurl26 said:

I've been spoiled. Before I started at my public accounting firm they stopped sharing rooms. They decided spending 12+ hours around each during tax season was enough, that everyone should have a room to retreat to.

At my current job we get our own rooms.

That sounds like a nightmare debt! Even the crappiest dorms at my school had at least one bathroom for each sex on the floor if they were mixed sex floors.

My experience is inbetween yours and Debt's. Every company I have worked for if you traveled and had to stay overnight you stayed in a hotel. If more than one of us was traveling to the same place, and were the same sex, you HAD to share. The option to pay for your own room was never brought up. It was always a Hilton or something like it though. I know I wouldn't have wanted to put out the money to just pay for my own rather than share.

I remember a couple of time when four or six of us girls would go to a seminar or confrence. We asked for ajoining rooms so we could stay up and gab. It was quite fun actually. There was an elevator and each room had a bathroom in it though!

[moxie]

"I want the 70s back!"

WOOT!!

[Deleted]

Jun 4, 2012 8:47:58 GMT -5 @roselia said:

How are the drugs a lot more dangerous than before?

Roselia, I've been told that the pot is a lot more concentrated now and leaves you in a complete stupor instead of just buzzed enough to be funny. I have not tested this out, even when DH and I went to Amsterdam. I don't need something that makes me sleepy and leaves me craving junk food. Now there seems to be a lot more dangerous substances like ecstasy, meth and crack being used as recreational drugs.

973Beachbum, your trip with all the adjoining rooms sounds like fun, but clearly you were at ease with your roommates. There are some female co-workers with whom I wouldn't mind sharing a room on a business trip, but I'd sure want it to be my choice and not my employer's. How do they decide who gets stuck with the snorer?

[roselia]

Hi Athena,

I assume we are talking about the illegal drugs here. I am sure one can administer any types of drugs. Perhaps these recreational drugs are more readily available in the market than before?