I just got back late last night from a trip back home and to Exeter, which was quite good but didn’t last nearly long enough. I do miss all my friends at home and at school who are not with me here in D.C. But, back on topic:

A few weeks ago Yale had us send in our online housing forms from whence they would somehow divine our room / suite pairings for freshman year. I had envisioned this as a lengthy and arcane form which would require days of thought. To my relief and dismay, it was short and sweet. It’s not that I was looking for a painful experience, but I was somewhat incredulous that so short a series of questions could make for good match ups. We will see. In the meanwhile, you may imagine who I might end up with from my answers, posted below. Bolded are my reactions to what I perceive to be shortcomings in the questions, or a lack of granularity.

Name: Samuel Alexander Berge Jackson

Check those characteristics that apply to you:
Go to bed early (before midnight):
Often stay up late at night: yes
Here begins the sinking feeling upon realizing that ‘late’ has many different definitions…
Unusually neat:
Is this OCD, or hygienic? Teenager standards, or parental?
Unusually sloppy:
Play music: yes
Type of music: eclectic, world

Check those characteristics that would bother you in a roommate:
Go to bed early (before midnight): yes
Often stay up late at night:
Unusually neat:
Unusually sloppy: yes
Play music:
see, it’s not that I want them not to play music, but rather that I don’t want them to play bad music. but how do I describe that?
Type of music: country

Oh, right. :)

Do you smoke?: no

This is how my mom answered her freshman year. She got a smoker who wanted a nonsmoker so it would be easier for her to quit.

Which description most closely approximates your expectations for your suite?: 2
1 = A quiet zone used almost exclusively for studying, resting, and sleeping.
2 = A generally calm environment where traffic is limited during peak study hours but is more active on weekends.
3 = A spontaneously social space; neither a study hall, nor a regular hive of activity.
4 = A vibrant social hub that other students visit throughout the week, with residents studying outside the room.
5 = None of the above.

How do you think others would describe you?:
Eccentric, good-humored, sarcastic, liberal, passionate, honest, inquisitive, curious, cynical

Describe your extracurricular interests:

Hobbies:
Bonsai, POLITICS, bocce, hiking, dogs, social justice, comedy, nature, trees, environment, learning, writing

do capital letters make it through the paperwork?

Sports:
Intermurals: soccer, mountain biking, hiking

Student groups:
Debate, Political Union, Newspaper, student government

Describe your academic interests:
My interests are inherently interdisciplinary, but within my very broad interests I have a specific passion for politics, writing, and also science and technology.

Wish me luck, which in this context I suppose means make sacrifices of animal entrails to the fickle matchmaking gods.