Those of you with keen memories will recall my brief mention of the new roomie situation I am in this year. I promised to return to the topic, and return, I have. I will now share with you a tale that will chill you to the bone, that will make your hair stand on end, and your blood run cold...


Just kidding! In all truthfulness, the story of how Heidi became my roommate can only be described as a miracle.

About the time I was preparing to come home from Seattle, I had applied to the U of Winnipeg, had lined up several summer jobs for when I returned home, and, in typical Kelly fashion, I was already turning my concerns and attention several months down the road to my planned move to Winnipeg, and, of course, the details surrounding it.

Where to live? Who to live with? Well, I knew what I wanted. An apartment. A roommate (female. Christian.) Independence. The ability to have friends over, come home late, and cook or not cook as I feel so inclined.

My lovely ex-roommate Sarah (my little Sarita!) had, of course, made new living arrangements when I left for Seattle. So she was out... I kept going down the list. It turns out, I have a million girlfriends in Winnipeg, and they're all pretty well settled here; no one was looking for a new roomie!

Fast forward several months... It's late July. I've been accepted into the Faculty of Education, I'm feeling peace and confidence about my future (a first for me), and I'm just a few short weeks of moving... where? Oh crap! Still no roommate! Still no apartment! Cue the panic!

In a last-ditch effort to pull my life together, I embark on a long-shot... à la random friend from Ontario, the amazing Eric Dick! Literally hours before beginning my arduous, many-legged journey back across the continent, through Seattle, to Managua, Nicaragua with my dear American friends from Focus Youth, I happened upon Eric on MSN, and asked him, could he please ask his sister Heidi (whom at this point I'd met twice; once in Ontario, and once in Seattle!) if any of the girls from her site (Outtatown) might be looking for a female, Christian roommate in Winnipeg for the fall. Eric kindly informed me that Heidi herself had already made arrangements, and that frankly, asking her friends was a pretty big long-shot (thanks, Captain Obvious!) but said that he would of course ask for me... discouraged, and with panic rising, I signed off, finished packing, drove off to Winnipeg, embarked a plane to Calgary, to Abbotsford, met my dear Minta for some dinner and a ride back to Sno-ho, where I hung at the Jensens’ for several hours, saw Benny briefly, got a ride to Bothell, met the crew at the church, loaded into a van, and got on my third flight of the day, the 10hr one to from Seattle to Nicaragua. FUN TIMES!

The trip was great, the youth were AWESOME, so good to see... man, I miss those crazies.... and about mid-way through the trip I got a chance to check my e-mail... YAY!

Imagine my surprise when I open my inbox to see an e-mail from none other than Eric "Hot Stuff" Dick (yeah... made that nickname part up just now) entitled "apartement" (don't ask me why "Hot Stuff" can't spell)!

Basically, the long and short of it was that somehow, over the course of the some-odd days since I'd chatted with Eric last, Heidi's airtight plans for a roommate had fallen through, and she was frantically looking for a replacement since she had already put a security deposit down on an apartment on Pembina Hwy close to the UofM (where she was planning on going).

Over the next several days, some rudimentary "get-to-know-ya" e-mails were sent back and forth, along with the obligatory apartment details; rent costs, location, etc; and to sum it all up, by the time my similarly-fragmented return trip from Managua had deposited me back in Winnipeg, I had appointment set up with Pembina Place apartments and Heidi's boyfriend Ben to check out the place and put my signature on a lease.

Oh, how I LOVE those moments! You know the ones... the ones where you have been waiting in limbo, in the midst of an overwhelming conundrum, in need of something that you have no earthly way of attaining, looking for a solution that is completely beyond your means and out of your hands... those moments where you have for once given things completely over to God... and have the incredible blessing of receiving the most perfect, unique, personalized gift straight from His hands! How blessed am I that that is exactly how it's happened with both my roommates thus far?

September rolls around and to Winnipeg I come... get my Mac (yay!), get moved in, get settled, and get acquainted with my roomie....

I guess the one thing you should consider, when moving in with Eric Dick's sister, is that she's Eric Dick's sister. And the apple apparently doesn't fall from the... other apple. Sooooooo... If Eric happens to enjoy bullying you as a pastime.... guess what Heidi might enjoy as well? If Eric happens to enjoy throwing things at you... what do you think living with his sister might be like? And if Eric has spent the vast majority of his life thus far inflicting light-hearted torment on those closest to him.... where might Heidi have learned it all?

I've been keeping a mental tally of all the cruel and hostile things Heidi has done to me lately, just so's I can keep a constant gauge on the abuse, which to date includes:
-heat deprivation: hydro costs a ton at our place, so my Nazi/Mennonite roommate (wow- bet those 3 words have never been linked quite like that before!) has decided that we just won't use any heat till either our possessions gather frost or our refrigerator unit is deemed superfluous.
-the afore-mentioned chucking things at me: usually soft things, but she does have a pair of skates so I'm concerned.
-calling me names: not them nice, fluffy pet names, either.... mean ones!

Those of you who are concerned for my welfare, don't worry; Child and Family Services has been notified, and they've informed me that they couldn't care less....

And in truth, Heidi's and my differences are, in truth, really just nuances.
She bullies, and I rant.
She studies, and I... don't.
She bakes constantly, and I talk about cooking. (It's a beautiful concept, isn't it?)
She sleeps all night, and I sleep all morning.
She owns a Dell (shudder!), I own a Mac.
She goes to UofM, I go to UWinnipeg.
She's got a boyfriend with a car, and I'm married to public transit.
She works out at the gym, and I... swing dance!
She plays hockey and soccer, and I play acoustic guitar (poorly).
She loves America's Next Top Model, and I'm ALL about Survivor.

Heidi and I thrive on, I think, on the principle that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
We're both benefiting from each other's unique and peculiar characteristics. I've started watching America's Next Top Model (okay, so I used to be a closet fan), and Heidi's getting quite into this season of Survivor (sniff... I'm so proud)! She lets me eat her baking, and if I ever actually start cooking, she'll be the first to taste it (actually, let's not lie, she'll probably be the second). And she's even very generously offered to lend me Ben in certain contexts to fend off creepy guys... don't think she actually ran that one by Ben first, but her heart's in the right place, nonetheless. Ben's given me rides before (THANKS BEN!), and I've tried to help Heidi become less hopeless with Winnipeg's Bus System.

Now let's be serious; some things will likely never change. It's unlikely she'll ever stop her Eric-like teasing, and I'll probably remain unable to refrain from ranting about tech support, boy troubles, commercials that I object to "on principle", and pretty much everything that crosses my stream of consciousness. She's not taking up swing dance anytime soon, and it would take an act of God to make me see exercise as even remotely worth the effort. I think UofM is the devil, and Heidi thinks my Mac is "just being difficult!"

So here's the breakdown; Heidi and I are very good for each other.

Plus, she's a fun time. She puts up with me when I barge into her room every 10 minutes with a new thought to share, my messy ways and the 1-week intervals between my dish-washing binges. She indulges my whims, including hosting a birthday party with an unusual premise and a quite random and extensive guest list. She wakes me up in the mornings on those occasions where it's absolutely necessary that I awaken on time. And in return, she gets free access to all the random shows I've dowloaded onto my Mac, use of the printer, and... yup, that's pretty much all I've got to offer.

Life with Heidi so far has been much more colorful than I could have possibly imagined, and for a girl whom I'd talked to only twice and exchanged about a half-dozen e-mails with prior to September, she's been pretty dang incredible!

Heidi, I'm turning 21 today. I'm entering into a new phase of my life, and it's about time I started putting my foot down. We've discussed this before, but I think it's important to let you know, Heidi, that as of today, there's a NEW sheriff in town.... me! That's right, Heidi, starting NOW, I'm gonna be the one ruling the roost! It may take you some time, but soon, you'll be singing the praises of this new system! That's right! I'm reclaiming authority over the thermostat! We're going to live in toasty, roasty happiness from this day forth!

Folks, wish me luck. This could get messy. (And expensive).

P.S. 15 Kelly-points if you can find and identify the little "bonus" in this post.