Ty

51 yo single gay male. Educated, respectful, open-minded, easy-going, who has lived with 1 or more roommate(s) for 18 of my 33 years as an adult (3.5 years married to my ex-wife and 11.5 years with my former domestic partner account for the remaining 15 years). I am exceptionally averse to drama, meaning I cause zero amount of it and I’ve work hard but pleasantly as possible to quickly de-escalate the rare occasions a roommate has felt cause to stir up said drama and direct it toward me.

I take responsibilities for my occasional faux pas, and practice generous graciousness in allowing for the faux pas of those with whom I share living space. I respect that your home is your sanctuary from the crap beyond your control, just as my home is that for me. I am intentional about doing my part to treat that shared reality as sacred.

One critical area that is an example of the above, is I keep as close to a zero footprint in common spaces as I can possibly do, especially as it relates to helping keep routine cleaning a regular thing and even more so I practice a “leave it better than you found it” policy when it comes to my kitchen usage. If I have to leave a dish in the sink due to something imminent on my schedule pulling me away from home, I at minimum will remove all food particulate from the dish so that if someone wishes to empty the sink before my return they will find it light work to do so with the item(s) I regrettably had to leave there. It goes without saying, such items get washed or properly stored in the dishwasher immediately upon my return. Also, if I am washing my dish(es) I will typically wash any additional items I find in the sink without complaint. My aversion to dirty dishes is my personal preference, and I will always happily wash what I find there long before I gripe to whoever left it there as if my standard should be their standard. On the rare occasions I have had a roommate who is just addicted to leaving dirty dishes with food and beverage unrinsed for multiple meals/snacking sessions, I have had a judgment-free conversation with them to see what mutually agreeable protocol can be reached to where they are being a bit more mindful and I am happy to help bring my greater discipline to an area where theirs is a bit more lax. We all have areas where discipline comes more naturally to us than others, and I’ve found if there is goodwill present it is not difficult to strike a complimentary balance of support for one another where applicable.

My work has always been cyclical with the credit markets, but I have never been late with a rent payment. If funds are tight, its my responsibility to make sure that is my reality to navigate alone, not one that becomes part of my roommate’s(s’) body of life concerns. I’ll sell a kidney before I let that happen; though I am happy to report both kidneys are still with me, albeit not as ideally hydrated as they should be if my primary care physician is to be believed.

Finally, I have a fur baby that is a package deal for sure. Nugget is a 1.5 year old French Bulldog and she is the love of my life at this late juncture of my life’s journey. She can be kennelled while I am gone without issue, and I clean up after her. She is an alpha female, and as is the wont for her breed, insanely entitled. I keep an eye out for loose items be they mine or yours left where she might decide they are the perfect thing to leave chewed up on my pillow to let me know I have wronged her in one eggregious way or another. Should she get the better of me on that with something of yours, I will without hesitation prioritize restitution. Though, unless your heart is two sizes too small (and even then as I recall The Grinch did love his dog), you’ll probably count the loss worth the snuggles and cuddles she was born to bring into the lives of her humans to counter the struggles of cold outside world of ours she’ll never need to navigate herself.