Sleeping Problems

Scott Hardie | September 25, 2001
I don't like people who take advantage of generosity. Especially my generosity.

Last week I was on a messed up schedule, as usual. I got up on Saturday night at 8pm when the phone rang. It was some friends saying they were leaving their place to come over here and game, as planned. They arrived, we gamed, whatever. Kelly went to bed in the bedroom at 1:30am and Jesse (who's staying with us for a few weeks) went to sleep on the guest bed around 2am, and Kat fell asleep on the couch shortly afterwards. Jon and Dave stayed up playing The Sims with me. I asked Jon at 3:30am if he wanted to stay the night on the couch, and he said, "Yeah, if it's okay." (Jon is not welcome to stay here any more after this because he doesn't ask. I thought it was just a spontaneous offer on my part to invite him, but we found out from a friend that he'd been planning on Saturday afternoon to sleep at our place that night. He never asked. He rarely does. No more.)

As we played The Sims, Dave started acting really sleepy around 4:30am. He was yawning and acting like he was going to pass out, so I asked him if he wanted to go to sleep. He said yes. He and Kat sleep here in the office when they stay the night, so they moved in a mattress and went to bed. I told Dave in advance that, since I'd gotten up at 8pm, I'd be up all night with nothing to do, and he said, "Sorry, man."

After using the bathroom and closing down the house for the night, I laid in bed next to Kelly at 5am. An hour later, I was still awake, so I decided to get some work done. Dave and Kat were sleeping in the room with my computer, so I couldn't use that, but at least I could get some paper and work on a game or something. I went to get my school bag, which was sitting by the office door, and I heard Dave and Kat having sex in the office. (This was 6am, ninety minutes after Dave was ready to pass out.)

I don't mind them having sex in here. This room is hardly sacred, and it's not even my mattress. It doesn't bother me at all. But I gave up my computer and my office so that Dave could get some sleep, and an hour and a half later he's still awake, fucking his girlfriend. I sat in an armchair in the living room and listened to them fucking and chatting. They finally quieted down at 6:30am.

I sat in the armchair until 7am, went for a drive until 8:30am, then worked on a game until 10:30am, when Kelly woke up. Since Kelly was in the office, Jon was in the living room, Jesse was in the dining room, and Dave and Kat were in the office, there was nowhere for me to go where I could make noise. I had to sit in silence the entire time, doing nothing that could disturb anyone.

My sleeping difficulties have been a problem for years, and I don't blame anyone but myself for a) me having to be quiet, and b) me not having anyone to whom to talk. But if Dave and Kat had left at 4:30am, instead of acting sleepy and using my own generosity to kick me out of my office, I could have at least worked on my computer all morning and gotten a lot of work done.

Fuck Dave and Kat. They are no longer welcome to sleep here. These people come over here every weekend, drink my soda, sleep in various rooms in my house, and only marginally give me any say in what we're doing that weekend. On top of that, Jon and especially Dave are power-gamers (aka munchkins), and their playing habits are getting to be more than a nuisance. Jesse and Kelly and I are on the verge of finding a different gaming group. The shock to Dave and Kat and Jon if we ditched them wouldn't be the point, but it would be damn nice.

Lori Lancaster | October 1, 2001
[hidden by request]

Scott Hardie | October 3, 2001
Thanks for the comment. I didn't know if anybody was going to say anything. Yes, I was just venting, but so few comments are left in this weblog these days.I told Dave the next day to go home if he has the energy to stay up "talking" to his girlfriend all night. (I did hear them talking till 6:30.) He said sure and he hasn't asked to stay over since. He's done some bad things since then and I don't think he'll be coming over much any more. :-|