Setting a new record for moving...

I moved into a new dorm today, thank goodness. It took a little bit of work this time. I wanted to make sure I made it into a peaceful, quiet dorm and had to wait for a bunk to open up in the right place and the right time to talk to the guy who would move me. After a couple of weeks of vigilance, I was rewarded with a bottom bunk in a big cell in a quiet pod with a few friends.

My new cellie is a short, stocky black guy named Freddy. I know who he is from his frequent visits to the library and I know he's a decent guy. He was excited to see me, I guess because I'm an easy access to books and a different sort of guy than most in here.

This first night I was invited to a table where five other guys were playing a card game. If we game this much I'm sure I ended up in a good spot!

Staying put

I learned today that the shower crew move is not going to happen. I went to the lieutenant's office to comment on a grievance I had written and as I was leaving, I asked how soon we night be moved. He replied that he had tried hard to make it happen, but the higher-ups had rejected his idea. Instead, they want to put two shower crew in each dorm. I doubt that would work well because the dorm janitors in each dorm already don't do their job, which in turn makes our job harder.

As much as I would have liked to move, it's not a big deal that we're staying put. It was surprising and flattering, that I was asked to help create it in the first place. The other guys have poked fun that I am respected more by the third shift guards (our shower crew supervisors). It's just been hard work and respect from me that has put me in their favor. If the other guys would not mouth off and would do their assigned job, they would build some rapport with the guards. Instead, they shirk their duties at every opportunity and hurl insults for no reason.

On the move - again!

Terrible events have transpired today. The Q1 crew of shower workers was moved to a new dorm that is three times as big and ten times as loud. This is the dorm that we would hear beating on the wall and rapping from our old dorm, Q1.

I was called out of my trigonometry class for reasons unknown to me until I got to my dorm. Everyone inside was busy packing their stuff to move. We all were miffed by the move. We lost our small quiet dorm with better treatment from guards because we were small and quiet.

I tried to present our complaints to one of the lieutenants tonight at work. I made the point that most of us that were moved have classes, so we need a quiet environment for study and for our strange sleep schedules. Also, we have probably the worst job on the unit and are the only job without perks- laundry gets clothes, kitchen gets food, maintenance gets commissary runs for ice cream. The lieutenant said he tried to keep us all on the south wing where we had been but higher ups gave the thumbs down. There was nothing he could do from here.

When I got back to the new dorm I drafted a request to the major, asking him to consider moving us back to the south wing and gave him a few valid arguments - at least we, the shower crew, think they're valid. Then all the guys that moved copied the letter in their own words. I'm hoping that the mob of requests will be heard. This dorm is not a good fit. The new season of The Office reruns started tonight, but basketball games were watched instead. In our old dorm, this would havebeen an outrage, but here it's life as usual.

New Roomies

I came back from my morning anthropology class and half the dorm had move slips. All but one of the new guys moved out and the one that stayed is trying to move. That means no more yelling at the TV during football games and banging beats all night. Maybe I'll get some sleep.

One of the guys that moved in is a friend and fellow nerd. We're also in the anthropology class together so I can help him study. That addition makes the dorm more interesting, at least for me. It will be nice to have a guy to talk games, movies, and books with.