Dwelling

This is the image of roommates who found success at roommatehub.com. Why are these online engines that pair people with homes so absurd? The only reasonable means of finding a place to live (when it is not spoon fed to you by family or "work," incl. "school") is something like Craig's List. Its lifeblood is the inherent ambiguity of every post.

Who counts as "alternative-thinking"? Why are there no-pets-allowed when I would be sharing a living room with two African Grey parrots? Why are the only posted pictures close-ups of the toilet and the walk-in closet? Sure, I "drink socially," but what does "smoking socially" mean? (Am I allowed to pop pills "socially"?) Doesn't "furnished" mean "with furniture"? How much of this rent is associated with the "AMAZING VIEW"? How am I supposed to gauge my "laid-backness" against a two-paragraph description of your "creative" hobbies? Why do you have digitized blueprints of your shoddy little apartment, where the room I would be living in is highlighted in red?

These listings are like online slam poetry. How on earth am I supposed to locate brilliant, pot-smoking, Foucault-reading, home-cooking, Seattle-savvy roomates? And what do I need in a living space? How am I supposed to dwell for three months in an unknown land? In the library? If, today, "it is part of morality not to be at home in one's home," (Minima Moralia, 39) should I even be wasting my time worrying about finding the right living situation? Which is better: 'two quiet, male academics' or 'a girl who is not home very often'? Is proximity to campus a more relevant criterion than the coincidence of interests?

Obviously, the step forward is the initiation of a dialogue with the potential roommate/landlord.
But how do I engage with these people without clinging to two already-formed if-fuzzy images: the ideal situation (my identity); and the situation your craigslist posting already outlined (your identity). Obviously shit is going to get fucked up when I move in. Am I supposed to predict and deal with that interaction, or am I supposed not be 'home' when you're 'home'?