That’s Stella

I’m in a pickle. So my Girl Travel Buddy (GTB) is back from her jaunt around Europe. She’s been away for a month. Before she left for Europe, we said goodbye to Boy Travel Buddy (BTB) as he went back to Perth and that was sad because it was like the three amigos had split up.

Anyway GTB is staying at my apartment for a week till she gets herself settled and that is totally cool - obviously. Luckily for her my house mates are also cool about this. But now she has decided she is going to stay in a hostel for the rest of the month. It’s kinda sucky, but she can’t stay in my apartment as this isn’t fair to my house mates. It’s a tiny apartment as it is with 3 people living in it, let along 4 or 5 (we have another guest coming to stay this month). To be fair, there was a vacant room in our apartment and I offered it to GTB but she didn’t want to commit to anything and NOW she’s screwed herself over.

Now in May, I’m moving into my new apartment. And GTB wants to share the apartment with me and at first I was cool with this because she’d pay half the rent, but since having her stay with me this week, I don’t know if this is going to work out. At least in this apartment, despite how cramped it is, there are separate rooms and a lounge room. GTB is really incapable of going out on her own and exploring the city, so I feel like she is constantly with me 24/7!! The other night I was SO cranky because I cooked us lunch and it would’ve been NICE of her to offer to help wash the dishes. So I started washing and she offered to wash the dishes and I said OK. The next night the dishes were still there and when I asked about them, she said she was “taking back” her offer to wash the dishes. So I ended up cleaning! FRICK! I asked if she wouldn’t mind hanging in the lounge room for 30 minutes because I needed “Me time” and she acted all offended.

I mean, despite how annoying she can be sometimes (hell, I am too) I actually don’t want to hate her after May so I told her she MIGHT need to find her own place. My new place is a nice studio, but there are no rooms and no privacy and place for personal time! Plus admittedly, I was really looking forward to having my own place.

Of course I feel terrible because she doesn’t have any friends here in NY except me, but she’s not exactly trying either. If we live together in May, I’m not going to be able to go out with my friends on my own because I’ll feel bad about leaving her at home and honestly, I don’t want to become like a two-person act. I discussed this with her tonight after I came home from a date, and told her that there was no way one could go out without inviting the other, and she said “But I let you go out on your own tonight!” and I had to remind her IT WAS A DATE and not inviting her was a given!

It is a wonder how we travelled for 7 weeks together living in small hotel rooms or relatives bedrooms, but I think we survived because Boy Travel Buddy was our buffer.

Plus… I must admit I am a little bitter she has seemed to bypassed the most excruciating experience that New Yorkers go through - apartment hunting. I feel like she waits for me to find a cushy place and then decides to join the party. It is definitely a lesson everyone should experience to really appreciate and love your home!

What do you think? Is it better to be a good person and let her live with my in May but hate her at the end of it? Or ask her to find her own place and still remain friends?