Rock, Paper, Scissors

Meet Jimmy


Jimmy is from Salt Lake and is an extremely talented musician and snowboarder. We call him “Little Jimmy” because when the rest of us eat 13 inch pizzas, he orders a 9 inch pizza. It’s pretty cute. :)

Meet Nate


Nate was born in the States but has grown up in Paris, and besides knowing four languages, he is an avid soccer player. We call him the “Octopus”—I’ll get to that.

And then there is me.


They call me Grandpa Ben because of my wisdom and maturity. What?! You don’t buy that?! Okay, okay, you’re right. It is really just because of my old man jokes. Hey, I’ve had 22 years of learning from the best. Thanks Dad! :)

Nate and I have known each other for a couple of years, and we met Jimmy when we first arrived in Nanjing. After our adventure of finding an apartment, we three ended up living together. I have been really grateful for them this semester, and I would say that it has been a peaceful and contention-free semester—if it wasn’t for just one thing.

Our apartment only has two beds.

We, of course, knew this when we signed the contract, but after searching for three days and wanting to find a place before school started, we decided to deal with the sleeping situation later.

Conventional wisdom suggests that we divide up the semester into three equal periods of time; therefore each roommate would equally get the single bed. However, we were so exhausted the first night, we decided to play a friendly game of “rock, paper, scissors” to determine who would get the single room that night. Nate won and after a little trash talking, he retired to the single room with a smile.

It was too late to turn back. Our competitive juices were flowing, and we determined that night that “rock, paper, scissors” would be the way we would divide the sleeping arrangements for the remainder of the semester.

It didn’t take long for Jimmy and me to realize that we did not like sharing a bed with Nate! We started calling him the “Octopus.” Not only does Nate always end up sleeping completely diagonally across the bed, but I have woken up this semester with his hand on my stomach, his foot resting on my feet, and his feet curled up in my blanket! It even got to the point where Jimmy started putting wooden stools (“cages”) in the middle of the bed to shield himself from Nate. It was a nice thought, but a couple of wooden stools did nothing to stop the “Octopus.”


To make matters worse, Nate had somehow ripped the bed sheets on the single bed, and the hole was getting larger by the day. As the weather got colder, it also became apparent that the room with the double bed was a little warmer. Jimmy and I, not wanting to spend another $3 to replace bed sheets for only one month’s time (you can buy 10 bags of Skittles with that kind of money!), not wanting to be cold at night, and finally not wanting to have to deal with the “Octopus” once and for all, I suggested that we put our differences behind us and give Nate the single room for the rest of the semester. Nate begrudgingly accepted the consequences of his own actions.

Since then, Nate has liked having his own bed and has actually grown accustomed to sleeping on a dirty mattress. As for me, I have thoroughly enjoyed my peaceful, clean, nightly rests without the fear of the “Octopus.”


Everyone is happy, and peace has been established again. :)