Roommates revel in common interests
By Joanne Fox Journal staff writer | Posted: Sunday, September 30, 2007
It's Sunday night and finally the four Morningside College roommates were together in the room, at the same time, able to interact, seated comfortably watching football.
On the television was the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears game but there was no reveling in the Cowboys' repeated touchdowns or the Bears' interceptions, sacks and lack of scoring.
"See, we all have Fantasy Football teams," explained Troy Weber. "So we focus on the players."
"I have T.O. who hopefully will make a T.D.!" Brady Helmink quipped, referring to Terrell Owens of the Cowboys, "and I have the Dallas quarterback."
"I have the Dallas defense," Nick McGraw explained of his fantasy team.
"This game doesn't mean anything to me," Derek Nolan said. "I have other teams."
The four suitemates -- Helmink, McGraw, Nolan and Weber -- talked about the commonalities that bring them together and the challenges that take them away from interacting in Lags Hall, the brand-new Morningside dorm which opened with the school year.
"Brady and I hosted some basketball players from Atlanta the school was scouting, so that took up a lot of our time," Weber said.
"The funniest thing was they kept saying 'pounding,' which means 'eating' down there," Weber continued. "Can you imagine saying to some girl you wanted to go out 'pounding' with her?"
"That might get you a first date," Nolan said dryly.
"It won't get you a second date!" Helmink emphasized, while the others convulsed in laughter.
"I had a chance to go to St. Louis and see the Cardinals play a couple weeks ago, so that took me away," Helmink added.
"There was a college choir retreat, you know, for team bonding," McGraw pointed out.
"I'm just busy with my job," Nolan explained of his R.A. responsibilities.
"We all went to the hypnotist," Weber said, then all broke into a chorus of being huge volleyball supporters.
"Girls across the hall are volleyball players, so we go to as many of the games as we can," Nolan said. "Even the away ones."
The guys insisted they try their best to coordinate activities and schedules, including eating meals together. They all keep track of college opportunities that provide socialization and sometimes are obligated through their own activities to participate.
"We have such different schedules that it seems we're never all together in the room," Helmink noted. "I'd enjoy it if we could see each other more often."
"Sometimes we have basketball practice at 6 a.m.," Weber said. "That can throw everything off."
"I work in the admission office which is another commitment," McGraw said. "And then I have like three tests tomorrow, which I should be studying for."
Sharing secrets
Clearly enjoying each other's company, the four guys were in a good enough mood to start sharing secrets. When asked if they forgot any necessities, McGraw of Sioux City, broke out in laughter, while Nolan squeezed out, "Nothing!" in response.
"If I did, my home is only three minutes away," he said. "It's tougher on the other guys."
"Fabric softener," Weber said of what he left behind in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
"My folks came up to see my sister and brought me jackets and sweatpants," Helmink said. "The weather got cool quicker than I thought it would."
"OK, I originally forgot my pillows," Nolan said before anyone else revealed the oversight. "I just bought new ones."
The guys said they would be more than gracious if someone needed something.
"Whose shorts do you have on?" Nolan pointedly asked McGraw, who just looked away with no response.
At first the guys hedged on if they were brand-driven, then began the finger-pointing.
"Nick is ..." Weber began.
"Oh, yeah, because I spend 50 cents more on Crest," McGraw interrupted, perhaps having to previously justify his toothpaste choice.
"I don't have a problem with Equate," Weber countered, referring to a store brand.
"It's Brady!" Nolan proclaimed, to which Helmink sheepishly hung his head. "He's all into O'Neill and Healy!"
"Yeah!" Weber said, but was quickly put in his place due to the Abercrombie shirt he was wearing.
The sharing was taken one step further when Weber decided he didn't like his hair-do and bought a product called No Lye Relaxer. It seemed to work, so Nolan gave it a try and proclaimed the experience "awful!"
And since they were in the "tattling" mood, Weber shared "some big news" that made Helmink a bit uncomfortable.
"Yeah, Brady has been seeing someone," he said. "He comes back from seeing her with a big smile on his face."
"Here," Brady said to affirm Weber's announcement, displaying his cell phone with a text message which said, "Is the Lady Reporter still there?"
"Yeah, she needs her Brady-time," Weber teased and the others, including Helmink, laughed out loud.
Coming together
In the past, familiarity, classes and a variety of campus organizations were the reasons the four chose to room together for the 2007-08 school year. Now, they've expanded their interests. Helmink and Weber, the basketball players, have purchased guitars, and they demonstrated their new-found ability while McGraw accompanied them on the keyboard.
"For a vocal class I had to give someone lessons, so I gave Troy some vocal lessons," McGraw explained of the switch for Weber from sports to the fine arts.
"We thought it would be neat to learn some songs," Weber elaborated on the guitar acquisition. "I go online and find (guitar) tabs and then we practice."
"Troy has an amp that you can hear over at Lewis Hall," Helmink tattled, which Weber denied but the other three voted him down on the noise issue.
Another activity that brings the four together is Guitar Hero -- Nolan's contribution to the recreation side -- which is a video game that uses guitars as controllers.
To the Guns N' Roses song, "Sweet Child O' Mine," Helmink and Nolan demonstrated their expertise with the game. Their intensity was reflected in the incredibly high scores they racked up as their fingers flew across the guitars' surfaces.
"Nick and I are just at the medium level because we miss too much," Weber confessed as the action progressed and Helmink was the victor.
"Brady can't handle losing much," Weber pointed out, as he finished eating ice cream out of a Breyers' container and poured breakfast cereal right out of the box into his mouth.
"I can handle losing," Helmink said with a huge grin on his face, looking at Nolan, who just shrugged his shoulders.
"Not on Guitar Hero," Weber insisted, shaking the S'Mores box to rearrange the cereal before ingesting another mouthful.
Perhaps the individual who keeps the most balls juggling in the air is Nolan with his classes, organizations and responsibilities as an R.A.
"It's been a growing experience for me to be in this role," he admitted. "The guys have been very good about allowing me to vent and I'm very discreet in what I share with them."
"We understand and respect him for that," Helmink said of Nolan's accountability to the other 60 residents in Lags Hall. "Derek has to enforce the rules, especially early in the school year. He has to set the tone for what's expected if you live here."
On the television was the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears game but there was no reveling in the Cowboys' repeated touchdowns or the Bears' interceptions, sacks and lack of scoring.
"See, we all have Fantasy Football teams," explained Troy Weber. "So we focus on the players."
"I have T.O. who hopefully will make a T.D.!" Brady Helmink quipped, referring to Terrell Owens of the Cowboys, "and I have the Dallas quarterback."
"I have the Dallas defense," Nick McGraw explained of his fantasy team.
"This game doesn't mean anything to me," Derek Nolan said. "I have other teams."
The four suitemates -- Helmink, McGraw, Nolan and Weber -- talked about the commonalities that bring them together and the challenges that take them away from interacting in Lags Hall, the brand-new Morningside dorm which opened with the school year.
"Brady and I hosted some basketball players from Atlanta the school was scouting, so that took up a lot of our time," Weber said.
"The funniest thing was they kept saying 'pounding,' which means 'eating' down there," Weber continued. "Can you imagine saying to some girl you wanted to go out 'pounding' with her?"
"That might get you a first date," Nolan said dryly.
"It won't get you a second date!" Helmink emphasized, while the others convulsed in laughter.
"I had a chance to go to St. Louis and see the Cardinals play a couple weeks ago, so that took me away," Helmink added.
"There was a college choir retreat, you know, for team bonding," McGraw pointed out.
"I'm just busy with my job," Nolan explained of his R.A. responsibilities.
"We all went to the hypnotist," Weber said, then all broke into a chorus of being huge volleyball supporters.
"Girls across the hall are volleyball players, so we go to as many of the games as we can," Nolan said. "Even the away ones."
The guys insisted they try their best to coordinate activities and schedules, including eating meals together. They all keep track of college opportunities that provide socialization and sometimes are obligated through their own activities to participate.
"We have such different schedules that it seems we're never all together in the room," Helmink noted. "I'd enjoy it if we could see each other more often."
"Sometimes we have basketball practice at 6 a.m.," Weber said. "That can throw everything off."
"I work in the admission office which is another commitment," McGraw said. "And then I have like three tests tomorrow, which I should be studying for."
Sharing secrets
Clearly enjoying each other's company, the four guys were in a good enough mood to start sharing secrets. When asked if they forgot any necessities, McGraw of Sioux City, broke out in laughter, while Nolan squeezed out, "Nothing!" in response.
"If I did, my home is only three minutes away," he said. "It's tougher on the other guys."
"Fabric softener," Weber said of what he left behind in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
"My folks came up to see my sister and brought me jackets and sweatpants," Helmink said. "The weather got cool quicker than I thought it would."
"OK, I originally forgot my pillows," Nolan said before anyone else revealed the oversight. "I just bought new ones."
The guys said they would be more than gracious if someone needed something.
"Whose shorts do you have on?" Nolan pointedly asked McGraw, who just looked away with no response.
At first the guys hedged on if they were brand-driven, then began the finger-pointing.
"Nick is ..." Weber began.
"Oh, yeah, because I spend 50 cents more on Crest," McGraw interrupted, perhaps having to previously justify his toothpaste choice.
"I don't have a problem with Equate," Weber countered, referring to a store brand.
"It's Brady!" Nolan proclaimed, to which Helmink sheepishly hung his head. "He's all into O'Neill and Healy!"
"Yeah!" Weber said, but was quickly put in his place due to the Abercrombie shirt he was wearing.
The sharing was taken one step further when Weber decided he didn't like his hair-do and bought a product called No Lye Relaxer. It seemed to work, so Nolan gave it a try and proclaimed the experience "awful!"
And since they were in the "tattling" mood, Weber shared "some big news" that made Helmink a bit uncomfortable.
"Yeah, Brady has been seeing someone," he said. "He comes back from seeing her with a big smile on his face."
"Here," Brady said to affirm Weber's announcement, displaying his cell phone with a text message which said, "Is the Lady Reporter still there?"
"Yeah, she needs her Brady-time," Weber teased and the others, including Helmink, laughed out loud.
Coming together
In the past, familiarity, classes and a variety of campus organizations were the reasons the four chose to room together for the 2007-08 school year. Now, they've expanded their interests. Helmink and Weber, the basketball players, have purchased guitars, and they demonstrated their new-found ability while McGraw accompanied them on the keyboard.
"For a vocal class I had to give someone lessons, so I gave Troy some vocal lessons," McGraw explained of the switch for Weber from sports to the fine arts.
"We thought it would be neat to learn some songs," Weber elaborated on the guitar acquisition. "I go online and find (guitar) tabs and then we practice."
"Troy has an amp that you can hear over at Lewis Hall," Helmink tattled, which Weber denied but the other three voted him down on the noise issue.
Another activity that brings the four together is Guitar Hero -- Nolan's contribution to the recreation side -- which is a video game that uses guitars as controllers.
To the Guns N' Roses song, "Sweet Child O' Mine," Helmink and Nolan demonstrated their expertise with the game. Their intensity was reflected in the incredibly high scores they racked up as their fingers flew across the guitars' surfaces.
"Nick and I are just at the medium level because we miss too much," Weber confessed as the action progressed and Helmink was the victor.
"Brady can't handle losing much," Weber pointed out, as he finished eating ice cream out of a Breyers' container and poured breakfast cereal right out of the box into his mouth.
"I can handle losing," Helmink said with a huge grin on his face, looking at Nolan, who just shrugged his shoulders.
"Not on Guitar Hero," Weber insisted, shaking the S'Mores box to rearrange the cereal before ingesting another mouthful.
Perhaps the individual who keeps the most balls juggling in the air is Nolan with his classes, organizations and responsibilities as an R.A.
"It's been a growing experience for me to be in this role," he admitted. "The guys have been very good about allowing me to vent and I'm very discreet in what I share with them."
"We understand and respect him for that," Helmink said of Nolan's accountability to the other 60 residents in Lags Hall. "Derek has to enforce the rules, especially early in the school year. He has to set the tone for what's expected if you live here."
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