Craigslistin'

Today we met the 10th and 11th candidates for the open room in our house. All of them Craigslist responders. (Is there any other way to find a roommate in DC?) We have two girls that we like enough to offer the room to, but... well... we kind of want another "Johnson" in the house.

The house was originally a glorified frathouse, a few years before I got here. Then a girl moved in and slowly transformed it into a nice, cozy, and clean home. Then there were a few more girls here and there, and the house had a good balance of the sexes. When I interviewed for my room, there were two guys and two girls.

But now both of the other guys are moving out (one because he's running for office in his home district, and the other because he's moving in with his long-term gf). And we've already filled one of the rooms with a female. Is it strange that I'm holding out for a good guy roommate? If I have the choice between a really promising girl and a mediocre/boring guy, I'd pick the girl. But if we found a pretty good guy that I didn't have any reservations about, then I'd pick him over a comparable girl.

The interview process has been kind of fun. It's entertaining to interview and meet new people. There's a kind of nervous energy that I like. With good people, I enjoy myself, and with weird or bad people, I get to dissect their personality afterwards and figure out exactly what I don't like about them.

Some people don't know how to respond to Craigslist ads or how to interview for them. Here's a list of things to avoid:

1. Responding to the same people when they repost their ad.
2. Responding twice and copying and pasting your other email.
3. Hiding your indictment in federal court for medical insurance fraud.
4. Merely writing "Can I see the room?" without some other personal info.
5. Writing "Paying bills on time will ABSOLUTELY not be a problem."
6. Telling the story where you almost committed incest.
7. Insisting on checking all of the cabinets for cleanliness levels.
8. Not asking questions about the interviewers and about the house.
9. Saying that you're tired of writing about yourself and instead sending a link to a website which has a little too much personal information, like your Ayn Rand fetish, and which only has pictures of you holding beers and hanging out with your drunk friends (on your "professional" website).
10. Insisting that you are NOT a womanizer, even though that's what all the ladies usually think.
Addendum:
11. Using the "bonernose" email account.