This morning, I was awakened from my peaceful slumber by the sound of doors opening and Britney Spears crooning from somewhere down the hall. I quickly realized that there was not an impromptu pop music concert going on in Vedder 2 NW, but that realization still did not explain the sound of doors opening and closing and moderately heavy objects being moved about the adjoining rooms.

Then I sat up with elation (and nearly smacked my head off the ceiling). Could someone actually be moving into my hall? Did I have a new neighbor? No, it couldn’t be—not at 6:45 in the morning! But maybe…just maybe…

Nope. It was just the cleaning ladies. You see, I have the distinct honor of being not only directly across from the men’s restrooms (so I can hear the toilets flushing at all hours of the night), but also directly adjacent to the janitor’s closet, which means I can hear the very instant the cleaning ladies begin mopping in the morning. (It wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t play that radio so loudly.)

Of course, having the cleaning staff there in the morning at least means that there’s someone in my hall. It’s getting pretty lonely up there in Vedder. Sure, at first it was fun having no one around, but now it’s getting kind of old. I’m looking forward to the arrival of the residents. That should be happening soon, I believe—perhaps even this week. The athletes should be arriving for the fall any day now.

While we’re on the subject of cleaning, I’ve discovered that Vedder Hall does not have a kitchen area for doing dishes. Perhaps I got a bit pampered while staying in Hunt this summer, what with the nice, relaxing showers and a kitchen sink on every floor. Perhaps I was foolish to expect to have a kitchen sink somewhere in Vedder. But I’ll be honest—I kind of liked having a sink. It was nice to be able to clean dishes after eating off of them.

The first few nights of my stay in Vedder were spent scouring the building for a kitchen sink in which to wash my dirty dishes. Someone had told me that there was, in fact, a kitchen in Vedder, on the first floor; however, I could not locate it. A fellow with whom I work, who was an RA in Vedder last year, said that there wasn’t a kitchen, though. So I was confused. Was there a kitchen, or wasn’t there? Clearly, the only way to settle this was to call an expert. I picked up the phone and called my friend Tyler, who had been lucky enough to be a resident of this fine dormitory last year. Fortunately, I managed to catch her when she was at home. Through the course of our conversation, she informed me that, no, Vedder Hall did not have any reasonable place to wash dishes. However, she suggested using a bathroom sink. She noted that some people wash their feet in the sink, as well as their hands, so it might not be the most pleasant spot for cleaning eating utensils. I pointed out that having melted cheese and other foods forming a crusty film on my dishware was also not exactly pleasant, and I was willing to take my chances with the sinks. After hanging up, I washed my dishes in the bathroom (which is, conveniently, right across the hall from my room). It wasn’t too rancid in there, and I am confident that my dishes are sufficiently clean to eat off of again.

And to answer your final question: no, Vedder Hall is not named after the lead singer of Pearl Jam. But that would be pretty damn cool if it was.