The height of the “house of robots” was merged somewhere between the summer and fall semester of 2003. Everyone’s story is different, but for me, it started before then, in the springtime.

I had met a friend that Spring, who lured me to apartment 6 on Old Mayhew, where there was an after party for the punk show we had just been to. At the party, personalities clicked, we felt comfortable and free, and of course the alcohol helped. Some reunited with old acquaintances, others meeting each other for the first time. But something felt so exciting and new that everyone seemed to come back together after that night.

As time went on bonds grew stronger, and slowly the nights spent in apartment 6 occurred much more often and came at a quicker pace. My best friend/roommate and I were both included in this, we left our previous, not-so-together-anymore friend group for this new one. And I had my eye on a boy. We were all the traditional odd ones out, but fit together so well. We thought, maybe a similarity in humor tastes, or movies, since there was a big screen projector installed and was used most nights. We were a lot of what you’d call computer geeks, and gaming nerds. There were video games, discussions of science and math, and (most often) sexual or disgusting subjects. Most days were filled with unserious and sporadic events.

There were 4 boys living there at the time, and a few others emerged and became part of the group. It was named “Robot_House” after a joke in a popular TV program. Many more inside jokes developed and still more people came. It kept going strong into the summer, when most people left for home. The remaining few still spent most days together in the cracking apartment. Fads would pass through us, and everyone would be addicted to the new thing of the week or month. One fad that stayed for the longest time and still remains was the old school game of 4 square. They marked off the back patio with duct tape. Numerous rubber air balls were given names and then promptly popped because the players hit too harshly. No worries, there was always Wal-mart on the other side of town, providing plenty of brightly colored balls to bust.

This for me was the climax of it all. And a dramatic shot of the 4 square court sums up the summer for us. There was much more behind it all, but looking at this picture sends out a flood of memories. As I hope it does for many of the other members as well.

Times change and people change, and though we are not all distant, we remain close, but maybe we have adjusted into a less exciting life style. Or we all see the inevitable time to graduate from college coming our way.

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