Meet the ladies of Lewis 227 who are single and ready to mingle, but only if you are equally as passionate as they are about Elven culture.
Names: Kelsey Overbey and Christiana BinkleyAges: 19, 18Year: 2017Majors: MLL/International Studies (who even knows though?) and Molecular BiologyHometowns: Seattle, WA and Delaware, OHRelationship Statuses: Married to Buddy the Elf #lovetriangleCampus Activities: Rugby, Kappa pledge and track; First Year Council/Student Council, EDM pledge
HCK: What were your first impressions of one another?Christi: After a thorough Facebook creep through all of her photos, I had the impression that she was . . . quirky. She made this creeper stare face in a lot of her photos and I didn’t know if that was her normal face or just a silly face for pictures (rest assured that I now know it’s a silly face . . . I think). When I arrived on move-in day, she had already covered her wall with Seattle pride images and posters – it was awesome.Kelsey: I also crept on her Facebook. I thought she looked tall. And smart. Then, when I first met her, she got real crafty on her side of the room. Her dad even brought power tools to hang a mirror on our wall. Our parents really hit it off which foreshadowed the bond that Christi and I would share.
HCK: In your opinions, what is the key to a successful roommate relationship?Christi: Roommates have to learn each other’s sense of humor, get excited about similar things like holidays and celebrities, and have late-night pillow talks.Kelsey: All of the above. Also inside the four walls of Lewis 227 all judgment is set aside. Roomies must create a safe space so that after a long day of studies and extracurriculars, there is always someone to come home to who has Hint of Lime Tostitos and mild chunky salsa.
HCK: You are self-proclaimed Christmas enthusiasts – how did you decorate your room for the holidays and what’s the scoop on the escapades of Buddy the Elf (curious readers need to know)? Both: Our bonding started right before Thanksgiving break because of our shared interest in holiday cheer. After quoting Buddy the Elf for many days non-stop, we decided he had to become a part of our lives, so we turned on the Nat King Cole Christmas station and shopped online for a life-size cardboard cutout of Buddy. He arrived right when we got back from Thanksgiving break. With Buddy as the main attraction, the rest of the room was adorned with the following:
- ornaments hanging from the ceiling with ribbon
- tinsel everywhere
- lights around the ceiling (multicolored, icicle, and classic white)
- elaborate paper snowflakes
- faux snow on the windows (it’s still there! Kind of crusty and gross now though)
- a makeshift Christmas tree on the wall
- a tiny Santa hats placed on the heads of all of the people in our posters
- a stocking
- a small artificial Christmas tree.
As far as the Buddy escapade, we want to make sure that everyone knows this was a completely sober event – seriously. We wanted to take Buddy into Peirce and place him on the balcony on Old Side so that he’d be there smiling over everyone on Monday morning, bringing them Christmas cheer. Since the balcony is always locked, we found a ladder in Black Box Theater to use and headed to Peirce at 2am with Buddy by our side. Next thing we know, Campus Safety rolled up in their golf cart and cut us off on middle path, telling us to return the ladder because we didn’t have permission to use it. We complied, and then decided to continue to Peirce sans ladder. Our plan was to push open the Old Side windows, crawl in, and somehow get Buddy up in the balcony. However, someone had come by and locked the windows that we had intentionally unlocked during the day.
We got crafty using a hanger and string to try and lift the handle and unlock the window, but to no avail. We sat down on the couches to contemplate our next move, and then Campus Safety appeared and unfortunately wrote us up. Apparently they had been watching us try to break into Old Side, and didn’t even help us! They were, however, impressed at our determination to spread Christmas spirit.
HCK: Describe your ideal date.Christi: Let’s snuggle.Kelsey: I would be happy getting a big bag of Smartfood popcorn from the market and then scrolling through the documentary section on Netflix. Either something chill like that, or something totally insane – like when Juan Pablo took that girl bungee jumping on The Bachelor.
HCK: What qualities do you look for in a significant other?Christi: Hi boys! If you are tall, intelligent, goal-oriented, fit, and open-minded then we should totally be friends. Bring your favorite Christmas movie and we could probably get married right then.Kelsey: Well, there are the normal things – a sense of humor, adventurous, a shared affinity for elf culture (that’s a quote from Elf). But, seriously if you don’t like the holiday season we’re not going to work out.
HCK: What are your dream jobs?Christi: Kelsey calls me “BOTO” (Brains of the Operation) for when we do things. My dream job is to be a scientist, and be the BOTO of my research group.Kelsey: Sometimes I think I would be happiest just moving somewhere in the Andes and farming llamas for the rest of my years – spinning wool, tending to pastures, living the life. It has also been my calling since childhood to become the next Crocodile Hunter.
HCK: Dream vacations?Christi: My dream vacation would be to go exploring through the Alps on horseback, camp near rivers and make fires at night, and to occasionally stumble across villages and towns of native peoples.Kelsey: I feel like this is sort of cliché and college-aged, white girl of me, but I would love to go backpacking through Europe.
HCK: Who are your celebrity crushes?Christi: I am madly in love with Stacy London from TLC’s What Not To Wear. She’s so classy and fit, and pulls off that natural silver streak in her hair like no one else. Once, I tweeted that I loved her and she “favorited” my tweet. I peed myself.Kelsey: The normal ones – Ryan Gosling, J-Law, and Steve Irwin for obvious reasons (God rest his soul).