Is It Too Late to Date a Senior?

Welcome to "Listen Up!," Flyby's weekly advice column, written by two jobless, washed-up seniors from their futon in Winthrop.

We rounded up some of your most poignant questions from the last few weeks and responded with our unfailing wisdom.

Q: I'm interested in a senior. Too late to do anything about it?

A: Is that senior one of us? Are you over 5'10"? Then it's never too late.

Regardless, you still have two whole months to lay some smooth moves on this senior. Let's be real: when was the last time you had a hook up/relationship that lasted much longer anyway? And if you do happen to find your soulmate in the Class of 2013, we have some good news: just because we are graduating doesn't mean we are disappearing, dying, or agreeing to arranged marriages.

Graduation is not some sort of expiration stamp on all relationship (or even kind-of-relationship) potential with people here. In fact, based on our research, most successful Harvard couples began dating long after graduation, once they gained some perspective, humility, and real world skills. Like actually asking people on dates.

Q: Dear Listen Up:

I keep losing my jacket when I party in the basement of the Owl. This has happened four times now. What should I do? I can't keep losing my jackets like this. It's becoming a really expensive habit.

xoxo,

#jacketless

A: Okay, biddies, listen up. Every January, every winter coat on the face of the planet goes on sale. Like, super on sale. This is the time to purchase your Going Out Coat, not to be confused with your North Face Fleece or your Is There Seriously Another Blizzard Why Did I Go To School In Boston Coat. Go to one of these sales. Spend less than fifty dollars on a coat that IS NOT BLACK. Make sure it's not too ugly to be seen in but just ugly enough that no one in her right mind would steal it.

If you lose it, it wasn't expensive. But guess what? You won't lose it because it will be easy to spot your orange parka in the giant mountains of black coats that inevitably build up in various basements around campus.

Just remember, even if you forget your coat, try to leave with your dignity.

Q: I'm a junior, and we are starting to figure out housing for next year. I have been living with the same person since freshman year, but things haven't been going well with us recently and I really don't want to have to live together next year. The problem is that I know she will freak out if I even bring this up. Any advice on how to deal with this?

A. You have a couple of options here. Non-confrontational ones include transferring schools, taking a semester off, paying someone else to approach her about living together, or going abroad for the fall. We hear Paris is lovely that time of year.

Otherwise, you're going to have to talk to your roommate. This is essentially like a breakup and the same rules apply: do it in person, and be clear, calm, and concise. Then find somewhere else to crash for the rest of the semester and pray to God you don’t run into your ex while you’re buying mini Reese's and a bottle of wine alone on a Tuesday night at C'est Bon. Not that that's ever happened to either of us.

You might make her angry by telling her you don’t want to live with her, but you will do more harm to your friendship if you don't say anything and then resent her for an entire year. Especially for your last year, it's important to surround yourself with people who will help maintain your sanity, not destroy it. If we didn't have this particular futon in this particular tiny Winthrop suite and each other to come home to, we would have lost our minds on a more substantial level long ago.