The obsessional Gerhard was the strangest by far the roommate with whom I had to deal during my time flat. The Student had it placed us in the apartment and refused to take him out again when we realized what was for us as a cuckoo's egg placed in the apartment.
In psychology studies, I had learned that it is compulsory neurotics often embarrassed that they have this uncontrollable constraints and they are ashamed of it and often do not withdraw as much as possible from the public. Gerhard
in this respect was entirely different. He often told you about and its constraints, and described each, which is not fast enough could think of a good excuse to run away, how bad it would be for him and how much he would suffer the constraints.
fact, he came across quite differently. Sure, he had a hard time with its constraints, but he was still as if he had closed his peace with his illness, yes, as if he had even started to feel as something special because he was different than the others. Sometimes I felt as if he would peddle literally with its constraints, to try to assess understanding and affection of others to win.
He looked as if he would be defined by its constraints, I'm neurotic, so I am ... someone.
He developed even permanently new neuroses to his standard constraints. - (lock doors and windows) washing compulsion, the compulsion to control, Berührzwang (not want to be touched) and Zählzwang (often he was at university and was one of the small change in his shirt pocket so I watched from the foyer of the University of times as he walked the split staircase to the A-region on one side down, the other side came up again, then this site went down and on the one hand came up again. As it while a student in the ran away, he yelled at him like "Go away! barrel not me!"
Apparently this was some kind of compulsion order that he has all sides of a stairway must be run up or down once before he can go on.
Another time I met Caroline in the kitchen when granting their shopping in her closet compartment. When she saw me come in she said, "You know what's happening to me? I have seen Gerhard in the city. "
" Really, what the order this time of day in the city? Actually, he is now still at the university in the Bib. "
" I was just on my way to the bus stop public office when I discovered him on the sidewalk. He stood petrified in front of a bunch of dogs that lay before him on the sidewalk. When I asked him what's going on, he said he could not go further because he was afraid that he in the dog pile could occur. "
" Really? That's absurd! How long he stood there already? "
" He said he wanted to take the bus just after 9th When I met him it was already half past eleven. "Said Caroline. "I took him by the hand and we walked together to the bus stop. The poor guy! "
I shook my head in disbelief. "What always think of the things. Just imagine that would happen to him on a zebra crossing or a pedestrian crossing. The so all traffic would be stopped. "
After a few weeks later, Caroline moved out to her best friend to pull together, we got the first semester economics student Simone with Nachmieterin. When Simon had presented was not Gerhard moved in with us and they had not had a chance to advance to make an idea on what they were getting into.
She was rudely when they came to our apartment thrown into the deep end: Gerhard was in his dirty underwear and wore his mountain boots in the open door as Simone and her parents her furniture and clothes in the apartment.
I hear Simone's mother whispers to her, "So what did you just admitted there?"
Granted, the longer lived Gerhard with us and the more hopeless our efforts he looked again to get rid of, the, uh, shall we say, our experimental use of Gerhard. Nadine and I both studied psychology and had learned that desensitization was a proven method for constraints and other neuroses.
So I went often during the day with holding one's nose into his room and opened the window to free our apartment at least for a few hours of its smell. Almost every night I heard him curse in his room when he got home.
When times got mail, which was rare enough, I always laid it on the floor in front of his door. When the evening he came home and discovered the Post, he called most, knowing that I would hear, loud into the corridor: "George, but not always put my post on the floor. You know very well that I can not then cancel because of the fox tapeworm "
The next morning the post was gone forever - but obviously he could stand up to his neuroses ...
So Caroline was still living with us, it was also once witnessed a different character from Gerhard. So they came once to my room and said, "You know what I have just noticed?"
I shook my head. "Shoot. What?
"I heard Gerhard in his room chatting loudly and asked me first, whether there would have a guest. So far he had never taken time with someone in the WG. But then I heard the words and realized that he was praying loudly, "
" Really? And why did he pray? "
" He repeated several requests like, Please dear God, do I not lose my keys 'or' Please do not let me forget my Busgeld. " He repeated this request certainly ten or twenty times. His door was partially open and I could see that in underwear kneeling beside the bed and prayed against the wall. It looked very strange. "
I had not thought of that faith Gerhard is. What I had seen many times and even had heard about him was that he was very easily irritated and so with the recent German history was not quite as accurate ...
So I once heard of a fellow student that he Gerhard views on the bus, or rather heard it. Gerhard was because of some strange compulsion buy a semester ticket for the bus but had to pay more each trip individually.
Once he had just bought his ticket when the bus driver drove off already. Gerhard was probably as surprised by the start of the bus that he found his ticket out of his hand on the floor. Furthermore, he was so angry that he yelled at the driver: "If I had a gun I would shoot you, you Nazi pig! "
The bus driver was probably smart enough not to respond to such provocation and had rumschreien Gerhard. In the case of Stadtwerke Konstanz Gerhard was certainly known as a sore thumb ...
other hand, Gerhard also believed in the devil, as I learned through my neighbors again. Marius, a sports student from the neighbor-WG, was a big heavy metal fan and often wore T-shirts from Iron Maiden, on which were most ready to buy any zombies or skulls.
When Marius heard that a penalty was € sufferers named Gerhard moved in with us in the apartment, he said, "Is this the guy who always runs at the university in front of me like this, because he thinks I am the Antichrist? "
" Why Antichrist? "I asked.
"If I wear my Iron Maiden T-shirts, he always runs away from me. Probably he is afraid of the artwork on the T-shirts. This is really always so funny! I've never seen a grown man run as fast. "
I do not need to write that Marius was in this conversation, often times invited us for a beer ...
One Sunday afternoon I came from a home leave with Manuela back to my flat and immediately noticed the new fragrance, which had spread in the apartment.
Just at that moment went to the kitchen door and Gerhard, and a second person came out of the kitchen. Gerhard's companion was the middle of summer boots, a discharged jeans and a dirty parka, which he had drawn up to his neck. He had long greasy hair and smiled at me uncertainly. Gerhard pointed to his friend and said: "This is Ralf, did he fear of drafts, so we have all the windows!"
Oh great, plague and cholera at once!
I mumbled "hello" and squeezed piece with Manuela in tow at the two over to my room in order first to tear open the window and gasp for fresh air.
After I catch your breath came I said to Manuel: ". Now we do with the two something Desensibilisierungstraining"
I went out into the hallway, opened her apartment door gaping wide and then went into the kitchen where Gerhard and Ralf sat at the table and talked and there was also still on the window.
Ralf jumped up with a scream and fled in Gerhard's room.
"You're so mean" bleated Gerhard and joined his colleagues sentiments.
"wash out again," I called after him. "And take the same with Ralf and his parka in the shower - that's had also once again necessary!" to make
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