Update for Everyone V: Born Under A Bad Sign

[NOVA Green]

I have a job interview tomorrow, fingers-crossed.... wish me luck.

Been working since I was 18 at least 20/hrs a week, even in college.

Not used to being out of work at all, after 25 years in the workforce and hoping everything comes together.

[NOVA Green]

I'm going to see Willie fucking Nelson on Wednesday!

Awesome!

I saw him play once live in the Bay Area California, and it was an amazing show----

Some of these legends aren't getting any younger and hope you have a great time at the show.

[NOVA Green]

My Wife got a job offer yesterday starting at $13/Hr + OT options (Mandatory or Voluntary)....   

As a line worker on grave shift for a major retailer in a giant warehouse that supplies product for a 4 Million Pop State.

Although it's not a Union Job, it pays well above Oregon minimum wage, with a fast track to a $2-3/Hr Wage increase after six months.... 

It still has a Seniority based system, but most likely she will be able to move to a regular Day or Swing shift once some of the young folk that can't hack the Grave shift decide to drop out....

[NOVA Green]

My Wife got a job offer yesterday starting at $13/Hr + OT options (Mandatory or Voluntary)....   

As a line worker on grave shift for a major retailer in a giant warehouse that supplies product for a 4 Million Pop State.

Although it's not a Union Job, it pays well above Oregon minimum wage, with a fast track to a $2-3/Hr Wage increase after six months.... 

It still has a Seniority based system, but most likely she will be able to move to a regular Day or Swing shift once some of the young folk that can't hack the Grave shift decide to drop out....

Does she have the option to unionize later on?

Sh*t I wish---- Not a Union plant, so not a question of transitioning into a Union Job.

It would require 50% +1 to sign union cards, unlikely to happen at this particular joint, since they have a pretty good reputation in terms of quality of Management/Safety/Employee Relations in a County with a 6% unemployment rate (Virtually unprecedentedly low over the past 20 years).
 
This is a City where, just earlier tonight when I was grabbing a six-pack and cigs, the guy in front of me at the mini-mart had a USW (United Steel Workers) T-shirt grabbing his own sixer after he got off-shift (Used to work at Wah-Chang and now at ATI in the smaller city of 50k where I'm at these days).

Pattern bargaining is long done dead and gone laid down to rest close by the cold casket of Ronald Reagan....

Still, despite the various closures and layoffs in Union manufacturing jobs in the immediate area over recent years, it's a pretty decent gig, compared to the wages of local retail jobs in the area.

[NOVA Green]

My boss told me there is a good chance he might be closing his doors of his business and told all of us today to probably start looking for another job soon. He said the last two months he's been in the negative when it comes to profits.

Sorry to hear that....

At least he was straight-up when it came to the P&Ls and gave y'all a heads up.

[NOVA Green]

Have a job interview tomorrow at a major regional warehousing facility that supplies materials throughout the Pacific Northwest.

According to previous and current employees that have worked at the facility, including family members, there's a 90% chance that I will be hired on the spot, and report for work within two weeks.

Additionally, they want to bring me on as a direct-hire, skipping the 90 day probationary period, that not only means an additional $2+/Hr but also immediate benefits coverage, which is somewhat unusual according to my inside connections in the Plant.

Currently being homeless, living in hotels and crashing periodically with local relatives, this is a HUGE deal, especially since my Wife was hired and will start work in two weeks at the same facility.

The local cost of housing has increased 50% within the past 3-4 years, and needless to say, wages have not risen anywhere approaching that level....

So, getting this job can shift the income vs rent industry formulas, in a potentially positive direction, to allow us to achieve housing in an increasingly aggressive and tight housing market, while at the same time homeless is actually increasing dramatically within the larger cities of Oregon, despite the economic recovery.

Also, just two nights ago in an inexpensive but brand name hotel where I was residing, had two separate car windows smashed in, and the thieves stole what little my neighbors had left, within the modern day equivalent of tent cities.

Needless to say, this is not an expense that we can afford at this time.

[NOVA Green]

Thank y'all for your extremely supportive comments.... (Sarcasm run 100%).

Got the job offer, but will be running Day shift while my Wife works Nights, meaning we won't see each other at all 3 days out of the week....

Plus side, at least it should help us get the housing scene situated, since now we have a combined income that will make it easier to get accepted for housing, since landlord run metrics of income vs housing in this area, in what is a very blue-collar and working class city in Oregon, where gentrification has run crazy over the past three years.

It was only three years ago that people could rent a three bedroom house or 2 bedrom duplex/townhouse for $550-600/Month in Albany, and the prices have now doubled within that time period.

[NOVA Green]

Thank y'all for your extremely supportive comments.... (Sarcasm run 100%).

Got the job offer, but will be running Day shift while my Wife works Nights, meaning we won't see each other at all 3 days out of the week....

Plus side, at least it should help us get the housing scene situated, since now we have a combined income that will make it easier to get accepted for housing, since landlord run metrics of income vs housing in this area, in what is a very blue-collar and working class city in Oregon, where gentrification has run crazy over the past three years.

It was only three years ago that people could rent a three bedroom house or 2 bedrom duplex/townhouse for $550-600/Month in Albany, and the prices have now doubled within that time period.

Congrats NOVA. It's a shame it ever had to get to that point, but I'm glad you're getting back on your feet now. I do hope your ability to post long, detailed views of regional politics will not be affected tho

Thanks Virginia!

It might cut into my ability, because I will simply have much less time on my hands, and additionally not seeing my spouse at all for 3/7 days of the week, means that time that we do have will likely decrease my presence on the Forum, and less time to crunch precinct level data and swings in Oregon, as well as some other contributions regarding how upper-income voters swung in '16 and items of that nature.

If anything, it might help me post shorten my posts a bit to make them more accessible, and I still need to complete the Oregon '16 GE thread, since I am still missing updates on a few counties in the state.

No worries, I'll still be around and try to add value to the Forum with some of the number crunching and legwork of precinct level returns, census data, and the like to try to contribute relevant data on some of the subthreads.

[NOVA Green]

After years of saving on a grad student salary and planning ahead, I finally got my first car, a new Subaru SUV. It feels great. I'm going on a road trip next week.

Congrats!

Where you headed, if you don't mind my asking?

[NOVA Green]

So just came back from smoking a cig outside in the cheap hotel where I am living temporarily in a small factory town in Oregon, and as I am about ready to walk into my motel room, some younger dude in his late '20s/early '30s drives by slowly and shouts at me from his beat up older pickup truck with a cab in the back.

He shouts at me: "You got anything on you?"

I moved a little closer since I didn't hear him the first time, and he repeats the question. I pretended like a didn't hear again and he quickly says "never mind" and drives away fairly quickly.

Reminds me of a story a former GF told me when we were dating in college and she was working for 6 months in the Pico Union neighborhood of LA, where she was standing outside the bus stop wearing shorts (Summer in LA) and some dude rolls by in a car and asks her "how much?"....

The City where I am currently residing used to be a proud Union town, and now that housing costs have doubled, both visible poverty and drug related issues have skyrocketed, and the cheap motel is now apparently considered by some local residents to be an open air drug market.

Sigh.... can't wait to get into a regular apartment or housing scene, and not have to worry about stepping on needles. propositioned for drug sales, my car window getting smashed in (Like what happened a few nights ago at another cheap hotel I was staying at to a few other local residents), tending to an assault victim the week before at another cheap hotel, while I called 911 and waited for them to respond.

To cap it off, here's a song from a classic SoCal late '70s/early '80's Punk Rock band (Fear- drunk punkers, not my main bag, but still appropriate)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQM00K24qG8

[NOVA Green]

Still adjusting to the 12.5 Hr Weekend Day shift with my wife working the opposite Weekend Grave shift, for the same employer at a local Plant that pays well above prevailing wages for the local area...

Shift diff is great, but working on the line standing on your feet is a bit of an adjustment, since it's been over ten years since  the last time I worked a job where I've been on my feet all day.

Regardless...  there is a 5% pay raise that kicks in in six months, and another 5% that kicks in six months later.... etc for the next three years....

I'm actually excited to work for an employer that even in an non-union Plant, still provides regular pay raises well beyond the rate of inflation in order to retain employees in a competitive local marketplace, and additionally values their employees and promotes from within...

Mandatory OT kicks in next week, and as a newbie on the line I have no option to request an exemption (Seniority based system), and also nor would I at this point.

Also, I was paying $300 every two weeks for medical insurance under my previous employer for employee + Spouse package, and what I have heard is that the employee cost of medical insurance is less than 50% of what I was paying before....

It's actually extremely interesting to see that despite the Reagan Administration full-scale assault on the Unions and destruction of the norm called "Pattern Bargaining" (Google it for some of the younger members of the forum or those not familiar with the phrase), that there are still some employers that would rather pay above the prevailing local market value for employees,in order to keep and retain talent.

Right now, I'm working the line and processing product flowing down the belt, and like typical Oregon style we have a ton a people of all ages and some wearing tie-dyes and others hunting caps and shirts....

Oregonian colors tend to bleed Bernie on the line....  The only reason why Trump gets some sort of recognition was something about "bringing jobs back to America" . Make of that what you will, but I hang out in the smoking area on break/lunch time  where in theory there should be a higher percentage of Trump voters (Blue collar smoker vs non-smoker informal poll)     

[NOVA Green]

So got the keys to the apartment Friday PM, after 7 months of living in hotels, and had to go to work right away by 6 AM Sat with no furniture, and my wife working completely opposite shifts at the same huge warehouse facility.

They let me out a few hours early, because we dramatically exceeded production levels for "inbound" on one of the busiest weeks of the season, so was able to do the 20 minute walk home from work to give my wife a kiss, before she had to head into the plant for her 12 hour grave shift...

Although it's a bit a bit of a bummer from the money side, where I can use extra cash right now, that they didn't end up calling me into mandatory OT working the line, at least we'll have a few extra days togather to maybe actually pull some of our furniture from storage, and not be sleeping on air matresses in an empty apt...

Also, not sure when I can get internet yet--- been doing the 1 hr "free Comcast" gig, so to be back online with Atlas.... so missing out on all the drama.

[NOVA Green]

I'm glad to hear things are getting better NOVA! I don't know if you're aware of this, but Comcast does offer service(s) for families with difficult situations. I don't know if you qualify, but here is a link:

https://www.internetessentials.com/Families

Thanks Virginia!!!

Don't worry--- getting back to stable internet service is definitely towards the top of the list, since it is no longer offered courtesy of hotels...

I have a few more numbers I need to run about some election somewhere that I can't exactly recall after a 90 hour marathon.

[NOVA Green]

My 21st  is on Friday but the liquor store across the street is shut down for a week.

Bummer... is that a Florida Temperance Movement thing, or are you just living in a small county, with one liquor store under renovation?

Happy B-Day BTW!!!

[NOVA Green]

So almost start of my 4th week on the job at the factory/warehouse  slinging product down the line...

Bought my wife a wrist-split over our "weekend", since she woke up screaming with pain on Tuesday morning a few hours after she went to bed after her grave shift because of what appears to be something like Carpel Tunnel or similar...

Bought a new pair of sneakers that actually have tread marks on them, so I don't slip on the shop floor, and also can help working an extremely physical job everything from back pain to blisters on the feet on 12 hour shifts standing on concrete all day.

We actually have a mattress as opposed to sleeping on air mattresses on the floor, but hell it's better than a tent or sleeping in the car.

I certainly don't attribute any of these improvements to Donald Trump nor Barrack Obama either.

Unfortunately Modern American Politics for the past 35-40 years have become so dominated by the whole Horatio Alger schtick, that every time individuals and families experience personal adversity it is always considered the fault of the individuals/families and simply "pulling oneself up by the bootstraps" is somehow a miraculous cure-all...

I suspect that many of my Republican and Democratic youthful comrades alike subscribe to that simplistic and reductionist myth that is now over 100 years in the making.....

[NOVA Green]

Now a year at my job, and I am being promoted to assistant manager with a pay increase of 45% to $13.05 an hour.

Congrats!!!

[NOVA Green]

I'm smoking like a chimney.

Unsure if you mean cigarettes or the dread marijuana, but as a former admitted smoker of the former, I advise against it.

The latter.  Never tobacco.

Cool--- it you ever make it out to the West Coast or Colorado, and I can certainly do a pitch for Oregon tourism here, you'll find a plethora of options available at stores in most parts of the State.

Personally, I tend to prefer a nice dank beer, or some sips of fine Canadian Bourbon myself these days, and tend to reserve "smoking" for rarer occasions over the past ten years, but to each their own, and it is certainly healthier, especially now with vape kits and all that for ones lungs, although I'm still a cigarette smoker, so might be time to try a "smoking cessation" plan of switching to Weed instead of Tobacco like one of my friends did 12 years ago, to help the old lungs out!!!   

[NOVA Green]

I'm smoking like a chimney.

Unsure if you mean cigarettes or the dread marijuana, but as a former admitted smoker of the former, I advise against it.

The latter.  Never tobacco.

Cool--- it you ever make it out to the West Coast or Colorado, and I can certainly do a pitch for Oregon tourism here, you'll find a plethora of options available at stores in most parts of the State.

Personally, I tend to prefer a nice dank beer, or some sips of fine Canadian Bourbon myself these days, and tend to reserve "smoking" for rarer occasions over the past ten years, but to each their own, and it is certainly healthier, especially now with vape kits and all that for ones lungs, although I'm still a cigarette smoker, so might be time to try a "smoking cessation" plan of switching to Weed instead of Tobacco like one of my friends did 12 years ago, to help the old lungs out!!!   

I'm strongly considering making a move to the West Coast, maybe after college.  (There is a seminary in Colorado I'm looking toward and the legal weed makes that option all the more appealing.)  I've found that weed helps me while all the anti-depression/anxiety pills, which I've been switching back and forth on almost my entire life, do either the bare minimum or make me feel worse.  With weed, I can mostly function normally on a low dose, I'm more motivated, I'm in a happier mood... best part is I don't have suicide on the mind constantly.  No mood swings or other weird side effects except hunger.

Oh yeah, and I feel more comfortable in social situations because my autism/social awkwardness is such an impediment otherwise.

I don't really know how to mix it in food without masking the taste, so I only smoke it, which I don't like doing.  I don't much care for alcohol except the occasional glass of wine after dinner.

Our youngest daughter actually decided about 4-5 months ago to quit her anti-anxiety medications, and before doing that went to a series of Doctors, because she wanted to have a relatively stable transition, especially for her twins and families sake...

The Doctor in addition to weaning her off of the heavy-duty anti-anxiety medications she was on, also recommended a high CBD and low THC combo (Which is easier to find in States like Oregon where both recreational and medicinal are not only legal, but wider options to chose from than even in many medicinal legal states...

Not sure if that is helpful at all for you, but if all the "Big Pharma" stuff they keep pushing you isn't helping, moving to a state where you can walk into a Doctor's office where they actually are in touch with the latest medical research on marijuana and mental health issues might.

I sure know that she's doing a tons better since she phased out all of her prescriptions, as well as the High-THC marijuana strains that she was using previously to self-medicate, and then shifted to High CBD and Low THC strains.

Regardless--- hoping you are having a good day...

[NOVA Green]

I have deleted all of my social media apps. There's a giant, Twitter-shaped hole in my life, and I can't even tweet about it.

A secondary purge may be required. I recommend embargoing Atlas Forum from your life from between twenty-four and ninety-six hours, or one to four days. Using this time, I challenge you to develop one new friend and engage in minute conversations with at least one stranger every half hour of free time dedicated to it.

Note: This is only recommended on a slow expansive route. If you suffer any withdrawal symptoms, return to Atlas immediately. Overuse of this may result in mental scratches, social damage, serious injury, or death. In any case we are responsible for none of the above.

Damn!--- this post should enjoy an honorary mention in both the Atlas Hilarity thread, and best post threads.

This made me laugh the most since that one Atlas "Hip-Hop" spoken word thing that one poster did about 6-7 months ago.... haven't been able to fine the thread yet.

Thinking one of us should create a "12 Step" Atlas recovery Forum sub-thread to help us...

1.) We admitted that we were powerless over Atlas and our lives have become unmanageable

2.) Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity from our Atlas Addictions.

3.) Made a decision to turn our will and lives over to "Non-Atlasian" Gods to restore us to sanity, as we understand them to be

4.) Made a fearless and moral inventory of our Atlas addictions and entire posting history.

5.) Admitted to the entire world, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs created by our Atlas addiction

6.) Are entirely ready to have an outside power remove these defects of character

7.) Humbly asked all fellow posters, friends and family and those impacted by our Atlas addiction to remove these defects of character

8.) Made a list of all Atlas posters we have harmed and are willing to make amends to them

9.) Made direct amends to all Atlas Posters, unless in so doing it would cause harm to them or others

10.) Continue to take a personal inventory of our behavior on Atlas, and when we were wrong promptly admit it

11.) Prayed to the high heavens for the voice within our head for the knowledge and wisdom to carry that out in Atlasianda

12.) Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to Atlas Addicts, and to practice their principles in their affairs

[NOVA Green]

Told my mother I'm gay. Can't say the reaction was amazing, but at least it was mildly accepting.
Also found out my sister is Lesbian- I'm kinda mad that they didn't tell me as if it's some terrible secret.

Congratulations! I'm sure you would like a better reaction, but it could have been worse. Your courage and bravery to tell your mother that at the age of eighteen is impressive. I want you to know that I consider you one of our best posters. Your posts are always measured, and your words are always thought out. I appreciate someone like you, who always manages to be reasonable. Your one flaw I have noticed on here is that you post too little - I would love to see you post more.

When do you plan to tell your father?

Congrats!

Kingpoleon says it so much better than I could, since I haven't been spending much time on the threads you post on regularly, but coming out to one's parent(s) is tough s**t emotionally, especially if one doesn't know what the reaction(s) might be....

So glad your Mom is accepting, and now you know that you have a Sister who will be 100% supportive, so still many rivers to cross, but give it a year or so and whatever tides of resistance remain will gradually wash away (Hopefully not knowing your personal story and family).

[NOVA Green]

Started the first steps towards Unionizing my Warehouse Facility with ~550 Direct Hires, ~150 "associates"/"Temps"/"contingent workers".

Safety is supposed to be the #1 Corporate Value, but reality is the Value #3 Production is greater.

Everyone working in the warehouse takes tons of safety risks, because we know we don't have the right tools, equipment, and materials, to always be able to perform our jobs safely.

Even the "Veterans" who have worked here know that.

Additionally, the Management Team are overwhelmingly young College Graduates that have no idea of the actual nature of the work involved, and instead measure worker productivity based upon "units of production", which is easily gamed, since certain items take much longer to process, but still have much lower "units of production" than others.

Many of the "Veterans" who have been working at the Plant for 5+ years have no opportunity for promotion, since the employer would rather pay young college Grads to oversee Production in our Warehouse, than promote from within.

My thought is that with a Union in the joint, effectively the "POCs", or the equivalent of Supervisors in  most places, would effectively become Shop Stewards and get a bit of a Pay Bump, and help the rest of us all with common complaints like Safety, Training, that also helps bump up Production by improving efficiency and quality, in a Labor Force with a huge employee turnover rate.

The concept of Trade Unions being automatically in an adversarial relationship with management is a false dichotomy.... But when you have employers trying to cut every dime to the point where we are working in unsafe conditions, getting written up because of BS Production Metrics, Quality Control Issues, because basically Management is a bunch of young people in their early '20s that have less total work experience than many of us, and certainly none of them have had a team with ~(100) employees as I did a few years ago back when I was a Manager back in Texas.

Time to Unionize this joint, and maybe all of the worker injuries might go down and Production might just increase....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb7__SrobWM

[NOVA Green]

So, I will likely have a Face-to-Face (FTF) with one of the main Union Organizers covering the West Coast and Northern California within this coming week.

Obviously, this type of effort is slow and gradual, but I'm pretty sure that a majority of our rank & file are receptive towards a message that can improve safety conditions & reduce occupational injuries caused by repetitive motions of all types, let the "Veteran" rank and file warehouse workers get a pay bump to oversee everything from safety, training, and quality control that can effectively act as "Shop Stewards" in the Plant....

Still working on it, but we didn't win the "Right" to the Weekend or "40 Hour Workweek" by simply standing around with a thumb up are arses....

Blood, Sweat, and Tears.

We are not considered individuals in this Plant, but rather numbers.... All of our net value is solely measure in terms of "Production", or Prod as we talk about it on the factory/warehouse shop floor.

Not blaming the Operation Managers, that are all basically 25-30 Years and relatively fresh out of college, for their attempts to improve their careers, by pushing the corporate doctrine that claims that Safety is First, Quality 2nd, and Production 3rd....

Reality for this organization Production is #1, and they don't particularly seem to care about workplace injuries (Unless it goes to OSHA).... They don't appear to care about Quality Control for the customers that order their online products through a major Fulfillment Center....

Question: "Can I do  an Observation on your production?"

Answer: "Of course, absolutely"

3 Minutes later:

Question: "So my observation has concluded that you use too much tape when you bag the customer's product. Do you know it costs us 25 Cents every time you put additional tape on the product?"

Answer: "Wow it costs *name of employer excluded* 25 Cents for a piece of tape? It must be some pretty expensive tape"

Response: "Well it's not the cost of the tape it's the total cost of labor and materials"... The Operations Manager seemed slightly flustered,

Note, this was right after she had given me a Demonstration/Training (Not!) in how to package female lingerie more efficiently (Ladies undergarments).

Now, I might consider myself to have a minor about of experience on the subject, but I was never trained in how to properly prepare female lingerie before it get's shipped out to the customers the order that product online....

My thought was Quality First.... let's say someone on the Forum wants to order a nice "Female"  item...

Would you like it to show up when you pick the package from your doorstep as an item that appears like it might have been previously used, or would you rather open your package. with the company branded packaging that we throw on so it doesn't get dusty in the Warehouse?

Well apparently, my "Quality" is great, but somehow putting an extra two strips of tape to seal the package are somehow costing the company 50 Cents per Unit of Production?

Sigh.... this is what happens when you have young Managers, with no idea of the actual various tasks involved in the "Production Process".

This Warehouse is a sweatshop.... we need to get a Union into the joint so we can actually improve quality, safety, AND production without these BS reports and ad hoc lessons in how to more efficiently wrap Female undergarments....

[NOVA Green]

I have the opportunity, should the job be posted, to work for my school at some laborer position full-time. While hardly glamorous, it would pay enough and allow me to go to graduate school for at least 50% off. I could also drop the job at any point for greener pastures.

Congrats at the opportunity, and it sounds like it can help financially at a critical time in your academic career!

Absolutely nothing wrong working a physical job, so long as the bosses/management are reasonable in their expectations, you can paid decently for the work you are performing, and if they actually take safety seriously.

I've done the full-time College gig and Part time (20 Hr/Week) work gigs several times earlier in my life, so keep your eyes on the prize, and if needed try to flex down your hours when you start facing major stress tests in your academic career, since jobs can come and go as various sources of income, but your pursuit of a Grad School Degree is something where there is a finite period of time to accomplish....

Speaking from my personal experience only

[NOVA Green]

Ramadan starts tomorrow, working at a restaurant during Ramadan really tests you sometimes, this year it is now May 27th to potentially June 24th this year. Summer Ramadans suck.

Ouch (Working in the restaurant bit).... being in Florida probably makes it harder than in Northern States because this time of year, daylight lasts way too long down there. I was only living in Texas, but I'm sure South Florida is even worse, since it is closer to the equator.

Why "Potentially" June 24th this year?

I mean don't the calendar conversion programs allow you to know exactly when it ends where you are living based upon the time of sunset, even you are not associated with a local community center?

[NOVA Green]

Well, this is going to be REALLY awkward.  I'm renting a room in a house for my internship this summer, and one of the other renters just moved into another room in the house.  It just so happens that she is interning for Planned Parenthood, and I'm not really sure what to do.  Any advice on how to live with someone who is literally fighting at work for the exact thing I'm fighting to stop at work?

Well shoot---

So you have another roommate moving into the house renting her own room, and you're worried about how to live with another individual who may (or may not) have significant differences of opinion on various issues of importance to you?

By that I mean, it's sounds like:

1.) You might be jumping to conclusions about her opinions regarding various issues.

2.) You are both just room mates---- Agreeing on everything or being friends is not a prerequisite towards having an awesome or tolerable roommate...

I lived in shared housing situations for almost ten years with probably about (30) individual roommates in various houses over that time.

The *worst* roommate I ever had was the guy I lived with for two months who was literally selling Meth out of his bedroom window late at night (This was some 15 years back), or maybe another roommate around the same time that ripped off the other guy that was on the lease with me for $500 in dollar coins.

Now, we get can get into other items that are not desirable in a roommate, such as extremely excessive noise, poor personal hygiene, not cleaning up after themselves in common areas or performing regular household cleanup activities....

Honestly, I think you *might* end up having a pretty cool roommate, with whom you may agree with on some issues and disagree with on others.

Now regarding the Computer, is it located in a common area, or in your bedroom? I mean, I lived with a ton of people that never went into my personal space nor mine theirs in shared living environments.

That doesn't mean you need to hide who you are and what some of your core beliefs are, but hell she might be as freaked out about the idea as you, so just do normal roommate things like sharing food if you're cooking, watch some TV or movies in the Living Room, etc, clean up after yourself, communicate regarding issues like excessive after-hours noise on work-Nights, etc....

Not sure if that helps at all, but group living can be a pretty cool experience in many ways, so just roll with it, and after all it's only for three months or so....