Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for October 17, 2014

IS THIS DEZ??????

How long had HE been there?! Since the end of the original “party”?

OK…what’s up with this ?!

Well, Bernice was the one who told Luann that she was looking forward to rooming in a dorm, to “come out of her shell”…and now,she’s “gone sour” after that short bit of time…and yet she “acquiesed” to the events of the party? Perhaps this time, a “spoonful of sugar didn’t make the medicine go down” … – Of course, on the other hand, Pro is demonstrating a good reason why you should be careful about the choices you make, the parties you choose.. And the company you keep…

“A Stalwart Is A Mark Of Beauty”“Much Hairdo About Nothing”“Still The Same” (♫)“The Tortoise And Her Hair”“The Punishment Fits The Good Time”“With Ends Like These, Who Needs Frenemies?”“Loafers Under Foot”“You Have Just Entered…The Comfort Zone”or“We Don’t Need Another Piro…” (♫)

“Hopefully, that delinquent isn’t Dez’s boyfriend.”^Nope, it’s just Piro, and evidently he doesn’t have a “cookie cutter star shape” shaved into his right side… -

I knew that Bernice was storing stuff for Piro in her room. But I didn’t think that the stuff she was storing would turn out to be Piro himself.

Bernice and Piro. Yup this should get Interesting.

Romance starting, perhaps?

Tiffany has a point. She’s being obnoxious and controlling, but she has a point! College isn’t about just studying. You have to develop life balance. -I have known individuals who did not get even a part-time job because they didn’t want to be distracted. Or those whose parents warned them about getting married too soon, or partying too much. And, yes, I know someone who lost her chance at law school because her undergrad grades were lack luster because she put in so many hours at her job. And I know someone who dropped out probably because they spent too much time with “recreational activities” than studying. And my best friend’s mother dropped out of college because she got pregnant and is now dependent on her husband because she never really pursued any sort of independence.-But I also know people who were married, worked a job, earned their doctorate and make $100,000+ a year. I know one woman in my class who got pregnant and still graduated cum laude. I know a woman who seemed to party way harder than I did . . . she was way more social, made friends. Then those friends turned into contacts and opened up opportunities to work study in Australia for the summer and job opportunities. In fact, I learned about my current job from her.-It’s very limiting in life to be able to only be one thing. A student OR a girlfriend/wife OR a mother OR a worker.

“Looks like Piro had too much beer – o”^Maybe his watch always says “Miller Time”…

Well, today was much better for me in the out-of-whack back department. I am actually, finally starting to feel better, which is nice. Time to round up IS Katie (who I think is all stretched out on an old sofa down here), and mosey on upstairs… ’Nite all!-————————————————————————“Our love of what is beautiful does not lead to extravagance; our love of the things of the mind does not make us soft.” Funeral oration, Athens, 430 BC, as reported by Thucydides .(Pericles, c. 495-429 BC)

Bernice found all the left-over soda cans from the party but missed the big pile of sleeping Piro ?Forcing it, aren’t we, Evans ?

Thanks. (I’m going to add to this list: insist to all med techs administering contrast MRIs that they not use contrast material with glucose in it…)-So, no more advance notices from the ArcaMax site, huh?

Thanks! It’s been almost 9 years, but we’re still missing our Mom. (Even more this month, since my bro’s oldest daughter, after 2 years of marriage, had a son. Mom would have been a great Great-Grandma…)

Tiffany was offering some pretty good advice for Bernice; it’s too bad she’s so impatient that she lost her temper in panel 2 and stormed out, waking Piro in the process. I’m not sure Piro and Bernice will hit it off, at least not immediately. Bernice is still too uptight and angry at her lack of control in her new setting….

QUICK, Bern, Yell “FIRE” at the Top Of YOUR Lungs and Run Away in the CONFUSION!!!

I’ll have to reserve judgement on today’s strip until we find out more tomorrow about why Piro is still there. If could be innocent – he just fell asleep. It could be something “substance related” (drugs or alcohol, both of which would not be good at all for Bern), it could be he’s “homeless” and needs a place to stay (also not good for Bern). It could also be something worse that I don’t want to think about (in which case Bern needs to GTFO that dorm room immediately)! We’ll have to see.

It could also be something positive… that Bern and Piro might develop at least a “friendship” if nothing else.

Tomorrow’s strip will tell the tale… hopefully…

It hasn’t been stated specifically that Dez has been wandering around the room at night when Bernice was asleep. Maybe Dez has been coming into the room during the daytime when Bernice was in class.

He has a pillow and blanket, and he was at a loud crowded party. The odds of him falling asleep innocently are next to nil, either he got that blanket and pillow for himself or people got it for him because he was passed out drunk.

Some people can fall asleep anywhere, especially in places where there’s a lot of ambient noise. Consider all those that use recordings of Thunderstorms to fall asleep.

I suspect the pillow and blanket were provided for him, once he fell asleep. But it doesn’t have to be because he was drunk/stoned. He could have already been asleep.

it could be he’s “homeless” and needs a place to stay

Unlikely given the way he dresses and cleans up. But I suppose it’s possible.

I haven’t seen him “cleaned up” yet. He’s always looked a bit disheveled.

Evans writes this strip, so no, nothing that interesting will be happening.

He has done controversial issues before…. Delta’s cancer scare, Bullying at Pitts HS, Workplace Harassment with Ann Eiffel, Bern’s earlier issue with Derek (Drug patsy), etc. etc. If I were Bern, I’d not want any strange man in my dorm room sleeping or waking up with no one else in the room with me. I’d be outta there and have the campus police get that person out.

Bernice will develop a friendship with all these weirdos. They will all join together in their mutual hatred of Tiffany for reasons unknown.

I have higher hopes for Tiff. Maybe TIff and Bern will strike a truce and actually develop a friendship. We’ll see. How Lu plays into it will be interesting.

Cool! In panel 3, see Bern Piro-ette!

The “bubbles” surrounding Piro are suggestive…. but of what? Three potential options come to mind… a) he is sleepy/groggy and just waking up but sober, b) he is a bit hung over which means he was drinking fairly substantially, which either he did alone or there was alcohol at the party (did not seem like there was), or c) he is looped-out on some sort of other (potentially illicit) substance. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++With the little we know about Piro so far, I do not have a real feel for what is most likely. However, with that said, I am going to predict the bubbles are simply an indication that he is sleepy/groggy. I also predict that he will suggest that “Dez” would often let him crash in her room in the past (last academic year) perhaps because his dorm/apartment was fairly far away. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++I am also going to speculate (with no actual information) that Piro is some sort of art major at Moony, as the drawing style used thus far gives me that sort of impression.

So it’s been confirmed. Bernice has a regular dorm room, but Tiffany has a private SUITE !!

Whoa!

Here’s another point to remember: at least back in the old days, when I was in college, the ‘suites’ were very few and no one was ‘put’ into one. There was usually an additional charge tacked on to the dorm fee, for one thing, and at times there were competitions to get room-alone rights. Back then (before the days of cell phones, wireless phones, etc.), dorms often had one phone per floor, out in the hall. I can remember that the one occupant of a suite on our floor ended up with that suite by volunteering for permanent ‘phone duty’…

remember Zane? Bernice’s romantic attachment of years back (the guy in the wheelchair with dog Monroe… I think). Piro looks a bit like Zane doesn’t he? You have to go back several years of strips to see Zane.

They really need Luann here as a stabilizing force.

“I think a lot of people here will need a strip with Tiffany alone in her room crying before they’ll give her any reprieve”

That wouldn’t do it. Maybe dumping a bucket of chum on her would evoke a response, but most of the sympathy would be for the dress.

So,what are you saying Bernice? ’You’d rather sleep’, no more parties? You really need to do some soul searching. One minute you’re hot to claim the party as your own, and the next you’d rather sleep than party? Even poor Tiffany can’t untangle that knot!Don’t give up on Bernice Tiffany! You’re frustrated now, but tomorrow is a new day!

I hope Piro doesn’t actually spell his name “Pyro”.

“Could you guys have a party that’s NOT so boring I fell asleep?”

On a Law and Order episode Det. Lennie Briscoe, the late Jerry Orbach asked a cop who had said HE double hockey sticks, he asked the cop if he came from the Sesame Street prescient? Loved those Lennieisms.

As a type 1. Are you checking yourself your numbers? If your numbers are running high. Get thee to your doctor. I’m NOT trying to scare you. Get tested!

It seems Bernice learned nothing from her earlier encounter with strange people who want her to “keep things” for them.

Bernice is definitely not a “leading lady” in this strip and needs some support. And where is Greg coming up with these names….Dez, Viper, Piro “Hair” ? Sun is okay and kinda cute, but the others???? Sounds like code names.

I stand corrected … so I guess Dez really does sneak in and out at night.

I think Bernice needs to talk to her R.A. about the fact that her roommate has failed to even meet her. Or maybe it would be better for Bernice to ask Viper, Sun, and Piro to have Dez get in touch with her.

I’m trying to figure out Evans’ use of DEZ for this missing roommate and I’m likening it to FEZ in That 70s Show. FEZ was an abbreviation for Foreign Exchange Student. Maybe DEZ is an abbreviation for Dimensional Exchange Student. Nobody could ever figure out what country FEZ was from. We may never figure out what dimension DEZ lives in (when she’s not an exchange student here).

I could definitely be wrong; she has full scholarship to Moony (discussed when at Pitt HS); for some reason I thought being an RA was part of the deal. I guess I thought that when she was reading off a list of rules to that satanic cult like girl dressed in black she was doing her RA duties. my mistake probably.

Actually, you’d be right on both counts (they’re both Loony as in crazy like a loon, and Looney, as in comically driven)…

"I know, it should be ‘Looney’ " ^And that’s the name o’ dat Tune….

“I guess RB is still digesting my reply, LOL” ^LOL! Yeah, probably chewing on the subtlety…

ORM thinks who’s hot?! =-O

They’re going to get together.

Sounds like you have good genes! ;)

It’s true, Tiff is a bit over eager and is pushing into Bernice’s comfort zone, so you’re probably right, it’s a defense. Tiff can’t help it, she’s like a kitten or a little child, too blunt sometimes, and so excitable it sometimes carries her away.