I came home from my freshman year a changed man. Few of my classmates had started their first year as virgins, but I had. It wasn't that I had been so virtuous in high school, waiting for the "right" one, but more through lack of opportunity. I should have been able to entice one or more of the seniors at school to give me a blowjob or titty fuck before I graduated, but I had been painfully shy and awkward. Despite being a three sport athlete and well-liked by my peers, I was unable to capitalize on my physical attributes and talk myself into a coed's panties because of my social ineptitude.
Things changed for me in the new and exciting atmosphere at U of W. I played varsity rugby and the "Rugger Huggers" hung around after our home games, joining in the "piss ups" held just off campus to host the visiting team after the game before they had to take a bus back to their own schools. A unique aspect of the game that sets it apart from other sports, rugby's piss ups were cordial affairs with singing and drinking with one's opponents. An animals' game played by gentlemen, you had to leave any grudges or hard feelings on the pitch when the final whistle blew.
The ladies drank with the best of us at these piss ups and I lost my cherry in a forgettable encounter that I had difficulty remembering the details of later. I wasn't even sure who I had been with, let alone having any fond memories from the experience. I was more cautious and circumspect at our remaining piss ups, limiting my consumption to more moderate amounts. It wasn't the only time I got lucky that season, but losing my virginity in such a forgettable manner was a life-long regret.
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One of the perks of playing for a school team was having our own room at the student athlete residence. Varsity athletes were treated well (a single room was unheard of for all but seniors for the general student body) and by chance, my room was a corner unit on the top (4th) floor of the complex. Directly across the narrow Common from us was an identical complex occupied by our female athletes. A busy walkway between campuses bisected the elevated Common which was well lit at night. I quickly discovered that my corner unit windows (set at a 90Β° angle) offered me a direct view of more than half of the rooms across the way. On the flip side of that coin, they had a direct view into my unit as well. Passersby quickly learned that there was plenty of eye candy to be spied on at the athletes' dorms.
My very first night in my new digs revealed to me just how much of a fishbowl we were all living in. It was the 70's and the Oil Embargo had scared everyone - including university budget departments. These two relatively new residences were ugly things really, but they were energy efficient. The large plate glass windows took up almost all of the outside wall in each room and were incorporated directly into the wall structure. They couldn't be opened and HVAC was centrally controlled. Traditional drapes were replaced with new, mirrored verticals thought to be highly energy efficient. Essentially two-way mirrors, the idea was to louver the mirrored slats facing out to keep the light (and heat) out.
Because they were two-way mirrors, the reverse side of the slat allowed the light through. Unlike traditional drapes, the vertical blinds only blocked the light from the mirrored side - in one direction only. Reversing the louver so the mirrored sides faced inward created a wall-to-wall mirrror, but a transparent one. It allowed those outside to see in. It was disconcerting and difficult to get used to. Louvered in, you had a transparent wall-to-wall mirror, louvered out you had a view outside without being seen or observed yourself. Of course, the blinds could be drawn open as well.
With the blinds closed, you had two choices : you could watch/peep and no one would know you were doing so or you could be exposed and spied on without being aware of who was watching. As I said -- disconcerting. No doubt, it was not the intention of the blind manufacturer to produce the perfect window covering for voyeurs and exhibitionists, but that's what they were. The problem was for those who valued their privacy or were unaware of the issue. Carelessness could also result in inadvertent exposure or observation. The accidental exhibitionist / voyeur.
I watched the hustle and bustle of my female counterparts across the way as they went about settling into their rooms that first night. I was initially unaware of the issue with the blinds and it appeared that many of those coeds across the way were in the dark (so to speak) as well. There was no mention in the Orientation Package warning the residents of their potential exposure to their neighbors, only an explanation of their energy efficiency when "used as directed". Rumor had it that the university was aware of the issue but were unwilling to acknowledge it for fear of having to replace them all at great expense.
The blinds that the university had provided were wholly inadequate at providing privacy -- they were all but transparent when the lights in the room were on. From inside your own unit, they appeared to be doing what they were supposed to be doing, but when lit from behind, they might as well have been sheers. Those athletes returning for a second or third year were aware of this and (if they were concerned about their privacy) had resorted to hanging sheets over the drapery hardware or brought their own drapes to hang. However, the administrators discouraged this as it defeated the purpose of saving energy. Catch 22?
Each unit was furnished with a double bed (another perk of being an athlete), a large wardrobe, a study desk and chair but little else. With no TV, toilet or even a sink in our individual units, each wing of the residence had a communal lounge with couches, a TV and a large, open concept communal shower/washroom with sinks and toilets. Although regulations restricted males and females from each others residences, it was the 70's and enforcement was next to non-existent. I quickly discovered that any expectations of privacy did not apply anywhere outside of your own room.
Initially, I was unaware of my own potential exposure to the coeds across the way until I witnessed the reverse myself. As dusk fell and lights were turned on across the common, previously dark windows were now lit up. I was shocked with how much I could see and how casually some of the coeds across the way were treating their own modesty. It wasn't until I realized that I could see clearly into their rooms even with the blinds in place that it dawned on me that I was just as exposed. Unless those coeds had installed their own drapes or hung a sheet or blanket covering their window, they were on display.