Three guys and a Skidmore apartment

For someone who is part of two student comedy groups, Andrew Uebelein ’17 was surprisingly nervous about making friends when he arrived at Skidmore from the Boston area in Fall 2013.

Happily, he shared a First-Year Scribner seminar with San Diego, California, native James Armenta ’17, a computer science major and business minor. They also lived near each other on the second floor of Kimball Hall.

“James and I happened to walk to and sit together at opening convocation,” says Uebelein, an American studies major and computer science minor, who is serious about pursuing comedy after Skidmore. “I remember thinking, ‘This guy’s going to be my friend.’” Turns out, Armenta thought the same thing.

Two years later, they are roommates for the second year, living in the Northwoods Village Apartments with Ian Iversen ’17, a Long Islander, who, like Uebelein, is a member of Ad Libs and Skidomedy. Last year, Uebelein and Armenta shared a double in Wait Hall, and got along well because of “mutual respect, shared sensibilities, and laughter.” Iversen was on the eighth floor of JoTo, i.e., the Jonsson Tower highrise.

Humor definitely fuels apartment life for the trio. Says Armenta of Uebelein, “He’s a total goofball, the silliest guy you’ll ever meet!” Meanwhile, Uebelein calls Iversen “the funniest guy.”

The three roomies just watched all of season one of the BBC's “The Great British Baking Show," which is funny in itself, though Iversen is quick to point out that “scones are no laughing matter.” They also watch a lot of comedies, including Aziz Ansari's hit Netflix series, “Master of None,” and “Portlandia,” created by Fred Armisen of SNL fame and Carrie Brownstein.

Armenta, who plans to pursue web development after graduation, is sort of the glue that keeps the apartment on track. He’s recognized as the top cook (more on food later), as well as for his interior decorating skills (his mom does it for a living), and his penchant for cleanliness.

Says Uebelein, “James cleans the most and then Ian and I fall on a spectrum of ‘less-cleanly-ness’ behind him, which works for us. It's not like James is obsessive or a pushover, and Ian and I aren't pigs or anything. It's more like James notices things are dirty, cleans up, and then reminds us, ‘Hey guys, clean up your stuff!’ And we try to clean up before he calls campo on us.”

As for food, they hardly ever go to the D-Hall. Saffron rice with sriracha, roasted chicken, and steamed broccoli is one of their standbys because it’s cheap, easy to make, and delicious. And when they ended up with extra inventory from an apple-picking adventure, Armenta made apple fritters and a savory apple tapenade. Uebelein’s contribution: apples baked with an ungodly amount of butter, sugar, and cinnamon piled on top of ice cream. Guitar-playing Iversen, they say, is a “skilled sandwich maker.”

All three roommates concur that Northwoods is a very nice places to live, “much better than you would get off campus.” When Uebelein’s sister visited from Manhattan and first laid eyes on their digs, she said out loud to no one in particular, “Are you kidding me?” Translation: It was just too darn nice, and she was a tad miffed that little bro was living large.

As for a third year living with Armenta (and a second with Iversen), Uebelein is all in: “I'm 100 percent sure I'm going to live with these two again next year, whether they want to or not. As for living with a fourth person, I'm not sure. We'll see!” ~ By Peter MacDonald