Sleep to hard.

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So apparently I've slept way too hard my entire life. I in fact wear my old glasses when I sleep, just so that if I have to respond to something, they're already on. My only thing is, I kind of doubt I'm going to wake up :banghead:.

My roommate works at a bar and generally comes home around 2-3am, and generally drunk. Most of the time I don't hear him come in even though our screen door sounds like a hammer when it closes. Whenever he is already here when I go to bed, or I know he is not coming home I lock the chain on the door. Hoping it'll make a lot more noise while someone is trying to fumble with it, but most of the time I can't seeing as I work days and go to bed a lot earlier than my roommate gets home.

Obviously the easiest response to this would be an alarm system, but I'm only 21, not going to be living here permanently, and it's a cruddy old apartment. Doesn't really seem worth the time or cost, not to mention, I don't foresee my roommate's ability to function it that well when he comes home so late, a lot of times inebriated from his job.

Any off the charts solutions, or should I just "try" to be more alert?

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Something as simple as setting up a few empty bottles and cans in the doorway should work, if someone open the door, the clanking should be enough to either wake you, are make the intruder aware that he is no longer silent and it may turn them around.

A simple infrared beam with a reflector as a door entry alarm should work, or even a simple outdoor camera that are used for taking pictures of wildlife. They are activated by infrared, and they snap a flash picture of whatever enters the beam. That way you have photo evidence of an intruder (or comical evidence that your roommate is bringing home some larger women in his drunkenness)

Or, get a dog!

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A dog would definitely be one of my first options, because I love dogs. Unfortunately I'm hoping to leave for active duty military soon that would just be mean to the dog.

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Big Boy, I definitely know how you feel. I have used a wireless security system from Skylink for quite some time now and think it is a great investment. Nothing has to be wired in and can be easily removed and taken to your next residence easily. They have door, window, motion, water, noise and other sensors. Much like your situation, my wife works nights so when she is working it is set in away mode so that she will have 45 seconds to disarm before the alarm goes off. When she is home, it is set in night mode for immediate alarm activation. The first night she worked it took her a little to long to disarm the next morning which set off the alarm. The problem is, I kept on sleeping (as did both children) and it is a rather loud and very annoying siren. My next purchase is a remote siren to plug in by the bed!

Here is a link to Amazon where I purchased mine:

http://www.amazon.com/Skylink-SC-100-Security-System-Deluxe/dp/B0002YPF5Y/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1252894746&sr=8-3

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The door bomb in "Hitman"(2007) was a clever idea.

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Thanks Hitman, that's not a bad idea, I've never heard of those before.

As for a bomb...don't think the landlord would fancy that one too well.

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Trouble with an alarm system is that you usually have to type in a activation/de-activation code into the main box. That may not work so well with your roommate coming in drunk all the time. He'll probably not be able to get the code right.

Have you tried getting another roommate, one that is less likely to come home drunk?

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I'm with ya' dude. I sleep like the dead. Wish it was otherwise...

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They used to sell these cheaper at ThinkGeek, but I can't find them there anymore. It's sold as a toy, but I don't know why it wouldn't work.

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I don't sleep, myself. I go into a temporary coma.

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Just an update to any one who cares. I thought of a really ghetto, however effective manner for me to be awoken by anyone entering my room. It doesn't protect the entire apartment, but at least I'm personally safe.

Like I said, it's a bit trashy, but it works.
Two things. One, I put a pair of finger nail clippers under my door. It acts as a wedge, and when force is applied, only allows the door to open a few inches. I also took a hanger with an adjustable neck, turned the neck slightly, and hung it in front of my door on the trim. So, two things happen when someone tries to come into my room, they can't get the door open before I react, and the hanger surprisingly does make a decent amount of noise to wake me up. It hits the door, the door knob, and a few other things on the way down.


...hey, it works. :?

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Going on active duty and being a too heavy sleeper sounds like a deadly combination. I don't know where in your training, or for what job, you are but I imagine lack of sleep awareness will soon be cured as you learn "situational awareness".

I learned it as TPA Total Plant Awareness shipboard and honed it thru my career testing power plants. Just now I was awakened by the loss of power to my house as it became "too quiet" and then the un-interruptable power supply quietly beeping a couple of rooms away.

Read Col. Jeff Cooper in an old fashioned book on situational awareness.

Good luck and God Bless. Everyone should serve a military hitch.