Making their way through I Need My Girl and Squalor Victoria, it isn't until Sea of Love that things really begin to pique the interest of the crowd.
But just as I was about to whisk her back to my mouse-infested squalor of student accommodation for a night of passion overheard by the eight people I lived with, I decided to play the "good Samaritan" card, giving her a little speech about how I wanted her to be sure.
My predilection for stories of squalor and glitter, hysteria and moral complexity, led me most recently to 19th-century New York, which offers interesting parallels to the present-day city, and a dragon's pile of linguistic loot.
If there is one single thing he did at Ursinus that would hint of the perfect short stories to come: "For Esm?- With Love and Squalor"; "Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes"; "A Perfect Day for Bananafish -- no one has unearthed it yet.
"These years of squalor were the best years of my life," he claimed.
Each of the halls at my alma mater were in varying degrees of squalor and only the lucky made their way into the newly renovated buildings.
I was happy for him to sleep in our bed, eat off my plate and gnaw my slippers, while my husband wanted rules and was appalled by the advancing tide of squalor and chaos.
It's a seriously impressive collection, and virtually everything played into my growing impression of Miami -- beautiful, with an intriguing squalor around the edges.
The squalor in which I lived in Paradise with my great-aunt and eight other people contrasted sharply with the grandeur of the homes I visited on the other side of town.
The woman's kind regard for my safety, and her civility in the middle of such imposed squalor, humbled me.
