Pesky Visitors

There is something about our home that makes it irresistible. The reason why i used the word "home" and not "house" is because, no matter where we stayed over the years, visitors seem to flock to our place.Therefore, i have no choice but to believe that there's that x-factor that seems to draw people to it and somehow kathy and me cannot seem to fathom why or what exactly it is..

OUR home is the most mismatched home you can imagine.While we love the clashes of warm and brash colors, it's quite sad to say that our initial effort to match it up to the likes of a catalogue home remained futile. It was possibly because of kathy's and my distinctive differences in taste. It could be the hand me down furniture that don't match each another, let alone our color or concept theme, and since beggers aren't choosers and we couldn't afford to buy whatever we really wanted, we had to just make do with it. It could be our poodle Piggy who is constantly snooping around like a wind up toy in every nook and corner. It could be the fact that our house is never in a perfect neat condition and there's always some mayhem piled up somewhere that is waiting to be sorted out. For a place that is laced with imperfections from the moment you walk in to, we're guessing that people love our "home" simply because of the knack we have for making the best out of nothing or little that makes it homely, warm and fuzzy .. Or is it?..

While is it nice having visitors over most of the time, it can get rather weary when people stay for longer periods of time, unabashed by the subtle hints we give in desperate attempt to buy back some privacy. Since our home somehow emits an air of a dream bachelor pad where there are no rules and is lackadaisically comfortable ( or messily cluttered), it is sometimes hard to enjoy it all to ourselves, without unwanted or unannounced visitors.

Don't get me wrong here. We are not snobs with sticks up our arse who are incapable of accommodating people and appreciating the presence of visitors gracing our shack. We've had awesome visitors whom we wished for them to stay for good. Visitors we don't mind whipping a few dishes in the kitchen to show them a good experience at "Kathy's & Charlene's Lodge". Those whom you'd go the extra length to make their stay more comfortable, in any way that you can. Alas!! More often than not, we seem to attract the other kind. And for those kind, there simply has to be a line drawn to those others who can't seem to get the hint to leave when they should.

Our home is ours to enjoy and keep. And that's the only thing we have that is completely ours to modify and personalize, and do whatever the hell we want in it. But we have a nagging feeling that our unprecedented hospitality is the main cause of all our inconveniences.

In terms of visitors, we've had our fill of every personality imaginable. From people who have stayed for weeks without going home, to those who went as far as asking for a spare key. While we're a far cry from being neat freaks, having visitors means that we'd have to entertain them to some point, and clean up after them, which is an added chore to the little time we have after we cancel out the time spent at work, and doing the usual household chores.
Mostly, we would get people who would show up unannounced expecting us to drop our errands and plans, and accommodate them simple because they ARE our visitors. And then there are those use our stuff, eat up our food, mess our home and bring their friends to hang out without asking first. And then there are those (God bless their souls) who use our home as their "shag-pad". Bringing guys for sleep overs in our place, not to mention using our matteresses and bed sheets and scented candles just simply because they cannot do so at their parent's or relative's houses. Those are the kind that kathy and me would go at all lengths to prevent them from coming over again.

Where is the common courtesy people ought to have in matters like these? It is simple do's and don'ts that is really, common sense. Perhaps the reason why we seem to get visitors as such, is simply because people reckon that they can always rely on us, because we are their good friends or family. Or to put things in a crude perspective, they know that they can take advantage over us and have us keep our mouths shut just because we are "NICE".

Rather than risking sounding like a bunch of anal retentive bitches, it'll be truly nicer if people were a tad bit more considerate at times.. My, that would be too much to ask now wouldn't it??