Guests

I am one that loves to have people over...mi casa es su casa or how ever that is spelled. Right?! When you have people over, you want them to feel comfortable not like a stranger. One needs to feel free to sit on the couch, get a drink from the frig, and so on. Maybe it is me, but as long as you respect me and my place, please, make yourself at home.

I let a good friend and his little brother stay at my place this week. They arrived when I was out of town for work, but I made sure they had keys, and were all set up needs wise with my place. A couple days later when walking through my front door, panning the place - it was a mess. Never in a million years would I ever have imagined I would have walked into my place looking the way it did. It hadn't looked that bad since the day I moved in. Clothes, water bottles and glasses half full, dishes - all that everywhere and they, they are just chillin on the couch. Granted my arrival was just before midnight, but still, when the owner of the place you are staying at is coming home, you don't let the person come one to nothing but a clean place. Especially when they arrived it was clean. (I can be anal at times.) Not only that, but they did not take a visitor parking spot allowing my to park in my spot knowing I was coming in with all my "stuff" (luggage/server/notebook) and exhausted. Nope, I got to drive around to find anything close so I didn't have to carry things far. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper. Being almost midnight, thought it would be wise to keep those thoughts to myself.

The next morning I am up early (getting used to the time change) and clean, and start working. I was working from home that morning. The guys began to wake around 9 - 9:30. If they noticed the place was much cleaner, they didn't say anything. "sorry we left your place a mess" would have been sufficient, but nope, nothing. About an hour later, we need to begin getting ready to meet one of my friends for lunch before we took her to the airport. I get out of the shower, get ready - come back to the living room - again food/drink/clothes EVERYWHERE. What the hell! Seriously, but again I bit my tongue. Still exhausted from a long work week, and it was my birthday, the last thing I wanted to do was get mad at my "friends" on my birthday.
I would go on, but not worth it - this is how the week continued. Catering to them. Tuesday was my afternoon off, my day to choose what I wanted to do, which was sleep by the pool and relax. NOPE. They didn't want to do that. We spent three hours looking up things to do - trying to get them to say something. Finally I said movie. They weren't thrilled - BUT WHO CARES, right?!
We went to see The Dark Night. Not a movie I really wanted to see, but it got them to stop bitching for three hours!

Kelly paid for my lunch on my birthday and Bob paid for my dinner. What did my out of town friends do for me...nothing but be a pain in my ass.

Last night they were getting ready to leave. Again, leaving crap everywhere for me to pick up once they have gone. Dishes, water bottle half full, my camelback I let them borrow - was still on the floor where they threw it (still waiting for them to pick that up)...so i began to say "are you taking these half full water bottles? Are you done with that camelback? Are you finished eating the food on that plate?" Stuff they have left out for days - but come one, how do they not clean up after themselves at someone'splace. Phil then got the hint that my shoes to go to dinner were not going on until he helped pick up their crap.

To me, when you stay at someones place there are rules:
1. You find it clean, you keep it as clean as you can (unless the homeowner is making the mess with you - then you all clean it up)
2. Be respectful of their things - you borrow something, you clean it (if needed) and return
3. Do something for letting you stay with them (even if it is a small gift just to show your thanks)

It isn't much - it is common courtesy! I listed three rules - and if you can't follow those - don't stay at someone's place.