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I have to admit, that if you walk into my house, I will probably try to feed you.
I don't stay with strangers, but I do stay with family on trips. For me, the stay is worth it because I get to be with family members all day. But I've learned what I need to do to stay sane on these trips. And so, I go prepared.
I think OP's experience is so bizarre that ten years from now he and his wife will be telling this story and horrifying listeners. At some point in time, it is so bizarre, they will be laughing, albeit ruefully, about it. But I imagine that living it was absolutely awful.
What? What? Tell me, tell me! What do you do to prepare? I'm curious...
When they called 3 days before the OP and his wife were leaving to go out of town the correct response should have been "Sorry, we already have plans this weekend, but lets plan to meet for lunch/ dinner sometime soon." If they insist... "Yeah, its too bad you didn't call sooner cause, like I said, we already have a nice weekend planned. "
I agree. I think the OP said their trips to that city happen somewhat frequently. They could easily have said they'd plan something next time. With only 3 days notice, they could also have kept their hotel, and planned to meet up in the city. The baseball ticket thing is weird. As someone else said, their seats wouldn't even have been together. If they'd planned ahead for the next time, they could have bought tickets together. The whole thing was avoidable.
Its taken me a long time to learn to say, "No thanks, maybe another time" and not feel bad about it. I highly recommend it!
I used to be one of those "shrinking violets" that could never say no. Not anymore as I've had plans ruined more than once by people showing up fashionably late and with another couple we didn't even know. "Oh we thought you wouldn't mind..", when we had made reservations for 4..not for 6!! Since they were already late for our previous reservation, we ended up at some gross pizza place since everyplace else was packed to the gills. My ex used to love to jump at invitations all the time when we already had plans for a nice evening out, etc. All of these things used to make me so angry.
I agree with Stacy and have learned to nicely say "Thanks, but we already have plans.." no matter HOW insistent someone is. There's always another time and I'm glad I'm married to someone that doesn't like to socialize much anyway..lol!!
Your hosts were more than rude the entire time and that horrible unappreciative brat's temper tantrum..ugh!! Then to leave you to wander around their home while they went to early church without even notifying you; nothing in the fridge to eat, etc., with absolutely no apologies??
I'd hesitate to make any more plans with them too!!
Ah well, at least it will give you and your wife something to laugh about in later years, as it seriously does sound like something out of a Saturday Night Live skit!!
I am the same as Chowhound. I do not stay at peoples houses for about this reason .
Just reading that tripped me OUT ... oh how I wished you'd gone on to the ball game and NEVER looked back !!
Yes , absolutely erase these people out of your life .
[quote=Kibbiekat;48608042]I agree. I think the OP said their trips to that city happen somewhat frequently. They could easily have said they'd plan something next time. With only 3 days notice, they could also have kept their hotel, and planned to meet up in the city. The baseball ticket thing is weird. As someone else said, their seats wouldn't even have been together. If they'd planned ahead for the next time, they could have bought tickets together. The whole thing was avoidable.[/QUOTE]
Yes, it was.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ourdaywillcome
I used to be one of those "shrinking violets" that could never say no. Not anymore as I've had plans ruined more than once by people showing up fashionably late and with another couple we didn't even know. "Oh we thought you wouldn't mind..", when we had made reservations for 4..not for 6!! Since they were already late for our previous reservation, we ended up at some gross pizza place since everyplace else was packed to the gills. My ex used to love to jump at invitations all the time when we already had plans for a nice evening out, etc. All of these things used to make me so angry.
I agree with Stacy and have learned to nicely say "Thanks, but we already have plans.." no matter HOW insistent someone is. There's always another time and I'm glad I'm married to someone that doesn't like to socialize much anyway..lol!!
Your hosts were more than rude the entire time and that horrible unappreciative brat's temper tantrum..ugh!! Then to leave you to wander around their home while they went to early church without even notifying you; nothing in the fridge to eat, etc., with absolutely no apologies??
I'd hesitate to make any more plans with them too!!
Ah well, at least it will give you and your wife something to laugh about in later years, as it seriously does sound like something out of a Saturday Night Live skit!!
People like these two dolts don't apologize because they don't thing they did anything wrong, as hard as that is to imagine.
But when you go stay with strangers you don't know what to expect, which is why you stay in a hotel and meet up with them.
We no longer stay at anyone's house. Always go to a hotel.
Also, I hope we will never have to have anyone stay at our home again, except children and grandchildren. After the awful guests we had visit us for a week (even though they stayed in a hotel) last summer, we will be extremely reluctant to have anyone come here if they expect us to entertain them for a week.
I contributed a one-line comment to this thread several days ago but I am still in awe by the subsequent comments. Supposedly (society says) people get wiser as they get older; I definitely am wiser because I now understand that some people plateau in regards to wisdom and the only truth is that adults are generally wiser than children. I see plenty of cases where a twenty-something is wiser than a fifty-something.
A couple of general rules I've lived by since I turned 18:
(1) Never put control of your life in the hands of complete or virtual strangers, even for a day.
(2) Never leave your home area without a contingency plan or 'Plan B' in place.
I would expect a 15 year old to go out for an evening or a weekend and let someone else take total control of the plans. What we have here is a pair of 50 year old people that made teenage level mistakes. I've seen threads where this OP comes in and reams other people on moral issues. This new background information will remain fresh in my mind for when he does it again to someone else. The story demonstrates very poor judgment.
I contributed a one-line comment to this thread several days ago but I am still in awe by the subsequent comments. Supposedly (society says) people get wiser as they get older; I definitely am wiser because I now understand that some people plateau in regards to wisdom and the only truth is that adults are generally wiser than children. I see plenty of cases where a twenty-something is wiser than a fifty-something.
A couple of general rules I've lived by since I turned 18:
(1) Never put control of your life in the hands of complete or virtual strangers, even for a day.
(2) Never leave your home area without a contingency plan or 'Plan B' in place.
I would expect a 15 year old to go out for an evening or a weekend and let someone else take total control of the plans. What we have here is a pair of 50 year old people that made teenage level mistakes. I've seen threads where this OP comes in and reams other people on moral issues. This new background information will remain fresh in my mind for when he does it again to someone else. The story demonstrates very poor judgment.
Wow.
Weird, given that we generally live our lives with wisdom and without drama. We are prudent with money and are well on the way to a well-funded retirement. We are in positions with lots of responsibility, and people pay us to make important decisions on their behalf. We rotate the tires in our cars and follow the maintenance schedules religiously. Change the filters in the furnace and clean the lint trap in the dryer after every load. Rarely have disagreements, and those are minor. Our children have grown up to be well-rounded and emotionally healthy adults. No running arguments with friends, who are pretty much a fun but level-headed bunch.
Since we live our lives with a great deal of wisdom, stuff such as this never happens. This is a shining exception in our lives, not part of an ongoing saga. Might want to consider that one misstep on one weekend isn't exactly a sign of overall poor judgment on our part. So my wife thought that this woman was still the person she once knew. Not exactly a cardinal sin in my eyes.
And quite frankly, planning weekends with contingencies as if you're mapping out a commando raid on U-Boat pens says a great deal more about you than it does about us.
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What do you do to prepare? I'm curious...
Nooo Thanks!!!
