Guests..need I say more

In this post, the word guests refers to people who come and stay at one's place for a few days, weeks or in some cases, months. Guests, love them or hate them, but you DEFINITELY can't ignore. Everyone who knows me also knows that my house is teeming with guests all year round. Relatives, friends, relatives of relatives, friends of relatives, relatives of friends, friends of friends, well you can find almost all kinds of guests at my place. Sometimes we are entertaining two or three different sets of people (who don't even know each other) at the same time. 

Each person will agree with the fact that having guests can be pretty irritating or frustrating at times. You always have to be courteous, polite and smiling around them. Also, there is almost no privacy for you in your own house.

I have seen so many different types of guests at my place that I have broadly classified them into two categories, type of guests I love and the type of guests I hate. I have further divided the people lying in these categories into sub-categories. So, here goes my list.

Guests I Love Having Around


1. Guests who are non-demanding and become a part of your family: These kind of guests are the best to have. They have absolutely no demands with regards to eating, sleeping, clothing etc. Instead, they look after your house, even cook for you when you are at work and you can rely upon them in case of any problems. They blend into the family and become family members so much that you actually feel SAD when they leave.

2. Guests who come for a short stay and leave on time: Short stay guests are the most fun loving kind. You know that they are at your place for only a day or two, so you spend that time indulging them by going out for dinners, or ordering food from outside, going sight seeing with them etc. By the time you start getting bored or your stomach is unable to digest oily and greasy food from outside, it's time for them to leave.

3. Guests who bring nice gifts for you: Yeah yeah..I know what you all must be thinking, how selfish of her to like people just on the basis of what they get for her. But, seriously I am sure that there are many more of my kind, and everyone at some point or the other has been biased towards people who gave them good presents. It's just that when someone gives you an expensive present, it just compensates for the trouble you go through to make them feel comfortable.

Guests I just cannot stand having at my place


1. Guests who come unannounced to give you a 'surprise': I just don't understand the concept of landing on someone's doorstep with heavy luggage and his/her entire family, without any kind of intimation, to stay at somebody's place for 'a few days' and expecting them to be thrilled and happily surprised !!! Example - you are out for a movie and dinner with your folks on a Saturday night and get a call from your relative, who asks about your whereabouts. You are blissfully unaware of the reason behind the question. When you reach home, you find the same person sitting on the stairs outside your house. When you look shocked, he smiles sheepishly and says, "It is Saturday night so I thought you will be home and wanted to give you a surprise." More shock..How can a person be foolish enough to think that on a Saturday night we will most definitely be at home. If it was a Monday night or a Tuesday night or any other weekday night, a person can be sure that we will be home, but Saturday night!! I think that there are only two reasons that someone would arrive unannounced - first, he/she has not heard of a phone, e-mail, letter or a postcard, or, secondly, the person knows he is disliked by the hosts and would not be invited if he informed beforehand so he/she just pops up suddenly. Living in this technologically advanced generation, the former reason seems highly unlikely, so I bet that it almost every time the latter.

2. Guests who think the world revolves around them: These are the kinds of guests I despise the most. They have a big superiority complex and are the most egoistic. They treat the hosts like slaves or servants and expect them to obey all their whims and fancies. You have to give up your room for them. Not only the room, you have to empty your closet, study table and almirahs and shift all your stuff either in your sibling's or your parents' room. On top of that they require an exclusive bathroom for themselves which is out of bounds for everyone else in the house. Last but not the least, they pretend to be more busy than the president of the USA and want everything on time, for example breakfast at 8 am, fruits at 10 am, lunch at 12 pm, tea at 4 pm, dinner at 7 pm and so on. You actually dread staying at home and find excuses to go out and even spend extra time in office just to avoid them. Also, surprisingly, these guests are the ones that stay the longest.

3. Clingy guests: These are definitely the most irritating species of guests. They are too affectionate and loving for your comfort. They will want to sleep with you in your room whether you like or not and irrespective of whether there is space. After waking up in the morning, the first thing they'll do is give you a tight hug and a peck on the cheek. They also have a habit of going wherever you go within the house. In other words, they expect you to spend your every waking, and even sleeping hour with them. You get really frustrated if you've had a horrible day and they refuse to leave your side. You've spent 10-11 hours working in the office and three hours travelling and by the time you reach home you are drained and exhausted and just want some peace. But no, first these people will hug you like they are meeting you after ages, then hover around you like bees around a flower. You have no choice but to act all smiley and chirpy around them, as if you have spent the whole day in a spa and a beauty parlour.

This post has already become quite long, but there's so much to write about guests that I could go on forever.

Off to spend time with another guest
Chao!