Too-frequent Visitors
Mostly, we love seeing friends who are in town for a visit. We go out of our way to make time for them, facilitate and fast track their needs, do the research to save them precious time. Their wish is our command. Which we fulfill willingly, gladly, unfailingly.
Except.
There was this one guy. He passes through Singapore coming and going between his original home country and his now adopted home country. At least three times a year. That makes it six transits in 12 months.
He stays with us. He eats off us. He even gets us to pay for his shopping since he never has S$ on him. Then he passes us as helpful Singapore contacts to his equally avaricious and exploitative friends and family.
We finally had enough. Took us four years to reach fed-up point. I know. We are slow like that. Nowadays, we are never in town anymore when he or his friends and family come through.
Except.
There was this one woman. She comes back almost every year. Some years more frequently than that. Invariably she is housed and feted by the handful of friends throughout her month-long stay.
And each time, at the end of her stay, she says to us and the friends, "Oh, you must come visit me so I can return the hospitality."
It crossed our collective mind that she really could show sincere appreciation by returning hospitality just once while she is here. By simply gathering us for a dinner that she can pay for.
Except.
There was this other frequent visitor who stays at different friends' homes for one to two nights of her entire stay. If I go to the trouble of readying the guest room, I figure it is only polite that she should just stay the entire time.
Don't get us wrong. Mostly, we really do love seeing friends when they are in town for a visit.
Except.
The ones who outstay their welcome by being impossibly inconsiderate.
6 comments:
i wanna go shopping with u too! Lol
Suzie Wong is so sympathetic. hahah...
What nice frens you've got... :P I must say, you're most patient though.
hmm..in the first place i find it tough to bunk in with my friends! afterall, it is tough to accommodate or anticipate different habits of others, especially with friends-in-law in the picture.
somehow, it is now different from the time when i was just a schoolgirl, with no qualms of just staying over for a pyjamas party or something like that.
suziewong - u ok lah. come, come.
wg - u met some of them. upfront nothing wrong, right?
edjp - oh yup. all that u are saying crossed my mind too. but there are people who are not sensitive like that.
hmm... I'm not too sure who's the second and third one. I've not met the first one though.
But ya, some of these ppl whom I've met surprised me, esp after hearing stories about them.
wg - you've not met the ones mentioned here, but i mean the types you have met. upfront very ok that's why we very reluctant to conclude something very wrong with them.
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