Wonderland Burlesque's Just Visiting Quiz

Wonderland Burlesque's 

Just Visiting Quiz

Knock, knock...

Who there?

An overnight guest.

There's the couch. Have at it!  Make yourself at home. 

See you in the morning!

Oh. we've all done it, or have had to do it. 

Yes, a nice hotel room may be preferable, but sometimes we choose the intimacy of staying in the home of a good friend or family member... and sometimes? Be it a matter of economics, convenience or forced circumstances? Well, we simply have no choice. 

Staying overnight or having overnight visitors; that's the topic for today's quiz.

Now, to ensure that this quiz, like some guests, does not overstay its welcome, I've kept it brief; a mere six questions.

So, let's kiki! And spill all about the thrill of overnight guests - the being and the having.

--- ---

1/ Did you host sleepovers when you were a child? Tell us about them.

I did. Always in groups. And only two.

One when I was 12 and one when I turned 16. 

I have a photo of the one when I was 12. Me and three boys, my best friends at the time. 

And every single one of us? Budding homosexuals!

It's strange, that we found each other and that was the root of our bond... but, whether we ever came out of the closet or not, we were all gay as fuck. 

We would not remain friends, however. I think it had to do with something unspoken, a sort of agreement, that once past puberty, we, birds of a feather, could no longer flock together, for it made us easy targets for bullies and hateful rumors. 

One became obsessed with popularity. Today he's an 'actor' and just as obsessed with image, popularity, and himself as he always was. The fact that he hasn't a drop of talent and that he's not very likable? It has not stopped him. 

One fell into drugs and petty crime and got sent away to juvie. His family was a horror story, so the apple, though gay, did not fall far from the tree. 

And one became an uber Xtian. I will never forget how close we were. We adored each other. We might as well have walked around holding hands. I loved sleeping over at his house. We would giggle for hours and hours and everything was a great adventure. 

However, there came a day in seventh grade where the brainiacs took notice of me and drafted me to be included in  their clique. We were in chorus, and I remember motioning for my dear friend to join us, but he refused and very plaintively begged me to come sit by him. I made a choice. I wanted to belong. 

It was a weirdly clean break. And I'm a bit ashamed at how quickly I abandoned him. His older sister, who I adored, came to me once and told me how sad her brother had become and how she didn't understand what had happened. That was my opportunity to put things right, but instead, I blamed him for not wanting to be part of a larger group of friends. 

Instead, sensing his sadness and loneliness, I suspect, the campus Xtian clique - Maranatha, scooped him up and claimed him for themselves. 

We never reconnected, so I've never had an opportunity to tell him how very sorry I am for how I acted. My only excuse? Being young. 

But then, that and naivete seem to be my go-to's when it comes to excusing my past bad behavior.

As for my 16th celebration? It was all the braniacs - there were eight of us. In sleeping bags on the living room floor, playing board games and watching television. I didn't stay in touch with any of them either. 

2/ What's the longest you have ever hosted a guest in your place of residence? How did it go?

We didn't mean to. It just happened. 

The Ex and I, while still together, had become quite fond of  an actress who was in this musical I wrote and produced. She was  a lot of fun. Until she broke up with her boyfriend. Then she became a mess. 

Well, it was right around the holidays, so we invited her over for Xmas and... she ended up staying for two weeks; crying on and off the entire time. It got to be a bit much. We finally had to do a bit of an intervention and ask her to leave. 

It was really well past time she got on with her life, though it took quite a bit of convincing that there was life to live minus her former boyfriend. 

We still hung out with her. We were at the restaurant where she worked the day she met her future husband. She was behind the bar and we were all perched on barstools. After watching them interact and chatting him up a bit,  I recognized it for what it was right away - he was the one. 

At that point, I was ready to to let go... knowing she'd found a soft place to land. We drifted apart after that, though we were invite to her wedding. 

The Ex attended. 

I did not. 

Selfishly, I did not want to get sucked back in to all her crazy. 

I had plenty of my own to contend with.

3/ What's the longest you stayed at someone else's place of residence? How did it go?

The Boyfriend and I go to my youngest sister's for the week after Christmas Day until New Year's. 

Last year we made the mistake of thinking it would be great fun to stay for eight nights. We left for their place the day after Xmas and remained until the day after New Year's.

Well, the old saying about guests exists for a reason... 

I was very happy to go home and won't be making that same mistake this year. Five nights? Plenty enough of a visit. 

You overstay your welcome and get a whiff of yourself? Ooo. 

Not something you can ignore or something you're clueless enough to repeat again.

They were gracious enough, but that was asking a bit much of them.

4/ Have you ever had someone you didn't know very well crash at your place? Details, please.

Growing up, I remember odd relatives we'd never met before crashing on our living room couch. At mealtime, I would simply stare at them like they were a hobo cat. 

And during my hot and heavy theatre days, yes... people crashed all the time. If I had a place to hang my hat, they had a place to spend the night. It was usually due to intoxication, so no drama, just sheepish looks in the morning as they sipped their coffee. 

In my adult life? I don't remember such a thing occurring. I like my privacy too much. And turns out I am not good at sharing.

5/ Have you ever had to spend overnight in a home where you did not know the people very well or at all?

Well, Minnesota... we have blizzards in the winter. I recall being stranded three times, unable to get back home. All were theatre-related. We'd finish rehearsal, having been sealed away in a big black box, only to open the door to a blustery whiteout. 

Fortunately someone took me in all three times. 

Once, I was playing Stubtoe The Elf at the local mall. Got snowed in and my mother rang up an old friend of hers. I went over, dreading it. Turns out she had two sons my age who slept in the basement and I bunked with them. They introduced me to pot, though I did not get high, and they were a pair of handsome brunettes. Oh, if I'd only been a bit more informed, I'm sure I could have steered that conversation in a direction where we all would have been pant-less. 

The second time, we were doing Godspell. One of the other player's took me and this girl he had the hots for in for the night. I was pointed to a room that looked like it was used for arts and crafts. And, based on how things appeared in the morning, neither of them lacked company that night. 

The third time? I was directing a show in this small town... so one of the actresses had me sleep on her couch. It was so nice. Her house was very Martha Stewart, which is so foreign to me, but... the breakfast she made me before sending me on my way? Spectacular!

6/ Have you ever had an unexpected visitor show up on your doorstep? Welcome, unwelcome? Details, please.

And this brings us to the whole impetus behind today's quiz... you knew there had to be one, yes? I am nothing if not self-serving. 

This summer, The Ex and I have had an uninvited, unwanted little visitor. 

The first clue was a green walnut in the middle of the living room floor. Our dog, Hercules, could not have possibly brought it in with him, for he loathes green walnuts. Put it near his nose and he turns away in disgust and walks to the other side of the room.  

So, how did it get there? 

The next incident came in the form of an actual sighting. 

You see, because I have been working from home and The Ex is now busy with his studio space elsewhere, we'd developed a habit of leaving our backdoor open so Hercules could come and go as he pleases. It opens up to our fenced in backyard, so we know he's safe and we don't have to drop what we're doing in order to let him out. Plus, the fresh air is quite welcome. 

Well, I'm sitting at my little table, in the middle of a zoom meeting when I decide I need a cold beverage. I get up to walk to the other side of my little apartment to the fridge when, who do I spy? 

A little squirrel. He'd walked in through the backdoor and come straight down the steps.

I didn't panic. I made not a sound. He looked around. Then walked around the laundry room. I watched.  Said nothing. And then, up he went, and out the backdoor.  Well, I followed him and let him know in no uncertain terms that he was not welcome in our house. 

And, it appeared, he not only listened, but got the message. 

Fast forward a few weeks. The days of really nice weather have dwindled, so when there is a nice day, I've started to leave the backdoor open again. 

I'm working away in my little basement abode, when I hear a noise upstairs. I'm thinking, 'oh, The Ex is home from his studio, he must have forgotten something.' But the noise is very odd. There's a click, click on the tile in the kitchen that I don't recognize as either The Ex or our dear Hercules. So, I venture up for a look. 

Everything looks fine. I start to think that maybe someone had jumped the fence and made their way into the house, so I start to check out all the rooms. And that's when I spot it... in the living room. 

There's little piles of potting soil here and there, near where The Ex has created this jungle of plants. My initial thought: 'Why on earth has The Ex been so sloppy with his plants.'  And then I try to figure out where the dirt might come from and notice little holes dug in the soil of this plant and that plant.

It finally dawns on me, it's our little squirrel friend, preparing for winter. I go an close the backdoor, vowing to get up and down every time Hercules wants outside. And I do check the entire house to make sure that our guest had found his way out. 

Now it's near the first of October. It's a beautiful day, a Saturday. I have laundry to do. I want to play piano, so, I leave the backdoor open once more. 

Before doing any of that, I make myself a huge brunch... pancakes, an egg, air-fried breakfast potatoes, and a fruit smoothie. For a change of scenery, and since I have the house to myself, I decide to sit in the living room. And Hercules, with his nose for food, joins me. 

We're sitting there, when I hear a bit of noise in the kitchen. Metal hit metal. A clunking and something dashing away. I go out to the kitchen. 

The Ex had made a huge bowl of popcorn the night before and left it in a large metal mixing bowl on the stove top. It seems our squirrel friend was helping himself to some of it. I go to the backdoor, and, sure enough, there he is, digging a hole in the middle of the backyard to store the white pilfered kernel.

Well, fortunately, we're now into the sort of weather where leaving the backdoor open is no longer desirable. All I can say is...

If he invites himself in for the holidays, I won't be buying him any presents. 

--- ---

And that's enough of me. 

Okay, you're turn. You know what to do: leave your answers in the comments section or post on your blog and leave a link here. 

Until next time...

As always, thanks for reading... an participating.

Overnight - Jake Miller

(Nice armpits!)

The Visitors - ABBA