Earlier today as I was busy writing a post I had a knock on my door. I really don’t like answering the door when I’m not expecting someone because more often than not it’s someone selling something.
So I waited. When I heard the person leave I peeked outside and saw the person going down my driveway to the backyard.
Huh? Then I remembered that our Power company was going to change the electricity meter to a Smart Meter – I think this is one that can tell how you use electricity in your house (washer, dryer, computers). They had told us to put a sticker on our present meter if we wanted to be notified when they were going to make the change over. I do want to be notified as I might be working on my computer at the time and the power will be out for a short time.
Anyway, it wasn’t the power company. It was a guy that Chris and I both work with at the Hospital. I haven’t seen him in a long while because I’ve been off work, and well I haven’t wanted to see him either because he’s kind of creepy.
He’s the kind of guy that once you are nice to him he’ll come over every day, hang out for hours expecting to be fed, drinking your pop, beer or other alcohol etc all the while.
I opened the door and talked to him while he was on the porch steps. I didn’t even let him inside the enclosed porch let alone inside the house! Sorry, but this guy is a major mooch and he hasn’t been around for a while and I like it that way.
While I was talking to him he told me he’d visited at noon or so and knocked on the door. Here it was approximately 3 pm and all I could think of was “what, are you hanging around the house all day?” It just gave me the creeps.
When he finally left I had the shivers. The thought of this guy wandering around our house and maybe even sitting in our garden when I wasn’t aware that he was around just creeped me out.
There’s another guy that Chris used to work with that comes around too. He’s a nice guy in general, but in the three or four years that he’s been coming over on work time he’s never once brought anything over for us to replace what he uses while he’s here. Namely beer. He can sit and drink three beers in a half hour, then he goes back to work, checks out on his time card, and drives home.
I don’t like being mooched off of and I don’t like someone drinking like that (on work time or otherwise) and then driving home.
Our problem is that in general we are just plain too nice to people and we end up getting these hangers on who never do a thing for us except take take take all that we’ll give.
No more of that! I’m through with mooches … especially ones who’ve turned into major creeps.
You know anyone like that?
I have a friend who’s a bit strange – not a mooch. In fact he like to foot the bill all the time. However, the problem is that he’s a lonely guy who stays in a big house all by himself so eh would come over to my condo and knock on my door at 5 am in the morning. He stopped coming over after I got married and after I made him realise that he couldn’t come to my house like he used to anymore. Maybe that’s what you need to do. No hints. tell them straightaway but in a nice way.
I’ve often found that the best way to deal with people like that is to just be straight foreward and ask them to pick up some beer the next time they come over. In many cases the person doesn’t realize that they’re mooching. If they’re coming over because they enjoy your company and not the free beer then they’ll have no problem with bringing some beer with them. It’s only the true mooch who’ll be angry with such a request.
Sounds like a wierdo… why is he coming by your house at multiple times of the day? I know guys like that, and I believe that they think they can actually get laid doing that.
Adam no I’m pretty sure that both of these guys know that they are mooches. They are the type of people that you ask to bring beer over, or that you say it’s your turn to pay and they conveniently forget their wallet or to go by the store. We’ve said outright to them that they owe us and they are like oh yeah next time. Next time never comes.
These guys are kind of like your friend though – especially the one that showed up at the door yesterday. At one point he was coming over daily never getting the hint that he was in the way and stopping us from doing stuff.
That is just plain tacky. I guess you never realize how much people can take advantage of you until you meet these mooches.
Just be honest and tell him off.
You really do need to be careful. There can be a fine line between a weirdo and an obsessed stalker.
He sounds the sort of person to avoid, who will always seem to be hanging around.
Ooh, I hate that! If I don’t answer the door, that is not an invitation for you to wander into my yard! Even if it’s not fenced, that’s MY space.
Ewww, that would have freaked me out!
I have to say I know exactly what you’re talking about…it’s a widely present problem in the college world =( (Which reminds me I need to make sure the door is locked, as some people don’t knock anymore…not a huge deal as I don’t mind their company, just a little uncomfortable to have someone just walk into your home…
We have a friend who’s a bachelor. He comes by, and literally empties out the fridge. He eats everything and anything. Whether it be chocolates I received for my birthday, or food & drink we bought for a dinner party, he eats it all without asking.
We did however start to tell him that its not OK, and now he’s starting to ask what he may have. Seems like you should be a bit forward with people who act like that?
Creepy guy hanging around your garden is just weird though. I’d also be freaked out by that.
Thats just freaky, i used to have a neighbor that acted that way until i decided to heck with his feelings and just told him to stay away.I know it sounds mean but it had to be done.
This guy sounds kind of scary, espicially if he has been lurking around your house for 3 hours without your knowledge. I would probably be conveniently out of beer the next time he shows up.
I had similar problem once that solved itself by accident. There was a guy I wasn’t particularly fond of and thought was a little odd. But I thought maybe he needed a friend so I made the effort to be nice.
Then, totally unrelated to him, I started excercising and jogging and decided not to keep beer at home anymore. I explained this on his next visit and guess what? He stopped coming.
I guess he really didn’t need a friend afterall.
My wife tends to attract creeps, and she is a very nice person, so that is a bad combo. She was in the news and papers not too long ago, and some guy in prison wrote her a letter that he sent to her work. Strange letter, wanted her to write back, etc. She is a Veterinarian, and this guy was playing like he wanted to be the same. He was in prison for like 7 more years for armed robbery, etc, we looked it up. Obviously, she never wrote back.
Jim