Visitors

Laughing_Gnome_Invisible said:

I'm a friendly sort of person and I get on well with most folk. Anyone knocking on my door will be welcomed with a big smile and a warm hello. Inwardly though, I am scooping out their eyeballs with a blunt fork, ripping off their heads and booting them in the naughty bits like an out of control ball-kicking machine.

I'm a friendly looking hypocrite that HATES to be disturbed. If you want to see me unannounced, make an announcement five weeks in advance in a letter that has been notarized, duplicated and set on fire and the ashes rammed up your ass.

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You sure got a Purdy mouth

Laughing_Gnome_Invisible said:

If you want to see me unannounced, make an announcement five weeks in advance in a letter that has been notarized, duplicated and set on fire and the ashes rammed up your ass.

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It's a bit lengthy, but that's quite the oxymoron it I've ever seen one.

I do agree, though, that unannounced visitors need to be taught a lesson in common courtesy in the form of anal ash rapage. This include salespeople and political campaigners because they should already know we don't want them around. We've been bothered at least twice a week for the last three weeks by a Democratic Senate campaigner looking for our landlord.

No Soliciting

Someone tell me what that means.

If there's one thing I like about our neighborhood covenant/HOA, it's the part that specifically states that solicitors are not welcome. The whole neighborhood will bully their arses out of the subdivision if a salesman starts knocking on doors. Other than that....the HOA can touch it.

sonofgrok said:

I trained my 120 pound German Shepweiler to aggressively try to get through the door whenever someone rings the doorbell and I crack it. Most people are in a pretty big hurry to get out of there when they see me trying to hold him back. Little do they know he only wants to lick them, not bite them

I also sometimes like to answer my door whilst carrying a firearm. That does the trick a lot... especially with the security alarm salesmen.

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You taught your dog to try to get out the door! Nice spin!

Yooper said:

I think it's where we live. We just leave the door open, in case someone wants to get in. I mean, the only people that would go in my house would be either 1. a thief, or 2. a friend.

If it's a thief, I supposed the locked door might dissuade him. But probably not too much. A friend might run over and let my dog out, or drop something off, or borrow something. If it's a thief, and they want an old TV or old desktop, they can have it. The guns are locked up, and we don't have anything else of much value, and no prescription drugs or anything.

If someone ones to break in and take an old TV, it's just easier to leave the door open for them, I guess.

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It is where you live. Any time we had a knock on the door, we'd yell "Come in!", and they would. Always thought it strange that TV people went to the door and opened it.

CreamyGoodness said:

Confession: I hate hearing my door bell. It's usually my landlord wanting a check, or someone trying to sell me something. If I am not expecting anyone, my wife has to hear me bellow "who the F' is knocking on my door!?"

I then go out on my balcony and look down. I'm definitely not putting on pants and going downstairs for Greenpeace or "a positive message." I Save no Children on Saturday mornings.

I have a small handfull of friends who can come over anytime they want, and they call ahead of time.

My inlaws have a house in Michigan on Grand Lake, and folks will just stop by without notice. It's insane. One time we woke up and came downstairs for coffee, and on the table was a pie with a note. My wife and I approached it as if it were a rattlesnake. How did it get there?? Apparently the neighbor lady, who is a nice lovely person by the way, came into the house while we were sleeping and dropped off a pie. I cannot tell you how creepy that is.

Like I said though, shes a nice lady, and thats the culture of the area.

So, let me ask you, New Yorkers and non-New Yorkers alike, how do you feel about surprise visitors?

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1st off, get yourself a "NO SOLICITORS" sign & put it on the front door. Change the locks & don't leave the door(s) unlocked.
Remember, you are not required to answer the door, or the phone for that matter. What if somebody stops by unannounced & you're not home? Just let them think you're not home; after a few times of that, they'll start calling 1st.

Now, if you want to have some fun, keep a few water balloons in a bucket on your balcony; unwanted visitors/solicitors will learn quick to leave you alone.
Or you could just answer the door naked; that usually keeps 'em from coming back. Problem with the naked thing is at least 1 of them will like it & want to join in.

Anybody who respects you & your privacy will call 1st, even if they're standing on the front lawn; it's just common courtesy as far as I'm concerned. I mean, what if you & the missus are getting your groove on? Are you going to stop to answer the door, or phone? I won't. Anybody needs to talk to me that badly, they better have a metric ton of $100 bills for me!
Just my 2 cents worth. Regards, GF.

SharonaZamboni said:

You taught your dog to try to get out the door! Nice spin!

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Its not spin TOO much. I get him riled up saying "Get em' eegs get em'" and he tries to get out the door. If I tell him "Back! Sit!" He backs from the door and sits obediently. :rockin:

Zuljin said:

No Soliciting

Someone tell me what that means.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solicitation
Regards, GF.

These signs are very often ignored.

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The most accurate part of that wiki.

We have such a sign since door to door had gotten very popular in our neighborhood. Maybe it's stopped some, but most seem to think it means ring the doorbell and knock.

I think my door locks but its been a while and I am not sure if I can find the keys anymore. I am on 2.5 fenced acres in the woods. First you have to find the dead end road, then find the dirt road, more of a goat path really. Then get past the shepherd, more bark than bite really. Then get past the cat, then find me. I dont get many salespeople. LOL Just beer guzzling neighbors...

sonofgrok said:

Its not spin TOO much. I get him riled up saying "Get em' eegs get em'" and he tries to get out the door. If I tell him "Back! Sit!" He backs from the door and sits obediently. :rockin:

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Reelale said:

That's an eye-opener.

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Yup, it was a big surprise to the people I saw it happen to also. I saw it happen with cars though, so I'm not sure how that would play out in a burglary.

I guess it definitely depends on where you live/grew up. I couldn't imagine leaving the doors unlocked no matter where I lived. I wouldn't be able to sleep.

We never locked the doors in the community that I grew up in. Even when we went on vacation for several weeks. Never had anything stolen. Now when my folks visit here they have a bad habit of leaving their car doors unlocked etc even if they have been shopping and have a car full of shiny new goods.. NOT a good idea in Albuquerque.

Unlocked doors are a godsend for rapists like me.

No visitors are unannounced at our home...they don't get within 500 feet of the door before the Malinois starts going off.

We have had a couple of REALLY annoying "visitors" though...

They heard the dogs barking and howling and just sat in the driveway honking the horn. One time it was 4 or 5 Jehovah's Witnesses in a minivan, I told them if they wanted to preach, they were welcome in my home. The other was some idiot inquireing about the property next door.

My keyring has one key on it. It's the ignition key to my car. I've never had a key for the house. I think the wife has one. I've never locked a door to my house in +30 years.

we NEVER locked the doors growing up, even when on vacation, but now that i live alone i like to lock the door when i sleep and when im not home

Not locking doors is pretty normal around where I am.
Like I said before divorce is what got me to change my locks and lock the doors, Now a combination of a neighbor that will walk in, and habit from trying to keep my ex from taking everything from my house has caused me to keep the doors locked.
Probably for the better just because I have a 7 year old girl downstairs and from upstairs at the other end of the house it would take something very loud for me to know something was wrong downstairs.

45_70sharps said:

I have a 7 year old girl downstairs and from upstairs at the other end of the house it would take something very loud for me to know something was wrong downstairs.

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Hopefully your kid and not some Buffalo Bill type set up...

In college, all exterior doors of the apartment I lived in were on proximity cards (we learned quickly that you didn't have to take the card out of your wallet, just raise a cheek high enough to get within the range and the door would unlock). Our actual apartment door varied, sometimes we locked it, sometimes we didn't. I honestly can't remember what I did at my first apartment out of college. When I first bought my house three years later, I was initially religious about locking up when I left. Can't remember when, or why, but I basically stopped locking the garage doors. Worked out well, a friend of mine was frequently borrowing tools, (it went both ways, and always returned).

Then... Denny moved in across the cul de sac. Denny used to live on the other side of the block, but came home one day to find his wife had taken out a restraining order (if that tells you anything about him), and he was no longer allowed in their house. Denny's mother lived across from me, and since he needed a place to crash on uber-short notice, he moved in with her. Now we're talking about the kind of guy that virtually nobody that knows him would be surprised to wake up in the morning and find out he had snapped and killed his whole family. I'd routinely run into him on Saturday mornings, drunk out of his mind by 10 AM, and he'd blab all his troubles to anyone with the misfortune to get caught in earshot. Didn't have to hear his story too many times to figure out he was just a little unstable. And all of a sudden, I found it convenient to start locking my doors again, and the Smith & Wesson moved from the safe downstairs, and now lives loaded & chambered in my nightstand.

I'm not even sure my front door even opens anymore. I enter and exit thru the garage, so I don't think I have used the front door in 2-3 years. I even have UPS and Fedex trained not to leave packages at my front door, since I never look or go up there. I usually throw away all the phone books, fliers, etc when I mowing the lawn and am around by the front door. Good thing they don't deliver much of that crap during the winter months. That reminds me I need to sign up on the no phonebook list they were just talking about on the news. https://www.yellowpagesoptout.com/


Edit: I just checked, the door does open and close, although it could use a bit of oil on the hinge, and it was locked.

One day, many years ago when I lived in an apt, I was sitting in the living room when some kid just walks in. He had the wrong apt obvoiusly, meant no harm, apologized & left. Since that day, I keep the door locked even if I'm home. Doesn't matter if it's a criminal, or my neighbor, I don't want them walking in, nor will I give anyone the opportunity to do so. My home (such as it is) is my castle.
Regards, GF.