Is there anything about your house, street, neighborhood, etc that embarrasses you?

[Anonymous]

Finding crickets in the basement when guests come over is embarrassing. Usually the cats get them but sometimes they miss one. Also, it is embarrassing when we clean the cat boxes before having guests and then the cats take a dump right before the guests come (they always manage this, somehow) so it smells for the first 20 mins of the visit.

Other than that, not really. I suppose I should be embarrassed by the fact that anyone taller than 5'10" (which includes my DH) has to duck when walking through part of the basement to get to the second bathroom, laundry, and storage. But really we are so happy to have finally finished that area -- in a fairly ingenious fashion given the space constraints -- that I really do not care. Ditto for our crappy Ikea furniture. It is functional and comfortable and I don't throw out functional things. When it dies, we will get new furniture. Until then, I would rather use my money wisely than spend it just so my friends don't wonder why we don't have a nicer house.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Our awful female ginkgo tree. But it's on city property so there's not much we can do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Finding crickets in the basement when guests come over is embarrassing. Usually the cats get them but sometimes they miss one. Also, it is embarrassing when we clean the cat boxes before having guests and then the cats take a dump right before the guests come (they always manage this, somehow) so it smells for the first 20 mins of the visit.

Other than that, not really. I suppose I should be embarrassed by the fact that anyone taller than 5'10" (which includes my DH) has to duck when walking through part of the basement to get to the second bathroom, laundry, and storage. But really we are so happy to have finally finished that area -- in a fairly ingenious fashion given the space constraints -- that I really do not care. Ditto for our crappy Ikea furniture. It is functional and comfortable and I don't throw out functional things. When it dies, we will get new furniture. Until then, I would rather use my money wisely than spend it just so my friends don't wonder why we don't have a nicer house.

Wait, did I post this? I swear, this is our house, word-for-word.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm embarrassed about anything, but yeah, our cats have been on the phone with yours.

Also, the upstairs bathroom has water damage and needs gutting. The kitchen tiles are cracked and look dingy, no matter how you clean them.

Our neighbors constantly pile up trash, including soiled mattresses and broken toilets, in front of our house, days before trash pick up. There's an HOA, but they step over the piles of garbage to cite each and every one of us about faded paint trim or a rust spot on a railing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Finding crickets in the basement when guests come over is embarrassing. Usually the cats get them but sometimes they miss one. Also, it is embarrassing when we clean the cat boxes before having guests and then the cats take a dump right before the guests come (they always manage this, somehow) so it smells for the first 20 mins of the visit.

Other than that, not really. I suppose I should be embarrassed by the fact that anyone taller than 5'10" (which includes my DH) has to duck when walking through part of the basement to get to the second bathroom, laundry, and storage. But really we are so happy to have finally finished that area -- in a fairly ingenious fashion given the space constraints -- that I really do not care. Ditto for our crappy Ikea furniture. It is functional and comfortable and I don't throw out functional things. When it dies, we will get new furniture. Until then, I would rather use my money wisely than spend it just so my friends don't wonder why we don't have a nicer house.

Why are your guests spending so much time in your basement? We also have crickets and litter boxes in our basement, but I don't bring guests down there, so it isn't an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Finding crickets in the basement when guests come over is embarrassing. Usually the cats get them but sometimes they miss one. Also, it is embarrassing when we clean the cat boxes before having guests and then the cats take a dump right before the guests come (they always manage this, somehow) so it smells for the first 20 mins of the visit.

Other than that, not really. I suppose I should be embarrassed by the fact that anyone taller than 5'10" (which includes my DH) has to duck when walking through part of the basement to get to the second bathroom, laundry, and storage. But really we are so happy to have finally finished that area -- in a fairly ingenious fashion given the space constraints -- that I really do not care. Ditto for our crappy Ikea furniture. It is functional and comfortable and I don't throw out functional things. When it dies, we will get new furniture. Until then, I would rather use my money wisely than spend it just so my friends don't wonder why we don't have a nicer house.

Why are your guests spending so much time in your basement? We also have crickets and litter boxes in our basement, but I don't bring guests down there, so it isn't an issue.

The basement is small but finished and that's where the TV is. So if people want to watch TV (or use the second bathroom, or do laundry), that's where they go.

[Anonymous]

I used to be embarrassed about our rowhouse in the city that had drugdealing neighbors and trash in the street all the time. We moved, but are renting the old place and it recently appraised at three times what we paid for it so, honestly, not embarrassed anymore.

[Anonymous]

I am embarrassed in our neighborhood when neighbors (or their guests) park their cars all crazily ("creative parking," we call it) up on the curb on the grass . STEWPID and low-class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm embarrassed about anything, but yeah, our cats have been on the phone with yours.

Also, the upstairs bathroom has water damage and needs gutting. The kitchen tiles are cracked and look dingy, no matter how you clean them.

Our neighbors constantly pile up trash, including soiled mattresses and broken toilets, in front of our house, days before trash pick up. There's an HOA, but they step over the piles of garbage to cite each and every one of us about faded paint trim or a rust spot on a railing.

Must be a cat thing. I swear they have some secret sense that tells them to use the box as aromatically as possible right before people come to the door.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am embarrassed in our neighborhood when neighbors (or their guests) park their cars all crazily ("creative parking," we call it) up on the curb on the grass . STEWPID and low-class.

Huh. Are the streets really narrow so people are afraid of getting hit? We don't park on the grass but we always flip our mirror up because of this, and try to get as close to the curb as possible. A neighbor down the street got grazed and his mirror was duct-taped together for weeks until he was able to get it fixed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am embarrassed in our neighborhood when neighbors (or their guests) park their cars all crazily ("creative parking," we call it) up on the curb on the grass . STEWPID and low-class.

Huh. Are the streets really narrow so people are afraid of getting hit? We don't park on the grass but we always flip our mirror up because of this, and try to get as close to the curb as possible. A neighbor down the street got grazed and his mirror was duct-taped together for weeks until he was able to get it fixed.

Yes, the streets are pretty narrow and we mostly all have one-car garages with short driveways. There is guest parking but never seems to be enough. Hence, people get "kreative."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm embarrassed about anything, but yeah, our cats have been on the phone with yours.

Also, the upstairs bathroom has water damage and needs gutting. The kitchen tiles are cracked and look dingy, no matter how you clean them.

Our neighbors constantly pile up trash, including soiled mattresses and broken toilets, in front of our house, days before trash pick up. There's an HOA, but they step over the piles of garbage to cite each and every one of us about faded paint trim or a rust spot on a railing.

This sounds awful. You have my sympathy! Our HOA just doesn't do anything ever.

[Anonymous]

There is a house at the entrance to our street in CCDC that was in abysmal shape for years: paint peeling off in sheets, cracked and missing windows, siding missing, gutters detached and hanging off the house. Grass-weeds > 1 foot high. Papers piled up in the weeds. Seriously, a for-profit haunted house had nothing on this address.

A middle-aged, medium income family lives there. There are at least 4 able-bodied humans at this address (so it's absolutely not the case of the destitute elderly shut-in who can't mow grass). One has a GS-14 / SES job.

Every. EVERY single single new visitor -- and some repeat visitors -- to my house comments on this property at the entrance to our street. As in, wtf, cant the DC govt take some sort of action here?

Finally inspectors began to cite them for nuisance grass > 12 inches. So at least there's that. Some of the dangling siding and gutters have just been pulled off, so the House of Fright thing is slightly improved. Yay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am embarrassed in our neighborhood when neighbors (or their guests) park their cars all crazily ("creative parking," we call it) up on the curb on the grass . STEWPID and low-class.

Huh. Are the streets really narrow so people are afraid of getting hit? We don't park on the grass but we always flip our mirror up because of this, and try to get as close to the curb as possible. A neighbor down the street got grazed and his mirror was duct-taped together for weeks until he was able to get it fixed.

We've got streets like this too. If cars are parked on both sides, it's virtually impossible for two cars to pass, and there's no clear system for who goes first. Easier to manage on our streets that lead to courts, but bad on one of the major roads in our neighborhood where the bus comes through.

[Anonymous]

Yes, we do not have a ballroom.