"In my home! In my bedroom, were my wife sleeps! Where my children come and play with their toys."

We have two houseguests staying with us for about a week. They're some not so distant but not so close cousins from France. It's the weirdest thing because basically, if we could help it, we'd rather not have them around. My mom promised their dad they could come visit while she was here, one of those invitation you hope not to fulfill. They were staying with my aunt in Orange County and she couldn't really deal with them so they got put on a plane and shipped to us in a hurry

They are these big kids who are emotionless, never showing joy or grief. Actually they are quite good at displaying discontent so there's no upside. They are like the opposite of us. My family is always loud, joking around, jovial, especially around the table. They don't really eat, or should I say enjoy eating (the horror), they're quiet, but in a stare-into-emptiness kind of way that just sucks the wind out of you.

Today, they were able to ruin a perfect Sunday morning dimsum ritual. We toured San Francisco after and I don't think less enthusiasm could have been shown. It was to the point where my mom was like "let's just haul em around those landmarks and make sure they have some pictures taken" though I suspect they know we are talking about them when we switch to Cantonese (my mom taught me this awesome saying today "kang zao tin ha mo tek, zhou zao mo sam mo lek" which can be translated by "some people are all talk")

I tried in vain to bring them out of their shell. There's a beginning of a smirk but it's suppressed, maybe by years of conditioning. My brother says maybe something about their upbringing has seriously messed them up. Is it in what they eat? My mom swears their mom is a very qualified cook but these are some scrawny kids. My mom's cooking is so good that everyone in my family has either been or is flirting with being overweight (exhibit a, my dad)

So we have these shut-ins in our very home. I wouldn't really mind (I do, a lot) but they smell. Not bad, but it's noticeable. They're staying with us in my 2nd bedroom and my brother has moved all his stuff from there, his hat, his games, his backpack, underlying a very real issue with trust with a bit of history to back it up (one word: theft)

I did see a glimmer of humanity today when they were gushing over glazed donuts from Krispy Kreme. It succeeded where In-N-Out and Jamba Juice failed, blasphemy! It's okay though, I have given up trying to understand

Only three more days till we are rid of them