Hosting horror stories

[sammycat]

Tangent story...

I remember my cousin telling me a story about a man her father knew who was interviewing a candidate for a job. They were at a fancy restaurant for lunch and the candidate put salt on his steak without even tasting it first. The interviewer decided not to hire him just based on that, because he didn't even try it first before he determined that it wasn't seasoned to his liking.
I've since thought about that story and it's unlikely, but perhaps the candidate had low sodium or low iodine and his doctor told him "just add a dash of salt to everything you eat so your levels are higher." Probably unlikely but I thought the interviewer was making as many assumptions about the candidate's actions as the candidate was about the taste of the steak.

That boss is/was terribly judgemental, and could have lost an excellent employee over something very stupid. Why should he care if someone puts salt, or anything else, on a food item?

I will not eat spaghetti bolagnaise without adding tomato sauce to it when it's served to me. Just not going to happen. I don't care who made it, or where, if there's no tomato sauce available for me to add to it, I just won't eat it (same deal with hot chips). It's not a comment on the quality of the meal, or the person who made it, it's just my preference. Anyone who gets their knickers in a twist about it can go jump in the lake as far as I'm concerned.

[Thipu1]

I learned that, as in the game of Telephone, the 'party' I was supposed to be hosting had morphed out of all proportion.  Instead of the casual blanket picnic for six that I proposed, the affair was thought to be a red-carpet affair for about a hundred people.  Dress was to be black tie.  There was to be a catered meal served inside an air-conditioned tent and the concert would be piped in for the
 guests.

That certainly would never happen when I was making 125 USD a week. 

Unfortunately, the original casual picnic didn't come off either. 

And people were actually inviting themselves to what they thought was a red carpet, catered affair?!

Believe it or not, they did exactly that. 

NYC in the 1970s was an odd time and place.  The city was falling apart but it also had a vibrant art and music scene.  I was on the edge of these scenes but knew that many of my acquaintances knew others who wanted to be the next  Andy Warhol or the next Bruce Springsteen and were determined to sell themselves. It was sometimes interesting to meet them but that was as far as I wanted to go. 

  In that environment, the grapevine could turn a gnat into Mothra in a little over a week.  That's what happened with my non-existent 'party'. Please note, at the time, people had to use personal contact and the telephone. 

  I later found out that there were people in that niche who believed I was very wealthy.  The rumor spread that I was looking for talent to fund and mentor.  That's when I started getting the calls from friends of friends of friends.

The whole situation was surreal but NYC in the 1970s was often surreal.   
 

[Danika]

The rumor spread that I was looking for talent to fund and mentor.  That's when I started getting the calls from friends of friends of friends.

Oh boy! Did you end up canceling? What did you finally do, not do?

[Thipu1]

Everything was cancelled, although there really was nothing to cancel.

  I made phone calls to people who knew people who knew people and hoped the message would get through.

On the night of the concert, Mr. Thipu, whom I was dating at the time, and I  shared some Chinese take-out and watched the performance on my little TV in air-conditioned comfort. 

     

[doodlemor]

I found an old thread on the similar subject of horrible house guests today.  Here it is for your perusal:

http://www.etiquettehell.com/smf/index.php?topic=4556.0