He's putting the finishing touches on his trophy truck now.:cool:

This is one of those cases where no news is not good news. It's still unresolved. Mrs. Lee calls her mom at least once a week and talks for an hour. So I know this has been discussed with the mom at length. Though she makes almost no mention of it to me. She did say her folks need an invitation from us to get a visa and I said, of course, I'd write that letter. Then I asked how long they were staying and she said a few months. Then I said I would not write that letter. Huge fight ensued.

Not only can Mrs. Lee not answer me at all when I ask what her folks are gonna do here all day, unable to drive or communicate with anyone, Mrs. Lee says she doesn't even plan to take any time off from work during her folks' visit!!! WTF?

Last I heard, she wanted her folks to come in Feb. But I think we'd need to come to some agreement pretty soon to make that happen. Of course, she can do it all without my help and behind my back. I'm really stuck here. She flat out refuses to consider having her folks only stay for a few weeks, while taking time off to drive them around. And I'm pretty sure "a few months" means the full six month term of a US tourist visa and possibly an extension once that runs out. However, I'll be long gone before that happens. It'd be bad enough to live with my in-laws, knowing the marriage is doomed. But a wife who goes ahead with it when I tell her the above is probably not a good sign either.

jeezus!! this is gonna derail!!

good luck buddy. remind me: you dont speak chinese, and the inlaws dont speak english, right?

Good luck RL, hope you can figure this out. If you need a place to store some gear I'm up for a road trip.

I speak enough Chinese to barely communicate and they speak about that much English. We certainly can't have conversations and I can't even explain to them that I'll be leaving the house for a few hours. There is simply nothing for them to do except sit on the couch and stare. Who the hell thinks that makes sense?

Hope u like Chinese Soap operas. ;)

do you think they will get so bored they leave willingly?

Yes, I do. But that's a very bad bet to make. I don't know why Mrs. Lee refuses to believe it when I tell her the same in advance. She says her folks are retired and already have nothing to do in China. Yes, but they are at home there, can get around, do anything we can all do here. They can't function at all here. Funny thing is, when we fight, I get stressed and goo out to smoke. Wife says, "You stinks." I tell her, if it really bothers her when I smoke once in a while, just wait until her dad get here. He's a chimney.

Rick,
Just make the best out of it. I have had my In-laws stay with us for a few months a few times. Now I love them both and they are able to come and go as they please, but they still are in our house. They would take over the kitchen from 7 am to 7pm and then it was baseball on the TV every night. (which I hate) But still my kids got to know them very well and my wife was happy. Plus it was some payback for when we built the house, as my father in law was a large contractor and was a huge help in building it. If it was not for his help I would never have even attempted to do it. Now that they are too old (Both in their 90's) to come up from FL. for the summer, we miss seeing them. Remember they will not be around for ever, so enjoy the time you do get to be with them.

Why do you care? It's nice of you to worry about their comfort and entertainment, but it's not your responsibility. If they sit and stare at the walls all day, that's between them and their daughter.
This has the makings of a great sitcom. As soon as your wife leaves for work, start acting like Jim Carrey imitating OJU, including all the yelling. Run outside screaming and shooting at the ground. Open the refrigerator and yell at the food. Attack your sofa with a toilet plunger. Throw half a dozen bratwurst in the toilet, herd them to the bathroom and proudly explain in your best Jim Carrey/OJU voice how proud you are of yourself. When wife comes home - calm and quiet.

is there such a thing as a "chinese oprah" or "chinese ellen"??????


this would take (2) hours a day of their time.

howz bouts a "DRAGON FESTIVAL"? that would take up a day roaming around yer neighborhood lighting off firecrackers.


a chinese fire drill? theres 45 seconds gone...........


is your father in law good with spoons? he could clean all of them..............theres (2) days used up.

or..................


you could offer the burlington northern santa fe railroad another DONNER PASS TUNNEL, and they could start blasting the bore..................that might take them 6 months plus an extension.


i'm trying here buddy!



ahhhhh HAH! brilliant...................a AZ CHINESE FORTUNE COOKIE FACTORY! that would keep them busy!


they could go chase DUCKS at eldorado park! az peking duck inc OR llc.



im stumped. i'm sorry that "you stinks".......................THATS IT.............A CHINESE LAUNDROMAT! BINGO!


calling bruce lee for ideas now.


so when will they be here? i'll get my outbuilding ready.

wow..OJ.

you are a short dick joke away from covering every Chinese stereotype!

actually i am trying to make rick laugh. something i think is very difficult for him right now in the position he is in.


man 6 months + in this position, there are not alot of options.


"IT STINKS!"


you got l.a./san fran/mexicali where theres a decent sized chinese population anywhere close.

no matter what rick does or doesnt do...............he will be the ONE TO BLAME!
and he will "STINKS".

i mean get real here, his in laws cant speak english havent a clue about america, its got disaster all over it. they dont drive, what the HELL ARE THEY GONNA DO VASH! throw some ideas in...............


its no different than if he was caring for an invalid. they have to be baby sat 24/7.

Is it possible to state in your letter for the tourist visa to be only for a few weeks? ;)

I'd help, but my mandarin isn't that high level, and I have a hard time understanding anything with an accent or a slightly different dialect than your mainstream mandarin. You could make flash cards with the help of Mrs Lee, english on one side and chinese on the other (and have a third party to verify :D ) so you guys can sorta communicate? Still hard to believe Mrs Lee isn't taking time off to take them around though...which to me pretty much says you have even less of an obligation to make an effort.

Would nightly gun cleaning beer drinking sessions encourage them to stay any shorter? Or anything else that might make them less comfortable there?

Rick what about sending them to Vash's place for a couple weeks ? It's on the way home!!

i know Odd. i thought you were creatively funny. i'm too lazy to seek out the green font. sorry, my fault.

wait..wut?!

Rick, sounds like you need to move out.

And get a girlfriend.

PS, my barn is empty except for several bales of hay. You're welcome to it. :D

It might be worth the coinage to buy a used winnebago and a coupla bicycles for them to live in and get around on because it shouldn't be up to you to entertain and clean up after them.

I have enough problems having my daughter's boyfriend living here in a separate room and he works second shift, so I don't see much of him, but his car always seems to be in the way. I can't imagine having two foreign strangers sitting on my couch for 12 hours a day while I try to work/do my daily routine, I feel for you man.

Better still, anyone nearby need to rent thrir house out for 6 months? They'll smell better under a different roof.