We interrupt this burgeoning travel writing career to bring you the parental visit.  Tidy up all those random books and papers left out for days, no, months on end for "reference purposes". Douse those computer eyes with Visine so you look somewhat healthy. Clear those grey fuzzy things out of the fridge and get some real food in there. And, for God's sake get some sleep so you can deal with actual people rather than just the computer screen you've befriended for the last however many hours straight!