Friday, May 09, 2008
THE NEW GIG
Well, as fortune would have it, the plans I had set in place to buy, rehab, and flip homes with my friend Ken didnt quite work out. The first home we were going to bid on sold 3 days before we called in our bid, and the second one we disappointingly found out, as we were in the process of establishing our negotiating tactics with our realtor, had just gone under contract the week before. But undaunted, I continued to search for suitable properties. Then I received a call from Ted, whom I had worked with for 8 months last year. He described to me a job for which any serious wood-butcher/artisan would gladly have hurt grandmothers and/or little children running over in order to acquire. Fortunately the path was clear and I was able to get in on it with no collateral damage inflicted.
It was a difficult decision though, because Ken and I had been concentrating on the prospect of doing flips for quite a while and I had to essentially put that on hold for what could be a year or two - the expected length of time the new "primo" job was expected to take. But after factoring in the possible profit in selling two or three homes vs. the guaranteed income of this endeavor, and speaking with Ken, we both agreed it would be ridiculous for me to turn it down. I then met with Ted, my friend Calvin, the architect for the job, and Ward, the project manager. After agreeing on a "time and material" price, papers were drawn up and the wheels were set in motion.
I was now to set up shop on-site in the Hurst Home, an 1832 ante-bellum mansion (pictured above, and recently purchased from John Goodman of "Roseanne" fame) in which I'd be doing the most elaborate and distinctive work of my career. The owners are a wealthy couple who are seriously interested in doing precise period recreation and creation of architectural elements throughout the home for which I'll be responsible. Having just finished a job several weeks before which was a primer of sorts in the same style of this one, I felt like it was the next stepping stone to take it on. Except that it's very large scale, very demanding, challenging and exciting . I feel particularly blessed to be a part of the project.
Thank you God!
Progress pics will be forthcoming.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
The Whisper
The whisper of their song, it touches softly on your shoulder
And wakens in your heart the sad refrain
That this you once held fondly in your hands,
Your arms, your soul; but now
As distant laughter sings out to your newly vacant heart
And gentle conversations echo softly b'yond your grasp,
You see the shadows of the times when thoughts
Of empty days and nights were simply dreams of fools.
How long before the light returns
To signal that the storm has passed,
That seaward vessels may now finally face the tide
To safely sail the solitary seas toward home.
LJM
And wakens in your heart the sad refrain
That this you once held fondly in your hands,
Your arms, your soul; but now
As distant laughter sings out to your newly vacant heart
And gentle conversations echo softly b'yond your grasp,
You see the shadows of the times when thoughts
Of empty days and nights were simply dreams of fools.
How long before the light returns
To signal that the storm has passed,
That seaward vessels may now finally face the tide
To safely sail the solitary seas toward home.
LJM
