Thank Jeebus, today is my last day with my business, though I have a feeling that over the weekend I'll still be doing a few things off the books to help my cousin get caught up. Funny thing is, when I took over the business, I had seven vacancies, and now when she's taking it over, it looks like she's going to have seven, too. I got it down to three (in the course of my reign I rented dozens, but people are always vacating), but it looks like four more people are in the process of jumping ship without paying (hello collections agency).
I've been spending a lot of time with that old timer I was talking about, especially since he's living with my cousin right now. Ended up doing some work with him yesterday - it was a fucking blast, the best time I've had in a long time, if only cause it reminded me of so much fun we've had working together in the past. I was remembering when I was still a kid and helped him do work like this and didn't know a fucking thing, and here it is ten years later and I'm showing HIM little tricks and shit I've picked up. I'm teaching the teacher. How fucking cool is that!? Not that he still hasn't forgotten more about construction work then I'll ever learn, but still.
I'm realizing I really love the guy. He's like my favorite uncle or something, even though he's really just my old neighbor. I feel sorry for him. I mean, he's sixty and just now getting out of a forty year relationship with an absolute bitch, but for as long as I've known him, he's been unhappy in the relationship, and got out of it once like fifteen years ago, but came back because he had to take his granddaughter away from his daughter (how this guy, the best father I've ever seen, could have such bad daughters is beyond me) and didn't want his granddaughter to grow up with a mom and dad (she calls him dad and doesn't even really know her mother well).
But, aside from his granddaughter, I've never seen him happier. He's dressing nice, he smiles these days, and he's just all around in good shape. I mean, this was one of those guys that was literally going to work himself to death (he's sixty and works circles around my 22 year old ass, not because he wants to, but because he needs to to stay afloat). Now that it's just him, he can afford to take it easy and have a simple life again. My cousin and I are going to get him down to the VA to get him on disability (he has more problems then anyone I know, and still he busts his ass more then anyone I know) so he can finally take it easy.
In other news, the move got postponed for a little while. My Dad was saying he wants to drive up with me, but needs to put a new roof on his house when he gets back (Tuesday), so if I wait another week and help him do that, he'll drive up with me. Fuck it, sounds like a good idea to me. 2500 miles is a long way to drive all by your lonesome. More importantly, I'm anxious for any reason to postpone leaving my beloved San Antonio.
Leaving this city is going to be the hardest move of my life. I fucking love it here, and I am going to miss it unlike anything else I've known in my life. Still, it's something I just need to do.
I'm actually seriously looking into starting a new business when I get to the Seattle area. Considering the cost of houses up there, and the fact that I have built houses for under $40k, if I can get a few investors (and my Dad and his wife are mildly interested, so if I can get my rich brother to throw in some money), I can build a house for cheap (the land'll cost more then anything) and turn around and sell it for $300k or something. Seriously, with the land and materials and contractors (with a new house you have to hire licensed plumbers/electricians, which costs a lot), it would cost me just under $100k to build, and probably a lot less if I can get a chunk of land for a good deal. Then to turn around and sell it for an extra $200k+!? Fuckin' a, that's more money then I'd make in ten years with my old business. And after the third or fourth house, I'd have enough money saved up to finance the rest of it myself.
I haven't told anyone, but if I manage to get this thing off the ground, I would seriously try to talk my old timer friend into moving up to Seattle and come work for me full time. Him and me and some local kid could easily do this.
The only problem is the cold and the rain. Because of the cold/rain, they build houses so differently then they do here in Texas, it'd take a great deal of getting used to. Down here when you're building a house in the middle of the summer, you usually put up a "cold room". Just a window mounted A/C on full blast and some tarp over the door to keep it in (it's always the first room you finish) and you take your breakfast/lunch and breaks in there. We typically put a refrigerator in there too for our beer.
Man, I need to really see about getting this to pan out.
I've been spending a lot of time with that old timer I was talking about, especially since he's living with my cousin right now. Ended up doing some work with him yesterday - it was a fucking blast, the best time I've had in a long time, if only cause it reminded me of so much fun we've had working together in the past. I was remembering when I was still a kid and helped him do work like this and didn't know a fucking thing, and here it is ten years later and I'm showing HIM little tricks and shit I've picked up. I'm teaching the teacher. How fucking cool is that!? Not that he still hasn't forgotten more about construction work then I'll ever learn, but still.
I'm realizing I really love the guy. He's like my favorite uncle or something, even though he's really just my old neighbor. I feel sorry for him. I mean, he's sixty and just now getting out of a forty year relationship with an absolute bitch, but for as long as I've known him, he's been unhappy in the relationship, and got out of it once like fifteen years ago, but came back because he had to take his granddaughter away from his daughter (how this guy, the best father I've ever seen, could have such bad daughters is beyond me) and didn't want his granddaughter to grow up with a mom and dad (she calls him dad and doesn't even really know her mother well).
But, aside from his granddaughter, I've never seen him happier. He's dressing nice, he smiles these days, and he's just all around in good shape. I mean, this was one of those guys that was literally going to work himself to death (he's sixty and works circles around my 22 year old ass, not because he wants to, but because he needs to to stay afloat). Now that it's just him, he can afford to take it easy and have a simple life again. My cousin and I are going to get him down to the VA to get him on disability (he has more problems then anyone I know, and still he busts his ass more then anyone I know) so he can finally take it easy.
In other news, the move got postponed for a little while. My Dad was saying he wants to drive up with me, but needs to put a new roof on his house when he gets back (Tuesday), so if I wait another week and help him do that, he'll drive up with me. Fuck it, sounds like a good idea to me. 2500 miles is a long way to drive all by your lonesome. More importantly, I'm anxious for any reason to postpone leaving my beloved San Antonio.
Leaving this city is going to be the hardest move of my life. I fucking love it here, and I am going to miss it unlike anything else I've known in my life. Still, it's something I just need to do.
I'm actually seriously looking into starting a new business when I get to the Seattle area. Considering the cost of houses up there, and the fact that I have built houses for under $40k, if I can get a few investors (and my Dad and his wife are mildly interested, so if I can get my rich brother to throw in some money), I can build a house for cheap (the land'll cost more then anything) and turn around and sell it for $300k or something. Seriously, with the land and materials and contractors (with a new house you have to hire licensed plumbers/electricians, which costs a lot), it would cost me just under $100k to build, and probably a lot less if I can get a chunk of land for a good deal. Then to turn around and sell it for an extra $200k+!? Fuckin' a, that's more money then I'd make in ten years with my old business. And after the third or fourth house, I'd have enough money saved up to finance the rest of it myself.
I haven't told anyone, but if I manage to get this thing off the ground, I would seriously try to talk my old timer friend into moving up to Seattle and come work for me full time. Him and me and some local kid could easily do this.
The only problem is the cold and the rain. Because of the cold/rain, they build houses so differently then they do here in Texas, it'd take a great deal of getting used to. Down here when you're building a house in the middle of the summer, you usually put up a "cold room". Just a window mounted A/C on full blast and some tarp over the door to keep it in (it's always the first room you finish) and you take your breakfast/lunch and breaks in there. We typically put a refrigerator in there too for our beer.
Man, I need to really see about getting this to pan out.
kreatinkaos:
OH hell yeah , when it is zero out with freezing rain and snow , we still build houses up north 
kreatinkaos:
we do use 300000BTU forced air kerosene heaters though to keep warm during cold weather work , they look like little jet engines mounted on a fuel tank , I used to use one in my garage until I picked up a couple of infrared propane panel type heaters , the radiant heat from them rocks