A price for friendship

How can you put a price on friendship?

Well, you can't. Or rather, you shouldn't. That's a pretty normal thing to say, right? I recently encountered a situation, though, that is putting that commonly accepted ideal to test. I helped friends move.

I know, I know, I know. Stupid, right? How many times have I joked about a possible situation where someone asks, "Hey...you have a truck, right?" And I respond with, "Yeah, and you can borrow it whenever you would like." It’s an easy out to any number of possible heavy lifting, time consuming, friendship busting issues. It is a witty repose that in theory sums up my (wished for) attitude nicely. But in the real world, I am not that person. I like to help people. I enjoy it, almost perversely so. The tougher requests placing hardship upon me are more likely to be accepted. On the plus side: stronger relationships are born from hardship rather than easy going, beer swilling times. On the negative side: your subcontractor may play and prey upon you to your fiscal detriment placing you in a Maslow-like hardship where your every wish is now for him to burn in hell. A hypothetical example. ahem.

And yes, I know I know, moving is a process fraught with tension, sweat derived arguments, and stink eye moments. Happy happy, joy joy for the excitement of a new start in a new place never supersedes this is freaking heavy and the arse on the other end of the couch is scrapping the wallllll!!!!! Why risk a great friendship over the benefits of helping a friend move? Because they really need it. And if it is that type of friendship, you would do almost anything to help them out.

So after two long days of Mr. Fix-it Up as best as possible, eleven hours of heavy lifting, and thirty hours of driving, I sit here happy knowing my good friends are well on their way to realizing a ten-year dream: living in the place they love filled with hope and opportunity. And I wish them well.

And if they come calling about another move in the future...I will gladly answer the call.

The speed of smell

from an older story as yet unplublished....

Working at the speed of smell

One of the most damning frustrations in my line of work is wait time. It seems that excitement and sense of urgency never line up with the availability of material, labor, or money. Dealing with this frustration has translated into a maturity that I had not considered or even knew to know about as I plod the entrpreneural tundra.

Have you heard,"The squeeky wheel gets the oil" or any number of other variants? I am not a fan of being squeeky. I like to get in line like everyone else. I like being treated like everyone else. We are all in this together and we all learned fairness on the playground. But in this world, not everyone shares my value. Not everyone has held onto the playground rules we all learned. Jumping to the front of the line seems to be a life-focus for many people.

So, I have learned that 'fair' is a floating value that I alone define each and everyday. I can fly off the handle and be upset at being skipped over for the third time at the bar-rail or I can tip better and move up on the priority list.

Today I needed some information from my lumber company, information that would usually take a week to obtain. I want it now. This is the information age and snail mail is completely NOT the process I expect for any business related communication. I asked my supplier to try harder. And he produced what I needed in about an hour.

And I am very thankful for this extra effort. Sure, I am the person spending a good chunk of money with him, but I like to think that this did not become the only reason Frank jumped on my request. I like to think that Frank works hard, appreciates exceeding expectations, and knows that customer loyalty is a multi-facited effort.

So here on December 14th, I get a pass on wait-time frustration. I get to move onto the next step and battle again for speed. And I will likely need to couch the request as extra effort. But if this is what it takes to move quicker, spend less, and smile more: squeek squeek squeek.

I broke into the stack of shorts the other day. It is that kind of weather already. I anticipate armpit sweating soon and insatiable urges for cold water from the hose bib.

The tax man is hounding me, not literally, to get my money off to the black hole in Washington DC. It not the money that bothers me though. It is the feeling like I am playing a truth or dare game. What can I deduct and what is borderline yes/no and what is outright incorrect? There was a tv reality series that was based on taking engaged or newlyweds and placing them into a very non-supportive environment. I think it was called Temptation Island.

Now, anybody who knows anything about life knows that you do not surround yourself with a negative element when trying to follow a positive path. Your own moral compass only takes you so far. We are not Gandhi, not Sister Teressa (sic), nor Martin Luther. And even they bled when pricked, pulled their robe, wrap, suit pants on one leg at a time. The support of your environment is an important aspect to your life. In our teen age years I guess we'd blame peer-pressure for choices made and actions taken out of our normal area of operation. So as I ponder the moral aspect of my taxes I am uncomfortable because the process is not clear. It is not supportive of fairness and honor. And it is not the environment I want to inhabit for any longer than it takes.

Yep, it is just so but it sucks and I don't mind sharing that I do not like it one bit.

Paying it forward

During my corporate stint, my paycheck used to say, "Your compensation provided by satisfied customers worldwide" or something along those lines. I always liked that sitting on the bottom of my checks, in small script. In a four billion dollar (in annual sales) company, it was easy to get lost and not feel like my grind made a difference.

As a blue collar guy and business owner, I see and receive feedback directly from my customers, sometimes on a daily basis. It does feel good to be in the direct line of fire. I make proper and sound decisions because they are the correct way to accomplish tasks, among many not so hot choices, and my customers are happy. They don't see the little things, the extra effort, and that does not really matter. I can take pride in a job well done with just a thank you...and a check.

I hadn't, however, considered my impact on those who I have work for me/with me. They work, I direct them to do a quality job, and at the end of the day, they are paid fairly. Tonight, I paid a visit to a guy who worked with me often over this winter/early spring. His normal gig was extremely seasonal and income followed suit. Not this year. By working with me in his off-season, he earned enough to pay for spendy dental work that was sorely needed. His smile is infectious now. He bought and installed a pool for his little girl to enjoy this summer. And, he has been able to retain his home even when his wife lost her job.

Hey, I am NOT saying I take credit for his fortune. He worked, I paid him fairly. I am just very happy that my good fortune is his good fortune. And though I pay people in the normal construction manner (cash baby, cash), the small script at the bottom of the PB&J Houseworks checks would say, "Our good fortune is your good fortune. Enjoy."

Enjoy.

The frame work of money

I am continuing to learn even as the wheels of progress, because the wheels of progress, have come to a painful halt. It seems that my framing contractor, though well intentioned, does not have a record of actions that line up with his verbal intentions. He has performed in my estimation a day and a half's worth of labor over the past...three weeks.
The weather has been good, very good for days at a time, and yes some poor weather too.
But but but. Butt.
So this is what I have learned. I have learned to start thinking about minimizing my losses and how to properly account for them. For instance, I have advanced my framing contractor money per contractual agreement as well as some extra per his hardship-based request. If I choose to not have him frame the house, I may well end up counting that cash gone.
On the other hand, if I continue to be a party to his evidence-based, lethargic schedule I may end up not having this house on the market at the start of the sales-season (April-May). I will also acrue more interest payments on the construction loan. And, in an attempt to make the sales-season start may generate higher labor costs, adding people as required to complete quicker or contracting out work which I had intended to perform myself.
So, which is the greater loss? I may be able to work out a plan with the framer to work off his credits by assisting me with framing that runs on my schedule and/or have him contribute to the labor required to meet the build schedule on drywall hanging, trim installation, door/window installation, etc.
I dislike confrontation, not completely, but certainly try to avoid it in the least. It would be easy(ier) to let the days pass and deal with the issue, if one still persists, after the Holidays. But but but. This is not a personal, nice, neatly wrapped project that can afford time slippage. It is a business operation that has risk/reward consequences that can break me financially.
So, Dear Framing friend: let's renegotiate.

Framing or not?

So, as intended, I am giving my framer the room to progress as he wishes but also keeping an oversight by visiting every couple days and asking, at times, questions to keep the dialouge open between us. But even though it is quite cold here, I have to admit I am disappointed with the lack of progress in the past week as the photos can atest.
Hey, it's the edge of winter and cold but, hey, as a framer you work outside and if you want to eat in the winter, you should probably work. No?
In a typical build situation, e.g., a new house, the framing crew works so fast you worry about things like:
1) is my insurance policy good enough to cover the likely situation where one of these crazy bastards shoots a nail into his hand, backs off the roof, and lands on the plumbing stack in the yard. IKNOW! Will my policy replace the plumbing stack, right?
2) are they going to transpose/misinterpret/ignore the drawing requirements and put a wall like, I don't know, in the middle of the dining room then be looooong gone to repair their work. We call that the "tail light" warrantee: if you can see the tail lights, the work is covered. Else, well, you're screwed.
But this project is not cut and dried. The walls are not plumb, hell, they aren't even straight over the full height. The foundation sill is up here, down here, slightly slanted there, etc. Did I mention the requirement for a 15degree cut on the joist ends so that in case of a fire, the walls are not pulled inward onto the occupants?
So, it will take more time. But all the more reason to start making consistent progress. Bob the Framer (no really. I am not pulling a Palin here with a label) will be done in four weeks. His word. Though people and their word, their honor, are shakey at best. A moving target.
So, please Bob, hear my plea: put a damned nail in some wood and give me a roof soon.