This is an old style, guys barber shop with the pole outside and the old, metal chairs with the ornate iron arm and foot rests. 2 chairs and 1 barber.
He indicates that he will do the haircut without power so I sit down. As he works, the rain starts and I close my eyes and relax...rain, a quite barber and dark.
Very pleasant.
As usual, he cuts my hair too short but I speak little Spanish and he speaks no English so what do I expect anyway.
The progress on our house has taken a turn for the better. This may be because we resolved our own issues on how to proceed.
Yella wanted to draw the line and, if necessary, fire the builder and finish the house ourselves. At first this upset me. I wanted to nurse the builder along and keep the pressure up.
My way wasn't working. So I agreed to Yella's plan. I really, really, really didn't want to do it! I know I'm a little pig headed but I did not know the depth to which I am attached to my way. Rarely do Yella and I share a project so my addiction to my way is not exposed.
It was exposed in the last week. I took quit an ass whipping over this. And, as always, that's a good thing.
As we started to line up people to finish the house, the magic started.
Our builder is finishing the house...with our help!
This came about in an interesting fashion. We went to his house to fire him last Monday but he was sick...very sick, so we postponed it because it would be too cruel to fire a sick guy.
The next day, I went back, picked up the cabinet maker (the builder's truck was broken and he couldn't get workers to the house) and took him to our house to finish the cabinets, which he did. As I returned him, I saw the builder and started to talk to him. This was the first time I had the opportunity to fired him and it worried me.
He apologized for the delays with his sickness which I accepted. I said that one of our friends offered to finish the electric (very little left) for free, as a favor to us. He thought that was great.
Now that I was on a roll, I asked him when he was going to finish cutting down the trees and cleaning up. He hemmed and hawed. I said I had 2 guys and a truck for $35 a load who could do it. He said OK and was clearly relieved that this was off his plate.
Alright! Things are starting to go our way.
He is obviously overloaded and open to any help he can get. So we are now helping him by finding people to finish the work with it paid out of his final payment.
I never thought this would work out! It is magical when hard line attitudes and set way are relaxed and given up. I had to give up my way, nursing him along, and Yella had to get into the game and commit to finishing the house herself. This combination resulted in a new, unknown solution that works for us and the builder.
Will wonders never cease!
You can teach an old dog new tricks.
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