Down By the River

Relaxed and rested after a week in the Sunshine state, I returned to a five day forecast of cloudy with a 200% chance of precipitation.  This would not be so irritating if a) construction would have commenced in a timely matter (meaning last week as was expressed verbally and in writing to our builder); b) the first work scheduled this week wasn't concrete which can't set in the rain; c) I had more experience project managing and had caught the wording of our demolition contract which neglected to include the typical 30 day turnover for payment which means we have to pony up the cash since we are two weeks shy of our first loan draw.

Flipping through my checkbook I was reminded of one of my favorite SNL sketches by the late, great Matt Foley/Chris Farley.  I began worrying that by the end of this renovation process I am going to end up "35 years old, eating a steady diet of government cheese, thrice divorced, and living in a van down by the river!"

http://youtu.be/XaoM0FyLmGY

Of course this thought was followed by a quick search on YouTube for the sketch I've seen numerous times, but suddenly felt a flicker of connection too.  Watching it again cracked me up, but also made me realize that for some unfounded reason, I carry a sense of entitlement.  I often believe I can do what Matt Foley says and "get the world by the tail, wrap it around, pull it down, and put it in my pocket."  I may want my house finished yesterday, "Well, la-dee-fricken-da!"

So lesson learned that the world doesn't revolve around the completion of my house or my schedule.  My builder is entitled to take a cruise with his family; while weather may be predicted it cannot be controlled; and if I am going to take on the management of this project I need to do a more thorough job on my homework and make sure the wording covers all the bases including a timeline and percentage of completion required for payment.

Thank you Matt Foley for bestowing your words of wisdom even from the great beyond and now I think my afternoon will be more productively spent rewording contracts and searching on Craigslist for a van (just in case!).