Welcome to Chez Cliff!

One hard lesson to learn:  How to manage people.

The handymen are great.  Absolute no complaints.  What I’ve found frustrating is that they often times do not complete a project before beginning another.  For instance, they start working on prepping the houses for painting and then they stop to install the new windows.  Before completing the new windows, they are cleaning the trash from the yard.  Before finishing with the trash, they are taking out the carpet.  Then they start painting but stop because all the windows aren’t installed.  So then they stop painting to install some more windows.

The cycle continues.

It’s hard to tell these people to stop doing free stuff when what they are doing is needed.  And things are getting done.  Just not as quickly or efficiently as I like.

In addition, I cancelled my trip to France.  My desire to get into these houses has tripled.

So what’s left?  Getting the floors done and the painting finished.  But the painting can’t be done until the floors are finished.  Now they want to strip the old paint off the walls before they do the floors.  UGH!!

On several occasions, I noticed that the handymen would always come over and work on the houses when I show up.  OK, I can learn.  I now show up early in the morning and make noise so they can hear me.  I’ve changed my schedule and I now check up on them several times day.  In addition, I spend large amounts of time at the houses even though there’s nothing to do.  It sounds petty but every now and then I walk around the yard in plain sight of the windows so they can see me.

Saturday, they had to go to Home Depot to get some additional supplies for the floors.  Almost 90 minutes had passed before they came back.  And Home Depot is less than 5 minutes from my house.  What took so long?  Well, they decided to make a few stops on the way back, grab some lunch, chat with a few friends.

As they started working again, I had a moment of inspiration.  I walked up to them and said "I don’t have a lot to do.  If you need something from Home Depot, let me know and I’ll go get it."  They produced a list and I went after it.  Fifteen minutes later, I was back at the house and their work continued uninterrupted.

Yesterday, being Sunday, I went over to do some more work.  Only some.  I wasn’t surprised when I noticed that the handymen weren’t working.  I walked over to their house, just to say "Good Morning".  When they saw me, the first words they uttered were "Cliff, we had to take a day off.  We’ve been working for 6 days straight and we need a break!"

I told them that I didn’t have a problem with that.  It was Sunday afterall and they deserve a break.  They’re not slaves afterall.

When I left them, I had a little smile on my face.  If they feel guilty for taking a day off then that means these people have a sense of responsibility.  That’s good.  I’m assured that their work will get done shortly.

I’ve chatted with a number of people, who have set large goals for themselves.  These people either achieved those goals or failed.  In talking with them, I think the key to any success is dedication.  In other words, just how dedicated are you to a goal.

The people who have set large goals for themselves most often draw inspiration from other people.  I’ve studied extensively, the great capitalists in US history as well as renowned military leaders.  I glean what I can, incorporate what I feel is relevant to my life, and move on.  More often than not, these people I study have already passed on.  But finding someone in your current time frame that you would consider a hero, a true success can be more difficult.

During this time, I’ve had one person bring inspiration to me.  Lance Armstrong.  But now I’m proud to announce that another has joined this rank.  For me, this is an arduous process.  I’m extremely picky about who I spend time with, let alone consider to be inspirational.  There are certain things I look for and this new person has those qualities.

A few years back, I discovered on a Google search this website called "French Word of the Day".  For quick background, this woman from Arizona moved to France and is living there with her husband and two children.  Each day, she would send out a French word and a story to go with it.  The stories reflect her life and experiences being submersed into a different culture.  Some stories were funny, others sad, some inspirational.  It has been a real treat to check the email first thing in the morning and find a new story in there.  Her name is Kristin Espinasse and I’ve kept every single one of her stories. 

One of her dreams is to be a published author.  Sounds simple?  Not really.  In a sea full of fledgling authors, it can be difficult to be the one that stands out and get noticed by the big publishing companies.

This did not deter her.

Kristin decided to self publish.  And when enough new stories were created, a new volume would appear on her blog.  She would handle all the orders, fill them, process them, and get them to the post office all by herself.  For those of you who have never experienced a french post office, that last item is a major feat in and of itself!  Only in France can one go to the post office and be told "We don’t have any stamps."

I joined this free "word a day" service when it was still less than 1,000 people.  By now, it has exceeded 10,000 subscribers from all around the world.  Not by doing fancy marketing or advertising but mostly from pure "word of mouth".  I myself have turned a few people onto this service who are fellow francophiles.

Of course, Kristin has had to endure all kinds of set-backs.  One day, the blog service wouldn’t function properly.  The need to produce daily stories got to be a bit overwhelming for a while.  Because the service is free, the need to find sponsors became daunting from time to time.  Then someone was maliciously sending nasty emails to her sponsors using her name.  Murphy’s Law seemed to take a particular interest in her.  In the end, she kept her eye on her goal and continued unabated.

One day, fate tapped her on the shoulder.  She was contacted by a major publishing company.  Her book is now coming out and will be available on Amazon.com.  She’s done it.

My mentor would say of her "Cliff, at least she tried.  Not many people even have the courage to do that."  And he’s right.  However it’s not just a matter of trying.  I admit that just starting for most people is daunting.  It’s also a refusal to accept "No" as an answer to ones dreams, one’s goals.  And for that, Kristin joins Lance as being one of my sources of inspiration.

Congratulations to Kristin on your book being published.  You’ve definitely earned it.  If Madame Clicquot were here, she’d toast to you as well.

Thanks to all of you, reading my blog.  I noticed this morning that I made it over the 1,000 hits on my blog.  And no, I don’t visit my website 25 times a day so my hit counter goes up.  Only 5 times. 

There’s more to come so stay tuned!

With the colors in place and the yard cleaned up, I thought now would be a good time to show some of the traditional “Before” and “After” shots of the property.  I was going to build another photo album but I think a side by side comparison gives the impression (or illusion) of the work that has been done.

Before I start, I do apologize about the quality of the after photos.  I don’t know what the difference is between the two shots except that 3 months have gone by and the sun is in a different position in the sky.

Front House
Before	After

Back House
Before	After

Side Photos
Before	After

Interior Second House
Before	After

Yesterday, Anne and Tony came by and saw the houses.  I believe the word “shocked” comes to mind when seeing their reactions.  It’s interesting.  From my point of view, I see little improvements every day.  However from their point of view, they saw the houses when they were at their worst and are just now seeing the work that’s been done.  I guess “shocked” is an appropriate word.

Before I begin today, I wanted to share this with you.

Somethings are pretty cool.  A friend of mine sent me this link that is quite cool.  The author has one of those contraptions where there’s a book you move and a secret compartment opens up.  Click here to see it.  It’s quite cool!  And appropriately, he uses a Sherlock Holmes book for the lever.

I’d call that the ultimate in home repair.

Months ago, I decided that when the houses were done that I would go on a much needed vacation.  Or a much deserved vacation.  And, for those that know me well, that vacation met going across the pond to France.

This isn’t the first vacation I had planned since purchasing these houses.  I had some good friends move to New York City and I desparately wanted to go and check out their new digs.

Neither one happened.

My mentor warned me when I started this journey that the goals I wanted to achieve would come at a price.  Nothing is free and you know, he’s right.  I, along with many others, consider myself very lucky to have these houses.  And I refuse to let this opportunity slip through my fingers.  And because of that, sacrifices are being given.

I’m forced to wonder how many more sacrifices I will have to make along this path.  I know what the alternatives are and I don’t like them.  I haven’t liked them in years.  Ultimately one has to ask themselves if the feelings of oneself are more important than the feelings of others.  How do you weigh those?  How do you choose?  At what point do you say "Enough with everyone else.  I have to take care of myself."  So does that mean that I’m being selfish? 

Those types of sacrifices are only the beginning.  What about the internal sacrifices?  The promises that we make to ourselves?  Those lines that we vowed to never, ever cross and now those lines are nothing but mere smudges in the sand.

Example:  I do not consider myself to be a racist.  However with the episodes of Mean Grandma and 40 ouncer, I am really hesitant to rent to another hispanic family.  Everyone tells me that renting to hispanics is the worse.  Do I not have proof before me that they are correct?  After reading up on all the legal issues surrounding tenants, am I willing to take a chance and rent to another hispanic family based on what happened last time?

No, this isn’t me hesitating.  Just reflecting.  Today, the rain seems appropriate because it accurately describes my mood.  Somber and depressed.  I know it will pass but I’ve already paid a price for all this.  I’m hoping I see some return very shortly.