Bodacious Boomer

Doug was supposed to get paid last night for all the renovations that he’d done so far to a house in Dallas. I was expecting that there’d be a problem getting paid from this guy. I was hoping that I’d be wrong. I wasn’t. Once again, Doug took on a big job without a fixed price and a signed contract. That’s biting us in the butt-again. Those who know me or who’ve been reading the blog for awhile know that this is not a new occurrence. When Doug met with the owner in Dallas, before starting the job he was told, “This is the house I will live in. I want everything done right. Don’t worry about the money”. Doug took that assurance in lieu of a deposit, just after he hopped off the load of pumpkins he’d rode in on. What can I say?

So with that assurance, Doug has been going back and forth to Dallas (230mi.), working on this house. At least Doug persuaded the guy to get a Home Depot card so we’re not on the hook for the all the materials. In the last 10 days we’ve dropped $1100 into our 1985 Ford. Of course, had it all been at once we might’ve decided not to even fix it. However, it was $250 here, $75 there, then $300 and so on. Now, like a lot of people, we’ve sunk so much into it, we feel compelled to keep it awhile longer. At any rate, after paying all the monthly bills and the car repairs now we’re stretched thin- financially speaking. Everyone knows when money gets tight, the stress goes up and the tempers get short.

So, once Doug got of the phone with him last night and it was clear there was no money coming now, we had a fight (which I started). Doug should’ve received at least $2,000 today. But nooooooooo, he got bupkus, nada, zero. I know you’re supposed to “fight fair” and not say “You never….”, or “You always….”.  I didn’t care. I was pissed. Doug felt like he was being attacked by me. He was, verbally. He knew had no defense but yelled back anyway. However, he didn’t offer any kind of apology of course or utter the words, “I made a mistake.” (I didn’t want an apology anyway). But if I didn’t say what I needed to say I would’ve exploded for sure. It doesn’t help that Doug’s in a fight with someone half a world away. This man is “poormouthing” although he’s knocking back some big bucks working as an interpreter in Iraq. Between working at all the events and having owned the mortgage company, we’ve worked with people from 6 different continents. We don’t care if someone is a bi-racial, bi-polar, pink polka dotted, lesbian amputee from Mars, as long as they deal with us fairly, decently.

This guy isn’t fair, decent or honorable. I could see it. Why couldn’t he?  Doug’s  got an MBA. He’s no dummy. Our argument was intense, but short-lived. I took a shower, then laid on top of the comforter in a slinky nightie just to be difficult. He knew better than to reach across that bed. I’ve never been a believer in “angry sex”. We didn’t speak again til this morning. Now we’re fine. As it stands now, Doug’s going back to Dallas in a couple of days to finish the house- hoping for a big payday down the line. (We can always put a lien on the property if we have to). However that doesn’t get us any cash now of course. In the meantime, I’m still tripping along with my blog. I know I’m probably being overly optimistic, however, I’m  thinking that within a year or so, this blog might actually be able to make some money by selling advertising. Of course to do that, it will really have to grow and grow and grow some more. So, if you like it, please send a link to anybody else you think might enjoy it. Stay tuned for updates on the “Debacle in Dallas”. Today’s trivia answer- fear of getting peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth.