Starting to crack up

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Luke 12:48 “Every one to whom much is given, of him will much be required”

You have so many blessings. You’re in much better shape than my husband and I were before we got pregnant, and still now after our wonderful blessing has arrived and demolished what life we thought we had before. Blessed are the cracked, for it is they who let in the light!
 
Montanaman, Congrats on the baby!

You know you must stay put until after the baby is born BUT then think David Letterman.

From your postings, it is evident that you have a gift for writing. After getting fired from local TV weatherman job, because he was so goofy, he just packed his pick-up and moved to California. Just like the Beverly Hillbillies!
Local boy made it good!

With your experience in real estate, you have more of back-up plan than he did.

So, I really hope you don’t give up on writing, even if it is as a secondary career.

And keep on praying.
 
Congrats on your pending fatherhood. You and your wife will be blessed in ways you can’t even appreciate right now. 👍

As a fellow entrepreneur, a real-estate investor and a mid-30s new dad with another child on the way, I recognize my own mistakes in you and am compelled to respond. It’s simple: you’ve bitten off more than you can chew. You will feel better with some good old-fashioned accomplishment.

I mean this charitably. Take it or leave it.
Cut the Pakistan dealio (for now)
Cut the real estate speculation (for now)
(BTW, I also have an unorthodox mortgage, but I’m using it as part of a well-defined plan and strict discipline to leverage cashflow for a short time. I suspect you are doing the same to speculate on real-estate. I only did this because I have other reserves to tap and I’m not extending risk beyond what I can handle. I’m also in one of the strongest real-estate markets in the country right now. I don’t know that these conditions apply to you.)

Cut the long nights. You’re wife needs you. I could write a book on the toll marriages pay to entrepreneurship.

Praise God for the steady paycheck and rekindle the excitement you felt when you first got that job. I wonder if your bosses aren’t disappointed in your performance because you’re so busy and have one foot out the door? (I can’t know for sure, of course, but when we’re unhappy, people around us know.)

Try my suggestions for 2 weeks and then reassess your priorities. You very well may need to get a new job, but I can’t tell. Right now, you’re too wrapped up in chaos to tell which way you’re going!

Listen, I know my no-BS advise may fall on deaf ears. It may even motivate you to “try harder.” I reckon you’re motivated when someone tells you “No!” Remember, Jesus also had a day job. No shame in that at all.

I say all this man to man. You’re my kind of guy. You’re a thinker AND a do-er. I respect that immensely. I believe entrepreneurs are special people, they join God in the act of creation. But you have to be ready in order to be effective.

Take a step back, pray aloud with your wife and trust that God will provide. If you want a challenge, step up your stewardship immediately. When you see that you’re able to give back to God, you’ll take comfort knowing you have enough to spare. He’s providing for you.

I will pray for you. I think you will be fine.

Blessings,
A fellow entrepreneur.

PS: I highly recommend this newsletter for straight talk on RE investing and guru debunking: johntreed.com/realestate.html
 
MM you should try editing my friend does this and she makes good money but the work is not steady she has to go look for it like she did work for a high school yearbook.
Pray you have a healthy baby. dessert
 
the_phoenix said:
Dear montanaman,

It’s going to be all right, you’ll see. Meanwhile, you’re praying, which is excellent. Now is definitely a time of discernment, a time to take a look at your options and see whether there aren’t a few more you can discover that are worth exploring, that you may not have looked into before.

The above sounds like platitudes, I know. But I can relate. I’m a technical writer who on top of it is persecuted at work for being a practicing Catholic. If I were to lose my job tomorrow, it would not come as a surprise. And this after an actual performance review which was handled fairly this year, and a courteous acknowledgement that this coming year I’m eligible for more vacation time.

There are days when I’ve been afraid to set foot in my office building without praying to St. Michael. And there was a day recently when I prayed to St. Michael twice in one morning. Put up with close to an entire year of shunning by almost everybody in my department, many of whom are hostile ex-Catholics … Many of them finally cracked and broke the silence, guess they didn’t realize I have a tendency toward Carthusian spirituality and happen to thrive on Silence and Solitude, when I countered their hate with prayerful recourse to God’s Love.

In any case, I will pray for you.

You have a baby on the way, what an awesome cause for joy!!! 🙂

~~ the phoenix
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I’m coming to realize just how petty and small the self-described “enlightened” ex-Christians are. They’re ignorant and act like children, and then say WE’RE stupid, deceived, robots, whatever. :rolleyes:

A technical writer, eh? I did that for about three months in the late 90’s. I worked for not a bitter ex-Catholic, but a woman who was all-around trying to ensure that she and everyone around her never had a good time. We were documenting software bug fixes, and I had to learn her byzantine color-coded system in 15 different fonts.

I think that was the year I decided to focus more on whiskey and less on beer.
 
I mean this charitably. Take it or leave it.
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I sincerely appreciate the tough love. 😉
Cut the Pakistan dealio (for now)
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Done. (For now).
Cut the real estate speculation (for now)
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Can’t do it. (And I’m not sure what we’re doing is considered “speculation.” I’m sure you know better, but that’s not a phrase I’ve heard used).

We’ve invested far too much time to quit now. Besides, the writing is on the wall–something has to happen or we lose our house in a few months. Beside, I actually enjoy that work. With just a little bit of effort, we’ve lined up realtors, hard money lenders, buyers, etc. (We’re getting into wholesaling, by the way. Last night I got an e-mail from contractor who’s looking to buy high-end homes and hold them for a little while. High-end for him, he said, is “$900,000 or higher.”) We’re finding potential deals left and right. If just ONE of my offers is accepted, we have several months of breathing room.

If it all goes south tomorrow–or today, for all I know–that might be a blessing. I have no idea what I’d do next if I had to get another J.O.B. Nothing political or media-related, that’s for sure. I’ll be perfectly happy to swing a hammer. I’d prefer it, in fact. If only I knew more Spanish…

Anyway, I hear you, W.B. I learned late in life what “action” really means and what “goals” really are. When you realize their power, they’re kind of like a narcotic. I can definitely dial things back, but I don’t have any more time to waste.
 
mamacita said:
**Montanaman, My DH needs to be the one replying as we have been in this situation (sort of) ourselves. It’s not fun. But we made it, barely.

He actually became a more prayerful person because of it.

By the way, I have many family members, including my sister who graduated from Franciscan. Don’t worry, you will eventually make money! All my family members that graduated that are living quite comfortably and they are in their early 30’s, Some even younger. So that should not be a big deal.

I will let my DH reply more when he gets home from his 2nd job, he works as an accountant during the day and waits tables at night to make ends meet, so we feel your pain, and this is how our life has been for over 2 years now. But that’s a good thing compared to what we went through earlier this year 👍 **
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From one MM to another MM, I am the aforementioned DH and would be more than happy to talk with you “man to man” 😛 and offer any advice that I could. Being a father of (soon to be) 4 and holding down 2 and sometimes 3 jobs, living paycheck to paycheck, having a buttload of debt…let’s just say, I can relate. Wanna chat? PM me sometime.

Sorry with all that is going on, I have not had a chance to work up a reply, mind you have the time to. I have thought about the reply a lot since DW told me about the thread, but to no avail in putting pen to paper or keys to keyboard to CAF. Anyhow, it is late, but I wanted to finally let you know that I am available as a sounding board if nothing else. Would love to share experiences with you.

L8r,

MM
 
montanaman ~

A dear friend of mine died last week from a pulmonary embolism and one of his favorite sayings came to mind when I read your post: “Don’t give up five minutes before the miracle happens.” Not sure how this fits in with what you’re going through, but I’m sure you’ll take from it what you’re supposed to. Praying for you…
 
MM, I enjoyed your response. You’re headlong in the RE deals, so I sincerely wish you well in that endeavor. It’s been my experience that actual hard-money lenders are pretty rare and prefer to deal with experienced pros. Hopefully one of your deals will pop and you’ll get some breathing room.

Do try to remain positive about your current income. Easier said than done, I’m sure. Same for a modest boost in stewardship if you haven’t yet attained a tithing lifestyle. I had to ease into this myself, but the rewards are wonderful.

And keep praying aloud with your wife. 🙂

My continued prayers…
 
Both my husband and I graduated from Franciscan University of Stuebenville and when they call asking for donations, I tell them they received $50,000+ in donations from us already. And since I gave that much I want a brick, or statue or building named after me.

Yet somehow after explaining its student loans, they don’t seem to find it all that funny. I have a degree in Radio/Television and while I am actually working in my field, its not what I thought I’d be doing. If you had asked me 5 years ago, where do you see yourself, I’d never had said, " I bet I’ll be working for a production company that does outdoor videos for television (hunting)" I don’t hunt, I know next to nothing about it, but I love to edit and I know how to put together a great story. This gives me a different edge when it comes to putting together our videos/tv shows.

I even get to witness some on my job since I have a holy card of St. Maxmilian Kolbe on our Mac, to help me keep things running smooth. I can’t tell you how many jams he and St. Anthony have pulled me out of, that even my non Catholic boss now admits there must be something “with the Saint thing”

BTW Congrats on the baby:)
 
Mirror_Mirror said:
From one MM to another MM, I am the aforementioned DH and would be more than happy to talk with you “man to man” 😛 and offer any advice that I could. Being a father of (soon to be) 4 and holding down 2 and sometimes 3 jobs, living paycheck to paycheck, having a buttload of debt…let’s just say, I can relate. Wanna chat? PM me sometime.

Sorry with all that is going on, I have not had a chance to work up a reply, mind you have the time to. I have thought about the reply a lot since DW told me about the thread, but to no avail in putting pen to paper or keys to keyboard to CAF. Anyhow, it is late, but I wanted to finally let you know that I am available as a sounding board if nothing else. Would love to share experiences with you.

L8r,

MM
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Thanks, MM,

I’m always writing these desperate notes when I’m up against a deadline without a clue as to what to write next. I may be writing another one soon since it’s Labor Day and here I am in the office. (I heard one other unfortunate soul in the building, but other than us, it’s a tomb). But right now things are alright. We had a good anniversary day yesterday, culminating with a sensible dinner atop the Hotel Washington, with excellent views of the monuments and the snipers atop the White House. It somehow put things in perspective. Don’t ask how, but it did.

One of the things I’ve learned over the last year of marriage and expectant fatherhood is that you just “do what you have to do.” Simple advice, because it IS simple. You just do whatcha gotta do. I have no idea what that might be in the near future, but whatever it is, I won’t hesitate to do it. Even if it means, like you, working two or three jobs. Heck, that might even break up the monotony…

Thanks again,

Chris
 
wigglebrick said:
MM, I enjoyed your response. You’re headlong in the RE deals, so I sincerely wish you well in that endeavor. It’s been my experience that actual hard-money lenders are pretty rare and prefer to deal with experienced pros. Hopefully one of your deals will pop and you’ll get some breathing room.

Do try to remain positive about your current income. Easier said than done, I’m sure. Same for a modest boost in stewardship if you haven’t yet attained a tithing lifestyle. I had to ease into this myself, but the rewards are wonderful.

And keep praying aloud with your wife. 🙂

My continued prayers…
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We actually got a proof of funds letter from an HML. I question the legitimacy of anyone that gives me that kind of credit so quickly, but that’s the nature of this business, I guess. They’ll give up to 70% of ARV, which is pretty standard, and I’ve been scouting several properties well below that.

In fact, get this–we found a place in one of the hottest areas in Northern Virginia. Not only does it need to be totally gutted down to the sticks, it’s got some WWII ordnance in the basement that may or may not be live. ATF has to come by and remove it.

The next-door neighbor, a shall we say “unpolished” individual, turned out to be one of the friendliest, most helpful people we’ve met in this RE investment adventure. He works for a guy in the area who basically buys houses and rents them out to ex-cons. There’s no doubt this guy is a slumlord, but he’s got a huge inventory of homes in some of the better areas, and in this market, I can’t imagine he wouldn’t want to sell a few of them. I’ll be talking to him tomorrow, if possible.

We’ve also gotten more realtors on board than we know what to do with. It’s now pretty much just a matter of finding that one really motivated seller.

Yes, things are “exciting.”
 
leonie said:
Hi Montanaman, I’ve decided you should move to Indiana. We appreciate talent here.

I’ve even found you a house
homes.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?ctid=43492&ml=3&bd=5&typ=7&sid=5e477f3a85e245348925915c85e6d894&lid=1069484449&lsn=2&srcnt=2#Detail

Let me know when the move is on and I’ll recommend some good parishes.
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A four bedroom home for $119,000??? Do you have unicorns and leprachauns in your state, too? :eek: 😃

I hear great things about Indiana, (primarily from a Catholic ally on another board), but unfortunately, that would be a hard sell to my wife. She’s a Washingtonian through and through. 😉

Thanks, though!
C.
 
Mind if I use this space as my own personal ranting thread? No? Mkay, thanks. No need to respond–I just need a place to blow off steam or else I’m going to start redecorating my office in a style best described as “Rage Deco.”

One small example of why I’m starting to lose my mind:

On the first draft of this major report I’m writing to a big donor, there was a line in the beginning that read:

“The following is a summary of XXXX’s work since we last updated you in May.”

My boss edited it to say:

“The following is a summary of CMI’s work for the reporting period of June 1, 2007 to August 31, 2007.”

In the latest version, THE VERY SAME BOSS now says that “reporting period” doesn’t work. “Use something else.”

And what assurance do I have that the new language will be acceptable? Absolutely none.

My immediate supervisor just got back from vacation. He took a look at the projects underway and decided that everything “we’ve” been doing is the wrong direction. So, I’m now working on rewrite #4, and it needs to be done in a few hours. I’m faced with several challenges. I list them in no particular order.
  1. The report must be 200-300 words, but no longer than two pages. However, as any scribbler knows, 300 words is only HALF A PAGE. It’s like I’m supposed to draw a circle with no more than two corners.
  2. I’m reporting on a division of our organization whose task is to promote “individuality.” [That’s not really it–I’m trying to remain anonymous here…] However, of the hundreds of articles, op-eds, special reports, etc., they’ve written over the last three months, very little has to do with “individuality.” It’s vexing THEIR bosses to no end, but ultimately, the writer, ME, has to make something ex nihilo.
  3. On top of this, I have to edit and rewrite an 11-page report on our overall activities. This report was compiled by a man who is the very definition of entitlement slacker. He figures he’s been here for 20 years, so he doesn’t have to really do anything above the minimum. Unfortunately, that mentality creates trash work, which then falls to…you guessed it–the writer.
In addition to cleaning up his mess, I have to cut it down to seven pages, write a proposal on the same material, and have it done by tomorrow morning.

Stay tuned for updates: I anticipate a total breakdown around…oh…let’s say 8:00 PM.

If there’s any silver lining to this cloud of paperwork, it’s that I got a call from a recruiter today. He wants me to apply for some writing job for a pollster. I was actually thinking I’d aim for some sort of janitorial or fast food work, but the job comes with a $15,000 pay increase, so who knows…
 
montanaman said:
If there’s any silver lining to this cloud of paperwork, it’s that I got a call from a recruiter today. He wants me to apply for some writing job for a pollster. I was actually thinking I’d aim for some sort of janitorial or fast food work, but the job comes with a $15,000 pay increase, so who knows…
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Woo hoo!!
 
StephanieC said:
Montanaman, I instantly thought of you:

“I Am Only a Father” by Creative Minority Report’s Matthew Archbold.

Enjoy.
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That was awesome. I could have written much of that (up until being a stay-at-home-dad, which I can’t be, not yet.)

The tidal wave at work seems to have washed over me, and I’m still standing, albeit wet, shaken and full of crabs. (Wait–bad analogy–make it “covered in starfish.”) However, I’m facing a bit of a dilemma right now. It’s a good one to have, don’t get me wrong. I might be blessed with opportunity.

Er, let me explain…

That headhunter who called me yesterday directed me to the website of the company looking for people. It’s a PR firm, and it’s conservative, but they unashamedly advertise their unique ability to get messages across by redefining the debate. You know, making things like “estate tax” say “death tax.” Now, I’m all for using words effectively to make a point, but I have a well-developed pet peeve about twisting words to make a point. Ideas have consequences, and words have meanings. (It drives me up a wall when Protestants say “NOT BY faith alone means BY FAITH ALONE.”

Anyway, I was going to turn the recruiter down, but then the devil took the phone from him, (“Pardon me, Roger, I think I can handle this…”) and poured honey into my ear.

“I told XYZ Company about your background,” Lucifer said. “When they found out you worked for The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy Times], [the PR department of the Ridiculously Ineffective Government Agency], and [The Stealing Candy From Babies Foundation], they wet themselves. Now they’re thinking about putting you in some type of managerial or directorship position, if you check out okay.”

Now, before they knew more about my resume, they were offering any candidate roughly $15,000 more than I make now. That would basically be a God-send. But now that they’re talking about giving me more, potentially, the blood in my veins has turned to slushy ice. If the last few years have taught me anything, it’s that my writing skills peaked somewhere around my sophomore year in college, at least as far as corporate or ideological America goes. These people want me to MANAGE other writers and researchers? Hah! I’m the kind of guy who sometimes forgets where he put his glasses–AND I DON’T WEAR GLASSES!

I know, I know–poor little yuppie. Please try to understand that until today I was giving serious thought (I’m not kidding here…) to going back to house painting where, while the work is still back-breaking, at least nobody rips the paint off the house, critiques it, wallpapers the exterior, and then asks you why it looks like a Dartmouth frat house floor after mid-terms. (I have it on good authority it’s not pretty).

So, go work temporarily for the devil, if he offers the job? Or continue with the equivalent of white water kayaking UPriver?

Decisions…decisions…
 
MontanaMan you ought to be writing scathing articles on the condition of modern life for some reputable newspaper or other media not peddling snake oil. Have you considered sending in your writing to various media (probably “conservative” ones)? You could be another Hilaire Belloc or G. K. Chesterton or Mark Twain if you gave yourself half the chance. I’m serious.
 
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