Goals

[intriguess]

She had goals and as she achieved them she set new ones. She'd recently set a series of goals, money, then house, then the family. Markie's business had finally taken off and she'd tapered off from working 60-80 hours a week to just under 60 as she went house hunting. Her entire family had been lukewarm about her choices and her weight had never been ideal.

So as she looked at houses, she considered taking the extra time to take the weight off. She hated diets, and exersize was boring, sweaty and/or too lengthy to get the kind of results she wanted. She didn't even want to think about it as she parked in front of a "fix er upper." She'd already gone through 3 realtors, this new one was not making a good impression as they were already late. The first realtor had been her father's age and very patronizing, the second had tried to steer her into a little cookie cutter condo, the last one had asked about her husband and then had been shocked that Markie wasn't married.

So she didn't have much hope for the new one, though the house was beautiful. Markie didn't bother making a good impression and was wearing a t-shirt and overalls that were stained and paint spattered.

 

[dennymere]

Agent

OCC do your want an agent?

 

[RockYourWorld]

Jack Mason had decided he needed a western-exposed deck on his house as the warmer weather began to approach. He had moved into the house during the dead of winter when his life seemed to be at its coldest and darkest point.

His wife had finally left him after years of complaining about her life. He was glad to see her go. One man could only take so much of that. He was now alone in his new house beginning his new life. A deck, facing the setting sun, seemed like a nice relaxing touch.

As Jack surveyed the spot where he planned to lay the foundation, his vision was lead to "fixer-upper" two doors down. A woman was standing in front of it, looking somewhat annoyed. An attractive woman she was, despite the overalls. From the looks of the house, she had quite a job ahead of her...

 

[intriguess]

She hated people who wasted her time and took the time to take a good look at house and mentally make a list of what needed to be done and the costs of renevation. By the time the realtor arrived, she had started a list and was considering the asking price. The realtor was apologetic, and very pregnant. Markie immediately liked her and after seeing the inside of the house, made an offer. The young woman seemed shocked that Markie would buy the house, as she had heard that she was a bitch of a client.

"You get what you give," Markie said with a smile.

"So what is it that you do?" she asked, curious as to how the paint spattered woman was able to pay for this much house.

"I have my own business. We specialize in one of a kind garments." Markie turned her hazel brown eyes back to her. "Do you think they will accept my offer?"

"Well it's below asking, but considering the items you pointed out. I think we can hammer something out."

Markie handed her a business card, "Call me when you know something." She got back into her reliable pick up truck and headed back to the studio. She ran her fingers through her shoulder length auburn locks and was glad to see everyone at work. She had a couple of seamstress's to keep up with measurements and construction. One lucky college intern was dealing with supplies, and her non artist as they joked about did the rest.

She headed straight for the intern, "Have you stretched the latest silk panels? Are my dyes mixed up? Are my brushes clean?" she rattled off the questions.

The intern stammered off the answers.

"Complete and inventory, and after that anything Judith wants."

Markie settled in with her paints and dyes and was soon lost in the process. It was nice to have someone else to answer the phones and other tasks. The intern interupted her for dinner. She had forgotten about her house hunting until later that week she got a phone call.

The realtor asked if she needed any help with financing, within a week it was taken care of, and she was the proud owner of a new home.

 

[RockYourWorld]

Architecture was a strange business, and the fact that it was a business was the main problem Jack had with it. The work was something you had to feel, it was a talent, a calling, work that was the result of inspiration and grueling head pounding. But when it was good, and the work made you proud, there was nothing better. A good design, one that Jack was satisfied with and the client liked, allowed Jack the closest feeling to perfection.

But that feeling was rare due to the peripheries of the business. You had to deal with banks – money people were the worst. They would agree with almost all the elements of a design, and the cost components that went along with it, then at the last minute, approve only a percentage of the funding and suggest “scale backs.” Scale backs? As if that were possible. It was like inventing an egg and having the bank tell you the yolk was a good idea, but make it all happen without the shell.

Then there were the builders. It was a interesting group of people. Some were hard working, others were lazy. Some were as honest as minister’s wives, others would steal a nickel from a blind man. The thing was, you never knew who you would get and no matter who you got, you were stuck with them. Even the best builders would often look at plans and designs as if they were trying to decipher hieroglyphics. Some builders were truly talented people, but Jack often found himself frustrated by their lack of creativity and openness for something different.

On top of these groups of people, there was the office staff at Jack’s firm. Like the builders, some of them were good people, but not always consistent. And like the bankers, many in the office were only concerned about money. All in all, Jack went to work at his firm day after day, not knowing what to expect. But more often than not, he ended up frustrated and disappointed.

His new house was in good condition. As a professional architect, he was professionally sure of this fact and could attest to it with the utmost confidence. He could have gone for a fixer-upper. He certainly now had the time on his hands with his complaining wife out of the way. He didn’t want to commit to such a thing, but he was looking for some diversion. Constructing the deck would be perfect. It was light labor, it could be done at a leisurely pace, and it would result in a place where only good things would happen.

His deck would face a lake that edged up to his property. Jack envisioned a boat dock one day extending out to the water, but the deck would be first. He would design it of course, and he would build it himself to his own exacting standards. It would be done as he liked, and he would feel little stress about it. Now that he was a free man, he intended to live his life this way from here on out.

As he came home that evening, he drove past the fixer upper where he had seen the attractive woman in the paint splattered overalls. The for-sale sign was gone, and as Jack pulled in to his driveway, he wondered if it was she that bought it.

 

[intriguess]

Markie

She loved old houses, the woodwork, the hand crafted feel, new homes seemed so sterile in comparision. Of course this one would take work, there were several layers of garish wall paper, the woodwork in several rooms needed to be stripped of paint. The bathrooms needed complete updates, and the kitchen was a throwback to the 70's.

The view from the master bedroom was amazing and the layout was perfect. Despite being older, the rooms were spacious, and the closests not too tiny. She wasn't afraid of hard work, or chemicals, she had the windows all thrown open. The bathrooms were going to be gutted so she didn't worry about them, she had started with a good cleaning, getting rid of dust and cobwebs and then it was doing one thing at a time. She had patched/mudded the ceilings, and taken down the hideous crown molding. Now she was enjoying a steam as she started scraping away the layers of wall paper.

Her truck was in the garage, as she wans't quite sure of the security of neighborhood and she easily had tools and supplies in her truck. She was planning on rebuilding the garage, she wanted to build a second story on it for a private studio.

The appliances from the kitchen had already been relocated to work, they were thrilled to get a real sized fridge and stove. Then she reminded them that they needed them to cook dyes and store printing paste.

She had a radio going, and she'd left her cell phone in her truck.