Progress and Fun!

Things are really moving along. The brick work is finished at the building and now we're talking about things like fixing the roof and skylights and so much more. The great news is that we got the loan! The details still need to be laid out as far as an interest rate and how long we'll have to pay it off, but I'm so happy to know that the bank is willing to help us. We've had the greatest rep to work with from the bank. I'll add names and the exact bank at a later time, but for now, I'm just going to say that I'm grateful. We're so blessed! What we're going to do with this building, and even the building itself, will bless so many in the future that we feel like we're just being guided through all of the things we need to do in order to be the conduit for all of it happening. I've talked about this before, but it's as if all of the goodness surrounding our ideas and this project seem to just draw the right people in.

Here are a few pictures from recent trips to the building!

East Side Brick - check!

West Side Brick - check!

James and Kyle Filming for the Documentary about the Building - Check!

She's so pretty!!!

Did I mention that I climbed up on the roof? It was a little scary!!!

Where we'd like to put a green roof and skylights...

We could probably see fireworks from up here on New Year's Eve and Fourth of July!

Looking down on the lot we hope to have someday!

An Adventure Right Here at Home

This entry may be a little more personal than the others, but I think it's worth including. Recently, I have been thinking about the fact that James and I are creating the space that will hold our dreams. Now a normal person would be really excited about this, and I am! I'm more than excited. I'm grateful. I am having visions of what it will be like and I can tell you it's going to be magical. But there is also a part of me that is scared. What if I fail? What if I don't live up to James' expectations? What if I don't live up to my own? I am sometimes my own worst enemy.

I have been looking around at people who are younger than I am because that is the group that I choose to be around. They are in a stage in life where they are exploring the world, continually learning about themselves and figuring out how they view the universe. (Some of them have it more figured out than I do!) It's inspiring! It's where I am as well. It's where I chose to put myself almost 6 years ago when I chose to leave teaching and go back to school. I was too afraid to ask the hard questions of the universe when I was in school the first time and that attitude just carried on through into my adult life. When I made the big change, I decided to change more than my vocation. I wanted to change myself. Ironically, I think that all of the adventures I've been on and all of the things that I've learned (and continue to learn) are going to lead me right back to teaching.

I've been seeing people travel to far off and exotic places and I've been jealous because I remember all of the things that I learned when I traveled and how I grew. I have feared that staying in one place has caused me to forget about the lessons. But I'm realizing more and more every day that because of what James and I are doing, I'm on an adventure right here at home. I'm still meeting new people from different cultures. I'm still getting lost and finding my way back to home base (just like I did every time I moved to a new city in Italy). Now it's more of a getting lost when it comes to figuring out how to solve a problem that I have with either a friendship or figuring out what to do next with plans. And I am learning ALL KINDS OF THINGS about myself and life. So why would I compare myself to others? Why would I do that to my peace of mind? Well, I'm not going to allow it anymore. I know that I have everything I need to be happy and I always will...whatever happens. I am not on someone else's journey. I'm on my own and even though I admire other people, I need to remember that I am special too. There is nobody else like me on the face of the earth and I am so grateful for that because I love my life.

The really funny thing is that on all of my previous travels, I have wished for a friend to share them with. I have wished for someone that I truly cared about to see what I saw and experience what I experienced. I knew that I was meant to see those things on my own then and that's where the learning took place. I needed to find inside of myself the strength and courage to find my way back and to be ok on my own. And I found it. But now that I'm on a different kind of journey here at home, I've found the perfect friend to share in these adventures. In fact, I think we found each other. I know that it is fate or serendipity or whatever else you want to call it.

James is one of my best friends now and through our many conversations and time spent together, he has helped me to see the world in a way that brings peace and balance. I know it sounds crazy, but the things I've heard other people say that have brought so much stress to a relationship during a renovation are the things that I look forward to. I want to pick out tile with him. I want to see what kind of a good deal we're going to find on appliances. I want to solve problems with him. Every little detail is important to me and figuring out the solutions to issues that will come up will only help us to know each other better and to be more in tune with each other, as well. That can only bring good things for the project and our friendship.

Every choice we make relating to this building and the school to come will be made even more special because we're sharing the adventure. And this adventure is pointing us in a direction of creating something that will not only improve our own lives, but the lives of people around us. That is our shared destination and I couldn't be more grateful for the fact that I get to share this journey with James.

Plans

James called today and said that he's almost finished with the initial plans for the building. These plans and the detailed budget are the last things we have to turn in to the bank in order to complete our application for the loan. I'm so excited and ready to find out what will happen. James also said that the man who is going to do the brick work will be able to start really soon, so it could be next week!

Now for the icing on the cake. Today James told me that he got a call from the HP architect and that she is really interested in our project. She's going to help us with the National tax credit application and hopefully, she'll help us with communicating with the rest of the board as well! I'm really grateful for this.

I can't wait for James to come over and show me those plans!!!

The Beginning of an Amazing Adventure!

On January 8th, 2010 (Elvis' 75th birthday) my friend James Varnum and I formed an LLC at my cousin and lawyer's office and then directly after (about two hours later), we closed on a building! James actually paid for the building with his life savings, but it's listed under our company. I'm still amazed that he did that, but it was just one link in a whole magical chain of events. Everything about the process has been graced with serendipity, from meeting James all the way up to having people want to help us with the application for the bank loan. We're finding that the people who do hear about our ideas want to help make them happen. We're so lucky! But more than anything, I think that our plans are going to be so good for the community that there is a lot of good karma surrounding what we're doing.

James sent me a message on Facebook on July 18th that said this:

James Varnum Two things:
I'm down for CO in August. When you wanna go?
Also, I have an apt building in the paseo you should see.

I can remember seeing the message on my phone while on family vacation in Greece. We still haven't made it to Colorado together, but that building at 612 NW 29th Street is the exact one we bought! And even though my cousin John said that we shouldn't fall in love with a building, I can't help it. Even in its run-down state, I can see it as it will be when we're finished with it and when there is so much life and happiness pouring through its rooms.

I knew that something special was going to happen one day last summer when I sat with James on the wicker swing in my back yard. We were drinking wine and talking about our ideas for the future and I just felt it! Everything seemed electrified! We've developed an awesome friendship and the work that we are going to be about, saving an historic building and starting something that will help OKC to be more vibrant, will lead to one of the most exciting and rewarding collaborations of my life.

I have a huge amount of respect for James and for his ideas. He inspires me to learn new things and to seek out creative ways of approaching life. He also challenges me to face my fears and to grow. I feel like a kid who is discovering the world! The more James and I spent time talking after that day on the swing, the more I knew that we were kindred spirits. We aren't one hundred percent, exactly alike in our thinking, which is a good thing. Because of that, I get to learn from him and hopefully he learns from me too. I am, however, usually amazed at how similar our visions are...especially when it comes to this building. And we have so much in common, but I'll make that a subject of a future blog.

Before we even talked about design, I was conjuring up ideas in my head about how we should lay out the floor plan and how the space should be used. When James did eventually draw out his ideas, they were exactly like mine. It makes me really happy that he respects me enough to want to work with me, because I feel that way towards him. I know, without any doubt, that we are going to do great things together.

And the ideas we have for what we are going to do with the building...well, those are so exciting that I think they'll have to wait for the next post. But I will say this. When (not if) our plans become reality, they will change our community for the better. We're going to revolutionize our community...and we're going to start with the Paseo.

I'm so excited!!!!