Ahh, serendipity. Big word, makes me feel pretty smart. Don't really know what it means, but I think I crossed it's shiny trail today.
See, once not long ago I was involved in a real estate project that went bad. I know a lot of them went bad in the last couple of years, but this one went bad because my partner, the co-developer, stole practically all of the construction money. In the US, when this sort of thing happens it usually results in some small measure of gratification. Maybe someone goes bankrupt or goes to jail. In Central America, not so much (though a gov't official down there once told me it was easy to just throw a body in the river and let the crocs take care of it - "There's no CSI here, man" he said, laughing a little too much). Things drag on, political influences change, courts slow to a bloody crawl.
While my partner, through a series of manipulations, dummy corporations, and a bit of 8th grade-level creative bookkeeping, robbed the till, I was selling units to people I knew and liked. And they liked me - or they used to. My partner, it turns out wasn't an investment banker, like he said, but he was good at spending money. Unfortunately it was on things like a new house, a new Jag for him, a Range Rover for the wife. He even bought me a watch as a gift.
I was looking for something like serendipity when I broke the watch (just the strap) on some part of his face, using it as a sort of makeshift set of brass knuckles. Didn't turn out to be serendipity -- turned out to be self-defense. His side of the story was markedly different, but hey, I broke two fingers. That watch-over-the-hand move only works in the movies apparently. Anyway, two differing stories, two credible witnesses, no harm, no foul, no charges. Thank you lax Central American justice system!
Anyway, something happened today that made me think that perhaps I had stumbled on something serendipitous, so I looked it up.
Serendipity: the effect by which one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something entirely unrelated.
Here is what I was looking for - something new to pass the time and keep me out of trouble while the tab for the insurance pay-out falls toward my head like the second coming of MIR (if you're Russian, , look it up). Maybe that thing will crash on me, and maybe not - it's too early to tell. Until I find out, I wanted to take some more pictures, spend a little time having fun, chill out with the kid. The fun, easy stuff.
Here's what I found. Today the bank, which now owns the property, called me and asked if I wanted to come down there manage either the build-out or the tear down - new buyer will make the choice after some studies to see how much damage a year of exposure has done. And they want to pay me for this work? When I asked why, the guy who called me said "well, you know the project well, and there's a pretty good chance they'll tear it down. We thought you might like to help with that."
Did I mention the project is named after my own mini-Madoff? Did I mention that right before he killed himself by letting his car run in a closed garage that he left me a voicemail, telling me to go fuck myself? Mean and bitter until the end. Well, at least I can tear down his fucking buildings, and I will (hopefully).
So, did I find it? Maybe, maybe not - even in the best case scenario the fun, chill stuff might turn out to be more fun than taking my anger out on a hollow concrete & steel shell. And I won't actually get to wreck much of anything - I'll just be managing the demo project, selling off pieces of the carcass to recover a fraction of the money put in. I'm sure I'll get to hit something with a sledgehammer, but still, did I find something better than what I was looking for in the first place? Is petty revenge better than a relatively calm, easy life?
What if they decide to finish it? What did I find then? Well, I have it on good authority they'll at least rename the place . . . .
See, once not long ago I was involved in a real estate project that went bad. I know a lot of them went bad in the last couple of years, but this one went bad because my partner, the co-developer, stole practically all of the construction money. In the US, when this sort of thing happens it usually results in some small measure of gratification. Maybe someone goes bankrupt or goes to jail. In Central America, not so much (though a gov't official down there once told me it was easy to just throw a body in the river and let the crocs take care of it - "There's no CSI here, man" he said, laughing a little too much). Things drag on, political influences change, courts slow to a bloody crawl.
While my partner, through a series of manipulations, dummy corporations, and a bit of 8th grade-level creative bookkeeping, robbed the till, I was selling units to people I knew and liked. And they liked me - or they used to. My partner, it turns out wasn't an investment banker, like he said, but he was good at spending money. Unfortunately it was on things like a new house, a new Jag for him, a Range Rover for the wife. He even bought me a watch as a gift.
I was looking for something like serendipity when I broke the watch (just the strap) on some part of his face, using it as a sort of makeshift set of brass knuckles. Didn't turn out to be serendipity -- turned out to be self-defense. His side of the story was markedly different, but hey, I broke two fingers. That watch-over-the-hand move only works in the movies apparently. Anyway, two differing stories, two credible witnesses, no harm, no foul, no charges. Thank you lax Central American justice system!
Anyway, something happened today that made me think that perhaps I had stumbled on something serendipitous, so I looked it up.
Serendipity: the effect by which one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something entirely unrelated.
Here is what I was looking for - something new to pass the time and keep me out of trouble while the tab for the insurance pay-out falls toward my head like the second coming of MIR (if you're Russian, , look it up). Maybe that thing will crash on me, and maybe not - it's too early to tell. Until I find out, I wanted to take some more pictures, spend a little time having fun, chill out with the kid. The fun, easy stuff.
Here's what I found. Today the bank, which now owns the property, called me and asked if I wanted to come down there manage either the build-out or the tear down - new buyer will make the choice after some studies to see how much damage a year of exposure has done. And they want to pay me for this work? When I asked why, the guy who called me said "well, you know the project well, and there's a pretty good chance they'll tear it down. We thought you might like to help with that."
Did I mention the project is named after my own mini-Madoff? Did I mention that right before he killed himself by letting his car run in a closed garage that he left me a voicemail, telling me to go fuck myself? Mean and bitter until the end. Well, at least I can tear down his fucking buildings, and I will (hopefully).
So, did I find it? Maybe, maybe not - even in the best case scenario the fun, chill stuff might turn out to be more fun than taking my anger out on a hollow concrete & steel shell. And I won't actually get to wreck much of anything - I'll just be managing the demo project, selling off pieces of the carcass to recover a fraction of the money put in. I'm sure I'll get to hit something with a sledgehammer, but still, did I find something better than what I was looking for in the first place? Is petty revenge better than a relatively calm, easy life?
What if they decide to finish it? What did I find then? Well, I have it on good authority they'll at least rename the place . . . .