Houses

Sludge had crept up the windows, and a full coat of moss and mildew covered the door. Even a clever observer would not have been able to determine the original clean white which had now been completely discolored and abandoned to a weather-beaten tan-grey; it was nearly black. The majestic building, built all those many years ago with such care, deliberation and precision, was a ruin and could barely now even be called a house, let alone a home.

But still she lived there, working around the filth, never opening a door which may cause a stack of unwanted items to come tumbling down on her; ignoring the rotted countertops, failing floorboards, insect-infested cupboards and bedrooms and extremely leaky plumbing.

Day after day, allowing it to grow worse and worse, she watched as her house began to fall.

Looking from the outside, one could not see the inside at all, and from the inside, one could not see the outside. But it had been this way so long, she began to stop noticing. Though occasionally it hit her hard how much disrepair had come upon her dwelling. And, though many of her friends did not mind her house the way it was, and many of them lived in similar places, there was the occasional person around whom she felt ashamed to show her house.

It was at these times when she attempted to make some modifications, to try and fix the place up. But it was in such bad shape, she could effect little change. Even attempting to clean off the windows and scrub the outside to improve its appearance proved short-lived and extremely difficult, to say the least.

This reminded her that she was lonely, and without the help of a friend or relative. She longed more than anything to marry, and often cycled through men to see if she could find the right one. But everyone had proved more harmful and disruptive than she could have imagined - was there just one right man out there for her? Would she live this way forever?

One day, there was a knock on the door. She answered to find a man dressed in overalls, and carrying a toolbelt and ladder. He was not extremely handsome, and she could tell that he carried the wisdom and maturity of a man who worked hard and long.

"What can I do for you?" asked the girl.
"I'm here to make you an offer" said the man.
"Your house is in desperate need of assistance, and I am the handiest handyman you'll ever meet. Mind if I have a look around?"

She didn't know what to say, though she had seen before the prices these sorts of men charged for their work, and was immediately skeptical.

"Look around? Would it cost me anything?"
"No," said the man, "nothing at all."
"Alright, go ahead." said the girl, wondering what the catch was.

The man looked around, building a complete schematic of the house, its needs, the dangers of the structure, the quality of life, and the feature list; even down to the food in the refrigerator which was, sadly, very unhealthy indeed.

As the girl watched the man go about his work, she began to admire him. He took several weeks to complete the task, and was very thorough about everything he did. From the foundations, to the structure, to the drain-field and well, to the simple hardly noticeable items such as the low spots in the gravel driveway, the man inspected everything. His arms were strong, she could tell, as he lifted things to look under them, and she could see he had a great deal of experience in many different matters. There was an air about him that suggested poise, dignity. But there was also something else, something difficult to place.

Upon concluding his analysis, the man returned and presented his findings.

"It looks like you're in pretty bad shape, and at this rate I don't know how much longer the house can stand - you will soon have a field in its place!" said the man.
"But never fear, I am able to salvage the entire place - even add on a few new features you've been living without. It'll look real nice when I'm done. Would you like me to fix it up for you?"

Now, sure she would be paying a fortune for his work, she decided it was a bad idea after all to let the man look around. She began to back out and inform the man she had nothing to offer in return and that he would probably need to find someone else's house to repair.

But the man was persistent and, without blinking, looked her in the eye to say, "I require only two things in return for my work, should you determine to accept -- first, that you always allow me, and only me, to work on your house in the future. And second, your hand in marriage - again, exclusively to be mine."

Overwhelmed and shocked, the girl staggered back - what was this all about? How could she just go giving away her heart, just like that? But then she stopped and considered. She remembered all the other men and objects to which she had already given her heart, and imagined now how horrified the man would be if he found out. She determined that he must never find out, and that she should definitely not accept his offer -- if only, she justified, for his own good.

But before the words were able to exit her mouth, he looked into her eyes and called her by name. She had never told him her name, how did he know?

"I know what you are thinking, and I know what you have done. I know how you feel and what you wish; I have been watching you for many years. I know you better than you know yourself. I know all about your past, your mistakes, your hurts, your troubles and your fears, and I want you anyway. I will take care of you better than you can ever imagine, and will love you more than you could dream. I will give meaning to your life, and set you free of the shame of your home and life. Will you accept my offer? I am good to my word."

Taken by surprise yet again, and having just heard an offer for which she had wished and dreamed about all her life, she quietly accepted his offer, wide-eyed and profoundly moved. Numbly, excitedly, and suddenly in a craze of joy, she threw her arms around him and began to cry hysterically.

"Its too good to be true!" she sobbed.
"Yes, I know. But it is true." soothed the man.
"But it won't be easy - I will be dealing with your entire house, rebuilding every corner, fixing every crack, and changing your way of life. I need to demolish parts of the house, and your life will change accordingly; and it will hurt sometimes to see the changes I need to make. But you must always trust me, understand that I will be working to restore the home to its original beauty and functionality. You must always trust, and believe I have your best in mind, and that I will come through on my side of the bargain."

So they were married, and he began work on her house immediately. But, as he said, it was not easy. She found herself many times imagining she could do something better than he could, and making her own changes. Invariably, this simply added to the work load of her husband, and she was profoundly ashamed every time, but he was always very forgiving and continued on.

Sometimes a friend or neighbor would stroll by, having heard what changes this man had made to the girl's life, and peer curiously at the house to see the changes, and though there was unmistakably a difference in the girls' lifestyle, they could not often understand why the man allowed the house to appear so shabby on the outside.

There were many other houses on the street, and they appeared very fine. One day, taking a stroll along the sidewalk with her husband, the girl asked him why all these houses looked just fine if they didn't have someone like him to come and keep them up. In answer, the man gripped a piece of the front of the house and tore off a sheet of paper covering to reveal under it a more shabby and run-down home than even hers had been.

"Since they, like you, found they were unable to repair or clean up their houses, they have covered it up with a picture of what they would have everyone imagine their house truly is. And when it rains or gets very hot, the paper is ruined, and they must replace it again with a new picture. I made my offer to them too, but they sent me away, stating they did not need my help."

Nearly a year after the man had first appeared, the home renovation was very close to completion. There were still items which needed attention, and the girl still found herself trying to build or repair things herself, which continued to fail. Each time, she would need to request that her husband make the correct repair, now having also to repair her mistake. But when asked, he was always glad to do it for her - he loved her very much.

Contemplating one day, the girl asked him why he did not begin on the outside to make the house look good. He replied with a question of his own.

"Do you remember what I had to do 5 months ago to the bedroom just beyond that corner?"

He pointed up at the spare bedroom, which he had needed to completely rebuild from scratch. During his repair, he had needed to replace the walls, both on the inside and the outside, so now there appeared a rough sheet of weatherproofing material over plywood forming the outer wall.

"Yes," she responded, "there were several walls like that -- well, nearly all of them."

"If I had started on the outside, I would have ended up replacing these walls twice, as a repair on the outside would have simply been cosmetic, not functional. I always begin my work from the inside and move outward, that way I never have to replace anything twice, and I never work in vain."

Finally, he said he was ready to begin work on the outside of the house, and though it would be the easiest of the work, that it would require something of her. She agreed.

"Houses are always represented inside by what is outside - whatever is displayed for public viewing often reflects what there will be where it is private and not for public viewing. By allowing me to make this final repair, you will then be showing the repair I have made on the inside. And by allowing the change, you are publicly declaring the bargain you originally made with me - then everyone will know see and know. Are you willing to make this declaration?"

"Yes." said the girl, solid in her resolve.

"Very well."

And the man removed all the doors and windows, refinished and painted the entire house and installed all new doors and windows. It was complete, and the crowds were amazed to see what he had done in the home of the girl, and in awe at the work the man had done.
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"Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God." -Exodus 6:7a
"...the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." -2 Corinthians 5:17

Week 4

Well last week was a no-class week, being MLKJR day and all, so here I am in week 4.

Something I should note about last week though, interestingly enough, is that I was late on my homework. By exactly 32 minutes. Yup, submitted at 12:32am, and late enough to disqualify me from getting it graded at all...kinda depressing. So I did it anyway (she says she wants to see it one way or another to make sure we understand it), and emailed her to let her know I’d submitted it and late. She emailed me back and told me she’d grade it for full points anyway, as a favor “one time” in the quarter - wow! Thrilled.

Anyway, we got into the correct room this time - it was unlocked.

It feels strange being here. I don’t feel like I’m taking a class - my homework is fairly easy, and this week I had it done 5 days in advance; crazy right? And this week I want to do it again. With only one day per week being lecture, her grading me so nicely, and the homework only taking about 4 hours for a week, its *almost* easy. I’m thrilled. What can I say? Next quarter Accounting will kill me, so I’ve heard, but I’ll be interested to see if I can do it without being lazy, thus perhaps properly functioning during the quarter haha.

Today is Luke’s birthday, we’re going to see “book of Eli” after class, we’ll have to see how it is. I’m excited. :) And Tomorrow I have my genius admin interview at 2pm. Also exciting.

Back to class, starting in T-minus-60 seconds.

I’m experimenting with my computer tonight - not knocking down power consumption, since the silly thing lasts longer with all services on and screen at full brightness. Strange, yeah?

She’s covering last week’s topic. I’m happy.

This is good - she really is covering last week and filling in all the blanks. Hmm, I wonder if she’s teaching any classes I need after this...

So I have figured out three reasons I love this class: First, I understand it (this far). Second, its actually interesting AND valuable to my future. Third, well, of course, grades thus far. But really, its almost relaxing, fascinating. Hmm.

An another note, I’m 35 minutes into the class and my battery meter is reading 10 minutes more than when I usually start class in reduced service mode. Very, very, very odd.

Week 2

We got into the correct room this time - hilarious. She found that her key didn’t work for either room, so someone had to come open the door for us.

She’s asking now how everyone’s homework went (ie. Angel oddities, etc), so that was nice.

I’m a little nervous to see how my homework will be graded - there was quite a bit of it, though it wasn’t all that difficult. I have to say, I’m kinda stoked ‘cause I am reading the Constitution for the firs time. Strange? Yes. Everyone should be aware of their Constitution - it is the basis for everything in the country! I’m at article IV, but will finish it tonight. I am really enjoying this class so far. Why? Because I am learning things that not only will I use for my business, but things I will benefit from knowing in every-day life. Wow. Imagine that.

Now she’s reviewing sources of law, preparing for the Judicial Process in Chapter 3. What are our rights, etc.

Onto Judicial Process - Jurisdiction, the way the court system is structured.

I love it: She gives us hints as to quiz questions and all. So funny.

Haha I think she’s conservative - she just poked a huge jab at liberalism lol. We just talked about the ten commandments and the court ruling to remove or stay the tablets — ends up they decided to keep them, as they were NOT an establishment of religion.

School - Week 1

Ok, so I am loving school this quarter. I have been taking down a running dialog with myself during class time, so I think I'll post it here for the heck of it. Its actually kinda humorous to read, so here you go.

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Week 1:

The first day of class is interesting so far, and its not even started yet. The instructor is, for once, a perfect english speaker, and I can understand every word. I am happy about this because last class it was a chinese gal and I couldn't always understand her.

The instructor is also spunky. She is not quiet (again, thankfully), and I am thinking she'll be a good instructor. We'll see how it goes.

Class will be about two chapters per week.

I love how she knows exactly what we're looking for -- "What is expected?"

Chapters 1, 2, 3 are introductory chapters, starting with Ethics, will be the first week and a half. They are very broad, a little longer and kind of all over the place. The whole class will not be like this.

Chapter 7 starts contracts - they are harder/more technical, but they are shorter and more focused.

She says it won't be impossible, I'm happy about that! She talks to herself, and announced it - hilarious. Oh, and she's also Remy. Not Mrs. Leonard, not Dr. Leonard, and very easygoing about her name. Its "Ray-me", but she doesn't mind.

LOL she's worked as a janitor AND at a cemetery - and she's a "Ski Bum" haha.

She loves criminal law...but didn't think she would. She studied in State Planning, but went instead into criminal law and found she loved it - by accident.

My instructor also works at Trinity Lutheran College - I'll have to ask Annie if she knows her.

There's an Egyptian student in my class. 3 exchange students actually. Wow pretty cool!

All assignments are released Friday, 8am, and due the following Sunday by Midnight. No late assignments will be graded.

All questions on quizzes will be on midterm and final. Don't forget! On quizzes and homework, the only resource we are not allowed to use is fellow students.

I am liking the structure of this class - it seems both laid back and straight forward. Perhaps this "hybrid" thing isn't so bad after all. Its my first one, and I will admit I wasn't very thrilled, but it doesn't look impossible. Time to dive in! I'm actually looking forward to learning some of this stuff, odd as that may sound, and this seems to be the best venue.

OH MY WORD - 90 is an A, this is a goldmine class! WOW. So cool.

Ah, the final also does not include the first portion of information. By definition, this should be an easy class, all things considered - very relaxed. I'm sure the information will be rather challenging, but still, an excellent layout.

Hmm, an 89.6 and higher counts as an A IF I have excellent attendance and submit assignments on time, etc.

Her goal is to get our grades back to us no more than 72 hours after due date. She doesn't start grading until Monday morning, we'll probably receive by Wed-Thu. She says sometimes if people submit early, she'll grade early. Hmm. I'd really like to not be lazy this quarter, and get stuff in not only on time, but early. Exams may take longer to grade.

She says to use "rleonard@everettcc.edu" to contact her. She says to include my name and "BusA" in the subject line. Hmm. Easy enough.

This gal is an excellent instructor - I'm fascinated so far all the way though, and its been an hour and a half. I could swear its only been 20 minutes. Something interesting though, she sounds just like Alex Lewis - incredibly so. Oddly enough, its bringing back memories of Alex. I wonder how she's doing? Anyway, they're both very logical and speak with extreme clarity. Obviously this gal must, since she was a courtroom prosecutor!