Fort Ja Badanie--December 15, 2019

I've owned this house now for exactly two months. I moved in a week and a half ago and have just recently set up my computer so that's why there haven't been any updates for a while. But I'm moved in now and I have a place to do the most important of my business. I have internet. I have a shower. I have a bed and I have a toilet. I can also make coffee. The rest has to be out-sourced.

I'm actually sitting at my computer right now trying to write but I'm not really sure what else to say that can't be gathered by watching the video accept to explain the name:  Fort Ja Badanie. It's Polish for, "self exploration." 

I know. Those of you that read the blog or used to listen to the The Montana Dream Cast know I'm kind of out there. I get it and I'm not going to apologize. I wear my heart on my sleeve and sometimes I share too much. But here's the deal. This blog illustrates a journey. Over the years I have taken on a ton of challenges and have experienced and lot. Sometimes I've come out on top. Sometimes I've gotten kicked in the teeth. Through it all, I keep learning and hopefully, keep growing. I share these experiences with you all to either share the lessons, entertain, or just keep people who care about me in the loop.

Metaphorically speaking, this house reflects a great deal of where I'm at right now in my life. This house was, and still is to some degree, in pretty bad shape. The years have a taken a huge toll on it structurally. The foundation was rocked but still standing after countless storms, earthquakes, wind and searing heat. It is weathered. Many people have rested their heads here. Some have built onto the house by adding rooms and infrastructure like newer electrical and insulation, etc. Some have used the house and didn't take care of it well and still others have piled up layers upon layers of filth and burden, i.e., three layers of linoleum in the kitchen and bathroom on top of hardwood floors.

Recent years have not been kind to this house. The gentleman that lived here had some pretty significant mental health issues. He was a hoarder and could not take care of this place. The weeds grew. The toilet was clogged and had flooded the bathroom numerous times. Most of the flooring and even the joists were rotted out. He couldn't keep up on repairs to plumbing and electrical and eventually, his family took him out of the home. That's where I came in.

The trustee of the gentleman, who I believe was a family member, had given up on this place. I don't blame them. I'm sure once you watch the video, if you haven't seen any of them yet, you'll understand why this place was listed as a complete tear-down. Fifty-thousand dollars was all it was listed for. In a town like Helena out here in the Big Sky Country, $50K was all they wanted to be rid of the burden this house had become. Fifty-grand was all it was worth...

Multiple potential buyers placed cash offers on the house--not for restoration but to bull-doze it and use the land to either put an apartment building on it or townhouse or just start from scratch and slap something on it to turn a profit. To be honest, I've thought about how fast I could flip this thing and make a buck too. In this market? With the economy the way it is? It wouldn't be that hard. However...

After thinking about it, I really feel like this house can become a springboard to the exploration that's been so important to me for years that I have neglected. One of the reasons I wanted to be in Helena is because Helena is so centrally located in Montana and in the West. It's not Bozeman or Missoula and doesn't have the bar scene or the universities but from Helena, you can pretty much experience whatever you want that makes Montana amazing. There's hunting and fishing and skiing. There are breweries and some really good restaurants as well. There's also an airport and if you want to get out of Montana, that's pretty easy to do and with my mortgage, with this house? It's time to explore. It's time to get back to finding "me." Ja Badanie.

The Fort is far from finished. My kitchen cabinets come in a few days along with appliances and there's still some weird crap hanging on the walls that I'm afraid to rip down because I know it's going to tear the sheet-rock apart. I could also do a lot to make this the perfect pad for running my business by building a shop and storage for boats. But I'm tired. As soon as I get that kitchen in, I'm going to do some real exploring.

Keep 'em where they live...