Goodbye Cave ... Hello House

"Heart don't fail me now. Courage don't desert me. Don't turn back now that we're here..."

'Been renting for twenty-seven years. Moved from one place to another with a total of four apartments that I transformed into a home. 

Moving from one cave to another is exhausting, even for a fierce and independent tiger like me. That's a fact. There is simply too much to do, too much to think of, and too much to worry about especially when the timeline is at stake ... when an eviction notice is issued in the midst of the pandemic recovery ... when the funds are low.

'Twas the 13th of May 2021 when I took my first step out of the cave and showed my Contractor the floor plan to my "not so dream house". Got the design from the internet. My "real dream house" is so expensive that I won't be able to afford it. Time is of the essence and I have to move forward with fingers crossed.

It took three years, six months, seven days, one more move to a new apartment, two court hearings, one road accident, three financial loans, lots of courage and God's amazing grace before I was able to finally transfer to my own house. The 28th November 2023 is such remarkable day!

At last, a dream come true. A very expensive dream come true!

TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY.

 

Building A Tiger's Nest is Never Easy

I stumbled upon the following House Building Tips that I researched and planned to publish here last July 31, 2014.

House Building Tips:

1. Dream
2. Plan
3. Design
4. Re-design
5. Decide
6. Act and implement

More Tips:
1. Ask advice/ideas from those who have already built there own house
2. Research from the internet for some building tips that could help you in your decisions
3. Try to calculate how much is needed to finance your building adventure
4. Visit the prospective institution that could lend you loan and ask for estimate of how much will be the loanable amount and the corresponding interests
5. Learn the standard dimensions needed in your house plan
6. Choose the right contractor
7. Ask for God's intervention
8. Pray that all your plans will come true

Looking back, I think I was able to do all the tips. I dreamed since childhood to have my own abode. I plan a very long time ago when all I can afford is to buy a cheap Jena Cloth for the curtain, I designed my dream house, re-designed more than three times. After the pandemic, when I received the eviction notice, I decided to build. With so much courage and faith in God, I acted and implemented.

Jeremy Renner once said "Building a house is like producing a movie. There's no right way to do it but a lot of wrong ways. You have to be flexible and creative. You have to move fast, be prepared - or it quickly becomes costly."

My house is almost complete. It costs me almost four million pesos, four set of loans, almost empty purse, two-year old heartache and lines on my tiger face. Yet all the struggles are rewarded with an awesome and unexplainable feeling.

Not bad after all.

Truly, we have to pay the price to make our dreams come true!