Yeah, I know it’s been awhile. Time flies when you have to get stuff done. However, I am still in the process of establishing the premises. Tons of new rules and building codes are in my way, but nothing I can’t handle. I really thank you all for following me through this process! 

Please do visit the new website!

www.studiosimplicit.com

Also please like the Facebook page:

www.facebook.com/studiosimplicit

Please continue to pray for everything to go smoothly. Your prayer and support are always encouraging! 

Happy holidays everyone! Happy new year! It’s definitely been a crazy 2011 for me with new beginnings and letting go of old habits. You all have been just a blessing in my lives and I can’t wait to see what 2012 has in store for us. Many blessings to you all in 2012…

PHOTO UPDATE!

 
Salvador filling in the gap with green grout.

 
Personally painted the walls to this room. Like a boss.

 
Started painting the main space.

 
Peter: Alberto, how are we going to put compound near the ceiling with the staircase in the way?
Alberto: No problem.
(5 minutes later with two ladders and two 2x4’s)
Alberto: Finished.
Peter: (O_o)

 
Down lights installed.

 
It really is coming together…looks pretty good.

I am not in the phase in meeting outside people to help with web design, logo design, business planning, and legal advice. It’s finally coming along and HOPE to open soon!

Happy new year again!  

I got my hair cut this past weekend at my normal spot at Hidy in K-Town. I’ve been going here for the past few years. Had to make my rounds with the different stylists to find the right one. Ended up with a woman named Mari. It’s strange how much you talk to your stylist, or maybe it’s just me. There are some things that I don’t share with close friends, but every time I go, Mari mentions something I said previously and I get so surprised that I would share such a thing. She’s been very good at listening and giving advice. So she’s been sharing about her newborn and I’ve been sharing about my construction/business. All the highs and lows. Thick and thin. Slowly, but surely. We both came to the realization that you have to deal with it and make the best of it. I’d like to say that the relationship between the contractor and I has become much better than the beginning weeks. There were moments where I just wanted to deck the halls on this dude, but I knew it wouldn’t have made a difference. The majority of the problems came from within myself. Once I began to accept the problems and learned to deal with them, life, seriously, got a whole lot easier.

And I’m glad that she knows how to cut my hair…

PHOTO UPDATE!

 
Flooring is about done…

 
Another tedious but surprisingly relaxing task. Paint the ceiling. All the cracks and nooks…


TILES IN THE BATHROOM! For those who pay close attention, yes, there is a window in the bathroom. Yes, you’ll be exposed. Yes, I will do something about it. Haha.

Well, that’s pretty much the latest so far. Please continue to lift this place up in your prayers. Thanks everyone! I can’t wait for it to be finished and to show it to all of you! 

Not so much happened this week, however, we did pass something huge. We passed our “plumbing inspection.” !!!!!! It’s actually a huge load off of our shoulders. So many things could have gone wrong, but we passed! Now since the plumbing inspection is over with, it opens up another box of construction goodies. We recently bought a massive amount of tiles for all the bathrooms, not just my floor, but also for the tenant below on the 2nd floor. It’s ridiculous how much tile there is. Too bad I didn’t take a picture =\

With that said, PHOTO UPDATE…

 
One of the contractors ideas. I didn’t like it at first, but after seeing it finished…

 
doesn’t look so bad. Although, it does look like a roof off of a Japanese place. Do you also like the light posts? Picked them out myself.

 
One of the tedious tasks I was assigned. Apparently drain pipes need to be some obscene color so that it blatantly sticks out to anything that has eyes. Trying not to get paint on the walls was the hardest part.

 
Flooring on the lobby/safe area has started.

A lot has been done and a lot is more to be done. Keep up with my updates and keep me in your thoughts and prayers. :) 

Four months! I don’t know if I should be excited about it being four months already. Despite all the delays and what not, you keep moving forward. Water under the bridge. I’ve been trying to deal with my lack of patience by trying not to dwell on past issues. It definitely helps. A LOT. So in the past week, I’ve had some business meetings with various people. If you’re reading this, thank you for taking the time to check out the space and helping me to have a more concrete idea on what I must do to start this business. Nancy also came to visit to help me think of names and a possible logo for the business. My sister, Nancy, and I went to dine at a local restaurant and we threw names out there. It took some thinking. My sister said,

”Studio Simplicit” - Simple, yet Explicit. 

My eyes opened and it instantly clicked with me. What do you all think? Props to Barbara for the name.

PHOTO UPDATE:

 
This is how I communicate with my architect. I draw pictures and send it to him.

 
Once the architect approves, we build it. This is the ramp from the above picture.

 
The new “coat room.”

 
Flooring done…

 
30% of the lights installed.

 
I put on hip-hop music and Salvador starts breakdancing. The highlight of my day today. haha…

Coming along quite a bit. Stay tuned and keep praying for me! Thanks all! 

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. The short work week definitely gave me a lot of time to think about what I thankful for and time to reorganize my thoughts to become more efficient. By more efficient, I mean 12 hours of sleep after a Thanksgiving meal. With that said, 

PHOTO UPDATE!!!

 
After Alberto and I laid down the concrete foundation for the elevator base, we began to make walls to reinforce the elevator shaft. The two lines of wood is actually material called “laminated vinyl lumber.” It’s pretty much multiple pieces of wood compressed together. I believe it was 8 pieces when I counted the individual lines. According to the elevator blueprints, we needed 3 pieces aligned together on each side…that wall will be a force to reckon with.

 
A more adequate way of telling people not to fall into the elevator hole. Better than the blue painter’s tape we used before, haha.

 
Finally made it to the top of the elevator shaft. Took us about a week, but all that dangerous scaffolding making in the middle of a hole made me have vertigo every time I stepped on it. Alberto had no fear. This is him standing on a ladder on top of a wooden platform he made as a temporary scaffold.

 
Make shift scaffolding. There were many moments I thought it would break since Alberto and I have a combined weight of over 400 pounds.


Just another picture on how Alberto made his scaffolding in the middle of the elevator shaft. Insert 2x4 in small cut out in sheetrock = scaffolding.

 
Now that the elevator is done, we are now compounding sheetrock. A tedious task…

 
Making the elevator door entrance wider = a ton of bricks in garbage bags that I had to put together.

 
New flooring for my office. Yes, we don’t use foam sheets underneath our wood flooring, just glue.

Alright…so that’s what we’ve been up to the past couple of weeks. A lot has been done and it’s really moving full speed now. I expect the elevator to be installed within the next two weeks, so that will be an exciting time for me and for the neighborhood. I will be one of the first privately owned commercial buildings with an elevator in Spanish Harlem. A huge improvement for the neighborhood. Crazy…

Hope everyone had a gut busting Thanksgiving and hope to see you all soon! 

Has it been 3 months already? Yes
Has the estimated time of completion been followed? No

So it’s a Monday and I’m sitting here in front of my computer taking a break from this whole construction business and taking the time to evaluate myself. This past Friday, I threw a fit like I was 5 years old, but in a very polite and well-mannered way. Is that possible? In my moment of anger, I tried to persuade myself that I was right and they were wrong. As a result, this is why I took today off to calm down a bit and take in everything that has happened so far.

Don’t get me wrong, there is progress in the construction and am fully proud and happy. There are just a minor tick-like problem that keeps gnawing deeper into my skin. With that said, PHOTO UPDATE!!!


Here is Salvador putting up sheetrock. You can’t really see it in this photo, but that’s a ladder on top of a ladder. Crafty, Salvador is.


Elevator shaft, top view

 
Elevator shaft, view from bottom 

 
Our fail-safe way of telling people to be careful of the elevator shaft hole…

 
Here’s Alberto making a concrete pit for the bottom of the elevator shaft. This actually took Alberto and me the entire day. Yes, people, I help out.

 
Let there be (a spot) light!

Not to many photos to be updated as I was pretty much hands on for the past couple of weeks. I’d like to again thank everyone who keeps up with my updates and constantly encourage me throughout this process. 

Week 11 and 12
Time to put away my angst up on the shelve 

The weeks have gone into double digits. I feel good that throughout this long and continuing journey, I can see physical change within my space, but also feel a bit tense that it’s taking this long for it to be completed. As construction starts coming to an end, (not saying that it’s going to end soon, there’s a ton of stuff still left to do) my mind has slowly shifted towards figuring out the actual business means of my space. Call me a pagan, but I ask myself this question everyday, “How am I going to make money?” It’s a sad truth, but hopefully with God’s grace, this monetary object we call money will come flowing down like an endless waterfall.

If anyone has experience or have rented studio space before, please let me know. I would like to pick your brain a bit and ask you to be a soundboard for any potential ideas.

PHOTO UPDATE!

 
One of many bible verses that is neatly covered up by compound/plaster. No one will ever know…

 
Beams finally put in place for…


STAIRS!!! Finally, the project of the staircase is in full effect. 


This is Alberto applying layers of compound for the staircase encasing.


Ok, I had to put this picture in. This is one of the bathrooms that was drawn out by my architect. I’m taking the picture from the door entrance. IT’S SO SMALL. How will this ever be a bathroom? Or better yet? How will I manage my businesses, both #1 and #2, in this tiny bathroom?! HOW?! 

It’s slowly coming together! I’m getting more and more anxious for the day that the space finishes. However, I still have one more big hurdle to overcome; THE ELEVATOR. As you saw in last week’s post, we started to make the hole for the elevator shaft. We still need to remove any beams that are currently in that area and put in, oh yes, more beams. 

Not sure when the estimated time of completion is now. After talking to the architect and the elevator manufacturer, it seems somewhere in the area of another 2 months, just for the elevator. General construction should be done within the month…hopefully. 

Please keep the people who are diligently working on-site in your prayers. I am getting closer to all of the workers and I’m happy that they enjoy my company. If everyone is happy, I am happy, and so is God :)

Week 10
Amen! 

Apologies! To my followers, there were some added waiting days before this post gets out there.

Thank you! To my followers, there were some of you actually asking for updates. For that, I am earnestly blessed to have friends like you. 

So what’s been happening? A lot and a little. The original expected time of completion was actually last week. What’s the hold-up? Well, construction never gets finished at the planned completion date. Need I say more? Despite the delays, I’ve been keeping it cool. Serving in every possible way, both on-site and spiritually. In a previous post, I’ve mentioned that I started writing verses on the walls. That hasn’t stopped. The contractor always yells at me for writing on the walls, but it doesn’t stop me for making this a place hidden with the sword of the Holy Spirit. 

I’m finally getting to be more trusted among the construction process! It only took 2 months. I’ve upgraded from holding the ladder to compounding the sheetrock. No big mechanical instruments yet, but I know, soon, I’ll use the jackhammer. Just you wait!

PHOTO UPDATE!




Crown molding. Sprucing up the place with a little pizzazz.  

 
Finally getting started on the hole required for the elevator! It’s been a long and trying process, but it’s finally here! Miguel and Salvador measuring the needed space for the elevator according to the structural engineering specs.


Salvador and Miguel using the one construction equipment I’ve always wanted to use; the jackhammer. 

 
Oh what’s this? Another delayed project finally started! Getting ready to install beams to support the new staircase.


Some iron welding to the beams equal extremely bright lights. 


Talking of lights, let there be lights! (1/3 of the installed lights)

It’s been a grueling two months. I can’t believe its come this far and how much we’ve accomplished despite the delay. Thank you to my followers who are always encouraging. The photo above is the most updated picture of how the space looks. My plan is to open this joint before the end of 2011. Let’s do this!

Week 8/9
The ball’s at the goal line
Time to shine

Why do seemingly simple questions output stubbornness, not even an answer? Just compact-ness and compressed-ness.

Someone says, hi, the normal thing is to say hi back out of genuine kindness.

However, picture this. Someone says, hi, the other person grills you and punches you in the face. That’s pretty much how I felt all week. 

As I’m nursing myself from this “thing that’s going around,” it definitely has been a hard week for me to keep my head clear. (Side note: why is there always “something going around” when someone is sick? I always found that phrase kind of silly) 

So the job-site…oh yeah…Let’s just say, big heads should never work together. We’ve hit a big road bump. Construction just slowed down. We were looking for work, whereas, the work should always be in front of us. The ‘new’ staircase has been giving the most grief. One professional says, “We could use this beam size.” The other professional says, “No. After my calculations, we need to install this kind of beam.” I’m standing and listening and pretending to understand. I was once late to a class in college during my freshman year. The buildings meant nothing to me and I had no idea where I was supposed to go. I entered this room, found an open seat, and sighed with relief. The teacher comes up and introduces herself. Now, I thought was Calculus, but ended up in a Woman’s History class. What would you have done?

It’s just been one lacking week.

However, I do have some photos to share with you all :)

 
I’ve started to write verses on the walls. By doing this, I know that this is His place. Thank you to the handy dandy free Bible app who provides me with my sword.


OK. Now this is a professionally cut-out for the electrical wall socket. Mind the artfully sawed out oval by the sheet rock handsaw. This is done by Miguel.

 
This, fortunately, is mine. The hard ridges. Rough and unevenly shaped. Let’s just say, precision is not my thing. I showed this to Miguel and he laughed at me. I laughed at myself too.


Salvador cut this with the same hand saw. Look at how freaking straight that line is.


Look at me cornerning my piece. I’m just terrible at this!

 
Shiny sheet rock corners. Equipped with corner beads. Apparently, this is in every corner of your house. Bet you had no idea.

Well because of my illness, I wasn’t able to really take pictures. We did have another delivery of material. Oh yes. Another 100 pieces of sheet rock and other goodies. That was just horrible coughing up a lung as I’m walking up two flights. This blog seems to be a lot of complaining. So I’ll stop here and tell you about something that made me smile.

Yesterday, I got a call from an “UNKNOWN NUMBER.” Yes, my phone had it in all capital letters. Ironic because the person on the other end was my Christian brother from another mother, Tex Bagley. The moment I heard his voice, I couldn’t stop smiling. The blessed memories came all rushing back. When I went to Piedras for the first time, Tex was the intern. Now he’s a full-time missionary there. This summer, when the Morningside team went, we were honored to have Tex share the Word with us. Tex went deeply into the word “sacrifice.” The biggest reason why we’re here is because of a huge sacrifice made on the cross. I was very moved and it struck a chord. Something about Piedras that draws me there every summer. **Warning—Hands and Feet plug** I’ve been to many awesome 1 week mission trips to Piedras Negras. If you have any of interest, check out their new website at http://www.handsandfeet.com

Please also check out the video (click here) that I edited for our church presentation.

I am not easily pleased. Most of you know that. Sometimes I may come off very rough and cynical, but when it comes to God’s work, I’m all smiles. Tex is a great brother in Christ. Can you believe that he’s the same age as me? He’s in full-time ministry and I’ll be starting my own business. God really has great plans. I can’t wait to see what is to come. 

Well there you have it folks. Week 7 is in the books. 

Week 7
Manna from heaven.