can’t hide

It’s Friday, and after the week I had, I wished I could be the turtle.

On Wednesday, a wave of failed inspections unleashed a storm that quickly pulled attorneys into the mix.

I’ve been on this project since March, and from the beginning it was complicated, so complicated I eventually had to stop the job.

Looking back, the red flags were obvious.

I took the job anyway.

Maybe I was too eager to please. Maybe I was desperate for revenue. Either way, I signed on the dotted line, and here we are.

Here’s what I’ve learned about contracts: do only what is required to meet the obligations, period.

Nothing more, nothing less.

At the start, I gave extra, in Louisiana we call that lagniappe, that little bit beyond what was required.

But today, my energy isn’t going toward extras.

It’s going toward making it out of this situation without getting skinned.

Back to the turtle.

When danger shows up, the turtle has his shell. I don’t have a shell to crawl inside of.

What I do have is a brain trained to be methodical, to think fast, and to adapt.

After Wednesday’s failures, I went into damage-control mode.

At first, I didn’t even know my full position.

By Thursday, the owner was peppering me with questions—and maybe even recording the conversation.

(Quick note: Texas is a one-party consent state. You don’t need permission to record a conversation. I know this firsthand, I’ve used it myself.)

So I kept my responses sharp. Factual. Clean. Always circling back to one phrase: “contractual obligations.”

Now it’s Friday.

After talking with my advisor, I’m focused on getting to “substantial completion,” which I expect early next week.

No hiding. No shell. Just finishing what I signed up for.

Big companies have teams of attorneys. Back in my O&G days, I saw how the system works. I don’t have that kind of backing—yet—so I’ve had to educate myself.

Baptism by fire.

This construction industry feels like the Wild West some days.

I’m not sure if I’m the cowboy or the Indian, I guess it depends on the day.

Soon enough, this project will be behind me. What I need to stick to is what I do best: building things.

Nietzsche once said, “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster.”

I’m not a turtle.

Some days I feel like a cowboy.

Other days an Indian.

As for monsters, I haven’t fought enough yet to know which side of that line I’ll land on.