January 10, 2004

Disappointment is the Bastard Child of Misplaced Expectations.....

Another famous quote of Elisabeth Elliot. The last few days have been full of such disappointments and raised hopes yet we are seeing good things too and I am not sure what to think...Other than the ONE SURE THING... God is watching over us.

First and foremost, both locations decided to go with the other prospective tenants as "they asked first". With the trashed location it was a "local" thing. We know this for sure, from a good source. Yet another antique store is going in there... a hobby business for a bored wife. Sort of like how Margaret of Phoenix Rising (see last months posts) got started. OK... But, Mr Baker, the land lord of the site on Keawe St. Decided "out of fairness" to rent that prime "perfect for me" space to a couple of guys that will put in a "Payday Loan" place... If you don't know what these things are... a payday loan is when you borrow against a paycheck that you have not earned yet at a very high rate of interest. If you miss your payback the interest goes up and up and up. People have gone in and shot people that deal in these"loans"out of frustration and despair. There have been suicides in the offices of these loan sharks of the new millennium. Its also a way to launder drug money and it attracts a really bad element into the area. These businesses are unregulated, unlike pawn shops and the like... We need this like we need a dirty bomb attack in Downtown Hilo and frankly if Mr. Baker really understood what these people do, I believe he wouldn't go in this direction. Its bad for his property values and for the community at large. The lady that owns the book shop next door is livid, as is the little restaurant in the same block. So the tenants are protesting and it might not happen, but I am not holding my breath.

I cried a bit yesterday about it. I wanted that so badly. We have had an uptick in sales that have held strong for the first week of January and its tourist based. I actually have the funds in place to make the move... Into that nearly ready place...

I have to trust God that He will place my business in a place that will allow it to thrive. That could be here in the Cunningham. I have actually done as much business in one not quite full week as i have done in some full months. I need to rejoice and be glad. Be glad that the free advertising I was given for 4 months in the Hawaii Drive Guide have brought people to my door. We start paying for that in March. Be glad that we have had spontaneous events that have led to sales and more.

I faxed resumes for Woody and I to Paradise Yellow pages for part time temp jobs and not only did we pick up the jobs, ( will post about that when we have the details, but Woody will be working 7 days a week for 6 to 8 weeks at a good wage and I will be making calls 4-6 hours a day from the store and be paid by the hour for that. Yippee!) The lady then comes into the store and spends 600.00.

We went that night to Don's Grill and saw a lady we see there once in a while and in the course of talking story, she mentions that she loves moonstone and alexandrite. Well, we just happen to have a few lovely pieces with those gems and one that has them in combination. She bought both of those large pieces. Then she asks for my resume for casual help in the office which is just around the corner form the shop. I interview next Friday.

If Woody and I can get enough casual work to pay the bills then that will solve a lot of anxiety. Woody has been faithfully interviewing, but nothing is breaking his way and we wonder if he does need to be involved part time with the store, as I have so much to do with the paperwork end of things.

We are also aware that the Cunningham is for sale and I met with one of the prospective buyers yesterday. He was very nice, a local man and his wife that want to turn this into a hostel, with some long term units in the back. The price for this crumbling termite infested pile is a cool million dollars. I am not holding my breath that the place will sell but if it does we might see some great new business develop here and this will still be a cheap place to be.

Then there is Jo, of Big Island Massage Academy. She is a client of ours and a friend too. She is in the process of trying to buy the Holt Building, another dream of mine. (I had thought to buy it and build a loft home on the second floor. ) The building has two store fronts. She wants one and has offered us the other. I don't know about the foot traffic but that will be improving as Hilo improves. Advantages...Space nice frontage and we are on the proper side of the one way street. Parking lot next door. Security will be better. Nice land lord. Drawbacks are that New Hope Church, Hilo, has a soup kitchen three doors down that serves breakfast every morning and attracts the lowlife to the area. The city wishes they would close up but no one has the nerve to tell them to do it. I think that eventually someone will buy that building too and that will be that. Woody offered to sign a Intent to Lease for Jo if that would help her get the building. I am game for that.

But I have learned my lesson to not get ahead of God and let my desires go too crazy, I only get disappointed. And I have too much to be thankful for right now to be bummed about anything