Work begins around noon each week day with our correlation meeting. During these meetings we discuss matters concerning our office, sales from the previous day, problems we've been encountering and so on. After about an hour we headed off to lunch and then begin knocking doors around 2 or 3pm.
We sell door-to-door, working in neighborhoods for a few days at a time. My first area was in a part of Tucson called Rita Ranch. The homes in the area are older, maybe 10 years or more, some well cared for and others not so much. I must have knocked maybe 40 doors my first day and finally got my first sale. I was so excited to sell. I proved to myself that day I could actually do it, that this summer was going to be a success. The following day I sold another and another on Wednesday. The remainder of the week was unsuccessful.
The work I do isn't physically difficult. Granted there is physically strain involved, the walking, the heat, the stress. But the most challenging aspect of what I'm doing is staying focused mentally and staying positive. Door-to-door sales is hard. No one will tell you otherwise unless their lying. Some days I feel like I'm on top of the world while the next day, hell, the next moment I might feel like I've hit the bottom. With this job you have to take one day at a time. The success or failures of yesterday have no bearing on what I can do today. John Lennon once said that before the Beatles were a big success, he believed strongly that one day they would be. I expect it ultimately boils down to simply believing in yourself. I know I will have a successful summer because I do believe in me.
Maybe it seems funny to say this, but honestly, I love my job. One the one hand this is the most difficult job I've ever had. Yet at the same time it is also the most rewarding. When I make a sale it is the best feeling in the world. My hard work, my determination, paid off. Even on the days when I haven't sold, I still consider it a job well done. On those days I stuck with it, I worked through the day and put forth a good effort. Maybe not everyday can be a success, but with the right attitude I guess everyday can count towards something.
It gets dark in Tucson rather early so our day's work usually ends around 8pm. After work there isn't much time to do anything except eat some dinner, watch a movie or something and prepare for the next day. I like the schedule we have because it helps me stay focused. There is little time for distraction.
On Saturdays we work all day. Our correlation meeting begins at 9am and we are out knocking by 10 or 11am. There is a belief that hard work always pays off. However, what must be understood is that we never have a way of knowing when it will pay off. This past Saturday worked hard all day, talked with many potential customers and end the day without any sales. Compare this to the Saturday prior, where I sold two systems before lunch. You is just no way of knowing when hard work is going to pay off, so the thing to do is just to keep working. Put your hard down, focus on the task and just do it.
Sundays are our day of rest. Most of the office spends the day going to church or sitting at the pool drinking beer. The office is divided into those two principal factions as I see it. Both good groups but neither really suit me. As for me, I like to spend my Sundays exploring. While there may not be much to see around Tucson, I plan to see whatever there is. I have wandered the galleries of the University of Arizona Museum of Art, an eclectic collection of works old and new. They featured some originals by Matisse and Picasso which I enjoyed seeing. There were also some interesting etchings by Rembrandt.
I've visited the Center for Creative Photography, featuring some remarkable photos from greats like Ansel Adams, Edward Weston and Eugene Smith. Some much of what I saw there was so inspiring. There were some very beautiful photographs and some incredibly powerful ones too. The Center is definitely somewhere I plan to visit often.
On one day I went out to the San Xavier Mission, an old Catholic mission founded in 1692, south of Tucson. The chapel was very beautiful inside, with all the decorations and glamor you'd expect inside a Catholic church. I would like to attend morning mass there one Sunday.
South of here in Sahuarita, is the home of the Titan Missile Museum. The site features the sole remaining Titan II Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) complex of the original 54 that were on alert during the Cold War. The Titan II carried a nuclear payload 600 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan! It was amazing to explore and learn about the history of the missile site. The brief guided tour I went on only offered a glimpse of what there is to see there, so I looking forward to going there again.Today I went out to Colossal Cave, a county park nearby. The cave is "dry" or "dormant", which means that, due to a lack of water, the formations are not growing right now. Although not as grandiose as Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, Colossal Cave was a fun adventure. The guided tour is about 50 minutes long and explores the majority of the cave. It is a very small cave, with many narrow passages and plenty of opportunities to knock your head.
After seeing Colossal Cave I stopped by the Pima Air & Space Museum. Near the David Motham Air Force Base, the Museum is home to a large collection of military and civilian aircraft. The Museum is divided among several large hangers and a large outside yard. Outside I walked through Jon F. Kennedy's Air Force One plane. It was really interesting to see the plane and learn something about its history. The museum has one of the largest collection of aircrafts anywhere in the US. Besides having an impressive selection of restored planes, the museum features informative exhibits, many historical photos, and artifacts like flight suits and equipment. I wasn't able to see everything in one visit so I will definitely be going back again.
Another Sunday come and gone. I think I made the most of it. It is time for me to get some rest. It is late here and because tomorrow is Memorial Day we are starting earlier than normal. Tomorrow is like another Saturday, a long day ahead, full of promise and opportunity. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what good fortune the morrow brings. Goodnight.
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