Selling 2.0

Here we are, a little over a month doing the sales thing. Let me tell you, it's tough. I have very high expectations for myself (I always do... another Blog on another day) and facing constant rejections really weighs on you.

There have been many days where I have had to force myself to be at work... I don't hate it, but there is definitely something about not making sales and not living up to what I would like to that makes waking up and getting on the phones a drudgery.

The thing about this whole "office job" thing that has always been tough for me is my need for that sense of freedom or whatever I think freedom is. Don't get me wrong, I am free to sit at my desk and not try very hard, but what good does that do me? Plus, it's just not right... I get paid to make calls.

My style of selling is very different too. I can't be pushy about people buying from me... I hate when people are pushy with me so I can't do it with other people. I give them the info and answer questions and move on. I plant the seed so to speak. Therein we stumble upon another issue in my life... patience. I desperately want that sale now, so when I don't get it, I am annoyed or sad or disappointed - just put in any emotion that fits.

I know one thing though, God brought me to this place... I am here for a reason. He is asking me to be obedient... to persevere... to experience what He has in store for me.

Last Friday while I was driving to work I was praying and I kept hearing the phrase "I have you there for a reason." When I got into work Jeremiah 29:11 was running through my mind... "I know what I am doing. I have it all planned out - plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for."

I'll keep holding on and hoping, because God knows what He's doing...

Born to Sell

After what seemed like months of training, I officially got on the sales floor on Thursday! I celebrated by making my first 9 new sales!

I am really enjoying this job. There is a lot of rejection that is tough to get used to when selling, but there are also those calls that work out and you make the sale. As I get settle in and start feeling more comfortable with the products and begin hitting my groove, I think I am going to do pretty well.

I have to confess that I actually headed upstairs to get ready for bed the other day at 9:30 p.m. I think the last time I got ready for bed that early was when I was doing the morning show at WCM back in Michigan. I used to get there between 4:30 - 5:00 a.m. to start show prep with Christine, my co-host. Needless to say, I couldn't believe how tired I was.

I'm starting to feel like the big change of life is becoming "normal" so I should be able to get back to some of the extracurriculars that have been neglected for the past month or so. Maybe I can even start Blogging again!

We shall see...

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Southern Exposure

We've been away from home for close to a week now... I am ready to be back in the Buckeye State.

Isn't that weird?

I'll tell you what, with the way the Wolverines are playing, I may need to think about becoming a real Buckeye soon... I don't think my heart will let me do it though. I did say last week that I was toying with the idea of boycotting Michigan football until Lloyd Carr is fired or resigns. I know not all the blame goes to him, but the mentality of not changing the "tradition" of how Michigan plays football in today's game is unconscionable.

The good news is my Detroit Lions won their first game... 9 more wins and Jon Kitna is a genius!

Back to the trip...

We visited friends in South Carolina and we had a really good time. As we were headed down, we went through Ohio to get over to I-77 and it was very frustrating because after we made it out of the Columbus area the speed limit DECREASED from 65 mph to 55 mph!! We were literally in the middle of nowhere and the speed limit was less than it was in populated areas. Talk about speed traps... We'll be taking I-75 back home. Hallelujah!

We've been in Atlanta for the past few days. We're in the Northeast section of the ATL. The area is very nice. Tons of shopping, restaurants and stuff to do... along with that is way too many people.

Cheryl and I headed out for lunch today around 11:45 a.m. and she needed to get back to training in an hour. We finally got food at around 12:35 p.m.! It took us about 15 minutes to get about 2 miles away, then we tried in vain to find a place to park then ended up doing curbside order and about a half hour later, Cheryl had to wolf down her food while I dodged traffic to get her back to training.

This my friends, I do not miss. Big city convenience also means lots of waiting and lots of headaches. People are way too stressed out. There are so many people here, it really is mind boggling. I have no idea how you could take a lunch break with only an hour.

All that being said, this time away with Cheryl has been great. I miss the hound, but Chris is taking care of him and the house while we are gone, so it's all good.

Looking forward to getting back and experiencing the Fall temps that we're missing. Plus, there is nothing like "Home Sweet Home."

iPhone

Well, it looks like the iPhone is almost within reach.

Steve Jobs unveiled the new iPods the other day (Geekbert, where are you?) and also dropped the price of an iPhone down to $399 for an 8 GB. You can also pick up a refurbished 8 GB for $349 or a discontinued 4 GB iPhone for $299.

On top of that, the iPod touch was released and obviously has all the bells and whistles of the iPhone, without the phone. The iPod nano also got an overhaul... it can now play video and is wider and shorter. Plus a whole bunch of new colors.

Check them out.

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Back to Reality...

It seems like Blogging has become a thing of the past for me. I know it's only been a week, but I had an amazing streak going for a while there.

As I was talking to my Dad the other night, I mentioned to him around 8:30 p.m. that I was tired and needed to start winding down for the night. He chuckled of course, because he loves it when his sons are tired from a hard day at work. Nothing makes him happier - not really, but there is a sense of enjoyment and pride that I think he feels when his boys "earn their keep."

Dad worked his rear end off from the time he was 19 years old until the day he retired at the age of 59. In fact, after a hiatus in the land of retired persons, Dad actually went back to work as a contractor for a while. I think he may have learned his lesson... he is retired again, until he runs out of projects to do around the house or gets bored that is.

Cheryl's Dad is also still chuggin' away. He works fewer days a week, but I think he really enjoys what he does and that makes a difference.

There is something very satisfying about putting in a hard days work, especially when I get that first commission check. I can say without hesitation now that I identify with the Loverboy song, "Everybody's Workin' for the Weekend."

Hopefully the Fall TV season will inspire me to write a little more.

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Yes Please!!

A kid from N.J. figured out a way to hack into an iPhone and unlock it for use with any carrier!

Where do I sign up?

Sorry For the Interruption...

Yes, it has been a very long time, but I have a legitimate excuse... a new job.

I started on Thursday last week at the Junior Library Guild. I sell books to schools and libraries... interesting, no? It's a phone sales job and really is a lot of fun. The people so far are great and there is a lot of room for earning potential.

Not my lifelong dream, but it pays the bills. Plus, even though it's a phone sales job, the JLG is an established company that has been around since 1929 and we're not telemarketing. We have relationships with Librarians and schools throughout the U.S.

Peace.

Stranglehold

Here is what I wish I was doing to my dog, Bailey, right now.

It's 4:30 a.m. and the rumble of thunder started a few moments ago. He has been panting and whining ever since the hint of showers. We have basically seen scattered thunderstorms almost every day for the past week or so in Ohio. No end in sight as far as I can see.

There are times where being a dog owner really stinks and this would be one of them. I love the little mongrel, but he sure make me want to do a little cartoon strangling once in a while. If only the consequences of the cartoon or video game world applied to ours sometimes... what a wonderful world it would be.

That reset button would come in handy, wouldn't it?

Things Are Tough All Over

As many of you know, times are tough in Michigan. Things are looking tougher and tougher all the time.

Cheryl and I have been in Ohio for a little over a year now, but there will always be a place in my heart for Michigan. Especially Detroit and the Metro area.

We are still in the midst of some pretty horrible stuff when it comes to our old house. It seems that the entire state is suffering from a huge rise in foreclosures. An article in the Free Press, says that foreclosures are up 130% since July 2006. We are in the midst of probable foreclosure right now and I have no idea what the outcome will be.

While it can be unnerving that we may lose the old place, there is also a sense of peace that God provides. He will be there no matter what the situation is. We have to keep believing and hoping for the best even in the midst of situations that can seem quite hopeless.

Stripes

Stripes will always hold a special place in my heart.

I remember watching it on TV with Dad and him laughing and laughing. Bill Murray is classic in this movie. The only problem is the end when they take the top secret RV into enemy territory. There are so many hilarious moments and lines to be quoted... yes, I have been known quote lines from movies. Not as much as I used to, but I can quote with the best of them.

John Candy is obviously one of my favorites. I love when they go around the room to talk about why they decided to join...

Ox: My name's Dewey Oxbeger. My friends call me Ox. You mighta' noticed I have a slight weight problem.

Guys: No. No! No.

Ox: Yeah, yeah I do. I went to this doctor and he told me I swallowed a lot of aggression... along with a lot o' pizzas. Haha-ha!

I'm basically a shy person. I'm a shy guy and ah, he suggested takin' one o' these aggression training courses, you know these aggressive training courses, like E.S.T.? Those type o' things. Anways, it cost like 400 bucks! 400 bucks to join this thing.

Well, I ah, I didn't have the money. I thought to myself, join the Army. It's free. So I figured, while I'm here, I'll lose a few pounds. And you got what, a six to eight week training program here? A real tough one. Which is perfect for me.

I'm gonna' walk out of here a lean, mean, fightin' machine. Haha-haha!

Just one of John's classic moments in film.

Throughout most of the movie I think I would have been in the dog house just like Bill Murray. I have seen eye to eye with authority figures, but like the song goes, "When I fight authority, authority always wins."

It's fun revisiting some of the "classics" of my youth. Although, I always saw the TV versions. I had no idea all the stuff I missed!

2 - 0

So far, so good.

The Detroit Lions are 2 - 0 in the pre-season... can you say Super Bowl? Well, they'll get to play the Super Bowl Champion, Indianapolis Colts, on Saturday.

It's not wrong to dream is it?

Go Lions!!

Fall Fling

Today was one of those picture perfect days... mid 70's, light breeze and tons of pre-season football to watch on the NFL Network.

Even though I eagerly await the warmth of Spring and Summer, there is just something so wonderful about the Fall. I think it probably my favorite time of year. Spring is extremely close, but Fall just has something to it that is absolutely the best feeling in the world.

The trees start to change, football is in full swing and those cooler temps allow you to throw on a sweatshirt and play around outside and get a cold nose and rosey cheeks. Plus, as much as I hated school, there was something pretty exciting every year about heading back. New clothes, school supplies and when you were young, a new lunch box. Those were fun... although my lame Christian school wouldn't let you have half the lunch boxes out there because they were"worldly." Can a kid just have an Alf lunch box for crying out loud?

Bring on the Fall... just remind me that I asked for it when I am whining about the Winter.

Buckeye Birthdays

I have never seen so many birthday parties in my entire life as I have seen since we moved to Ohio. There must be something about birthdays or at least about the people we know down here. We just celebrated another one tonight. I think we have been to at least 3 or 4 so far this Summer.

When I was a kid, I can remember like two birthday parties that I had. One was a pretty bad memory in some ways... in fact, birthdays were never really a big deal in our household. I always seem to remember the weird gifts I got from my parents. One they will never live down was the year they got me a clock radio... what a growing boy always hopes for on his special day, something to make him wake up in the morning! I can't even really remember my brother having birthday parties.

No offense to all my friends with kids - and trust me, Cheryl enjoys them - but these kid birthday parties are even harder for me. Maybe deep down I am jealous. Plus, with no children of my own, I miss the point I think. I also never know how old infants are. I just think they are eternally two years old until they can carry on a conversation with me that makes sense. I don't dislike kids at all, I just have no understanding of the kid world.

Maybe I need to start having dog birthday parties. In fact Bailey just turned 3 years old today... or is he 21 years old? If so, I need to give him his first beer. Ellie, our first dog, loved beer. Maybe it will take the edge off during our next thunderstorm... we can only hope.

Couldn't Have Been Scripted Better

Tonight on Big Brother 8, the stars aligned and the unthinkable happened. 

The man known as Evel Dick (left) did everything in his power to be kicked out of the house by going on an Evel Dick rampage, tearing people apart and acting like a total jerk. He won the Veto Competition and saved his daughter from eviction from the Big Brother House seemingly ensuring his own eviction.

Then...

America made things interesting. This season BB8 has someone called America's Player and America gets to see what people say when no one is watching. They know who is lying and who is telling the truth. So last night they told Eric, America's Player, to get one of his own put up for eviction and voted out, Dustin (right). That set the wheels in motion that saved Evel Dick from exiting the house.

Dick lives on for another week and to top it all off, his daughter, Danielle, won the Head of Household competition and will be picking two poor souls to be nominated for eviction this week.

I swear, it seems like someone is writing this stuff, because the likelihood of these events all lining up is completely amazing.

DIRECTV

If you have never had DIRECTV or have believed all the cable company garbage about it, I have to tell you about an amazing customer service experience I had.

As I have mentioned on these pages before, I am a huge NFL fan and sadly, a die hard Lion's fan. DIRECTV has something called, The Sunday NFL Ticket, to which I started subscribing when we moved to Ohio. When we first signed up, it was an amazing deal where you ended up getting free premier service for months if you bought the Ticket. So last year I thoroughly enjoyed many, many NFL games each Sunday and became and even bigger NFL fan.

Fast forward to this year. When it came time to pay up for the Ticket again this year I had to really think about how fiscally responsible it was... plus I heard that if you called into DIRECTV and voiced concerns about paying the big bucks for the Ticket they would try to retain you. They did exactly that. After my conversation with a customer service rep, I basically ended up with the Ticket and Superfan (HD games, etc.) for about $49. That is amazing when you normally pay $269 for the NFL Ticket plus $99 for the Superfan.

This is just another thing I love about DIRECTV. If you get a chance to look at the picture quality compared to cable or even digital cable you will be blown away. There have been only a few times I can remember in the years that we have had DIRECTV that weather has made me lose a signal. Compared to the number of times I saw snow when we had cable, I'll take DIRECTV any day.

The Hits Keep Comin'

When is this going to end? Now we're having Baby Bibs recalled... unbelievable.

Maybe it's time to think about manufacturing some things right here in America where we can keep our eyes on what's going on. The only thing stopping us is greed... that's a really good thing, huh?

Here's a list of things MADE IN AMERICA to get us started.

Remembering...

Fourteen years ago at this time, I think Cheryl, myself and a bunch of our friends were hanging out in Mom & Dad's pool. We were just relaxing a bit after a pretty eventful day. We probably stayed up late the night before, then got up early and made ourselves look really nice. Then we took some pictures before we stood up in front off a room of family and friends...

It seems as though we have been together for as long as I can remember, because I mostly remember being with my best friend and the love of my life, Cheryl. We were only sixteen (me) and fifteen (Cheryl) years old when we started our relationship. No one thinks those early loves turn into mature love, but ours did. We had ups and downs, but one thing was certain, I can tell you exactly when I knew I was in love with Cheryl and wanted to spend the rest of my life with her... oh, you want to know? We were standing out in front of her house after a date and I looked her right in the eyes and said, "You might think I'm crazy, but I think I'm falling in love with you." That was only a few weeks after we started dating. I just knew.

Many people thought we were just too young. There were a lot of warnings and "are you sure's?" thrown around, but we had that really important component... we were in love. We made mistakes and I made sure we had our share of drama, but God saw fit to bless us, even when we forgot about Him from time to time.

You hear people say this all the time, but the longer I know Cheryl, the more I love her. Everyday there is something she does that makes me smile. Not a day goes by that I'm not thankful that God brought her into my life.

Fourteen years from now, I know I'll have even more amazing memories with this woman. I look forward to them and can't wait to see where God takes us... the places we have been so far, even the bad places, have been a blessing with Cheryl by my side.

More China Problems

Here we go again...

Mattel is going for number two in the China recall business. Who cares though? It's just children's toys... it's really all about cheap stuff, right?

Hot Fuzz

Just watched the movie, Hot Fuzz on DVD. If you are a fan of Shaun of the Dead, this movie will not disappoint you. Just a warning though, it's British and has a little gore in it.

The movie centers around a police officer (Simon Pegg) from London who does his job a little to well for the liking of his superiors. Since he makes arrests and stops crimes with such efficiency, they decide he is making them all look bad and he needs to be reassigned to another post. He ends up in a small town with no crime... or so we think. Soon he unearths the mother of all conspiracies and the hilarity ensues.

His sidekick (Nick Frost - also his sidekick in Shaun of the Dead) is enamored with the Hollywood version of policing. He asks his new police officer buddy if he has done all types of scenarios which he has seen some of his movie star heroes perform throughout the film. The best one is when he asks if he has ever had a chance to shoot a bad guy who was getting away from him, but couldn't bring himself to do it because he knew him then fired his gun in the air and screamed like Keanu Reeves in Point Break.

Much like Shaun of the Dead there is all sorts of crazy action that has a bit of humor thrown into it. It's worth a spin in the old DVD player, but the British humor thing may not register with everyone.

Rearrange

Right before our friends came to stay with us, I decided to do a little reorganization of the living room. I do this from time to time to change things up a bit. Plus, you can really do a deep cleaning of everything when you move things around... you'd be surprised where Bailey's hair ends up!

So, one of the major changes was putting our super old couch (w/it's beautiful new slip cover) where our chairs used to be. Cheryl and I used to have our armchairs in the prime viewing area of the TV with an end table in between us. Now the couch sits there... one of the best things I've ever done.

Now we sit together and hold hands... cuddle... Cheryl curls up next to me with a book while I watch football, it's great! I feel like we forgot about how wonderful it was to snuggle up together. 

If you haven't tried it lately, I highly recommend it.