Hungry Cougars

Today I recieved an email today from a Mr. (or Mrs.?) Hungry Cougars. It was an invitation to a porn website; these porn website operators are just so thoughful. I mean, personal invitations and everything!

The job thing is taxing. I was so ready to switch into the office here and be done with the sales floor on Thursday. Unfortunately, Steve (the owner) had NOT talked to Jim (the office manager) as he had said he would do. I think that he was hoping/expecting I would change my mind about the whole thing. Anyway, I went to talk to Jim on Friday and he told me that he would love to have me in his office, but he can't guarantee me anything and in any case needs a few weeks to finish a restructure to see if he can make a place for me. Now, Anthony (sales manager) is all, "I'm going to miss you on the floor," and, "You'll work evenings and weekends to add a little bonus to your paycheck, right?" Right, because what I need is to retain the crappy parts of this job while increasing my stress levels by working two jobs at who knows how many hours per week. These guys like selling cars and have seen a lot of success doing it, so I don't think they can understand me not wanting to do it, too.

Outside of work, I have been spending a lot of time with Reza. We are having a lot of fun together. Last night we went to eat with an Iranian family here in Boulder. The food was awesome, everyone was really nice, and we played foosball and ping pong. I had a lot of fun, but I would have had a better time if I could speak Farsi. I'm going to try and find a teach yourself Farsi CD to listen to on my commute. I should be able to pick some stuff up that way. Plus I have an agreement with Reza. He is going to teach me Farsi and I'm going to help him work on his English.

Another thing I am trying to figure out is traveling. I would like to come home for a couple things: to see everyone and to defend my title of Pedro Champion. I would also like to take Reza up on his invitation to come see him run the NY Marathon in early November. If only that money tree of mine would start producing I wouldn't have to worry about missing work.

New Pictures!

I have finally taken some pictures. For those of you who have been dying to get a look at Reza, this is your chance. For those of you who have been wondering if I have drastically changed my look, this is your chance. For those of you who like sunsets, this is good for you, too.

Yesterday Reza and I went into Denver. We went to an Iranian grocery store where he can get all sorts of exciting foods. I'm so anxious to try the pumpkin preserves I got. I got to try Iranian ice cream. Its SUPER sweet. Like your tastebuds go: Whoa there! Then we walked the 16th street mall, nothing too exciting there. Finally we went to visit Kathryn. I had not seen her for a while, but she seemed good anyway. She just got into a chorale and is very excited. (Congrats again!)

My legs are almost recovered from Sunday's little escapade.

I'm Not Stupid, I Just Do Stupid Things

So I took Reza up to Estes to do his twenty miler at the top of Trailridge. While he did his run, I went for a hike. I got lost. I hiked out and ended up outside of the park. Three hours late, I arrived at the Alpine Visitors' Center.

What a dope.

Run Up to 12000'

Some stupid butt face posted a solicitation in my comments for the last post. I will have to check and see if that is against the rules, and, if so, how I can report it to Blogger.

I still don't have my car back. I think I will call Subaru today and see if they can be any more specific on when I will get it. I think a two day window instead of six would just help ease my mind.

Yesterday was my day off, and I took Reza to Estes Park. He was amazed when I told him that we could drive up to over 11,000 feet, so I showed him. He was so excited; it was adorable. At the top of the road, there is a visitors center with a little path near it that is about 200 yds long which goes up fairly steeply. Now, it's hard to climb it because of the elevation. I was having a little bit of trouble compared to the same hill at the house, but you know most people are from sea level +/- and not in great shape. That is to say, most people were having a time of it. Reza was so excited to be up there, though, that he was running up and down. I was walking up and he would run up, run back down to me, and tell me his heart rate. It was so funny. Then he had me take pictures of him running up and down. I think 50% of the people up there said something to him, and he was invited to participate in two upcoming, local races.
After that we went to Nepal's, a favorite restaurant of mine in Estes. I had Saag, which was SO good. Reza got to talking with the owners, and they were impressed with his knowledge of some celebrities from the region. He had told me that he makes friends with people in seconds just by knowing a little of their language and country. It's true. I was paying attention a little, but my food was so good that I didn't join into the conversation much until I was done.
Later on the drive home, we saw two black bears cross the road in front of us, strange to see two adult bears together. Maybe it's mating season or something?

Good Day

Today has been a good day.

I sold a car. Things are getting much better at work. Maybe a little more experience is the difference. I don't feel like I'm totally at the mercy of the managers. Plus, I have sold to people that are happy to get into a new car.

Speaking of happy, I fell in love today.
So, I had to run this errand for my manager (which didn't go well, but isn't important). So that I have more fun at work, he encouraged me to drive the dealership's cars when I do stuff like this. Today I took out this mustang. It's an 04, so it isn't the sweet new body style. It's a V6, so it has the smaller engine. It's yellow, the most disliked color in the US (random fact I read years ago and can't remember the source). But there is just something about it. I want it! Toys. A goal?

This day is just going to get better because I have a date with Reza tonight. Yay!

Slow Day

Today is SO SLOW. I don't think we've even had one person come in and get as far as getting a price. It is boring; I'm just watching the grass grow/paint dry/minutes tick slowly by.

I did talk to my supervisor, though, about some more of my concerns. I have had time to figure out more/put voice to the issues since I have been giving the situation a lot of thought. I told him that it is hard to work for the new sales manager because he doesn't show any respect for us. I feel like his little toy. "Ooh, if I do this what will the salespeople do!?" I also told him that the hours are hard on me because it is impossible to create a routine. Since the schedule rotates I will never be able to, say, take a yoga class that meets on Wednesday nights. The example I mentioned to him was not being able to eat breakfast at the same time each day. What is really hitting me is that I can't get into a workout routine AT ALL with this crazy rotation bit. I should have, but didn't, mention that it is also hard never to have two consecutive days off. I moved out here, in part, to play in the mountains and I can't even take an overnight backpacking trip. The possibility of having to live on minimum wage, but you never know if you will or not, doesn't really appeal to me either. Despite all these objections, the fact that this just conflicts directly with my personality is the main issue. Unfortunately, that is the one that none of the managers can understand.
I can't believe that I am doing this for about fifty hours a week. Of course, even that isn't enough because we must constantly be selling. When we get groceries we should be handing out cards. Whenever we pass a FOR SALE sign on a car, we must stop and write down the information. I have even been generously given permission to call and email customers when I am at home. No wonder I'm now dreaming with cars. In half of the dreams people are in cars (in strange contexts) and half they get hit by a car. I need help.

When I get home tonight, my objective is to find the live bird that the cats let in and that vanished while I went to get something with which to catch it. (I know the cats didn't eat it because of the lack of feathers scattered about.) When I told Dre this she simply commented about how cute cats are and how she wants one. Geez.

What a Weekend!

Best quotes from this weekend:

"Well, if the ants hadn't died..." -Johanna (coworker)
"What you need is a part-viking... Which I guess would be any Canadian." -Dre

This weekend was nuts. Let's start with Friday night. On my way home from work I smell this burning smell and think, "Hmm... Someone must have been riding their brakes down here." A few minutes later, I still smell it and think, "How could I possibly be burning my brakes? I'm taking these curves just like I always do." A little later, after eliminating use of my brakes for a bit, I STILL smell it. I figure I had better check it out, not that I know anything about the mechanics of my vehicle. When I stopped I saw something terrible that I had never seen before: smoke emerging from under the hood of my car! "Well, this is bad," I thought. By the way, I'm in a mountain canyon. My cell phone is dead. I'm obviously not driving anywhere. I went to take a look under the hood. There is some non-water liquid everywhere, and a hose attatched to nothing. The smell is horrible. It's still smoking. I'm a few hours walk from anything. I decided to hitchhike home. (Don't freak out!) After a rather frustrating call with the Subaru roadside assistance operator (No, there aren't any cross streets. No, I don't have any phone service at home. No, I don't have the VIN. Well, I'm not sure if I can make it to the vehicle to meet the towing company; it's a long walk.), I hitched back to the car to wait for the towing company, scheduled to arrive within an hour. I waited for two+, and didn't want to hitch back in TOTAL darkness, so I went back home again, leaving Zeus on the roadside.
Saturday morning, I called in to work to make sure they'd gotten my message last night saying that I had no way to get in to work and had to deal with my vehicle situation anyway. Debra contacted a friend to give me a ride into town. They were enjoying their Saturday morning and so didn't leave until a leisurely ten forty-five or so. They dropped me off at the Ford dealership, where everyone was really nice, the bosses understanding, and I only got scolded for hitching and I-told-you-so'ed about driving a foreign car. (It was made in Indiana.) They let me borrow a vehicle. I drove over to Subaru, where the service guy was very helpful and convinced the towing company to come to the dealership and let me lead them to my car.

So, I get back to Subaru; Zeus gets back to Subaru. I get a loaner vehicle from them. It's not as good a car, but it had a more powerful engine, which is fun.
As I was typing the above, I got a call from Subaru. They will need my car until some time next week! Apparently, the headgasket needs to be replaced. I know that there is a hose that needs to be reconnected and fluid that needs to be replaced as well because I saw that for myself. Oi!
Anyway, I went back to work after all that, early Saturday afternoon. It was cool because I'd missed five hours of work, which makes my workday reasonable (eight hours). Anyway, I closed my first deal by myself and generally had a good day. I don't know. That combined with the care that all my managers showed for me... Maybe this job isn't so bad. I was thinking this morning that the problem is that it doesn't engage my interest, and it's long hours of not engaging my interest. Judging from the research I've done online, there's not much interesting stuff out there. Oh, and the unlivable wages at other places aren't so appealing either. I don't know anymore.
After work, I went over to Reza's and he cooked fish for me (yum), while I watched the tape about his cross-country peace run. It was relaxing. The food was good and the tape was incredible. I came back into town on Sunday to bike with Reza, as planned. Yay! So much fun. Then he cooked Iranian food for me and it was so delicious that I wanted to eat everything, but I still didn't come close to being able to eat rice like he can. We had a really good time together.

Now it's time for another week of work.

Internet Manager

Well, they promoted me to internet manager (or asst manager, it's not clear) last night. I told you that they wanted me to stay. I'm getting lots of flattery out of this resignation deal. I'll see if I like this gig better. More to come I'm sure...

Two Weeks

I resigned this afternoon. Yay! So I'm putting in two more weeks. Steve (my boss), says he hopes to convince me to stay in that time. They know I'm a valuable employee. I think that they're hoping money talks. I've made about $1500 in the past week. I'm going to start looking around.

The Other Woman

So I had an enlightening day Tuesday. Turns out Ken, yeah the guy I'd gone on a few dates with, is MARRIED and has A FOUR YEAR OLD BABY! What an inconsiderate, disrespectful jerk! He didn't even have the fortitute to tell me. He told Reza, Reza told me, I confronted Ken, Ken denied the charges then finally confessed. I feel mad on behalf of his wife and kid. It is so crappy that men use women to hurt each other.

Apparently, this whole revelation situation came about in part because Reza is interested in me. So, we're going biking on Sunday. Yes, it's crazy drama. Or should I say: YES! It's crazy drama!

Yesterday, I went to the econ dept at CU to ask about good places to inquire about work. I met a few of the profs there and got some good suggestions. I will have to see what I can do with them. This job is too draining. I figured out another reason why I don't like it. The "big brother effect" is certainly in play. They listen to all our phone calls, tell us exactly what to say, how to act, call us to check in every 30 mins or so, call everyone we talk to. There's no independence - to the point of creepiness.

Time will tell.

feeling better

I'm feeling better today because of a couple things:

One) I talked to Debra. She is always helping me feel better on this (work) and other fronts.

Two) I sold my first new car Saturday night. That is much better than used. The buyers (and their four adorable children) were really excited and actually seemed glad to be buying a vehicle.

Maybe things weren't as dire as I had thought. The problem is that it is incredibly stressfull to be wondering if I am compromising my values all day long. Right now, though, I am feeling good and am going to try this strategy: I will not wonder if I am compromising my values anymore. Okay, it's not that simple. In order to do that I will have to just make it so that there is no reason to feel bad. I hope this works.

sold

I sold my first car yesterday, probably another one today. I guess I'm supposed to be excited. Hm

I also feel like I sold out. I definitely cried at work today. They decieved us about the pay rate. This is a business of deception. I'm now a part of it. It's sad. I'm trying to figure out if there is any way to be ethical and successful at this, but judging from what I've seen so far it's a far fetched idea.

I guess I should start looking for something else. I don't know...

amusing things encountered

So, I have all this paperwork from the new manager. I have to call these people back and try to get them in here (again). Therefore, I look through the paperwork so I know the background. I have found two amusing things during this process.

1) There is a road in Boulder called Hardscrabble Dr.

2) A guy misprinted "brother" as "bother" in the relation of reference portion of his credit application.

Realization: being at work destroys your sense of humor.

So yesterday I'm at the Middle Eastern store because I brought Ken some tea. He was busy, but Reza was there to chill with. We had met earlier. We were chatting. He was giving me training tips, offering me movies to borrow and inviting me to come with Ken and him on a bike ride. In the course of this conversation was this exchange:

Reza: How many bikes do you have? (real question: Do you have an extra for Ken?)
Me: I have two, a road bike and a mountain bike.
Reza: I used to have a road bike, but it's in a museum in New York now... you know, since I rode around the world on it.

Of couse, I decided to keep my bike after circumnavigating the earth, so he just makes me look bad. But really, isn't that AWESOME? He's just a really cool guy. And since he's not fluent in English, he's very matter-of-fact. He told me he is the best runner from Iran, how much money he makes from each of his many athletic/sponsorship endeavors, etc.

Stupid, Disgusting, Upchucking Felines (8/4/05 9:32 PM)

Warning: For those of you who read Jaya’s blog, this is quite a contrast from her recent content.

Stupid cats! I have never lived with cats before, and I am not a big proponent of house pets in general. I must admit, however, that I thought that the cats here were sort of cool. Thought. Were. Notice the tense.
This evening I was enjoying myself and relaxing, reading Sister Carrie (Theo Dreiser). It was about 8:45, and I was getting tired. I thought, “Wouldn’t it be glorious to just go to bed now at nine o’clock?” Then I thought, “Yes!” So, I finished my chapter, climbed the stairs and brushed my teeth. Then I turned out the lights, and was looking forward to climbing into my nice, warm, CLEAN bed. Like I said, I was doing this in the semi-dark, as is my custom, and the situation could have been even more disastrous.
I climbed the stairs to the loft, and sitting there on the hard-to-launder sheepskin upon which I lay my head each night was a filthy, putrid, lumpy “gift” from one of the accursed cats. Now I don’t know how many of you have had vomit in your bed before but I can tell you from my now multiple experiences that it is a) jarring and b) the worst thing that can happen excluding having someone rip out your precious liver from your living body (speculation). Great! So now I have to clean up this vomit. Oh look! There’s more over there, yay! Now I’m thinking about how smart I am for not wanting pets and how stupid for leaving my door open and trusting those crusty, rotten creatures. As stated, I do not have cat tending experience, so these multiple puke piles in my sleeping area motivated me to start asking some questions. Do cats, as human children do, just keep puking once they get started, or did some sort of ritual, communal purge take place in my formerly welcoming zone of slumber? How the hell am I going to clean this up? And the related question: Why won’t it just disappear if I go away, look at the cleaning products, and return?
Of course, I ended up cleaning it by hand (as opposed to wishing it successfully away). It was absolutely terrible. Oh the smell! I almost added to the chore by revisiting my dinner as well. With great concentration and likely the assistance of my good friend inertia, I was able to avoid the catastrophe.
I used Woolite to clean the sheepskin, for the obvious reason. It is drying now, and I will be forced to sleep in a partially dismantled bed tonight. I have already checked for additional masses of partially digested animals and cat food.
I miss my houseplants.

P.S. Also it's like picking up random bird parts is my new hobby.

Selling Cars

Yesterday was a bad day (obviously). I came into work in a bad emotional state, and it's a very intense environment. I wasn't prepared to cope, and there's not much chance to recover. Today is better. That's not to say that I'm convinced this is the greatest gig in the world, but I do feel better today. I am going to stick with it for a few reasons: I will get my training tuition reimbursed if I stay for three months (also benefits kick in), the opportunity is there to be able to pay my car off in time for grad school, and I want to give the thing a chance. I can't say that I'm totally confident that they won't sack me. I don't know how long they will keep me around without me selling any cars. Who knows?
One of the problems is that we have a new person in management, and he was the deceptive top salesman we were told not to listen to/believe a word he said when we started. Now he is the manager, and the complete opposite is true. We have to do everything he says, and I don't think that he's totally out of lying mode. Though it is in his best interest (financially) to help us sell.

Everytime a CU prof/researcher comes in to look at cars, my heart cries out, "What are you doing here? Get your bum into grad school, now!" Sadly, that is not possible.

today I feel like...

...if I had a soul, selling cars would be killing it.


-not that I've sold any cars...

The past week or so

Alright, I know it has been a long time since I last posted. I have been working my tailfeathers off! Yes, that is my excuse. Lots has happened.
First and most importantly, I found a super terriffic wonderful place to live. It is in the mountains. It is with this wonderful woman, Debra. It felt like home the moment I got there. I moved in on the same day that I went to see the place. I have posted pictures on the other page. Oh, and Sunday Debra and I built a staircase up to the loft that I sleep in. It was really empowering. The stairs are great, and we did the whole thing by the seat of our pants. I have been there for a little over a week. Send me an email to get the address if you want it.
Work is okay. That is to say, it is really hard. I am working A LOT. Shifts are nine hours and we are encouraged not to take breaks. Oh, but Saturday is different because shifts are twelve and a half hours (still breaks are frowned upon). In fact, I came in today on my day off because I REALLY want to sell a car, and I thought that I could get a woman in today for an appountment. No such luck. I am going to run errands instead (bank, DMV, bleh). But the atmosphere and people are good. I think all will improve once I get rolling. We shall see.
Remember what I said in my last post about eating everything at Noodles? Well, that's going to change because I'm going to see what happens when I stop eating wheat. It's a very common allergen. I am curious. Anyway, I'm going to go to the grocery store today to buy some alternative grains and other delicious items.
Another reference to the last post: that guy who works at the Middle Eastern place... I've been seeing some more of him. His name is Ken. Again, more specific inquiries should be made by email or phone.
I'm so tired right now becuase I stayed up late last night. I couldn't put Harry Potter down and read through to the end. I won't say anything about the plot because that's just mean, but I will say that I'm already anxious for the next book. It will probably be YEARS before we can get our hands on it. I knew this would happen! I guess I'll just have to satisfy myself with the next new movie, whenever that comes out.

Remember to check the pics site, and I hope to start updating this regularly again. It is hard to get into a routine with this schedule, but I'm sure to improve.