Gearing Up

To look around our apartment, you wouldn’t think we were really moving to Chicago this week. Nothing’s packed. The only effort anyone has made towards moving is that Roseli has created three piles of books and toys that she wants to take with us. Today, she finally talked to the manager of the Chicago office to ask him questions about the nearest library, grocery store, thrift store, hospital, and about ten other questions. I worked on getting phone and Internet service set up in our new apartment before we move, which, by the way, was a total pain.

I called AT&T to set up basic phone service, and the CSR tells me that she could put in the order for me, but it will cost $40, but if I put in the order online, it’s free. Great, I thought, so I go online to set up service. There are about 20 different pages that I have to navigate through, but that isn’t the problem. The problem is that when I click on the “next” button, it doesn’t take me to the next page, but it takes me to the first page that I had already filled out at varying points along the process. So I, being ever persistent, keep trying, and each time I start the process over, I make it a little farther in the process. Finally, I make it to the second to last page. I click “next,” full of hope that I am almost done, and I see the message, “This page cannot be displayed.” So I call AT&T again to see if they have record of my request for service. They don’t. This time, the lady tells me that they are aware that their website has some bugs, and she advises me to start from the beginning! Two and a half hours after I started, I finally make it through all the pages, after seeing most of them about five times, and my new phone service is scheduled for installation on Friday.

Besides physical preparation for a summer of door-to-door selling, I’m trying to prepare mentally prepare. The first couple days will be rough, I know. I’ve learned in the past that I don’t like sales, but for some reason, I’m looking forward to this summer. What will make me successful more than anything else is confidence. Confidence is not something I naturally exude. I’m more the passive, agreeable type, but I think I’ve discovered a more confidant side to myself as I’ve taught over the past two semesters. And for me, the key to being confident is knowledge, knowledge about the subject in teaching, and about the product in sales.