Picasso

This is a bird.

I love it.

Aaron and Greg

This is my mission friend Aaron and his buddy Greg. They are staying at our place for a couple of nights as they vacation in the city. Aaron was the Mexico City East Mission pianist when I was in Chalco back in 2000. I really didn't know him during the mission very well, but we hit it off over the Olivia Tremor Control at a mission reunion years later. Awesome kid.

The Guggenheim

Sasha was right. This beautiful building was designed by none other than Frank Lloyd Wright.

A quick nap

Have you ever called me up in the middle of the day and heard me tell you I'm resting on someone's porch? It occured to me that this might sound a little strange to someone unfamiliar with Jersey ways. See, people in the East are all about their front porches. People here sit on their porches all day talking about the weather and watching people go by.

This here is a couch Andrew and I took a nap on today. It was pouring rain and nobody came out when we knocked the door. So what's a door-to-door salesman to do? If you put a comfy couch on a porch it's gonna get sat on.

I love public parks...especially when they are in my area.

This here is Andrew's park.

Lucky.

Marge and granddaughter

Today I met the nicest grandmother/daughter combo and gave them a security system. Marge is diabetic, so they liked the medical benefits of having a portable emergency pendant. It's always nice to sell systems to people who you know are really going to use them.

In other news, go see the documentary "Mad Hot Ballroom." It's really good.

Birthnight dinner

Chicken Parmesan with spaghetti. Mmmmmmm.

Happy Birthday to me.

For my birthday all the owners and presidents of Firstline came out from Utah for some summer's end motivation and resigning. For anyone who's ever served an LDS mission, it was a lot like interviews with the president--very necessary but also very time-consuming.

It was actually a nice birthday present. All 40+ guys in the Jersey office got to lounge around the movie room, watch movie clips and powerpoints, and eat pizza while overlooking the New York skyline. Another bonus was not getting on the doors 'til 7:00pm. Somehow it seems more productive to work 2 hours during prime time after the heat dies down than it does working 7 long hours during the sweaty afternoon. I pulled a late night deal with a nice white couple. One of those miraculous "Come-back-when-my-husband-is-here" deals.

After work some of the guys came over and gave me Inca Kola and chocolate cake. It's nice to be sung "Happy Birthday" too--even if you are turning 24. For the curious, that beautiful body standing behind my cake is none other than team member Joe's. He gave me a little show after the song was through.

That was a joke.

You gotta love those corporate types.

Lounging around the movie room listening to business talk aint a bad way to spend a birthday.

Trunky in Trenton

Ladies and gentlemen we are coming to the final stretch of our New Jersey experience. The office has changed areas once again. We are now working in the state capital of Trenton. It's a whole hour-long drive from West New York; but so far, so good. I am getting over a little cold. Nothing serious.

Today I sold a system to a convenience store owner from Pakistan. His name is Saqib. I'm so jealous of his name. As far as I know, it's the only word ever to have a "q" not followed by the letter "u." This gives a whole new meaning to the band "Q and not U." Writing Saqib's name on the paperwork today felt like sin. In fact, in typing his name just now I automatically inserted a "u." Go ahead. Try it. I bet you'll end up with "Saquib." Seriously. Try it. It's like instinctive or something.

Louis

Every summer you meet at least one individual that is so unique that you kinda have to step back and re-evaluate life after having met them. Someone that takes you to a place in your mind so far away from everything that is familiar and comfortable that you can't shake off the memory no matter how hard you try. Louis is one of those individuals.

Did I get a sale today? No.

Did I get a flag of Barbados? Yes.

My First Mantis

So today there was this praying mantis chilling on a lady's door. After the lady rejected my sales pitch, I kindly informed her of her large green guest.

She was like, "Oh I don't need a security system."

And so then I was like, "OK. That's cool, but there's a giant praying mantis on your door. I'm just gonna be here taking pictures."

So she's like, "OK." Then she shuts the door and lets me chill with the mantis.

Little things really amuse you when you're knocking doors in the afternoon and virtually no one is home.

The Brooklyn Bridge & Manny

What's at the end of the Brooklyn Bridge you ask? Why, it's the Watchtower Society headquarters--the birthplace of "Awake" and "The Watchtower" magazines. A sort of Temple Square for the Jehova's Witnesses, if you will. If you ever find yourself trekking across this magnificent span of architecture, be sure to do it at night while the lights are shining. Also, see if you can get a Jehova's Witness (or a former Jehova's Witness) to take you. It's more interesting that way.

some real photos