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July 23th, 2007
Decision Time
Its Monday, I’m online looking for a job again. "TRAVEL AND MAKE MONEY"-gawl this ad again? It sounds great but I don’t want to sell magazines. "Magazine kids" have always been depicted as problem kids who have messed up lives and just walk around scamming people for a living. Ha, no I did not want to be a part of this. Sitting outside smoking, I get another angry text from my loser boyfriend. No matter what I do, he’s always mad and complaining. I was feeling low and depressed as I usually do when he does this when it hit me: What if I just left? Just disappeared? What if....no! No freakin way I’m going to be a magazine kid. Well, let’s evaluate the situation at hand. Stay here, living at his friends’ parents’ house (thus giving him leverage to berate me day in and out), deal with the loser bf, stay jobless, and basically live a miserable existence. OR try out this magazine thing, how bad can it be? The ad says they pay for all your travel and if you don’t like it...they send you back. Another angry text from Loser and my mind is made up. I go inside, check the browser history, get the phone number, DELETE the browser history, and make the call.
I talk to a guy named Chris, explain my situation and he says he thinks I’m perfect for this job. He tells me there is a bus leaving from my city at 5:30; I’m going to meet the crew in Vermont! I live in the Midwest so I’m excited and scared, Vermont is a long bus ride....it’s a little after 12. He says get your things together and call me when you get to the bus station. My life is rapidly changing and I have to think fast. I go downstairs and take every 'essential' item I can think of, anything I can live without gets left. At the same time I’m thinking up a lie. What lie can I tell to Loser to make him take me to the bus station without a huge argument....hmm. Family emergency! This works perfect because I have been estranged from my family for quite some time and I can easily get off a guilt trip if he thinks they are reaching out to me. I call him and explain the situation, he agrees, but he can only take me during his lunch hour, which is at 3....hm. I go to smoke again, I have 2 left and zero dollars. I finish my smoke, finish packing, and raid the change jar. I successfully gather 7 dollars in quarters, enough for a new pack and something to drink.
Loser arrives, helps me carry my things upstairs. I make huge theatrics about my 'family emergency', he buys it. I say I need smokes, we then argue about where I found 7 dollars.. I get my smokes and drink, he talks to me about how I need to call him and text him and let him know what’s going on (since I’m using his cell phone that he pays for) and just goes on and on. I’m ignoring him and thinking of how nice it’s going to be to not see him for a while. I get to the bus station, give him a goodbye, and call Chris. Interesting point of this story...After that day, I haven’t seen Loser face to face for 2 years. I tell Chris I’m at the station; he says my ticket is there, and for me to call him when I get to Vermont. I have to wait almost 3 hours to get on this bus, looking at the itinerary I see it’s going to take a whopping 30 hours to get to Vermont. Great.
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July 24, 2007
Vermont
Sitting on the bus thinking about how my life is about to change.
Not knowing what to expect...getting texts from Loser about twice an hour...it’s annoying.
I look at the itinerary and realize I’m going to be going right through New York City.....wow. It might not sound like it from what you have read already, but I’m not your typical mag kid recruit. I come from a pretty good family, I got good grades in high school, would have gone to college if Loser had not convinced me otherwise. I’ve been to a few places, but never any further east than where I was living at the time. This was a low point in my life, the relationship was in was toxic and it made me weak minded and easily manipulated, which I guess in retrospect...made me the perfect recruit.
I wake up from a nap and look out the window to see the Statue of Liberty and the NYC skyline. This is amazing to me. I’m starting to realize all the wonders the world holds, sounds silly, but there’s something about Lady Liberty that gives you strength and hope. After a treacherous ride into downtown Manhattan....I get off the bus, gather my things, and make my way up the stairs to have a smoke. I’m in awe. It’s just like the movies, people in a hurry to get wherever they are going, tourists, bad traffic...it’s insane. I get back on the bus and start the next part of the journey.
Driving through quaint towns in Connecticut, I wish so badly I had a normal life....lived in a nice house with a perfect lawn etc etc. How did this happen? How did I go from a college hopeful to being on a 30 hour bus ride to a strange town to sell magazines? When someone is suffocating you, any possible way to the surface seems like a great idea. I sleep some more, seems like forever... I wake up from a nap to see the sun setting on the mountains of Vermont. Truly a breathtaking scene. At this point I think...no matter what happens from now; I’ve seen some amazing things most people will never see in their lifetime.
Later that night.
I’m searching for the signs,the town the crew is in should be coming up soon, I ask the driver how far out we are, he says 15 minuets. I call Chris and he sounds like he’s at a party. He says he'll call someone to come pick me up.
We arrive at the bus station in a small town in Vermont. It’s not very well lit and I don’t see anyone waiting for me. There are 4 other people on this bus. I sit down at a bench under a light post; look for a smoke, damn, 2 left. The other passengers have met their parties and are off to family reunions or college. I’m the only one left. I’m starting to get scared. What if this was a scam? What if no one is coming? What am I going to do?
Finally a white 11 passenger van comes roaring into the parking lot. A short guy gets out of the van and says are you Christine? I’m Steve, come with me. He helps me with my things and I get into the van with him and a petite blond girl sitting in the front seat. She introduces herself and offers me a smoke…I stupidly decline, saying I just had one. We take off, driving down streets, making fast turns, and I feel slightly unsafe. I notice this is a college town, anxiety kicks in. This is where I should be; I should be in college, what if I run into someone I know here? What if they all laugh at me…..
We slow down and pick up what at first I thought were vagrants…but they turned out to be members of the crew. They were walking back to the hotel after getting dinner at the gas station, which horrified me, it’s nearly midnight and you’re just now having dinner? I hadn’t eaten anything the entire ride, mostly because I wasn’t hungry from being so nervous, and because I had about zero dollars.
Despite their scraggly appearance, they were very polite and carried my bags to my room while I went and met the manager, Carl. He is in charge of everything while the BOSS is in a different city with the other half of the crew. I am immediately intimidated. I wouldn’t meet the BOSS until the following week. After filling out paper work and getting the run down on a typical day, I’m left alone to shower (which I needed sooo bad) and settle in. The girl who greeted me at the bus station-Sarah- was a skinny blonde in tattered cut offs and a tank top. I thought hmm that’s not a great look if you’re trying to get people to buy magazines from you. Turns out she’s the top seller in the company. I shower and think to myself...I’m a long way from home, can I really do this? I blow dry my hair and hear a knock at the door, a guy, Daniel, is there to say hello and introduce himself. Mildly attractive, a little country, I listen to him and make small talk. After a long day and journey, I finally manage to fall asleep. Since I’m 'new' I get the bed to myself...for now.
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July 25th,2007
Training Day
Waking up at 730am after sleeping for about 3 hours is not a great way to start the day.
Luckily the hotel we were staying in offered a continental breakfast, because I still have zero dollars. I find out the girl who will be training me is named Lisa-she happens to be Sarah’s sister, and one of the top sellers. She introduces me to the rest of the crew. There are about 20 crew members split up into 2 different vans. Steve drives one, and Carl drives the other . Knocking on doors brought me back to elementary school when we had to sell wrapping paper and candy for school fundraisers. It was always so depressing being told 'no I don’t want any' or 'no, I already bought some'. That kind of rejection cuts a little bit deeper when your entire livelihood depends on it.
The first house we went to was an elderly couple who Lisa easily seduced into buying subscriptions to children’s magazines. This is called 'slamming'. She also managed to get a bottle of water out of them-and some cookies.. She was quite the charmer.. We went next door, an attractive guy in his late 20's answered. They made small talk, she told him about the contest, he resists. They make more small talk, she talks to him about living in New York...he’s a firefighter in the Bronx...she brings up the contest again...he still resists...she tells him about the 'books'. You can donate a set of 6 books to a school or hospital for only 65$. He gives in!! He puts it on a credit card, which was astonishing to me how people can be so trusting, giving your credit card info to a complete stranger who just walked up to your door?
We leave, and the cycle continues- Lisa manages to pick up 2 more orders for a total of 4 on the drop. The van picks us up, we are praised! Good job! We pick up other agents, they didn’t do so well. They are berated...told to pick it up, get it together, go to work!! One of the agents says that no one was home, no one was answering. He is told to be quite, stop being negative, that’s why he’s not selling because he’s negative. This confuses me. I realize that being positive brings positive results...but how are you expected to sell anything if everyone is at their REAL jobs during the day? What is this man implying? Walk into the home and write the check yourself? I find this absurd, but I keep it to myself.
The next 'drop' is in a similar neighborhood but no one seems too interested in buying. We run into Daniel, the mildly attractive country guy who came to my room last night. He’s not having much luck either. We walk around this neighborhood appearing to be productive (you don’t want your car handler to catch you slacking!). At this point, it’s about 85 degrees with 70% humidity, my clothes are drenched in sweat, my feet hurt… if I were a child playing outside I would go home and wait until the sun went down a little to go back out and play. I can’t. I’m walking on a street that isn’t mine in a town I’ve never been to in a state about 1000 miles away from where I call home. This realization almost brings me to tears. I have to hide it and stay strong...I don’t want everyone thinking I’m a WAB.
We get picked up, the manager/car handler gives us a very hard time…I find this interesting. Get mountains of praise, but in the next breath be completely humiliated. Its past 2pm, I’m exhausted from the heat, and starving. We stop at a fast food restaurant, I pretend I’m not hungry. Even if I had money, I was too scared to eat anything.
We go on another drop, this time with an agent named Tony. He’s very nice, very funny, he’s doing ok so far-3 orders. We separate, Lisa picks up 2 more orders. The car handler is pleased. Our reward for doing so well is being dropped in a large apartment complex, or ‘rip’.. Apartments can be your worst enemy or best friend. If you have ever lived in an apartment complex, I’m sure you are aware of the strict NO SOLICITING policy. You can ‘get a bunch’ in a complex, or get arrested. Lisa, being the charming lady she was, managed to pick up only one order but somehow avoid the police.
The van comes for us, we are praised again! Lisa has sold the most today! She is allowed to sit in the front seat, and smoke a cigarette. I am jealous. I want a cigarette. I smoked my last one the night before, and asked my Russian roommate for one of hers this morning. Throughout the day, I have noticed all the agents have been asking everyone for something…money, a smoke, a shirt, some soap etc etc. I do not want to be this person. I wait patiently because I know I am not far away from getting MONEY. I’m sitting in the van exhausted. My feet are in so much pain, my entire body aches…I must stay awake and focused..
We get to the hotel, everyone piles out of the van. I want to shower, eat and sleep. To my dismay, I find out first everyone must check in their orders and collect their Draw(small sum of money collected at the end of the day meant to get you through the next 24 hrs) Its nearly 10pm, I finally get my draw, and FINALLY get something to eat. We all get in the van and go to the gas station where Steve had stopped to pick up the other crew members the previous night. I get smokes, a sandwich and a drink. I have eight dollars left. Im happy. That’s eight more dollars than I had this time the previous day.
Back at the hotel, I shower…ahhh!
My clothes are soaked in sweat, I didn’t know I had the capability to sweat so much.
I shower and scrub my feet, which some how managed to get filthy. Probably because I was wearing flip flops, I always wear flip flops. Lisa calls me into her room, she writes down the spill, I must memorize it by tomorrow morning. I am not pleased. Its nearly 11pm. I put on a happy face and go back to my room and memorize. What have I gotten myself into? Can I really do this? Yes I can, this is just the first day…it will get better…I hope.
How many little things do we take for granted? Doing laundry whenever you want, being able to leave work if you feel sick, go into the refrigerator and eat when you feel like it. I would compare being on crew to being an indentured servant. They pay for all your travel and hotel to come out there, and while you’re working...what they don’t tell you is that if you want to go home you better have sold some magazines to cover the cost of your return trip. They also don’t tell you that really it’s YOU who is paying for gas and hotel stays. Even if you have 40 orders on the week, pretty much all of that goes on your 'books’ or goes towards your 'bills'. And they give you what they think you need to survive on. They tell you when to eat, when to sleep, when to wake up, who you can and can’t talk to, what you can and can’t talk about....but they do it in such a sneaky way- you don’t realize your being controlled until it’s too late....
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