Usually I rant to anyone that will listen about all the perks of living in a big city. I love it, most of the time but lately I really miss the small joys of New England suburbs. What exactly is there to miss when you get to live in the best city of all? Well, I'll tell you!
When I was growing up, every October my family and I would go to a pumpkin patch and pick out pumpkins to carve. Everyone got their own pumpkin, and I would always try to find the most perfect pumpkin there, and my dad taught me the stem was just as important as the pumpkin, because it needed to be sturdy for when you pulled off the top. It would always be a beautiful New England autumn day and the smell of changing leaves always reminds me of that. In New York, I think they think you get pumpkins at the grocery store. I walked past one of those trees they put in the sidewalk tonight, and it had pumpkins all around it, was that a city pumpkin patch?? There were no perfect ones in there. That's for sure.
Back to the suburbs....I remember going on a hay ride afterwards one time which was even better. We'd take our pumpkins home, line the kitchen table with newspaper and put a huge stainless steal bowl in the middle of the table. We'd take out all the pumpkin guts and put the seeds in the bowl. One of the few times a year my mom cooked, she would salt the seeds and bake them, and then I would bring them for snack to school (I was the weird kid). While we carved our pumpkins the smell of the baking seeds would envelope our kitchen and be done by the time we'd lit candles inside the pumpkins and turned off all the lights in the house. This was followed by the customary, "Ooohhhh," and "Aaahhhh."
And then the best part of trick-or-treating was being slightly frightened by going out into the dark, crisp night, down those long, suburban driveways in hunt of the best candy we could find. I bet trick-or-treating in the city involves going out really early on lamp post lit blocks.
Every fall, once a year, we'd buy one container of apple cider. It was just the perfect treat to have while snuggling under a blanket and watching Sunday football. And at my day care, we would go on a field trip to a nearby apple orchard to pick apples and everyone got to eat one apple, which to a little kid, is really special, being able to pick your OWN apple and then eat it.
There's this great tree in my front yard and every year, the leaves turn into the brightest red before they fall onto my driveway and mix in with the other yellow orange and brown leaves. Thats what I miss most. That crisp smell of dried leaves, the gorgeous colors mixing together, and the sound of them crunching under my sneakers.
So laugh when I say I want to do something Halloween-y, or Autumn-y, or New England-y but nothing beats autumn in New England. Nothing.
I was lucky enough to grow up with a washer and dryer in my house (except for the time the drier caught on fire and burnt my favorite Minnie Mouse outfit, that wasn't so lucky). I've adjusted fairly well to having to do laundry in public facilities, and for a germophobe like me, that's no small feat. But doing laundry here always poses some type of problem. Usually the worst part is getting the laundry TO the laundry room. Because of the way the hotel is designed, there is no way to take the elevator to the basement, so you have to take it to the lobby, then get out and take the escalator down. That would be fine except I can never see over my laundry basket to make sure I am actually stepping on the escalator, so I just hope for the best.
My mom was nice enough to bring me, as a present, $20 in quarters this past weekend. I was super excited because I really need to do laundry, and I hate using my travel stipend to do it. So Monday night after work I got collected all my dirty clothes but I realized they wouldn't all fit in my laundry basket so I got out a big suitcase and loaded it up. It wasn't enough, so then I filled up a huge backpack and was on my way. I kind of felt like an idiot with all these bags, and then carry detergent on my hip.
There are only two washing machines here for "large loads" and then a ton for regular (small) loads (read: all washing machines here are a rip off). I did one large and one small and took my suitcase back upstairs. I went back down in about half an hour to put my clothes in the dryer but there were none open. There are only THREE dryers here. THREE. And one person had put 80 minutes worth of quarters in one!! 80 minutes!! Three dryers!! Ludicrousy! There was one dryer that only had 8 minutes left, so I waited. But then I noticed someone else was waiting for that dryer. So I waited for the dryer that had 20 minutes left. Waited and waited. I started breaking a sweat it was so hot in there, and kind of creepy.
20 minutes later.
The girl whose clothes it was comes down and, even though I'm standing in front of the dryers with a box of fabric softener in my hand, she slowly takes each article of clothing out, one by one, folds it, then grabs the next. I was going INSANE in there. I'm sweating, I have work to do upstairs, and its past 10:00 and my clothes aren't even in a dryer yet, are you kidding?!!? Finally, she got the point and took all her clothes out so I could put mine in. I always take certain clothes to air dry instead of put in the dryer and last time I did laundry I left them in the laundry for for an hour and ran down there, frantically, hoping my clothes were still there. So this week I remembered to take them upstairs.
Then I forgot about my laundry. I got so into what I was doing that it was almost 11:30 by the time I remembered. So once again, I was frantically running downstairs, hoping my clothes were still there. This is my worst laundry nightmare, that someone will take my clothes out of the dryer and put them wherever they may fall. And it came true. There were my clothes, all over the folding table. This is so, so mean of me, but I really wanted to open the dryer that someone had replaced my clothes with so that their time would run out and their clothes would still be wet. The only reason I didn't was because someone else was in the laundry room, and because its really mean, and I would've really liked doing it.
And so, almost 24 hours later, my clothes have yet to be folded. I hate laundry.
...was great! Everyone there is really nice and were very happy to see me. They introduced me to whoever walked by and explained whatever project I was working (how to do it and what it was for). My favorite part about this company is that instead of regular name plates outside everyone's office, they have CD's with the company logo and the person's name on it, which I think is such a cool idea.
I made widgets for artists to put on their myspace pages, updated one of their websites (much easier than I thought it would be), made sure every artist's page on the record label's website was running properly, posted tour dates, updated myspace pages, and got to go home half an hour early. I sit right next to the art department which is really cool because album art is the second best part about buying a CD. The worst part is that they use a lot of permanent markers and by the end of the day, it felt like I was getting high from it. I left with a slight headache.
I was so happy my first day went so well, but it makes me loathe going to my regular internship even more. And I definitely don't like this whole two day weekend thing, I'm a three day weekend kind of girl. My mom came to visit me this weekend and we had the most amazing time, did all kinds of NY things and it was a really nice treat after being so miserable for so long. For the first time since I moved here, I'm not completely dreading waking up and working tomorrow, because I get to go to internship #2 again.
I can honestly say I'm pretty happy right now.
The gym and I are on a break.
We dated heavily during August and September, inseparable really. I would always be making time for an hour to two to sneak off and visit my lover. We really built our relationship in August, our first date was on a quiet summer night when no one was around. We kept seeing each other after that. Around September when the other residents started filing in, the gym started getting the wandering eye. Sometimes I would visit and there wouldn't even be any room for me amid all the others, but the gym always stayed faithful to me, leaving a treadmill or a bike open with my name on it.
I've dated others like the gym before, but nothing ever lasted. Its just a part of the game sometimes. But this gym and I, we fell madly in love. We tried new and exciting workouts together that I'd never done before, and the gym helped me get through it and kept wanting to come back for more everyday. The gym was a little upset when I started working such long hours, but I always made time for it, even if I showed up a little late. Visiting my lover was the highlight of my day, and it always gave me that extra boost to continue on into the night and get through my "paying" job. The gym saved me from going crazy from all the stress, comforted me with a new workout when I was feeling restless, and most importantly, was always waiting for a visit from me.
But lately, the gym and I just haven't been on the same page. Its not that the gym and I are no longer in love, we are, you can put that on everything. But work lately has been so demanding, I just don't have time for the things I used to. That doesn't mean we won't be seeing each other anymore, it just means we're taking a little break. We haven't seen or spoken to each other in over a week, and my gym clothes are folded nicely in my drawer instead of in a pile in my laundry basket like they normally are, but the gym still has my heart.
The gym doesn't have to know that I ate the most delectable red velvet cupcake today, or that I had a bag of M&M's for dinner, right? Right. After all, we're on a break.
The pressure on me is mounting. I have internship #1, my "paying" job, and internship #2 (my newest). I also have to squeeze some time for me in there.
Last week, my boss from my "paying" job (I put that in quotes because its a very small sum that I got at random intervals in a lump) didn't really give me any assignments. It was out of the ordinary but, my boyfriend was coming to visit and I didn't want to remind her she didn't give me any work. I finally asked her and she said there was no work to be done this week. That was fine with me. So I went about the rest of my week and enjoyed my last long weekend. This morning I was awoken but a short e-mail requesting a timeline of what I did last week.
What???
Is this a boss-worker way of asking how my weekend went?? I didn't do work because there wasn't any, now I need a timeline. In all fairness, she did mention it yesterday, but I forgot about it amid the chaos of the Big Boss. I rushed to internship #1 this morning and was given a list of things to do, but had to get this timeline into my boss for my other job. And of course, everything was going wrong. My computer locked up on a web page for my job that Vin saw (and probably wondered why I wasn't doing what he asked), my Word wouldn't open for me to make up this timeline, and then I had to run an errand across town. I finally got it done and it was a pretty crappy timeline, I was really desperate. I apologized for my lack of attention on the matter (its always better to take the blame for the little things and let your boss think they know better...choose your battles wisely so you can fight the big ones) and hurriedly did the rest of my work.
During the day I was trying to figure out when one of my friends from home could visit and realized that ALL of my weekends between now and Christmas are already planned for me. And she was ever so kind as to remind me that if I didn't pick up this second internship, I'd have more time to hang out with her or do more fun things. Not that I don't think all this hard work will pay off later, its just that I'm in the thick of it right now. Normally I thrive in situations like this, but today I really felt like I was cracking. But then I remembered, this pressure is what I live for and after all, diamonds are made under pressure.
Today the Big Boss came in to work. Pretty exciting right? I ran a CD over to another label during the late afternoon, worked on some lists of songs our producers/songwriters have done, sent out a hundred million faxes, and waited for the Big Boss.
Finally, she came.
She was so sweet! She wasn't there 1 minute before she had a list of things for me to do, fax this, type up this, send this, and "when you're done with that, can you please call around and see if I can get a back to my phone? My dog chewed it." Let.me.just.say.EWE. I couldn't help but think about the fresh drool that was still on this thing, no store even had a back in stock anyway. Then Evan the A&R came in. Thats always exciting. The Big Boss was in a meeting and he came over and talked to Vin and me for a little while. Then he went about his work and one of our producers came in to sign some contracts. This is one of the few producers I'd heard about and admired before I started working here, so it was pretty cool to meet him. Apparently him and Evan have beef, I didn't know this until much later in the night but it was clear from the awkward silence.
Around 6:30 I had to bring another something to another label and when I came back, it was mass chaos between the producer, Evan, and the Big Boss. I didn't leave until after 9 and didn't get home until almost 10.
And oh, of course it couldn't be that easy so here's a story for you (the kind where you can have a laugh and be happy things like this don't happen to you). I stopped at Duane Reade for some soup because I was starving and freezing...what better thing could you eat? So, I go straight to the floor with the kitchen on it instead of going up to my room first. I heat up my soup but its so hot that I can't carry it. I burnt my hands at least 3 times before I decided to take my jacket off and put it around the soup to carry it. Then it spilled on my arms. Then I held it close to my stomach and it burnt that too! I finally got to my room and I leaned it up against the wall while I carefully reached for my key in my pocket. In doing so, the steam from the soup was coming up and into my face. Needless to say, I'm sweating by now. I get in my room and it is like a sauna in here, I didn't think I had left the heat on but even if I did, I know it couldn't have been up that high. I look at my thermostat and someone came in here and turned my heat up to 82 degrees!! Why would you EVER want a room to be that hot, particularly one that isn't yours??
Then I notice someone had come in here and set up bug/mouse traps. You know the kind...the sticky pad that they get caught in and then you have to dispose of it, usually while the bug/mouse is still alive. Disgusting. I am NOT dealing with that when some critter gets stuck in there, so I threw them out, but they got stuck to the stick I was using to move them, then I got stuck to the stick. Between the high temperatures and getting caught in a bug/mouse trap, I wasn't even in the mood for my soup anymore.
The Big Boss won't be back again for another week or two, I think today was just a taste of how crazy it can get when she's in the office.
I cut my hair. Well let me clarify, I stopped cutting it myself and let a professional cut it. And now its short. Really short. I wasn't prepared for that much change to quickly. Its above my shoulders kind of short, and I kind of feel like I have too big of a head for such a small amount of hair. I also feel like maybe it brings attention to the fact that my nose is pretty big compared to the size of my dolphin teeth.
I also admit I'm crazy for thinking these things.
I was ready for change though. Change is something I've always struggled with. I like change, but I only like it on my terms, and that only happens every 5 years or so. I mean, the last time I got a real haircut was TWO years ago! I've realized that my dislike of change is also the reason I've spent a considerable amount of time this year being unhappy at my internship. Because its not my old one. And this dump that I live in, its not my old beautiful brownstone I lived in in Brooklyn last year. But last year, I hated that brownstone and I hated that internship, at least for a little while.
So now I've thrown some more change into the mix. I guess I was hoping I'd feel better about everything if my hair were different....man, do women do and think some crazy things sometimes. But, I guess it worked because normally on Monday nights, I sit in my room thinking about how bad I don't want to go to work the next day. This Monday night? I'm sitting in my room thinking about how I should do my hair for work tomorrow so that the least amount of people possible notice it. So at least I'm preoccupied for the moment.
If I could change one thing about me, I'd make myself be more open to change. But, I'd hate that. ;-)
Guess what? My interview went so well on Friday that they hired me on the spot. Thats right, my first day is Friday and I am definitely excited. I'll be dealing with the websites for all the label's artists, something I know nothing about but am willing to learn. My interview was me and the four people who run the department, it was pretty intense. But they all seemed so nice and welcoming, and are really excited to hire an intern. Like my other internship, I will be the only intern so I will be holding a lot of responsibility. They also said that they have TONS of work for me to do but that if there is ever a slow day, I can help out other departments, which is exactly what I was hoping for.
Some people might say I sold out and gave up on my ultimate goal, but I don't think I did. I had to take a step back and realize that my path won't always be direct, and I have to accept that. In doing so, I became a lot more open to receive other opportunities, and I think this New Media thing will work out. The future of the music industry obviously lies with the Internet, and if I don't know how to use it, I'm going to be left behind. The key to being successful, not only in music but in anything, is to be able to see ahead of everyone else. If you can predict future trends, you can better prepare for them. I have predicted a surge in music and marketing on the Internet and a fall in the entire A&R process. I hope its not true, because my first love is and always will be artist development, but you have to be able to roll with the changing times. I'll miss my four day weekends, but I can't wait for my first day!
Tomorrow is my internview, and pretty soon I'll be going through the pre-interview steps. For all your aspiring interns out there, here are some tips on how to do your best during those 30 nerve-wracking minutes.
1. READ
You should have read your resume before you sent it out to make sure there are no typos, but before you interview, really read it. It's a good way to remember specifically what you've done in other jobs and what your potential employer is expecting you to do. If you find something in there that you want to change, bring an updated copy.
2. RESEARCH
It's so important to know the company you're interviewing for. Interviewers are always impressed when you know about their company because it shows that you're interested. Also, know the industry you're trying to get into. Whether its making air mattresses or music, know what's going on in your industry.
3. DRESS
Pick an outfit that gives off the right vibes. Whether you want them to think you're laid back or put together, make sure your clothes exemplify that. As shallow as it is, people do judge books by their cover and they will be judging you.
4. PRACTICE
Even though you may feel dumb doing it, ask someone to do a mock interview with you. Have them ask you questions they've been asked in an interview and then ask them to rate your performance. Be serious about it though, the more you think about what you're going to say, the more natural it will come out later.
5. PITCH
Think of an elevator pitch. An elevator pitch is what you would say to someone who holds the keys to your dream job if you were ever in an elevator with them and had a short amount of time to make them remember you. Your pitch should state who you are, what you do, why you do it better than others, and what you have to offer them. Thinking about this helps you gather your thoughts about why you're the best candidate.
6. QUESTION
Last but not least, think of questions YOU want to ask the interviewer. Things I usually ask are, "What's the office culture here like?" "What are your favorite and least favorite things about working here?" Questions like this show the interviewer that you're interested in learning more than meets the eye about the job, and people love to talk about themselves, so putting a personal spin on things (like asking about favorite/least favorite) really engages people.
Now, wish me luck!
My boss knows about my intern-view set for tomorrow and he's been very supportive. As much as I think he could be a better BOSS, he's a nice guy and his intentions are good (like when I called out because I had cramps, and he said he "understood"). So around 6:00 we started talking about interview and if I was ready.
The conversation steered towards my ever out of reach girl to be the big A&R chick. He offered his views on the situation, saying A&R positions were sort of fading out, and its the type of thing you do in addition to something else. I totally get where he's coming from, have heard it before, and have thought about it myself. He showed me a long list of people that are A&Ring some projects and pointed out that although they're doing that, their titles are things like Manager or CEO.
He went into music-industry-nerd details that I ate up with a spoon but won't divulge here, and I asked more questions. I explained what it is about A&R that appeals to me so much which is this: I love the idea of developing an artist from scratch. I love taking that artist and guiding them, creating a niche for them within the genre, picking out songs that I feel best showcase their talents, developing their personalities into an image, pushing that artist during recording sessions to the point where they hate me, and then walking away with an amazing record. Vin looked at me and said that sounded like management.
The funny thing is, people have been telling me to be a manager for YEARS. I HATE the entire idea, and I told him that. He said he was surprised to hear that, I'm not really sure why (does something about me scream manager?). I think I'd be a horrible manager...for one thing, I can be pretty selfish and no one gets in the way of my sleep, so that means if I had an artist who was stuck in Alaska (with Ms. Sarah Palin!) at 2 AM, that artist can hang out until I roll out of bed the next morning.
The conversation neared an end and I said something along the lines of, "I really need to figure out what else I want to do because A&R looks like its becoming a dual role. I just have to come to terms with that" And Vin said this, something that sounded insignificant at the time, but that I will probably carry with me forever.
He said: "People can pick up on negative vibes, and if you've given up inside, but are still looking outwardly, people will still be able to tell your heart's not in it. Don't let anything stand in the way of your dream, no matter how crazy or how hard it is, you'll get there"
And so, onward I go.
You know how dogs can smell fear (dogs can probably smell my fear from 500 miles away because I am Terrified of them with a capital T). I think that bosses can smell dissatisfaction and contempt.
I'm so totally over final-internship-before-you-graduate internship. Yesterday I was inches from tapping Vin on the shoulder and telling him that I can't do this anymore and I'm GONE, content with living out my days hiding under the covers from my mother and father. It took every bit of me not to do it, my body was at my desk, but my mind was at a new internship, giggling over coffee with my new boss and intern friends.
Needless to say, attending work this morning was not the easiest thing to do, I had to pretend I was 6 years old again and my dad was standing over my bed with a SuperSoaker water gun to get me up and go to school. My first task of the day (after having it pointed out that Vin and I wore the same color shirt today) was to listen to three demos and see what I thought....trash, trash, and more trash. Next? Midday, while counting how many days I have left of this internship, Vin asked me this:
Vin: So, what do you want to be doing??
Me: What??? (Is it bad if I tell him I'd like to run out of this office like a bat out of hell and never return?)
Vin: You know, like, what do you want to learn here? I want you to get the most out of this internship so, what do you think?
Me: Umm...well obviously, I'd like to be dealing more with music because that is why I'm here
Vin: Like what?
Me: (OMGz, does everything have to be this hard?) Well, I don't even know what a publishing intern is supposed to be doing! So, if the description has music in it, I will do it.
Vin: Okay so right now I have a list of artists that are looking for tracks, so would you want to listen to some of the stuff our producers and songwriters are working on and match what artists you think would sound good on certain songs?
Me: (DUH!!!) Yea, sure...I mean, that sounds great!
Vin: Okay so you can do that, and then pass them to me and I'll look it over and we'll send it out to the Big Boss and the artists
Maybe bosses can smell potential, too.
So I had planned for my post today to take you through a typical day step-by-step, except that I woke up super late. But I'll do it anyway, just know that I don't snooze this late normally!
7:00 AM: I woke up in cold sweats from the scariest dream about that guy from Saw V, mind you, I've never even SEEN any of the Saw movies
8:00 AM: Still awake
10:24: Awoken by an e-mail on my phone (thanks Mom!), sh*t I'm late!!!!
10:34: Out the shower, trying to figure out what to do with my hair and what to wear, the two most challenging things I go through on a daily basis
11:00: Chatting online with my AIM buddies because if you're going to be late, you might as well go all out.
11:12: Brush my teeth while simultaneously putting shoes on (this is probably why I usually get tooth paste on my shirt) and I'm out the door
11:20: Wait for the train
11:30: The train comes and I think about how usually I'm at work by now, and I wonder if Vin is there yet.
11:40: Buying my 7 grain bagel and water at the deli near my job, I think they stock their refrigerator right before I come because my water is always warm.
11:42: Awkwardly waiting for the elevator after watching the guards' lick their lips at me while feeling their eyes on my back...I'm convinced every woman must go through this in order to enter the building
11:45: Arrive at my desk before my boss, score one for the intern!
11:46: Check Vin and Big Boss' messages, set up my computer, look at my bagel, decide I'm not hungry, and check my e-mail
12:00 PM: Read and and respond to an e-mail from one of my roommates back at school, this is a daily occurrence to pass the time for both of us and I love it because writing an e-mail looks like you're doing work
12:30: Take a phone call from my boyfriend, Vin strolls in, of course I haven't been on the phone this whole time and he comes in 2 seconds after I get on the phone
12:31: Vin asks why there is a loaf of Italian bread on his desk...it damn sure wasn't from me, I'm no kiss ass. He goes to find the culprit, I get off the phone.
12:40: Awkward silence...then Vin questions me if I've figured out how to hack Photoshop so that I can use it for free (this has been going on for two or three weeks now)
12:45: Receive an e-mail from him to download a file that will help me hack it. I don't want to do it but I have no choice, so I download it. Yep, its a virus. Thank goodness my school required I put anti-virus software on my computer and it deleted it immediately. Ha, Vin, try again
1:00: Continue on the project I've been working on since my first day that I curse every time I sit down at my desk
1:05: Vin and I get into a small argument...normally I'd let it slide but I'm clearly annoyed that my BOSS sent me a VIRUS so my patience was wearing slim. I'm still too mad about it to explain here.
1:20: Go to the mail room to mail a CD filled with the worst beats I've ever heard in my life to someone I've never heard of
2:00: Make myself a hair appointment for this weekend and thank one of my old bosses for referring me.
2:30: Vin's first departure from the office...I take phone calls, these being some of the more weird ones I've had. I also use this opportunity to write back to my roommate again
3:00: His second departure, I take more phone calls and write another e-mail
4:00: I lose focus and begin to google random happenings in the music industry...did you know D. Woods put out a "diss song" ????
5:00: Third departure (these are never important by the way), I e-mail my roommate for the last time
6:53: I start shutting my down, take a trip to the bathroom and by the time I come back its 7
7:00: Say goodbye to Vin and catch the elevator as soon as its passing my floor
7:02: Starbucks trip, otherwise I'll never make it through the rest of the day. I highly suggest the Banana Chocolate Vivanno if thats your thing...it has protein in it to keep my going!
7:07: Observe the man walking around with a cat on his head and almost walk into another person because I am staring so bad...I thought I wasn't seeing this, but I looked again and it really was there, perched on his head as if he were just wearing a hat. Oh New York, full of crazies and I can never get enough of it
7:10: Arrive at the train station just in time to see the train I need leaving the tracks, this happens to me at least twice a week. I'm pretty sure the subway station is rotting itself to nothingness and leaks from the ceilings, so its like a maze navigating through the drips (I can proudly say I've only been dripped on once)
7:15: The train comes and I actually get a seat next to a nice woman flipping through Elle magazine, I take a look too...did you know purple is in this season?
7:21: Get off the train and grab dinner to-go at Quizno's, they're out of medium cups so I either have to buy a large or a small...is this a rip off or what? If they're the ones out of cups, shouldn't I just get a large for the medium price...it's not my fault you're unprepared! This is bad business
7:30: Walk into my hotel, say hello to my favorite security guard, grab the elevator and cross my fingers that I don't get locked out of my room again
7:35: Get into my room and wonder, "Am I really this messy or has my room been ransacked?" (It was just me, not to worry), start changing for the gym, take a quick call from another one of my roommates from school for some gossip while I look for my left sneaker (expertly hidden underneath my some dirty clothes...isn't that where everyone keeps their sneakers??)
7:45: Start my workout, there's actually a treadmill open, its my lucky day
8:55: Realize my favorite show is on at 9:00, not 10:00 and I better haul ass up to my room to watch it even though I still have 30 minutes left of my workout and I don't want to cut it short.
9:00 Make it up to my room just in time, shower during the first commercial break and during the second break I go upstairs to heat up my soup from Quizno's
9:30: This is my favorite part of the day--my first opportunity to sit down and eat my dinner and set up my computer! I start working on job #2 while watching the Making the Band Season Finale in the hand mirror on my desk because the TV is behind me. This way I can watch and work at the same time. Multitasking is the key to success
10:00: Break from working to write this blog.
10:40: Still writing this blog! After this I'm going to do some more work, hopefully only until 12:30 then I'll get in bed, and I'll be lucky if I fall asleep before 2 AM. Wake up tomorrow (on time) and repeat.
Congratulations, you've made it to the end of my day...wasn't that fun!!?
That's right, today on my day off I set myself up for an interview with a very big Hip-Hop record label. In fact, this label is one of those "dream job" places I often fantasized about before I started interning. Don't get too excited though, its not in A&R, its in New Media, but at least I'll be at a record label, not wasting away like I am at my current job. And the way I'm looking at it, New Media is probably the future of the record industry. So I might as well get a taste for it...and more importantly, its not the label's "corporate office," like the situation I'm in now.
I got the interview through networking, of course! A friend of mine that I used to intern with knew this guy and gave me his info and I sent over a quick e-mail and my resume. The worst part? I had to update my resume with where I'm working now and I couldn't think of anything to write! I felt a little less bad when I asked one of my old bosses what she thought I should do and she suggested I make stuff up. I don't condone this, and I will say that I successfully updated my resume without making stuff up, but it wasn't easy. The best part? This place is only 15 blocks from where I live!
My interview is Friday, and for the next three days, I will be frantically figuring out what to wear. The problem lies in the fact that the music industry is not the real world....so fancy interview attire does not necessarily apply. Do I wear jeans since I know that's what everyone wears anyway? Do I wear dress pants and look like a fool for 30 minutes while everyone stares at "the girl who is all dressed up" and chuckles? Today, I'm leaning towards jeans. Of course this may attribute to my new found love of wearing my huge pink fleece robe every chance I get because its so comfortable and cuddly!
My mom and my sister came to visit New York today so we could visit a cousin of ours at "the home." Its been quite some time since we've seen her so we sat around a table and looked at old family pictures and I got to hear some stories I've never heard before about my family. I sat there and stared at this old, second cousin of mine who I never knew much about. Of course I'd heard stories...she worked for the UN for over 30 years and traveled the world; I heard about the beehive hairdo she sported, her fabulous life as a bachelorette in her cozy Manhattan apartment. My mother told me about the chic parties she'd hosted in that apartment of hers years ago and always mentioned her extensive record collection. I remember hearing the story about the gold sequin gown she'd had handmade somewhere in Asia during her travels; it proudly hangs in the hall closet at the house I grew up in and if I ever have an event that is good enough for such a dress, I intend to wear it proudly. Maybe even with a beehive!
When I was in high school I got to see this infamous, rent controlled apartment of hers. It was quite small, but how much space did someone who was always traveling the world really need? The apartment, to me, was a museum of her entire life, with stories told through miscellaneous chachkas and pictures, with her records working as the soundtrack. She let me take home some of the records and I always imagine the fabulous parties that must've gone on while her old record player spun those classics.
Even as a child, she always amazed me. She would bring my sister and I all kinds of things, her bag always chock full of goodies. She was our Cousin Mary and she was the most exciting visitor at our family parties. And now, deep into her old age, we sat with her around this table in the TV lounge and in her private room overlooking the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine musing over these pictures of our family. These old, tattered snapshots brought back memories for her and she would digress and tell stories from her past that were just as gripping as they were the first time I'd heard them.
And so, before we left, we added another picture to our family history, one of my mom, my sister, my Cousin Mary, and myself, in the garden on a beautiful Manhattan Indian Summer day.
Ever since Vin had me reorganize our artist binders and then told me that we don't really use them, we've been using them a lot. I've gotten to take a look at quite a few royalty statements for our artists and being the nerd that I am, I think its pretty cool. Some artists are still in the negative, because the label still hasn't recouped all of their advance. Its crazy when you see they still owe the label six figures, even when they're making a good amount of money. You'd be surprised to know how many artists never end up paying the label back the advance they were given.
The other crazy thing I see in those binders are the checks in the positives! A big check once is good enough, but a few a month? I'll take that. It's pretty cool to open the envelopes for these royalty checks and know that it will be a very long time, if ever, that I ever hold a check for that big of an amount in my hands.
My boss is really adamant about me taking a look at these things and asks me questions about them to test that I really read them. I'm used to being handed things and being told their confidential, or having someone put it in an envelope so they know I won't be able to read it. Or being told to do something but not being told why (like the time I had to go to a man's hotel room and burn a CD and then bring it back to the big CEO, at my first internship). I did learn about royalties in school, but I didn't learn about licensing, so its really great to be able to look at this stuff for myself and hold it in my hands. And on a good day, Vin will answer all my questions, even the dumb ones.
My alarm goes off at 9:30 every morning, and then I proceed to snooze it for about a half an hour and roll out of bed around 10 and make a mad dash for the shower because, I'm late! The night before yesterday morning (Tuesday night?) I was up most of the night. I finally fell asleep but woke up around 7 and was up for another hour and a half. From then until almost 11:00 is all a blur to me, for all I know, I could've been abducted by aliens. I opened my eyes to the sound of a voice over the alarm system in the hallway outside my room, "Please disregard all prior alarms, they were only a test." What?? I thought to myself, "What alarms? Man, what time is it..I feel like I've slept for way longer than an hour..last time I checked the clock it was 8:30, my alarm hasn't gone off yet, it can't be any later than 9:30 though." Yea, right. I looked at my phone and it was almost 11!! I'm supposed to be AT work around 11 and here I am in bed. And what's worse...they were testing fire alarms right outside my door and I didn't hear a thing? WHAT THE HECK!!
I quickly e-mailed my boss, took the hottest shower ever because I didn't have time to mess around with the water, and figured out something to do with my hair. Thankfully while I was laying awake the night before, I picked out an outfit in my head. I rushed over to work, grabbed a salad for lunch instead of my usual bagel for breakfast since it was past 12 by then, and got to my desk. I took my computer out of my bag and realized I left the charger for my laptop on my bed. Not only was I late, but then I had to explain to my boss that my computer would die before the day was over. We tried to find someone with a charger, but my computer is so old no one had one that was compatible. By the time my battery had 30% charge left, my boss suggested I sit in my Big Boss' office and use her computer, ignoring all my offers to go back to my hotel to get my charger. I must say, pretty weird, sitting there alone at this big desk with this nice comfy chair where there was actually room to put my notebook on the desk. Even more weird when people would come by, look in, and say, nice office, half joking, half not.
And because I only ate about half my salad before I realized that all the leaves were brown, there was nothing in my stomach to absorb all the water I was drinking and ended up running to the bathroom to pee every 30 minutes, literally. I spent most of the day leaned over Billboard magazine trying to read the fine print and had a splitting headache. Around 3:00 my boss told me he'd be gone for about an hour (read: two hours) and to cover his phone line. The only problem with that is his line doesn't ring in the Big Boss' offices so every time a phone rang, I'd come running out and over to his desk, only to find it a) wasn't his line, or b) the person had hung up already. While I was doing all that running back and forth, I noticed the heel on my favorite shoes (just about the only heels I've ever owned that are almost comfortable) is one more drunken night away from breaking; so much so that I can HEAR it creaking and breaking off. So for two hours I ran back and forth answering phones, or trying to answer phones that weren't mine. And for two hours I thought my bladder would explode, because I couldn't leave the phones unattended to go to the bathroom.
By 5:00 I was already counting down the minutes until I could leave. Half an hour later, Vin came in my office and told me he was going to have to leave at 6:30 for an hour (read: two hours) and could I stay until 7:30? Yea sure fine, I said, because after all, I was about an hour late that day. I should've known that was all lies, because he left and by 8:10 I was still sitting there waiting for him to come back. Finally I just called and told him I was going to leave, because by this point, I was STARVING. So I made it home and ordered food from the diner downstairs.
Waiting for my food felt like it took hours and I seriously considered snagging a french fry off a waiter's tray more than once, but finally it was ready. I paid, and I went upstairs to my room, my mouth was watering by this point. But once again, the magnetic strip on my room keycard had been deactivated (this happens about two or three times a week, oh how I love EHS) and I was locked out. So I had to go upstairs to get my key fixed while holding my piping hot food, I'm surprised I made it without any burns! I get in my room, throw my shoes off, put on the most comfortable t-shirt I own, sit down in silence and open my food. Surprise, surprise..it's the wrong order. So I go BACK downstairs, in my turtle shirt and really not giving a damn asked them fix my order. At this point, I really wanted to cry. It was past 9 by the time I sat down to eat, and by 10:00 I set out to start working on job #2. And I worked, and worked and worked until 1 AM.
All I could say yesterday, over and over was, I HATE today!
It was a horrible, no good, very bad day and I am glad that it is over.
So ever since Evan told Vin he thought I called out of work because I was tired of coming to work and not doing anything, I've been getting asked to do some pretty weird things. I didn't notice until today, but it was like my boss forgot how to do things for himself over the weekend. My boss was still an intern when I interviewed for my job, so he's pretty new to this whole thing and probably used to doing things for other people, not having other people do things for him. And this is why I thankfully never get sent out on errands for things like some kind of coffee from Starbucks that I can't pronounce, or $20 packs of cigarettes.
I was pretty tired today and decided fairly early this morning I was going to work slowly this morning, especially because I don't have much to do! Around 12:30, Vin sent me a bunch of seperate lists of TV ratings and asked me to combine and organize them. Okay...done in 5 minutes. Next? Then he asked me to open his mail, which I thought was pretty weird because I didn't even know he GOT mail, and here he comes over to my desk with a huge stack! So I opened all those, and sorted them out by producer or songwriter and put them in their respective binders. Then he sent me to the mailroom twice, oh how I love riding the elevator all day! After that he asked me to listen to a CD someone sent in for a demo submission. It was pretty bad, but any second I get to pretend to be an A&R is okay with me.
A little while later he went out for lunch and came back with Billboard magazine (a magazine I love and wish everyday of my life I had the money to subscribe to and the time to read). He casually mentioned that he was thinking I should spend about an hour or so everyday looking at the charts and taking note of the top producers and songwriters, because these are things "we should know." He took that a step further and said that I should make a list of the Hot 100 so that we could have on file all the top producers and songwriters of each week. I didn't mind this because at least its something to do every week. Then I started working on the list and realized I'm going to need a magnifying glass to be able to read that tiny writing! I did that fairly quickly too and then around 5:00, he asked me to clean up and organize all of the binders we have for our artists and producers. I've noticed these binders are rarely used and sit on my desk, not his, so I couldn't really understand why they needed to be organized! But I did that too, and went above and beyond by alphabetizing them!
I don't mind being given these things to do, really I don't, because this is the whole point of going to the office every morning instead of working from my coveted bed. But I can't help but think that my boss really struggles to find things for me to do, although I admire his effort to make this internship more interesting for me. He does conclude every task he gives me with something along the lines of, "this is good for A&R's to do too, Evan does it."
Well, if Evan does it, then let the work begin!
*Secret Admirer is a new feature on InternChick where I will discuss some major players in the industry who I look up to and admire for one reason or another.
I've been admiring Irv Gotti since I was 15 and his Murder Inc. was OWNING the Billboard charts (at one point, 3 of his artists had Top Ten singles all at one time). But like every leader, his success was a long time coming. He'd been producing hit records and developing monster artists since the 90's and eventually caught the eye of Def Jam and the real story began. He started Murder Inc. and was on top of Hip-Hop for a while. Eventually you get to a point where you're so successful you have nowhere to go but down. And down he went, but that hasn't stopped him from putting the places in order for his comeback.
One of my first goals in the music industry was to have my own record label and Irv Gotti made it look SO easy. He made me want to do it even more. Irv never tries to be anybody but who he is and people who are able to stay humbled after huge successes are few and far between. He's not overtly flashy and doesn't give off that "do you know who I am" vibe. Irv Gotti is the type of executive who keeps a hand on everything, from developing an artist, to producing their records, to creating a concept for their album, to pushing their single to radio, to marketing that album. He's one of the few people left in the Hip-Hop game who are still doing this because they love it, which is apparent by his refusal to give up even after his recent failures. If I could have just 1/5 of his success, I would be a happy lady because he was able to define his own sound and brand his label into something that exuded superior music.
Check him out as he explains how he runs his label:
Check him out as he explains how he runs his label:
This weekend I went to visit some friends back at college to celebrate one of my old roommates', Rena's, birthday. I woke up at an awful hour on Friday morning and hopped on a bus...stylish, I know. There was free wireless on the bus, unfortunately, it made me car sick so after about 10 minutes, I had to put the computer away. No one sat next to me on the bus, so even though we had to pull over at one point so the driver could fix his side mirrors (this was after we'd been on the bus for over an hour, I couldn't help but wonder if he hadn't been able to see that whole time), I couldn't complain. I surprised my roommate and then the next night we had a party for her. It was good to see her and my other roommates; I was glad I decided to go.
I realized that while I'm out here in New York and my friends are either interning while living on campus or going to class, I forget that I'm still a student. Normally I am glad to be away from school and love being able to work and get a taste of what's ahead of me. The closer I get to graduation though, the more I want to stay in school and take it easy. It was a nice to be reminded that college awaits me when I'm done here, and I get one last 4 month chance to do homework instead of work late nights on a deadline. Or to call people all day to plan a fun Friday night out instead of spend the day on a conference call. I'm not saying I want to be in school forever, but sometimes you have to pull over and adjust your mirrors to get a better view of where you've been, and where you're headed..
Yesterday as soon as my boss got to work, he asked me how I was feeling, then he asked if I went to the studio last night. I was glad he asked because I was waiting for some type of consoling words from him as to why I was left hanging the night before. I told him what happened and he agreed that that was very strange and it was probably nothing. I took his word for it, and he also told me that the A&R (who will now be known as Evan) had talked to him yesterday and had said that maybe I called out of work because I am sick of not being able to do any real/interesting work. Vin told him that he didn't think so, but obviously if he was telling me this, he needed me assurance.
Does anyone else get this much drama when they miss a day of work and work from home anyway?????
I assured him that I really was not well yesterday, and he didn't doubt me. But just to make sure, I reminded him of when I came to work after the cranberry juice incident last week. The day carried on as usual after that...yesterday was my favorite day of the week, Stipend Day, where all the interns gather around HR and collect their $40. I'm proud to say I am always the first one in line! Later in the day I had to go to the scene of my first internship to run an errand. It was very strange being back in that building, taking that same elevator up to the lobby, and then taking the other same elevator up to the offices.
Being in that place put me right back to where I was 2 years ago when I was working there and I realized how far I've come. I can still remember nervously riding that elevator for my interview, trying to compose myself. I remembered where everything was and what floors everything was on. Its always a good thing to be able to look at where you've come and assess how far you've gotten. It gave me that little extra push to keep on truckin' ;-)
This morning I woke up and I was POSITIVE a tiny gremlin had crawled in my stomach in the middle of the night and was now trying to escape using an ice pick. No, it was just cramps, how I love having that feeling for two days straight. I started getting ready for work, I felt pretty awful but I've never once called out of work and I've gone in spite of much worse ailments. I got about half way through straightening my hair before I realized that work could not happen today. I quickly IMed a few of my male friends and called my boyfriend and said, "hello good morning, do men know what cramps are??" The men I've dated usually grew up only around women and know what cramps are, but I don't know if a regular guy does! I found out they did, and proceeded with the awkward task of e-mailing my boss to tell him I cannot come in today because I have cramps. I told him I would work from home, and that he could call or e-mail me, and I took my half straightened hair back to bed.
I woke up a few hours later after the aspirin had worn off. I still felt pretty guilty about not going to work today, but my boss e-mailed me and told me he understood (I don't think he does, but it was a nice touch) and to feel better. So I took it easy, watched a bad movie on HBO, and caught up on some work. Then the A&R called me. I thought I was seeing things when his name came up on my caller ID, I told myself I'd lay off on the aspirin for a while. Our conversation went like this:
Me: Hello? (In that awkward, am I in trouble, voice)
A&R: You don't SOUND sick
Me: What??????
A&R: Vin told me you were sick today, you sure don't sound sick.
Me: Oh, I have really bad cramps. I felt horrible this morning
A&R: Oh, I see. Well thats too bad you're sick today, I told Vin after we talked yesterday that I was going to steal you today. I need to be in two places at once and I can't do that, so I was gonna have you go somewhere for me.
Me: (thinking: OMG, is this what I get for calling out? What a dirty trick God! I've never skipped work once in my life and the first time I do, this is what I miss?!?) Ohh wow, are you serious??
A&R: Yea, but I mean if you're sick....can't you take some aspirin and get up?
Me: Yea, I can do that. I felt pretty bad this morning, but I'm doing a little better (totally lying because I still felt pretty horrible, and this phone conversation was making me nauseous as well)
A&R: Well not if you're sick, are you really laid up like that?
Me: No, no its fine. Where do you want me to meet you???
A&R: Well actually, I've got a couple of errands to run downtown, so I'll call you, BYE!
Whoa...what do I do first? Do I shower? Do I do a little dance? Maybe a cartwheel? How much time do I have? Knowing my luck, if I rush, he won't call for hours, if I don't rush, he'll call back in ten minutes. So I started to get dressed and finished up what I was working on. I was pretty sure my boss was going to be slightly annoyed that I was too sick to go work for him, but that I jump up when this guy asks me. But I just spent 45 minutes talking to this guy yesterday about how bad I want to A&R!! So I waited, and waited. And waited...
I called him about an hour and a half after he called me, no answer. So I laid down; I hate waiting by the phone. I fell asleep and woke up just a little while ago, he never called. Was this a test to see if I'd be willing to go work? I doubt it, he's too busy for nonsense. Did I do something wrong, besides not go into work today? I feel so let down, like its my birthday party and no one showed up.
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