Lost Ones

0 comments Posted by Intern Chick at 10:08 PM

Oh how I love Tuesdays...they go by so quickly, its my FAVORITE.  Today was no exception.  I was late for work, but so was my boss.  I did send him a text to let him know I'd be late, only to find out once I got to the office that he wasn't even there yet!  I blew my own cover, smoooooth.  It didn't matter though, I did my usual mindless routines and around 4 Vin said he had some errand to do and he'd be back in an hour.  What?  Can you even do that???  I guess he did.  I don't even have to say this, but, he wasn't back for an hour and a half.


While he was gone the A&R called and asked me to come bring him something he left at the office.  So I waited for my boss to get back and then went over to the studio he was at.  The place didn't actually have a door, it was just an elevator on the street, with a nice fellow who was clearly hammered (his breath smelt like raspberry liquor) operating the elevator.  One of the more shady set-ups I've seen for a music office.  With the exception of a listening party I did at a studio last year, this was my first time to really BE in one.  He told me to come in and sit down, and I got to stare like a kid in a candy store at all the soundboard.  I think at one point my mouth was hanging open, and I'm pretty sure the three guys there took notice.  I stayed for 45 minutes talking to him about my current situation, how I really want a job in A&R.  He broke it down for me and told me I have to accept the fact that I may not take the direct path to where I want to be (this I already know, but its nice for someone else to tell me because after awhile, telling myself that just starts to sound like an excuse), and that I just have to keep networking.  I was glad he took the time out to talk to me and that he was so inviting, telling me I could come through any time work is slow.

I left feeling a little better about everything.  Where he started out and where he is now are so far from each other, but he made it here, and thats what matters.  So my confidence was back up and I got back in the elevator and descended back down to the street to my raspberry breathed friend.  One problem--it was late by the time I left and gate had pulled down over the entrance of the elevator..and I was stuck.  I didnt' know how else to get out, so I had to stop on every floor until I found a stairwell and an exit sign.  Like the A&R said, it won't always be a direct path to get to where you have to go, but I made it out to the other side.

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Two Days, One Problem

0 comments Posted by Intern Chick at 6:50 PM

Let's face it, getting an internship in A&R for me, for whatever reason, is impossible.  It doesn't mean I'm going to give up, but it means that I'm at my wits end here, and I'd really like to walk myself into someone's office and kick and scream until that someone hires me.  Not very effective, I know.  I haven't had such a hard time getting an internship since my very first one, when I had no experience.  But I have experience now...I mean...free help with experience, how much more could you ask for??  But apparently, there's something I'm not doing right, and I know exactly what it is.


My current internship has me on lock down.  I go in there three days a week only, and sit at my desk, and waste away (I really am trying to make the best of it, ever since I posted about it).  So when I send people my resume, or mention where I've worked, they're completely excited about it.   Then the big question comes..."what's your availability?"  I think every time I've told someone I'm only available two days a week they've had to stifle the belly laugh rising from their throats.  They think that the time spent training me, or should I say "wasted" (probably their word, definitely not mine) will not be worth the time that I can put in.  What they don't know is I'd do anything for that internship--hell, I'd come in the office every day and give them a foot rub just to be given the opportunity to network with other A&R's.  

I can't necessarily leave my current internship...is that even in the rule book??  I keep hoping for it to get better...I keep hoping for someone who will give me that chance, that 2-day-a-week chance to prove myself.  So last night, I sent out 6 messages, 6 because it is my lucky number (yes, I completely realize the ridiculousness of this, but like I said--I'm at my wits end here!).  So far, one person has read the message and not responded, 2 people have asked me to send over my resume, and I'm still waiting on the other 3.  If something doesn't come out of this, I think I might just have to turn my resume into a billboard sized sign, dress in some crazy get up, a la Naked Cowboy in Times Square, and wait outside someone's office for that chance.

Someone please tell me this is a bad idea--the more I think about it, the more normal it seems.  

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Party Like A Rockstar

1 comments Posted by Intern Chick at 8:36 PM

I survived my first music industry event (as a guest, not as someone working at the event!).  One of my friends from home came out to NY to come with me, and we met up with a girl I used to intern with.  I'm pretty sure we almost died in the cab, this was after the driver almost hit someone somewhere on Broadway.  We got there right when the party started, because I heard it was going to get packed pretty quickly, and that they'd stop letting people in.   You know how it is when you first show up to a party or a bar and its early still, everyone was awkwardly standing around, not really sure what to do, taking long sips of their drinks after every sentence spoken.  People loosened up somewhere around 8:00.  


I should probably mention what the event was, if I haven't already.  One of my old bosses was going to this listening party for Slim from the R&B group 112, and told me to come along.  His solo debut comes out later this year and I got to hear it last night.  The longer you work in the industry, the more people you know, and the more events you get invited to.  When I first started, I got invited to the less interesting events that no one wanted to go to.  You have to go to these things and work your way up, just like everything else.  And I'm sure there are even cooler things I have yet to be invited to.  The party started at 7, and there was open bar until 9, and it ended around 10.  They started to play the CD when it was almost 9:00, and I really liked what I heard.  He was very humble and seemed pretty down to earth for someone who's been in this game for so long, and who has been so successful at it.  

I tried to network as much as I could but there wasn't anyone there for me really.  The first person I talked to went on a 10 minute spiel about how its important to work your way up in the industry, and as a female, to not sleep around to get to the top (like I don't know this).  At first I smiled and took in what he had to say, then I thought for a minute--does something about me scream "I sleep around for promotions?"  I am nothing like that at all--but maybe it was the red heels that gave him that vibe.  Overall, it was a great time and I'm glad I got to go.  

The most important thing you should know about attending any kind of work, or career, related event, especially one where there is alcohol, is to remember that you are amongst your colleagues (even if you don't work at the same place with them, as was my case last night, you will no doubt run into them again).  I generally apply this rule:  If I wouldn't do it in the day time, I shouldn't be doing it now.  That way, you regret nothing you've done the night before.  You'll know you've mastered this when you're able to have a good time and not wake up embarrassed the next day.

I learned a valuable lesson of my own last night/this morning--and that is, my stomach can no longer handle cranberry juice.  It is just too bad that I had to find this out the hard way, after choosing to stick with the "safe" drink (a.k.a. vodka and cranberry juice).  Work today felt like what I can only imagine a slow painful death must feel like.  But, I am a firm believer in not calling out of work because you are too tired, too sick, or had too much fun the night before.  So I stuck it out, slowly--I knew my day wasn't going to be good when after walking my friend to the train this morning, the strip on my room card somehow got deactivated, and I was locked out, in my pajamas, and already running late for work...

Ahh, the life of an Intern.

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Intern Chick Twitters

0 comments Posted by Intern Chick at 12:38 AM

Intern Chick is on Twitter!!  Let me just say, I hate Twitter and I think its the dumbest thing to become popular recently.  Are we that disconnected that instead of calling my friends and talking about what I am doing, I need to tell a twitter page?  Whatever...I'm on there and I have no idea how to use it, but my fellow Twitter-er and Twitter-ettes, add me!!  Then help me use it!


Here's my Twitter link:  http://twitter.com/internchick

There's not much to post today...I've been doing work for that 2nd job I told you about since the minute I walked in the door tonight...I didn't even get to go to the gym!  And now I'm standing here trying on possible jeans to wear to a listening party tomorrow night.  I'm very excited because this is the first time in my life I get to attend an event and have fun, instead of working at one.  And the two hour open bar isn't too shabby either.  I'm going with a couple of my friends and it should be a great time!  Keep your fingers crossed for me that I'll meet someone that can get me that A&R Internship I'm searching for.  Remember, its all about networking!  I'll post all about it on Thursday!

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5 Songs That Changed My Life

0 comments Posted by Intern Chick at 9:40 PM

If you haven't figured this out by now, music has been my life for as long as I can remember, and it always will be (hopefully).  Here's my list of the 5 songs that made the whole music thing something I couldn't walk away from.


1.  The Hallelujah Chorus - from Handel's "Messiah" (performed by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra*)   Listen to the Hallelujah Chorus

I couldn't have been more than 4 years old.  I heard this song one year around Christmas on the radio and there was just something about it.  I had to have it.  My mom went to every store our small little city had, asking for a version, ANY version, of this song.  It was the impossible quest, but she found it eventually.  I can still remember what the cover of the cassette looked like, and I played it relentlessly.  I can't say exactly what the reason was, maybe it was all those instruments being played so loudly all at once, maybe it was the passion the choir sang with.  This was my first favorite song, and began the never ending quest for the next song that gave me that feeling.

2.  "The Christmas Song" - Nat "King" Cole (album: tons)  Listen to The Christmas Song

I don't know what it was about Christmas when I was little that got me into music more than the rest of the year (ha), but my parents had this song on vinyl, and I can remember what the cover looked like.  I loved his voice.  Nat's voice instilled a very early love for classic crooners in me, and made me become very aware of the fact that music of the past was not to be overlooked.  I still have a deep appreciation for singers like him, Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, Tony Bennett, and countless others.

3.  "I Remember" -Boyz II Men (album: The Remix Collection) Listen to "I Remember"

This was one of the first CDs I got.  Boyz II Men was also the first artist that I fell madly in love with.  I still remember the first time I heard Boyz II Men, my sister had their CD "II" playing on her stereo and the song "Thank You" was playing, I was an instant fan. As soon as Shawn Stockman's voice comes in on this song, I felt everything I ever wanted to say but didn't know how.  The song is on some Mike Jones "back then they didn't want me, now I'm hot they all on me," sh*t.  I was young and knew nothing about this, but it spoke to me.  I knew I had never heard people sing harmony like that, I didn't even know it was called harmony then!  This song is why I want to do the A&R thing, and why I've wanted to do it since the time I was 6 or 7.  I wanted to hear more artists like Boyz II Men, I wanted to be apart of the making of that music; I wasn't going to let it go.  Even now, when I start to get discouraged, I throw this song on and instantly remember why I'm here.

4.  "Big Poppa" - The Notorious B.I.G. (album:  Ready to Die) Watch "Big Poppa"

I wanted to list Junior M.A.F.I.A.'s "Player's Anthem" here, but my first introduction to Biggie was his video for this song.  I can still remember that brown hat and jacket he wore, and seeing him sitting in that booth in the club, exuding cool.  This wasn't my first introduction to Hip-Hop, but it might've been the first rap video I saw, definitely the first one I remember seeing.  I couldn't get that beat out of my head, and his whole look in the video stayed imprinted on my brain.  I wanted more of this coolness he so easily carried with him.

5.  "Changes" - Tupac (album: Greatest Hits)  Watch "Changes"

I think I saw the video for this before I heard the song.  I remember when Tupac (and Biggie, for that matter) died, and I remember being kind of shocked that one day he was here and the next he wasn't.  This song came out a few years later, and this was probably the first time I realized how talented he was; I couldn't ignore this song, as soon as the the sample from Bruce Hornsby's "The Way It Is" dropped, I was all ears.  I became aware of 'Pac's lyrical ability and the way he rapped about how bad things were but was able to uplift his listeners by urging them to do something about it.  That spoke to me, loudly, and made me appreciate Hip-Hop for what it was meant to be in its purest form:  a positive outlet for social commentary and change.


There you have it, my list of songs that left me with something I still carry today.  There are more, but I wanted to keep it short, because I could talk about music forever.  Two others that I won't get into...."I Used to Love H.E.R." by Common, and "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five (two songs every Hip-Hop fan should know and love)
 

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Housekeeping

0 comments Posted by Intern Chick at 10:28 PM

I never understood why my professors called it "housekeeping" when they needed to address issues like when to hand in homework, or how class was going to be run the next month, etc etc.  I don't know what I would call it, but housekeeping wouldn't be my first choice...to me that word evokes cleaning up a house and we are not in a house nor are we cleaning anything up!


So, for lack of a better word, I need to take care of some "housekeeping."  Tell me your thoughts on my blog.  I've been posting for about a month now and I'd like to know what you like, what you don't like, what you want to hear more of, what you want to hear less of, and any cool ideas you have to make the blog more interesting and exciting.  For those of you new to blogger or don't have a blogger account, simply click "comment" under this post and on the new page that comes up, select the bubble for Name/URL and you're good as gold!

I'm gone til Monday or Tuesday so enjoy your weekend! =)

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You Want Me To Do What??

0 comments Posted by Intern Chick at 10:28 PM

It wasn't even like I rolled out of the wrong side of the bed this morning, I got up on the wrong, wrong WRONG side of the bed.  I was not in the mood for anything, and I had to coax myself to actually get on with my day, telling myself I only had to make it to 7:00 and the weekend would be MINE.  On my way to work, I got an email from Vin* telling me he was going to be late today (surprise, surprise) and to let the Big Boss know;  I slowed down my pace and took my time getting to work.  The morning was quiet; the phones didn't ring too much, and I didn't have any real work to do, so I pretty much relaxed until almost 2:00.  Once Vin got in, the day went by a little faster, he asked me to rush compiling a discography (in Photoshop, the bane of my existence) for one of our producers.  I did it as fast as I could, but I'm almost positive my computer is slowly crashing, and my irrational thoughts are confirmed every time it freezes and the fan starts whirling.  I finished the discography and a few hours later, that same producer needed copies of every license that had been given out for one of his songs in the past 12 months.


This is all fine and well except that my understanding of publishing and licensing is limited; I have the attention span of a goldfish when people try to explain it.  We have a big binder for each producer of all their licenses, then one with records of royalties paid, and things of that nature.  The producer only needed the synchronization licenses (which are licenses given out for songs to be put, or synched with, movies, TV shows, or commercials).  As Vin was trying to explain this to me, I could feel my eyes turn into glazed donuts and my mind went into panic mode: "Crap, what did he say?  Do I or do I not copy this part?  Which part of this stack is the license and which part is the request?  Damnit, what did he just say??"  Our conversation about it went something like this:

Vin: So I need you to make copies of all of the producer's synch licenses
Me: Umm...(thinking, maybe if I'm quiet enough he'll elaborate here)
Vin:  So, can you make a copy of the request for the license, and then the check that it was paid. 
Me:  So I don't need to copy this (pointing to my Big Boss' signature for approval of the license)
Vin:  No, just the request and the check
Me:  Um.... (again, hoping if I keep quiet enough he'll explain again)  
Vin:  Okay, THIS is a license, THIS is the request for the license, THIS is the approval, I need you to copy the request and that it was approved
Me:  Wait, I thought you said I didn't need to copy that????
Vin:  Well, you need to copy the check if there is no signature that it was approved
Me:  WHAT??????
Vin:  (having lost his patience about 5 minutes ago)  You know what?  Just copy the whole thing, all of it
Me:  Okay, so as an example, I would copy this and this and this (pointing to the next group of papers in the binder)
Vin:  Umm...thats not a license, thats a list of budgets for studio time...its not supposed to be in this binder, but no, don't copy that.  Just copy ALL the licenses from the past 12 months (he gets up and leaves)

I continue to sit there, trying to sort through that little gem of a conversation, and thinking in my head how AMAZING my boss is at explaining things that I've never before seen or heard of in my life, NOT.  I start thumbing through the binder and notice there's only one license from the past year, the following ones are from 2003 (I was still in high school!).  So when he gets back, I tell him this, because in my head, I'm thinking this means I only have to make one copy and I've just dodged what could have been an absolute mess.  Instead, he tells me to copy everything from the last four years.......great.  I slowly walk to the copy machine as if I'm approaching the edge of a cliff.  I'm still confused about what exactly I'm supposed to be doing, he told me to copy three different things and then said copy EVERYTHING.  I can't ask again because I'm pretty sure he'd fire me for being annoying and stupid.  I start copying things and notice that the licenses are completely out of order, one page is from 2003, the next is from 2008, and the next from 2005.  I made an educated guess about which parts to copy and which to skip, and it took me about an hour and a half to get through the entire binder.  By 7:10 Vin came over and made a small joke about how it was taking so long--if only he knew it looked like someone dropped the binder out of a 20th story window and then collected the papers from the street and put them back in random order.  I got it done though, and hopefully I got it done right.

One of the hardest things about working is being given a task that you don't understand at all, and being given unclear direction.  One of the hardest things about working in the music industry is figuring out how to do it without asking anyone for help, because all your bosses are too busy to deal with your "dumb" questions.  As much as I hate it, I actually learned something about licensing today.


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A Real Live Internship

0 comments Posted by Intern Chick at 10:47 PM

Today work actually felt like a real internship...being given a list of seemingly impossibly tasks, having a deadline for said tasks, having my boss unload unwanted CDs on me, etc.  The only thing that was missing was being sent out on some ridiculous errand, or maybe a, "Could you get me a cup of coffee?"  The first half of the day did go by extremely slow, as I suspected it would, and I was half an hour late!  


When I got to work I started working on the same boring project I've been working on for the past month, which involves a lot of Adobe Photoshop and a lot of googling how to use Adobe Photoshop (and a lot of cursing).  After a few hours, Vin* e-mailed me a list of A&Rs grouped together by what record label they worked at, and asked me to figure out if they were based in New York and LA.  It sounds easy enough, except that all the listings of A&R's on the Internet are about a year old and in today's record industry, people hire and fire new staff as if it was just a matter of changing their shirt.  After a while, I started to feel like a stalker--trying to find out if these people were on Myspace or Facebook, and then wondering to myself..."I wonder if I could get their phone numbers...and then be able to tell from the area code."  

I was almost done with the list when the A&R strolled in.  Its been about two weeks since I've seen him, and from our conversations on the phone, it seemed as if he turned mean while he was away.  Or was just extremely nice that one day.  Either way, I was dreading him coming into the office, and when he came up to our floor, I didn't even turn around to face him.  But I was surprised when he came up to me and said:

A&R: "Intern Chick, right?"
Me:  "Yep, how are you?"
A&R:  "I'm good, how have you been?"
Me:  "Just fine, thanks"
A&R:  "I'm back, did you miss me?"

Wow, a "how are you" and a small joke from him, maybe this wouldn't be so bad.  About 10 minutes after he arrived, I received an e-mail with another list, this time of songwriters and producers (many of whom I have never heard of) and was asked to compile a final list with every songwriter and producer and their three biggest hits (the part about their three biggest hits was added after I compiled about 10 songs for the first 5 artists, what a waste of time).  This sounded way easier than the A&R list I was working on, and I jumped on working on it.  Then, around 4:00, I realized most of these producers were unknown and it was going to take some serious searching to find them.  That was fine except that at 4:30, Vin let me know that A&R guy needed this list by 6:00 to present to the big CEO.  Great.  I wasn't even halfway done at this point, and my computer kept freezing, not to mention that while I was typing with one hand, I was calling and making appointments for my other boss for my other job I wrote about yesterday.  Some producers I would spend about 20 minutes researching, and then he would stroll over and say, "Woops, you don't have to do him, he's one of my artists, so I know all his tracks.  Sorry about that!"  After the 3rd time, I couldn't even pretend to smile anymore.

I was done except for three people, and was fearing walking into his office and saying, "Hey, A&R, I'm sorry, I'm past that silly little deadline you set for me, and woops, some of these people are unable to be found!"  I just went in there and said it really fast, waiting for him to jump over the desk and bite my head off.  He was quiet, then he lifted his hand up high, and I winced as he slammed it down on the desk.  Then he smiled and said, "Its okay, just send me what you got."  He filled in the rest of the list and sent it back so I could print it out and give him the final copy.

Maybe he knows I've interned for a long time and that if I couldn't do it, it can't be done.  Maybe he saw the look of horror on my face as he slammed his fist down on that poor desk.  Who knows.  He was actually very kind to me today, but now I'm scared he'll turn mean again as soon as I least expect it, just like everyone in the music industry loves doing.

As tedious as the day was, it was nice to feel like a real intern again.  All the multitasking and the stress of completing a really hard project before the deadline made me remember why I love working in the music industry so much.  I live for that feeling when you slap down that project that was thought impossible on your boss' desk, and all that pressure and stress is instantly gone as soon as your boss mumbles a "yea, thanks," because secretly they thought you couldn't do it.

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The Juggling Act

0 comments Posted by Intern Chick at 11:07 PM

So today was my first day really trying to care about my internship and applying 100% of myself.  Its hard when my Big Boss is out on medical leave and her assistant (we'll call him Vin* from now on), Vin shows up about an hour late for work.  But, the day did go by pretty fast because I stayed focus on the menial tasks I was doing, instead of complaining to myself about how much I hate doing it.  


Today, one of our producers came in to meet with the A&R I wrote about earlier.  In music though, just because you have a meeting scheduled, it doesn't mean the person will really show up.  So the producer played some tracks for Vin and talked to him for about 2 1/2 hours, and I got to eavesdrop.  It was pretty cool because I've never met a producer before, and he was only signed about 2-3 months ago so he is still really passionate about what he's doing and isn't jaded yet.  He also used to engineer so he really knows his equipment and his beats come out sounding crisp and clear.  The beats he played were his newest stuff and he had a really wide variety of sounds.  Even though I never was really into production before, it is interesting to hear a producer talk about the process of the beat being made and what his vision for the song is.  As much as I enjoyed my first meeting with the A&R, I'm kind of glad he wasn't in today because I have a feeling he is going to take over and work my ass into shape.  I'll appreciate it after the fact, but its never fun when you're getting yelled at for irrelevant things.

I should also mention that I made a decision this morning to make it more of a priority to get this other, part time, A&R internship.  No one is going to do it for me, and the more people I can meet this year, the better chance I have of getting a job when I graduate in May.  So tonight I hit up a couple of people artfully begging for a chance to work with them...hopefully I'll hear something back and if not, I'll be doing the same thing tomorrow night and the night after that until something pops off.  In addition to that, I'm also working for my boss from my internship last year doing internet marketing.  I've mentioned before that I hate internet marketing, but she pays me a small amount every week, and the work is acting like an introduction to being an assistant, something that I will more than likely be doing next year at this time.  So aside from doing the internet marketing for an R&B singer who's album comes out next month, I set up meetings and make phone calls for my old boss.

The real question is, can I throw another job into my juggling act here and keep everything perfectly balanced?  Stay tuned folks :)

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Do Work!

0 comments Posted by Intern Chick at 7:27 PM

One of the most important things to understand when you're interning is that you are going to have to do things you don't want to do.  And because as an intern you are the lowest of low, its better to just do these things instead of complaining about them (within reason, of course).  As an intern, you will be put through hell and sent on impossible errands just to prove your worth and one day, they won't matter anymore.  After that day, you'll be treated just like everyone else and a new intern will come into the picture.  In the past, I've done plenty of things I just didn't feel like doing, or been assigned projects I thought were completely useless, and I've done them well.  Maybe I've done one useless task too many, maybe I'm just ready to be more than an intern, but this time around, I'm finding it harder than ever to give 110% of myself to my job.  But I've realized that its not going to get any better on its own, and that you have to create opportunities when there are none presented to you.  So as I start my 4th week of my internship, I'm really going to apply myself like I have in the past.  I'm going to make it my priority to be the best intern my bosses have had, instead of spending the day thinking up ways to make the time go by faster.  And hopefully, as in the past, some amazing opportunities will arise.  Remember, you can only take out what you put in.

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Not quite a New Yorker

0 comments Posted by Intern Chick at 10:40 PM

This weekend my first visitor came, and it was my obligation to show him around and make the 4+ hour bus ride worth while (I won't mention here the run-around I was given by the hotel and EHS after they lost the paperwork I filled out for my guest to stay here).  I've only been here about three weeks, and although I did live here last year, the friends I made then aren't people I see very often, and I wasn't 21 last year, so I don't exactly know the hot spots that New York has to offer.  And herein lies my dilemma, I'm not quite a real New Yorker, but I'm definitely not a tourist.  So I had to get a little creative. On Friday night we went to the Mets game against the Braves.  I got us great seats the morning of the game and was really proud of myself that I thought of such a cool, "New York" thing to do on such short notice.  But then the skies opened up and it poured for hours on end.  We went to the game anyway, and luckily enough, our seats were not out in the open so we managed to stay dry, but after sitting there for 2 hours, the game was cancelled.  It takes about an hour each way on the 7 train...so Friday night ended up being what I like to call "a tour of the 7 line through Queens and back again."    


Saturday morning we ventured over to Chinatown because if there's one thing I do know, people come to New York to SHOP!  So we walked all the way up on one side of the street and then back down on the other.  On our way, my out of towner visitor stopped at a line of about 6 men with large suitcases each stuffed to the brim with Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci, and Coach bags, wallets, and purses.  While inspecting a wallet, there was a small mumble at one end of the line and the word went down through the line like The Wave at a football game and every single man closed up shop, zippered their suitcase and began talking as if they had been standing there all day, maybe waiting for a bus.  It turned out to only be a drill, and the man proceeded in trying to sell my friend the wallet.  We got out of Chinatown surprisingly with some money left to spare and had dinner over on the Upper East side, maybe even like real New Yorkers.  That night I fell asleep to the lull of "Chanel, Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Coach you like?" after hours spent in Chinatown.

And today we wandered aimlessly around Manhattan, stopping here or there at whatever store piqued our interest.  And I wondered, how long is it before you are no longer a tourist, or an extended stay visitor like myself, but a REAL New Yorker?

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Live It Up

0 comments Posted by Intern Chick at 9:31 PM

I turned on the TV this morning and was overcome with that sinking feeling of the remembrance that 7 years ago today it appeared as though the world was coming to an end.  I'll keep this short because I am a firm believer in looking towards the future and living life rather than looking back on it.  That day marked a kind of downward spiral in my life for probably the next 5 years or so; it was the first time I truly understood that I was not invincible, and neither was anybody else.  I watched as much as I could this morning of the 9/11 Tribute this morning while I got ready for work and I found it very touching that each person who lost their life on that day was remembered individually, rather than grouped together as they so often are.  New Yorkers were eerily quiet on my commute to work this morning, and I don't doubt the same thing was on each and every person's mind.  I hope none of us ever forget that day, but more importantly, that we all continue living despite the fears or sadness that day brought into our lives.

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One time, at work...

0 comments Posted by Intern Chick at 10:00 PM


Let's be real here--I have nothing to blog about today.  So, just some random happenings.  Last night I went to a bar with the girls I lived with last year while I was interning in New York.  It was so nice to see them, and for a minute, it felt like I was living with them again.  I came home and passed out, then woke up late this morning.  Let's just say I'm supposed to be at work at 11, and I woke up at 10:30.  I was too tired to move quickly, so I left my room at about 10 after 11 and then I saw it.  New York looked like someone was standing on the roof of my hotel dumping gallons of water on the street...I couldn't even stand inside and wait it out because I was late.  I walked as fast as I could to the train station but got soaked in the process.  While I was waiting for the train, I noticed everyone else was dry as a raisin, looking like they had beautiful sunshine on their walk to the train, while I look like I decided to roll around in a nearby lake.  I was pretty embarrassed when I walked in half an hour late to work this morning.  Normally I'd try to sneak in, but my shoes were making that loud squeaky noise, and as I approached my desk, my boss turned around, looked me up and down, and then went back to his computer.  And, because the temperature in the office is kept at an Arctic chill, I sat like water in an ice tray all day, slowing freezing.  That thick, muggy heat the subway stations are infamous for?  Yea, I was never so happy to stand in that in my life!


An internship story from my roommate back at school, Rena*, that I had to share:  Her office takes pictures of their new hires, mine did too.  On my first day, they brought out the digital camera, had me stand in front of a white wall, and took my picture (I still haven't seen it).  After her first week, they told her they needed to take her picture but that they would do it on Monday.  So, Rena came into work Monday morning to find a real-live photographer awaiting her, with the fancy lighting apparatus and everything.   He sat her down just like it was school picture day, or maybe work glamour shot day, and positioned her head a little to the left, brought her chin up.  And probably had a conversation I imagine went something like this:

Photographer:  "Yes, Rena, that's great!  gorgeous, Gorgeous, GORGEOUS!  Okay, now look this way, give it to me, ahh what a beautiful smile!  Look back at me now!  Perfect!"

30 or 40 frames later, Rena's photoshoot had ended and I'm willing to bet she was probably a little stunned from all that professional flashing and lighting.  As I wrote earlier this month, isn't work really just a fashion show anyway?  Now that Rena has her headshot, she's one step ahead of me!

Tomorrow, I'll write about something more cohesive, I promise :)

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Did I Do That???

0 comments Posted by Intern Chick at 2:09 PM

I don't work on Mondays.  I did however, set my alarm for work last night, and woke up when it went off and started getting ready for work.  Then I remembered it was Monday.  Thankfully, I realized this while still at the hotel, and did not actually go into work.  That would have been embarrassing.  Those of you that know me, know that I do things like this fairly often.  And so, in no particular order and from all past internships/jobs, here are some of my most embarrassing work moments.  Enjoy!


  • Getting stuck in the lobby of my office one night after the doors on either side had locked and having to call my office manager to let me out.
  • On one of my first days, I was introduced to some people in the marketing department.  One person I was introduced to looked so familiar to me, I was thinking in my head, "OMG!  I totally know her, why is she shaking my hand and introducing herself to me, I KNOW her!  She looks so familiar, where do I know her from though?"  I decided to play it cool and shook her hand like I didn't know her.  As I was walking away, I realized she looked so familiar because she had appeared on one of my favorite reality TV shows.  Thank God I didn't say I knew her, that would've been awkward!
  • Accidentally walking in front of a camera taping a TV show, and then hearing the producers angrily mumble how they can't use that footage and need to re-shoot.
  • Breaking the mail machine and not telling anyone.  Then when I went to use it a week later, it had been moved into the mailroom because people kept "breaking it and not telling anyone," and now with it being in the mailroom, employees were not allowed to touch it.  Woops!
  • Getting someone's contact info at a networking event and talking them for 30 minutes.  Then coming up to him about an hour later to introduce myself and ask if he'd heard about the company I was working for.  Then, nervously trying to pretend like I knew he was the guy I'd spent the past half an hour talking to.
  • Being asked by an interviewer, "So, tell me about yourself," and after mumbling and stuttering, I spit out, "Whoa thats hard...uhhhh, next question?"
  • Being given the nickname "Scrappy" by my coworkers because I was always tripping on the office carpeting.
  • Standing in the lobby talking to a group of coworkers and after announcing that I was going to do real work and they should too, walking right into a glass case so hard that I almost knocked it over.
  • Working at a really classy event and passing out gift bags from a very nicely decorated table.  Getting tangled in the table cloth, causing the gift bags, flowers, oh and candles, to fall off the table.
  • Tipping a delivery guy $20 of my boss' money by accident.  Then having to call the restaurant and ask to send the delivery guy back with my boss' money.  Then having to call back AGAIN after realizing they forgot my boss' soup and ask them to send someone back, for the third time.
  • Showing up to work after taking muscle relaxers the night before.  And after repeatedly telling my boss I was fine to do my job, falling asleep slumped over in my chair.

So there you have it, some of my most embarrassing moments.  Post me some of yours so I don't feel so bad!!

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My #1 Fan

1 comments Posted by Intern Chick at 12:47 AM

Last night I dreamt about my grandmother.  I never get to talk to her in my dreams, or touch her, or hear her voice.  I only see her, and its always as if she is blissfully unaware of her presence in my psyche.  I dream about her fairly often and I always awake from these dreams feeling sick with the remembrance that she is no longer physically here with me.  I feel that I got into college solely on the essay I wrote about her (particularly since my SAT scores were sub-par), in which I recounted my life long comparison of her to a butterfly.  I thought of her this way because late in her life, she decided to take her fate into her own hands and really started living.  She did what she wanted to, and filled her calendar with new and exciting things. 


My grandmother was one of my biggest critics when it came to my career choice.  It wasn't that she didn't respect music or the arts in general, she was a great music lover and an outstanding artist.  I'm not sure what it was.  I'm left only with the idea that she may have though I wasn't serious about this, or that maybe the passion wasn't there.   As my time in college went by, I think she started to see that my whole heart was in this.  I remember visiting her one day, and there was a record player in her living room, just for me.  I think that was when she understood I was serious.  I even sat in that same living room with her later that year, and talked for a good hour or two about Hip-Hop, why I love and hate it, and why I don't see myself doing anything else.  She seemed so delighted to have this conversation with me, and she quickly became my number one fan.  She too, worked in New York City a very long time ago, at a radio station, and I loved hearing her tell this story.  She adored this place, and I think was most happy that I did too.

Most of the time, when I was struggling on the road into the music industry, she was always in my mind.  I wanted to give up plenty of times, but I couldn't let my biggest-critic-turned-biggest-fan see me falter.  She was so excited about what I was doing and what lay ahead of me; she kept me motivated more than she could have ever known.  I stayed on track because I wanted her to keep rooting for me, and to no longer question my passion.  And as my dissatisfaction with my internship becomes increasingly more difficult to ignore, I need her cheering for me now more than ever.

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All the world's a stage, and my office is the catwalk

1 comments Posted by Intern Chick at 9:39 PM

My job is a fashion show.  The office hallways are mini runways, the employees are models, and the bathroom is the staging area.  My first day of work, I was handed a dress code and a paper to sign saying that I understood it.  I'm sure at real jobs, there is a dress code...but in Hip-Hop??  I had to look around the office to make sure I showed up for the right job!!  I did notice on my interview how fancy everyone was, but I thought I was just there on a special day (or maybe it was a special day because I was THERE!).  I noticed all the men wore what I have seen everyone wear to work in the past: jeans, a shirt, and some fly sneakers.  But the women were all wearing nice pants, heels (shoot me now) and the kind of nice shirts that I get tangled in when I even attempt to try them on.  I signed the dress code but it didn't make any sense to me...what are "fashion sneakers" and when it said "clean" how clean do they have to be, I mean, they do go on my feet right???  


That night I stared blankly into my closet until yellows and oranges began to blend together, and I could no longer tell the difference between black and navy blue.  I realized my $4 shirts from Conway that I rocked at work last year weren't going to cut it, and I had to get pretty creative with the outfits I wore last week.  As I said before, I am a sneaker freak and wearing heels to me is like a slow form of torture.  Over the weekend, I bought a couple new shirts (I only got tangled up in one while trying them on in the fitting room) and a nice $12 pair of heels from Payless.  Once again, this morning I stared into my closet with glazed-donut-eyes, and decided I'd wear one of my new shirts (the one I got tangled in).  So I put it on, found a pair of capris, and I actually had a pair of heels in the back of my closet that matched--but I walked to work in my Old Navy flip flops.  

I was almost to work when I encountered a typical New York guy:

NY Guy:  DAMN baby, you're looking REAL good today!
Me: (awkward "are you talking to me" look)  Yea...not for you
NY Guy:  mm mm MMM!  (stares me down as I walk away)

Usually when I sit at my desk, I realize whatever wack ass outfit I created won't be making the cut in the office fashion show and I swear I'll wear something cute tomorrow (it rarely happens).  But today I felt fairly good about my outfit and an hour after being there I walked to the bathroom.  As I left the bathroom, I did a quick look over the shoulder to see how I looked from different angles, but I noticed in the mirror behind me that hanging out of the back of my shirt, as if I were a mannequin, is a $17.90 price tag from H&M.  I hate to think how many people in Midtown, on the subway, on my walk to work, that guy I encountered on that walk, and in my office, snickered to themselves as I strutted by with my price tag.  

I think tomorrow I'll take a chance and wear my Jordans, maybe I'll find out if they're nice enough to be considered fashion sneakers and be in the office fashion show.

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