August 26, 2009

Today was the first day of my internship at the magazine, Family Circle in New York City. I woke up at 6:30 AM, chugged some coffee, showered, and put on my new bright red shift-dress, still wrinkled, to my horror, despite an hour of ironing the night before! At least the commute was smooth, and my walk down East 42nd street, passing all the typical flashy- tourist attracting signs and Bryant Park, was quite pleasant (nevermind the sweltering heat).

Overall, the day was interesting, but Definitely not what I had expected. I suppose I had anticipated some big introduction to everyone around the office, and a thorough explanation of all the workings of the company… but I quickly realized that no such orientation was going to occur. I exchanged a few perfunctory greetings with my supervisor, Claire, sat down at my cubicle, and began following the directions I was given to submit a ticket to the IT department to set up my phone. Claire is nice and seems to be quite an interesting character, all the while maintaining that typical No-Nonsense-New Yorker attitude. That is precisely why I often feel hesitant to ask for clarification, because I’m afraid of that, are-you-some-kind-of-idiot stare. Then again, maybe I’m just over-thinking the whole affair.

Since I couldn’t log into excel or word all day, and IT refused to show up (which may or may not have been my fault), I sat at my desk awkwardly all morning and filed papers in the afternoon. One definite mistake I made was forgetting to pack a lunch. By noon I was starving, but didn’t feel like going outside and dealing with the city’s exorbitant prices.

Tomorrow I will hopefully have a computer and begin fixing an excel spreadsheet of PR contacts and products, such as “Boost” a kid’s version of ensure (blehh). I’m not even really sure what else I will be doing, but whatever it is, I will try my best to do a good job. I will also pack a lunch… And finally, positively no more cheap shoes!