MONDAY:
The first time I went to New York City (as an adult, not a toddler who couldn’t remember it) I was wide-eyed and excited at the thought of navigating the intricate subway system. After over a year of visiting my brother, who lives in Brooklyn, I have learned how not to look like a tourist. I swipe the MetroCard that I have swiftly pulled out of my pocket instead of making a show of buying a card at the machines or taking 10 minutes to pull it out of my purse. I walk onto the platform and keep my eyes on the tracks, waiting for the Manhattan-bound F train. When it arrives at approximately 9:20 a.m., I board the train and avoid eye contact with my fellow passengers.
Everyone has a different avoidance technique: some people knit, some people stick their nose in a book, some people simply gaze consistently at the list of stops above the head of whoever is sitting across from them. As strange as it sounds, this is what I like about New York: everyone minds his or her own business. Everyone has something to do or somewhere to go and it is only polite to let him or her busy themselves in their knitting or their book or their thoughts. The conductor announces that we have arrived at Broadway-Lafayette. I hop off the train, slide sideways through the turnstile and turn the corner, where, four buildings down I will say good morning to the man at the front desk and ride the elevator to the fifth floor.
Today I had a few projects. I stuffed folders for a skincare product launch and made these cute little gift bags for each attendee of the dinner that night.
I also did the usual: sent out products to different companies and bloggers so they would hopefully review them and get our client noticed in the media. It was a fairly average day, nothing too wild. I feel like I’m getting the hang of how things run around CMM and it’s nice to know most people’s names and help with anything I can. My supervisor put me on a task to search a hashtag on an event that Urban Decay did for beauty bloggers, so I made a list of who posted using the hashtag and we are going to contact those bloggers and try to get them to review our clients’ products. I stayed an extra half-hour to complete the list because it drives me crazy to leave something half-finished.
As a little reward for my hard work, I decided to go to Ferrara’s for a cannoli and got lost about three times before I realized where I was going, all while my phone was at 5% battery and I had no idea how to get home after I even got to Ferrara’s. I figured it out, got a gelato (YUM!) to literally and figuratively cool myself off, and hopped onto the F train back home to savor my cannoli after dinner.
This was the view on my way back to the apartment. So pretty!
And how cool is this graffiti by my brother’s apartment? Anyone remember Kid’s Next Door?
TUESDAY:
Everyone I work with is so fashionable. I drool over the girls’ shoes like a puppy after a bone. I tried the more conservative approach the first week I went in, but after seeing how stylish these ladies are, I decided to get a little more trendy this week. Here’s two obnoxious selfies of Monday and Tuesday’s outfits:
It paid off in the office, as I got a few compliments from my co-workers but I attracted unwanted attention on my way to the subway. You nod at someone to be friendly and suddenly they’re cat-calling you. I’ve learned to keep my eyes down and ignore any disgusting comments. All part of city living, I guess.
When I got into work, I was told that we were doing a product mailing and I needed to take the company’s credit card and head down to a place called Jam that sells gift bags, envelopes, and party supplies. So I took the card and a piece of paper with directions of where I should go and embarked on my two-subway-stop journey. I found the place just fine (and had some pretty scenery to look at along they way– it was close to Union Square) but they didn’t have the exact size bags we needed so I grabbed the bigger ones and they ended up working perfectly!
So I tore off all the price tags, tied on the little promo tags, placed product fact sheets inside, stuck paper labels on the front, and helped my supervisor stuff them with really cute Edible Arrangements to complement the product we were sending to beauty editors. Could not get over how cute they all were!
Then I checked over 300 products a client sent us for defects, which was exhausting, but someone had to do it and I’m glad that everyone appreciated my effort. That’s one great thing about interning at CMM — everyone says thank you, and that goes a long way.
My last task of the day was to buy a few light pink roses so we could pluck off the petals and sprinkle them on the table for that skincare launch I mentioned in my last post. Their products have rose extracts or something of that nature in them, so they wanted to tie in rose petals with the dinner. I didn’t mind going to this little high-end grocery store around the corner to pick up these pretty flowers.
The other summer interns are finally here and they’re all sweet gals (and one guy) so I’m looking forward to what’s ahead at CMM.
Wilkes U Communication Studies Internship Blog 