Hello all,
It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted, which I sincerely apologize for. It’s been quite a busy few weeks, but I’ll break it down in a nutshell.
1) Fashion Week- In addition to working more normal hours at the magazine company I’ve been at, I’ve been working Mondays and Fridays from 7 am until anywhere from 10 pm to midnight, AND from 5 until midnight on the other days of the week. This while also trying to write articles for my freelancing gig, apply for jobs, sleep, eat, and maybe see C every now and then. Needless to say, it’s been rough. Two weeks ago, I had a moment of clarity somewhere in between staring at an excel spreadsheet for 12 hours and opening invitations to fashions show that I would never be allowed to attend that I decided I was going to quit. I was so serious, I’d even had the whole conversation mapped out in my head, complete with back-up discussions, diversion tactics, and “break-in-case-of-emergency” conversation savers.
But then. They did that thing where they suck you in, and you go with it, because any shred of hope as an intern is basically a beacon emanating from some employment holy grail. I was gently ambushed by the assistants to the creative director (who is rather a big deal) and asked to be their intern and work directly for them. Naturally, I couldn’t say no.
What does this mean exactly? I guess it kind of means in a strange bastardized “living in an unpaid world” sort of way, I’d just gotten promoted. Fashion week ended last week, so I haven’t been able to work out with the assistants what my schedule is going to be like, or what sort of work I’m going to be doing. My plan is to not let them take my other three days though, unless they’re prepared to offer me some kind of temporary employment situation. I need to have time to go to the gym, read a book, and apply to jobs, and I just can’t do that if I’m working until 9 o’clock every night (because people don’t realize that if someone leaves at 8 pm in Manhattan, they will arrive home in Brooklyn around 9 pm). It’s hard to have a real life that is full a interesting if all your hours are devoted to sleeping and working in a office that has the money to pay you but doesn’t.
In this similar vein, I’ve come to the 100% conclusion that I absolutely don’t want to work in magazines. Like at all. I have no idea how I’m going to get out of this twisty covered wagon that’s careening in the opposite direction, but I’m doing my best to figure it out. I’m applying to jobs as much as I can and stalking the books department in one of the current companies I work for, but so far it hasn’t been fruitful.
I’ve been reading a lot of articles on the internet about interns lately, and how people are starting to take internships for granted as some kind of rite of passage that we must suffer through with begrudging acceptance. One of the many things that I find disturbing about it, is that many of the students that are being interviewed are between 24 and 29. TWENTY-NINE???????? AM I ACTUALLY GOING TO BE AN UNPAID INTERN UNTIL I’M ALMOST 30?????????? I cannot handle that. I legitimately cannot be an intern for the next 10 years of my life. It’s actually not acceptable. :Cue the articles where older generations call me entitled for wanting to support myself:
In other news, my best friend C who’s been living in Washington Heights is planning on moving out. She has a pretty bad living situation and has reached maximum capacity in terms of how much she’s willing to deal with it. I wish I could move into a place with her now, but I just got settled, and I just don’t have the resources or the time to move right now. She’s planning on signing a 6 month lease, so I’m hoping it happens sooner or later, because if it ends in August or September, than that would be the perfect time for me to move in with her and S (when she get’s her butt out of North Carolina).
In other news, I’m thinking about getting out of the country (unexpected, yes but also no). I’ve been looking into Birthright, and I think it’s something I might pursue. I’m by no means a religious person, and I’ve actively chosen not to take a stance on the Israel/Palestine issue (not for lack of care, but because I see both sides, and I have yet to find information either through word of mouth or via the internet that doesn’t have a bias of sorts) but I want to get out of the country and away from New York. I also think it would be a good opportunity to see a culture that my heritage is connected to, and see a part of the world that I’ve never seen. So that’s going to be one of my projects this week since the summer programs are opening tomorrow.
I’m sure that isn’t all that’s going on with me these days, but that’s what I have for now. In the meantime, I plan on being much more consistent with these updates, because it’s rather hard to condense 3 weeks time into a single post.
Until next time fellow readers: stay warm, stay smart, and stay open.
jz.
The Next Three Years 