wrap up for the week

the rest of my week interning was great. i got to utilize the photoshop skills i have been learning in my tuesday night classes for the last month.  although i wasn't super fast i did get the job done. woo hoo!

i just received some moleskin blister pads from my parents who have been reading about my interning adventures.  thanks mom and dad! hopefully i will be sent running around town on some fun errands next week and will be able to put them to good use!

also, you may remember in an earlier post that i mentioned my sad weaving project from a few months back... well, i gave it to my grandmother and she turned it into a beautiful pillow cover for me.... it is still a little lopsided but she said it looks like art and was so proud of it that when she shipped it back to me she insured it for $50! how much do i love her??

fake it til you make it!

sorry for the long lapse between posts... one of the joys of being an intern is sharing a computer at work  during cold and flu season and exposing myself to lots of germs so i was down for the count for a few days. the germaphobe in me was trying to play it cool with my use of wet ones in wiping down the mouse and keyboard before every use.....

back to work yesterday and the day began with a quick stint in the closet followed by unloading a truck full of heave marble statues (not as groovy as my fancy gym but a workout nonetheless!). 

after that a designer that i don't normally assist asked me to do some design work for him using CAD (this is a computer design program that most interns in my position know because they are learning it in school... because i have decided to intern prior to proper education i am lacking this skill).  i had to inform him that i don't know the program but i would be happy to help him with anything else... so, he asked me to draw some stuff for him free hand. YIKES! i tried to cover the look of terror on my face because i cannot draw to save my life. i have lots of wonderful ideas of what to draw and sadly my right hand and my brain can't seem to connect to make my visions a reality on paper. rather than explaining this to him i decided "why not?" years ago a friend of mine who felt she was in over her head at work introduced me to the expression "fake it til you make it" and that's just what i did! i spent the next five hours "drawing" the saddest staircases i have ever seen in my life.

when one of my fellow interns (and new bff in the office) glanced over to see how i was doing she very kindly pointed out that the example he had given me to work off of for inspiration had circles that were round and for some reason mine unfortunately were not and "perhaps i could make them a little rounder?"  nope, i was not blessed with the gene that makes pictures pretty, circles round or lines straight (without the assistance of a ruler).

fingers crossed i faked it well enough that he will continue to pass some assignments to me in the future...

makin' copies!

well, last week's streak of super fun tasks seems to have come to an end for the time being... i spent hours and hours yesterday makin' copies (insert rob schneider's tone from his saturday night live skit here).... i will say that it was very interesting seeing where THE designer's inspiration comes from so i can still say i learned something from makin' all those copies...

i did get to sneak out for a fun lunch to dish with my fellow interns... they are great girls and somehow i have become career counselor to them (helping with advice, resumes, etc).... sadly they didn't get my "makin' copies" reference because they were in diapers during that season of saturday night live. oh well....

last night at my photoshop class i learned that about half of my class is made up of interior designers and they were all very impressed with who i am interning for. so, that's that. it doesn't really matter that i spent the day making copies. what matters is that my initial hunch that this internship would look great on my resume (regardless of what i decide to be when i grow up) was a good one!

until tomorrow.....

stars, they're just like us!

today was another great day at the office.... i was able to escape the dreaded closet again because of my favorite designer giving me fun stuff to do including hopping around town to hit more fabulous stores i've never visited before... oh and a pop star client was in the office for a few hours today too and i have to say looks just as fab in person as in photos!

fingers crossed next time will be as good!

now we're talkin'!

sorry for the delay in posting... tuesday's are long days for me with my internship for 9 hours and then rushing across town to my photoshop night class at a local university (i'm determined to learn how to remove the crow's feet in my photos to update my 2011 match.com profile! )...

anyhow, yesterday was all i hoped my internship would be! ok well not quite "all i hoped" but after yesterday i feel like i'm on the road to it and the idea i had to sign up for this experience was a good one... i knew it was going to be a good day when i wasn't asked to fetch meals for anyone and i never had to visit and clean the dreaded swatch closet.

instead i spent the day zipping around town and collecting really great items for one of the designers (who i have to say is now my favorite for giving me these tasks).  i visited stores that i have previously never really noticed in order to find hidden gems and product samples, and to photograph items to bring back to the office... i also learned that, if you want them, there are bathroom wastebaskets that cost almost a thousand dollars at your disposal (and you can get the entire bathroom accessory set for just a few hundred more!).  who knew? 

i still have yet to figure out my intern shoe situation. i was back to flats and it was only a one band-aid day with all of my running around. if anyone has any fashionable suggestions that won't require any end of day first aid i am open to them!

would you like fries with that?

this morning i was a little confused. i thought i had signed up for an interior design internship? that was, until i was asked to pick up breakfast for someone in the office at a restaurant several blocks away. really? breakfast? and to top it off it wasn't for THE designer in the office (the one with the name on the building) or even one of the other interior designers, but for some gal working on a side project.  and she didn't even bother to smile and thank me when i returned with it (manners, people!). in all my 39 years i have never been asked to get a coffee or a meal for someone. boy am i really opening myself up to new experiences! (and you may be thinking to ask but no, i did not spit in her large grapefruit juice....)

i don't remember if i mentioned in an earlier post that i was told by the office manager (aka intern boss) when i was first hired that i needed to get into the office early everyday otherwise all of the "good" assignments would be gone if i arrived later. well gosh! i am really glad that i didn't miss that one!

my day did improve as the hours went on.... i was errand girl again returning samples to the pacific design center again. really fun because i got to poke around the showrooms and the employees were very impressed to hear who i work for. also these were lighter fabric samples and not the big rugs i was stuck with last time!

the big highlight of the day was visiting the fancy vintage stores and showrooms on la cienega blvd for one of the designers in order to get costs and dimensions of items she was interested in. i saw some of the most amazing pieces that i hope to be able to score myself one day at a flea market (these prices were not in my work for free intern budget!). plus most of the shop owners were really nice and cool to chat with. unfortunately not a straight man in the bunch... but a girl can dream!

going to soak my feet now. kitten heels were not a good idea today. back to flats next week!

a day in the closet....

so day one of my internship is over. i was so exhausted from the experience it took me until the middle of the next day to gather the strength to write this post.

i arrived bright and early at the very groovy and very open offices (picture a very open industrial looking space with  low cubicles and very cool chandeliers hanging throughout the space).  the people working there were so effortlessly chic looking that it was actually a little intimidating to me (i can't tell you the last time i felt this way).
i spent almost the entire day in the closet. yes, the closet. sorting fabric swatches. i didn't have any grand illusions of what this internship would entail (i have had many interns work for me over the years...) however i didn't really see myself in the closet.

a highlight of my day included a 40 minute jaunt to the pacific design center delivering heavy rug samples to showrooms (so thankful i wore flats and didn't pony up for a manicure!) but the very best moment of the day came was when i was joking with a fellow intern (also stuck in the closet) that i might possibly be the oldest intern there to which she replied "oh no! there's like this other intern girl who works on wednesdays who is 36!!!!" bless her heart for thinking i am younger than 36.

so, until tomorrow.... perhaps i will be let out of the closet on day 2?

holy cow!

so, a little about me.... this is my very first blog post ever and i'm not quite sure how i feel about it.... i am going to look at it like sending emails to friends and family... proper punctuation and spell check rules are flexible...

for the last year i have been "fun-employed" as i like to call it.  a way nicer way to look at unemployment, don't you think?  i lost my job as a marketing exec in the entertainment industry in early 2010 and have spent most of the last year trying to "find" myself.  i wasn't all that thrilled in my last job and when i was "restructured" out of the studio i kind of looked at it like being dumped by that guy i was never really into.... you know what i mean... a blow to the ego but probably the best for me in the long run.

up until this point i have always been one of those people that have luckily met or exceeded all of the goals that i set for myself career wise. that is, until i realized that what i was doing wasn't making me happy or fulfilling me in the way that i felt i needed to be fulfilled. it also helped that i had a nasty habit of working for crazy people. and truly, if i didn't spend all of 2009 and part of 2008 being so miserable working for one such crazy person i might not have come to the realization that i did so easily.  i had an opiphany (and oprah inspired epiphany!) that i just wasn't loving what i was doing anymore and i really wanted to figure out what i could be passionate about doing.  it is such a strange thing to have a goal of being happy but not knowing exactly what i need to do to get there.

when i first lost my job i spent the initial months organizing my life and my home because i wanted to change the energy and love my space again.  i cleared out so much clutter literally and figuratively during that time that it was such a relief. it also helped that i had just returned home from a trip to india.  being there amongst so much poverty really helps one to realize that we just don't need that much stuff. because that is all it is.  stuff.   not to say that i don't love nice pretty things and still indulge on occasion. i do.  i am just a little more thoughtful with purchases these days.  and as a former marketing gal, writing an ebay or craigslist ad was fun and easy!

after the big apartment clean up i decided to get back in touch with the creative side of my personality with the hopes of opening myself up to new possibilities (ugh! trust me i am not so new agey as i just sounded in that statement!) and signed up for all sorts of art classes to fill my free time.  really taking advantage of the term "FUN-employemt."  i first took a weaving class.  yep, weaving. on a loom.  like olden times.  like i saw 12 year old kids do so easily in india. during my 3 month class i realized that weaving is hard. and monotonous. and hurts my back.  i slaved over this pathetic piece that looks like something i could have purchased at ikea for $2.99.  actually, mine was so uneven, ikea would not have passed it through their quality control. so sad.  but, on the bright side, i had a great time in class and met all sorts of interesting people.

i then took wheel throwing pottery. demi moore made it look so simple in GHOST. i wonder if she ended up with any of the blisters and scars that i now have on the outsides of my hands.  mind you, i was the only person in class with bleeding hands and red streaks running around the wheel in my white clay.  apparently there is sand in clay (who knew?) and my delicate hands couldn't take it... any fantasies i had about becoming the next jonathan adler went quickly out the window.

not all of my forays into creative classes were a disaster.  i also took a few levels of metal smithing jewelry (LOVE!) and have stuck with it as well as adobe illustrator (i designed my own christmas card!).

in between classes, hikes in the hollywood hills, and visits to my gym (not kidding about making the most of my fun-employment!) i have been helping my friends decorate and organize their lives as well and have been having lots of fun with it! when i was younger i was always interested in interior design and never had the balls or the confidence in my creativity to pursue it. so instead i became a business/ marketing major and entered the corporate world that i lived and breathed for the last almost 20 years. but i have been an hgtv junky for a lot of years and love love love decorating my place and giving friends advice on theirs.  a friend of mine is a therapist and needed a new look for her office so i offered to help.  i had such a great time redecorating her office that i thought maybe this is for me....

so, that's where we come to now.  the night before i start my internship.  yes, internship.  i am 39 years old (i can't believe i am this old!) and i am beginning an internship tomorrow with an interior designer.  this person happens to be someone whose work i really really admire and has designed some of my most favorite spaces!  such an amazing talent and i figured if i am going to give this a shot then i want to do it with someone that in my opinion is the best of the best!  i have never interned before in my life.  when i was in college i had to make money to pay for it and could never have worked for free even though it would have looked fab on my resume. so, i thought this would be the perfect way to see if interior design is in fact what i want to do in my next life. why spend money on school for this before learning in the environment if this is in fact something i want to do.  i really hope that i figure out in 2011 what i want to be when i "grow up" and even better if i can do so before i turn 40!  i have absolutely no idea what to expect and am nervous...

so, until next time...

the almost 40 year old intern

p.s. below are pics of a home design project i am really proud of... i created my own artwork collage wall using original artwork i picked up on my world travels as well as vintage pieces and cherished family photos.