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| day 5 and 6 were typical same old, but day 7 makes up for itinterning at rebecca&drew manufacturing day 7:
i walked down into the office to be greeted by samantha and the 3 chinese ladies. the back room was pitch black, and i learned that the power was out for half of the office. half of the computers weren't working, half of the phones, and the internet was completely out. there was also a burning smell coming from the storage room. it eventually got worse when alex and lisa stepped in and attempted to call the super, electricians, and landlords, and no one would answer/help.
profanity flew out of all of their mouths (haha), and we eventually just sat, waited, and chatted about anything and everything, from their history, to the creepy men of nyc, and whatever. it was really interesting and insightful :] finally r & d arrived, unhappily when they realized that that the problem still wasn't fixed.
after andrew arrived though, i got his credit card and went to run the errands, picking up from preview and buying the string and fabric i searched for last week and yesterday. i was lucky it wasn't raining, but yuck it was mild and muggy. at least it was successful.
returned to the office, the power was still out. oh, and the electrician came, tried to get rid of all the gnats, and then found a dead mouse in the bathroom. yeah, i didn't go in there today.
lunch time came around, and i went to <3 hale and hearty soups for a 'small' salad that was ridiculously large :p gooood stuff. when i got back, i couldn't get in the door, but lisa found me while she was in the store and we took the huge elevator downstairs.
eventually, the electricians came, and found out that a fuse burned out. i was then instructed to make one of the design tags that drew wanted, with the string and 2 buttons. i didn't have a picture, so i just did it how i wanted it to look, and put the string through two button holes instead of one. he found it to be really cute, and was happy with it :] yay me!? hahaha. then, i had to scan all his sketches in with the imac (ooooh) and number the swatches next to them. that was pretty inspirational - the sketches were so clean and classy. spring 2009 baby.
the power was back around for about half an hour, but then it went out again just as r & d + lisa went out to another meeting. so the 2 ladies were out in the hallway cutting (they had a deadline of saturday, since they're having models do a photoshoot, dang i wish i was around to see that), and alex and sam and i were left in the room to do some more talking. no wonder i've been doing so much pattern cutting, i don't mind though, i actually enjoy it, and thank goodness i'm getting better. sam says i'm good at it too. phewwww.
haha then we talked about boys after alex asked me if andrea's brother was cute. LOL. then sam went into the whole 'he's too young alex' and i was like it's okay :] cuz i'll be pretty desperate next year at FIT. sam was like 'oh it's okay, maybe you'll reunite with someone at highschool' and aw lol alex <3 was like 'no it'll be fine, you're a cute girl, you'll find an older mannnn to take care of you.' lolol <3 she's SO funny, omg i love her.
i was allowed to leave at 5 today, since there wasn't much that i could do. found two old acquaintances at the port authority, which was cool. but wow, so much mayhem today, when i got to port authority, the fire alarms were going off, but no one seemed to notice. i was like wtfffff, but i followed everyone upstairs. lollll.
once i got home, it was pouring. so much for wearing my rainboots this morning and not later. omg THEN my house had a blackout, but luckily it was only for like a minute :]
one day left in the week! that passed really quickly.
interning at rebecca&drew day 8:
overall terrific. though i know there were some sh*tty things that happened, but i love it at r&d.
the electricity was still tricky, and the air condition was a nogo, but the morning was kinda chilly and windy and nasty and muggy, but yeah! since there wasnt much power, i just worked on numbering swatches on sketches, taking pictures of things, etc. then i was sent out to deliver checks and pick up fabric.
omfg. i had to go to 12 west 57th, and i had no idea that was near bergdorf, and i got off at columbus circle on 59th instead. oh bad idea. ugh, so i walked from like 200 w 57th to 12. which wasn't that bad. (thanks justina!) hahah. and then when i got back, the electricity in the back room was working, but there wasn't enough power for a/c, so yes.
I was at a sauna. Or "Hell" as Drew dubbed it. My first experience at like a chinese sweatshop as i'm cutting patterns in that disgusting back room. But hey, i'm getting so much better at it, haha i'm actually excited about it. Then one last trip to get fabrics, samples, patterns, at a legit sweatshop and yep, finished off the day with that.
i think i'm just really happy working there. even though i don't get paid. i think everyone genuinely likes me, and they're all nice to me. even Drew was so considerate when he left and he was all like "omg, michelle, thank you so much for dealing with the heat and helping" and then everyone just aww <3 <3
i feel like i've learned so much within the last 2 weeks. sure the pattern cutting, maneuvering the city (ish), colors, etc. but also i feel like i'm less timid, more confident, and like knowing how to act during situations. :] but then i think i also picked up a lot of profanity from everyone aha.
and thennnnn
i met up with my girlssss andrea and ellennnnnnn. aroma espresso bar (which led to some disturbing aftereffects huh ) walked around soho, then took the path to andrea's amazing newport apartment. holy crap. HAN AARON (GRRRRRR). omfg penthouse. your apartment. ANAL STAGE. talking about dykes and guys coming out after hs. and disgusting skeevy grimey used up girls.
i'm so happy i have you two :] i mean seriously i don't know what i would do :p how else would i know how to deal with creepy men in the city? or maneuver around it. lol. we gotta do it again.
next week. yuh.
oh i saw nigel barker on like 13th this morning. i was like HOLY SHIT. but yeah. | | |
| art&fashion means a lot of fucking profanityinterning at rebecca&drew manufacturing day 1:
of course i had the nightbefore+morning of jitters, which only elevated with the rain. haha i didn't want to be late on my first day! i was lucky though, the 20 min. idleness on the bus didn't do much, and i had a pretty smooth subway ride.
honestly though, today wasn't filled with much of anything. i guess you could say i did the quintessential bitchwork. not complaining though, you gotta start somewhere when you plan on going places and being someone. :]
i got there like 10-15min. before i was supposed to start (10 am) and because my boss had just returned from vaca, it was kind of hectic, so i sat there for about that amount of time doing nothing. then, she had me roll pattern paper while they were doing a fitting. it was cool to watch that, though i wish i had a closer look as to how they pinned and made adjustments. so basically, for 2 hours, all i did was roll paper. ouch on the fingers :p helloooo fashion.
afterwards, i did some folding, swatch-booking, tag cutting, and more swatch-booking for the rest of the day.
the end! hahah. it was a mediocrely fine day.
just tidbits and first thoughts on people at the office:
rebecca: she reminds me so much of colbie calliat. hahah. she seems real sweet, but i didn't really get to talk to her much.
drew: intimidating but really funny. he kind of reminds me of joe kyle, except more studly and gay. lolol.
samantha: my boss. she's really nice and sweet. we actually walked + subwayed together to port authority while going home.
alex: she reminds me of a mix between ms collelo and anne hathaway, omfg she saw one of the olsen twins while getting lunch. no fair, i never see any celebrities.
lisa: spunky and helpful. :]
so my life, mondays - thursdays, 10 - 6 will go to rebecca&drew.
maybe it'll make me feel better for not having anyone to hang out with on the weekdays. HAHA. ;d
interning day 2:
So this morning i got there early again, but it was okay, i took my time and by the time i got to the front door, it was about 9:50. There was some kind of shoot (photo/fashion/movie) going on at the park across 13th street, and there were catering buses and everything. It was interesting to see, but it didn't make me interested enough to scope out celebrities or gawk at :p
I got in there and continued my swatch booking, now having an entire shelf full of undocumented fabrics, etc. HELLO BLISTER ON MY THUMB THATS OWNING ME. :] but 2 hours later, i was called into the office again for some urgent business.
Rebecca&Drew was getting featured on The View, and i guess all audience members receive at $300 Rebecca&Drew gift card! LUCKY BIZNATCHES! So i became the printer paper feeder, yes. i stood there and fed the printer postcards. 200 of them. hahaha. and then the intern that was supposed to take all the clothes and cards to the studio came and helped. we were running behind, and we had to tape all the gift cards [using only double stick tape!], onto the newly printed postcards (the new msg said that the card would expire jul27), and envelope them. after many reprints and lack of envelope madness later, we were complete. francesca, the other intern, left with the goods, and i was allowed to go to lunch.
when i came back, it was about 2:30, and i went back to my swatch-filing.
oh there is some back room drama let me tell you. there are 3 chinese women in the back, back room, sewing away. it's quite interesting to see the garments come alive after minutes of sewing. but anyway, today, 2 of them were basically having a catfight. holy crap, it was like world war 3 was about to go on. one spoke in chinese mandarin, and the other cantonese. of course they both understood each other, but it was interesting to hear only half the fight. ohmygoodnesssss. they were SO loud. it was almost scary. then samantha came in to try to fix things...hahah.
Yep, so that's all i did for today. nothing too interesting yet, though i actually felt some stress as i was working on the gift carding process - it was actually immediately imperative and on a time limit. crazyness! but quite an experience.
i just hope it gets better! :]
omg. port authority today. i had to buy another ticket to the willowbrook mall for my dad to pick me up, and the second i get online, one of the lines closes, and all of a sudden this guy who was, i'm assuming next in line for that counter starts spewing out curses and slamming the window - "i'm gonna fuck you up nigga" etc. it was scary. i swear, if he had a gun right there he'd use it. it's so interesting though, after that whole anger scenario, a very maternal-like woman calmed him down saying he could cut in front of her, and just like that he seemed to regain his composure and kindly rejected the offer. PHEW. haha.
interning at rebecca&drew day 3:
sometimes our insecurities get hte best of us, and we forget what we already know.
today was definitley a more exciting day at rebecca&drew!
first like always, i continued with my swatches. after finishing that project, i was finally given another project. i've realized that these projects are getting more difficult, tedious, and impacting on the company in general. my second project was to update the inventory, checking out the actual rolls of fabric in the back room and checking that all hte records are exact.
after i started, samantha alerted me that i would be sent out later when the places were ready. my first out of office errand! so exciting. haha, actually this was what i was most nervous about - not finding the place in time, etc. then i was reassured with my ipod touch with internet. NO. stupid thing didn't even work. lolol. but that's okay, i found the places alright.
i first went to digital pattern 16th floor, and at first i was like whatttt. there are like 3 buildings with the address 247 w. 37th, but luckily i found the building with the elevators :p then next stop picking up fabric at 225 w. 37th, whcith turned out to be an entire roll, and then 230 w 38th. stupid me on that part, when those 2 latter buildings were connected, and only a hallway away. no, i walked around the entire block. sigh. it's alright though.
once i returned and got some lunch, i returned to the inventory checking. went through that pretty quickly, and rewrote a draft that was much neater and clearer for samantha with the necessary changes. she seemed pleased with my work :]
THEN. lolol, i had to go out again to buy Andrew a measuring tape. hardware store? sup Petey's Lumber. um cept that they had like 4 different kinds of 25 ft measuring tape, and i had the wrong phone number for the office, i chose the cheapest one, which was $17. used his credit card, signed for that, returned and told him the story. ahaha after telling him that i chose the cheapest one between $17 and $35, he was like "oh! good call. GREAT WORK." lmao. :] yay for me?
my next assignment would be in the back room with the three chinese ladies. cutting patterns :O but first, setting up the pleating to the front of a shirt. precise half inches that needed to be ironed in! stressssss. hahah
it was fun though. i'm so excited for tomorrow. and then next week--
interning at rebecca&drew day 4:
"i've never met any celebrities before, it's not fair!" OH YES I DID! todayyyyy!
well the day started off with last minute swatching, then pleating again. THEN i was setup with the pattern cutting. oh the fear..haha i was so hesitant to actually cut, because hell, these are becoming actual samples. the first one i did was okay, just solid brown grey and same on both sides. measuring to make sure that selvage and lines were parallel, pinning the pattern paper (that i so graciously rolled 94802834 rolls of on day 1), and finally cutting. my hands were literally shaking the first few times. (then again, i was also starving, so you know, that might have something to do with it.)
2:00 and some patterns later, i was sent out, but i decided to go to the chelsea market for some lunch first. if you're ever hungry and in the area, definitley head there. it's like a massive underground food market. i've gone there for the past 3 days and i've gotten different types of cuisine each day. i bet if i went for another 2 weeks i could still find something different :]
then off to hunt for fabrics. silk charmeuse in the hardest-to-match dark navy and greenish bark ever. checked out mood, b&j fabrics, got some swatches, but nothing too close.
OOH OOH, on the way to b&j, I SAW THEM. KEVIN AND JACK FROM SEASON 4 OF PROJECT RUNWAY. omgomgomg. tehehe. no i didn't say anything, but i was freaking out in my mind, then called some people :P kevin walked into the duane reade right under b&j while jack waited outside :p
anyway, then i randomly met samantha (my boss) on the street, and we went to daytona to get 20 yds of trimming together. she left because she was done with everything she had to do in the garment district, and i was left to search 37th, 38th, and 39th to find that charmeuse. my trip was kinda a failure though.
ew yucky indian man at fabric garden kept touching me and holding my shoulder telling me that i was a good customer. YUCK i already took a shower. lmao. i mean, i only waited for a few min. and he asked me if i was korean, and i told him i was taiwanese and he got all giddy... whatever.
headed back to 344 west 13th and i could've sworn i saw dan vosovic. with his boyfriend. !!!! what a good project runway day. hahaha.
then back to pattern cutting. this time with white and blue stripes. how scary. i never got to finish because it was already 6 and i had to catch my bus..during subway/bus rush hour. all was pleasant though.
i'm excited for next week :]
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| it's been a while since i updated this xanga. to think i used to use it just to fish for comments, have people look at pictures, almost proving to everyone that i had a life. mm quite the contrary? ha, but of course as those died 'eprops and ..comments?' right? so did these. but for this entry, i dunno, i just wanted to revisit xanga, and take a "always give people what you want them to have, not what you think they want" kind of approach. that's quoted from Jeffrey Kalinsky of Jeffrey New York and Nordstrom. Not that I want you to have/read this entry either, i guess it's just for myself.
however, i do want to introduce a book i've been reading to you. it's called The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne, and essentially it tells you the secret to have anything and everything you want. sure a lot of people may be skeptical to its words, but i find them as a nice complement to how i live my own life already. i'll let you check it out for yourself :] but if you want some nice summer reading, it's pretty cool.
what i will go back to is reflecting on what happened today. i felt like it was really difficult to look back at some memories of senior year because i didn't blog about it. and i had a pretty good day today.
i shadowed my mom's friend who works in the diamond industry. started off at about 8:40 in the morning at the bus stop. there weren't many people who joined us, probably because everyone's still on vacation for independance day. then we took our walk to the building, conveniently across from nintendo world. we were pleasantly greeted by the security guard, he's like a big black teddy bear. hahaha. he's so sweet, everytime he saw me today he was like 'hi beautiful' 'hey sweetie' 'are you coming back?' 'oh noooo you're leaving me?' of course think about that in the least sketchy way possible, because it was just all out of care. oh, i adore him. haha.
now that i look back on it, the day went by really quickly. i ran some errands for her, consisting of depositing checks, making copies, weighing carats, checking certifications, etc. and we ran around the city and then flushing to all her customers, companies, etc. tiring, but enjoyable. i also learn a lot, about the business, about the city, and stuff that'll prepare me for the upcoming semester.
another little tidbit i'd like to remember is of all the different characters you can encounter at the subway station, or on the subway. i saw many beautiful people, and some who were just having a bad day :( such as this old woman who had a crew cut, wore all black bohemian style clothing, and badass aviators. she was about to take a seat next to this man, flowers on the seat next to him, bad grammar, and a cigarette at his ear, and one thing led to another and they cussed each other off. it was an unpleasant 3 minutes as profanity filled our subway cart, since the "old bum" wouldn't drop the subject (sigh). on the 7 train there was also a woman, with an extremely hunched back that was facing the seats and all the goods she had on there. when she slightly turned and i saw the side of her sad sad face, i had a feeling she didn't want to sit there and let people see her. it was all very sad. but the on the side of her was the unusual and pleasantly surprising meeting of two people who haven't seen each other for many years. they caught up and it was all happyhappy. then at the roosevelt subway station in which we were to switch to the 7 train, these two native americans were playing a familiar tune on their intricate flutes. it turned out to be a rendition of Let It Be. oh, it was so beautiful, and if we weren't walking so fast i most definitely would have left them a donation. mm i love new york.
and next week? my actual internship at rebecca&drew manufacturing. thanks andrea kim for the connection! running around the city alone retrieving and delivering things...i'm excited. :]
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| so i know all of you girlies are wondering how today went, so here we are. my reflection. i'm also using this to remember for myself, but i'll alert you to the area that you're all dying to read. 
The Background
So I knew that joining the New Jersey Youth Asian Dance
Troupe would have a lot of benefits. I would be on the road to perfecting
grace, poise, charisma, and many physical qualities. I would be invited into
another family, a group of sisters, and a friendship that holds an unbreakable
bond. And now, as I’m only one year away from the real world, dance has given
me an open window into another passion of mine.
I’ve spent about 10 years with the dance troupe, growing
from a shy child to a public representative as President of the troupe. I
really owe the majority of who I am today to the history I have with NJYADT.
And with this, the relationships formed between all of us is a close one; our
ideas are shared, our loves, and our aspirations. As I have voiced my passion
for fashion to mostly everyone, my pursuit for an Accessories Design Major at
FIT is also no secret.
The Networking
For these past few months, I have spent countless hours and
days working on my portfolio (and I continue to try to allocate my time to do
so with school now). Of course my dancers know this agenda, and they’ve all
been extremely helpful. And this is where it gets big. My dance teacher,
treating me like another daughter, has been doing all she can do to help me out
whether it be giving advice or tips for the future. Two weeks ago, she revealed
to me the occupation of one of the dancer’s mothers, who turns out to have connections. And here it starts, the key thing of the real world.
Networking.
Obviously already rooted with deep ties, the mother (not unleashing the name due to this being more on the down low) is just as
willing to help as everyone else. She spent time looking for her contacts to
help, and eventually found Robin, the Vice President of Accessories Product
Management and Development of NY&Co. Furthermore, she hooked me up with her
designers of the accessories department, Wing and Elisa to help me with my
portfolio. (I know…omg omg omg) My meeting with them is set for September 19th,
at 5:00.
2 Weeks Later (which is today)…this is what you want to read!
I’ll take it detail by detail =)
I left school early today at noon, just so I could have
extra time to set up or do whatever else. Finally, my mother and I waited at
the bus stop around 2:40 for the bus ride to Port Authority. We arrive in NY at
3:30, definitely way too early for the meeting. But hey, I wouldn’t want to be
late for this. So we walk to 33rd, between 9th and 10th
avenue just to check out where the building was. It wasn’t too hard to find,
and the whole walk was a bit sketchy since there weren’t many people around.
Since it was only 4:00, we decided to sit at a little market/café for some
coffee. 4:30, I put my heels on, made my final preparations in the wrapping of
the Godiva, and set out for the building again.
Haha…me and my paranoia – it’s only 4:40! So my mother and I
wait outside the building as I set myself up to head in at 4:45. After doing
so, I made my way to the security desk, received a temporary badge and headed
for the 5th floor. I was the only one in the elevator, but it made a
smooth trip there and once the doors open, I was greeted with a huge New
York & Company sign. (oh man, absorb all of this). I walked up to the
front desk and told them the details, and the man printed out a name card for
me and slipped it into a NY&Co neck tag (totally professional)
The Scene
He kindly told me to wait at the couches in the lobby –
which was painted in a sleek black, white tiled floor, and presentation windows
full of their clothing. I waited anxiously as people rushed in and out of the
glass doors using their key cards to swipe in and out. Finally, at 5:07, the
lady at the desk messaged Robin and she came out. We said our hellos and
together we walked to the other side of the building and took the elevator to
the 9th floor.
9th floor arrival : I was in
aspiring-to-be-in-fashion-industry-HEAVEN. All I saw were clothing racks,
fabric swatches, inspiration boards, fashion sketches, and everything,
everywhere. I was in the good place now.
We made our way into the little accessories design office. I
met Wing and Elise, two very cool fashionistas. This room was filled with
accessories of handbags – slouches, satchels, wristlets, inspiration boards,
patterns, everything ( ). The room was
filled with bags from Marc Jacobs to Prada all organized on their inspiration
boards. After short introductions, I showed them my portfolio. They approved
it, and Elise (FIT Graduate ’07) said I was going in the ideal direction and
that the admissions people would be impressed (SCORE). We continued to talk and
they gave me many great tips on what to ad and what to expect. We discussed
everything from college to the industry.
Side excitement: I’m on the right track! She said they’d
be impressed! Me = so happy.
Then I got to see their designs, the bags they’re working on
and developing, their schedules, and their meeting times. Amazing experience?
Oh, you’re nodding I know.
And best of all, Robin offered me an internship for next
summer, or any time I’m free.
F*** YES. you knew that wasn't going to be an anticlimactic ending.
The Reply
I am so grateful to everyone who has been somewhat apart of
this experience, from when I started aspiring to do this, through the process,
up to now. To my friends who have supported me, thank you so, so much. Despite
my negativity and self-doubt, you guys continue to keep me up, no matter what I
say. And truly, I really need it, and I probably wouldn’t be as far if I didn’t
have that. I am cherishing every moment of this, and every single thing I saw
and experienced today.
I’m very happy with the life I have right now, I know I’ve
been rewarded with this opportunity, and don’t worry, I’ll do my best to keep
it with me. Now I’m more driven to do this, and I definitely won’t be
procrastinating with all this other college stuff.
p.s. I was going to add a side rant about what happened at
tennis, but the vibe’s good in this entry, so forget that.
Love you guys. You know who you are. 
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Partner and me, 2nd doubles, seeded 3rd in the conference! 
)
