Never in my life did I think I could take the NYC subway, find an office, collect several bags full of merchandise, and find my way back, all in two hours...
Today, I felt like Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada movie. I thought I was the star in a movie about a girl finding her way through NYC, and only to find out that she was carrying shoes for celebs.
Let me start from the beginning...
The night before I went to bed on the later side, which I ended up regretting when I was sitting on the train going to Penn Station. I kept falling asleep, looking like a bobble head, as a guy on his way to work was sitting right next to me watching me do this for about a half hour. I felt like an idiot but the train is just so peaceful how can you not fall asleep?
So I woke up from my train nap just in time. Arrived at the office, changed my shoes, and went to "C" in her office.
This morning was a little different than usual. She actually had a piece of paper with tasks for me. She never really knows what needs to be done until the day starts rolling, but this morning she had big plans for me. She goes, "Okay, so I need to you go pick up a few pairs of shoes downtown for me. They are a shoe leather company that has shoes we need for a couple photo shoots. Here is my Metro card and cash for the shoes, I suggest walking to 23rd and 8th for the subway, let me know if you have any problems, thanks!" And walked away...
My heart dropped as well as my mouth, after she walked away. I have NEVER been on a subway other than the ONE time on St. Patty's day with a ton of people for 5 minutes. This was going to be a nightmare I thought to myself.
So what does one do in the situation... call the one person who would know how to figure out the subway schedule and know their way around the city... my sister.
In a panic, I explain to her what I had to do, what the address was, and that I had no idea what I was doing. She was quick to say which subway to take and what each stop was so I would know I was going the right way. She was the biggest help in the world and I would have been lost without her guiding me!
She stayed on the phone with me until I got to the subway, told me what stop to get off and when I finally got there, to Google map the address and follow it to the destination.
The subway was rather confusing with the uptown and downtown signs. I had to go through the under-path to get to the downtown side for the C subway going to Folkin Street.
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| It's not as dirty as some people say! |
When I had finally reached my stop. I got off the subway, walked up the stairs and there I was... standing right on Wall Street. I was so confused.
As I start walking the way that Google maps was telling me, it wouldn't update where I was and kept showing me in the same spot. It was getting harder and harder to figure out how to get to this office.
I finally walked my way to the right street, and found the office building. It was right in between a pizza joint and a dry cleaners... very strange!
I walked into the old building and there was a check-in desk. I signed in and took the elevator all the way to the 17th floor. I walked off and now had to find the number of the office. It was a curvy hallway with many offices. The doors all looked the same with windows to look inside. When I finally found the right one, I peaked my head in, and an older man walks over and asks who I am with (company wise). I told him and he said to come right inside.
He was so nice as well as the other man in the office. I didn't look around much, but it seemed like it was just office space and not where they design the shoes.
When he showed me where the three bags were, he asked me if I had ever met the celebrities from the photo shoots. I told him that this was only my second week as an intern but I wouldn't mind meeting some!
He then said, "can you believe that these shoes are for Rihanna and Lady Gaga!" I paused a moment and had to stop myself from saying anything inappropriate. All I said was that I had no idea they were for them. He was shocked I didn't know it was for top photo shoots happening in the fall.
As I walked out of their office, I was so nervous that now I was responsible for these shoes! I looked like a bag lady walking back to the office.
I shockingly found my way back to the subway I took to get to Wall Street, got off at 23rd, and enjoyed the rest of my walk back. I was so thankful for my sister helping me out and taking the time out of her busy day. I was also proud of myself for getting there and back and doing what was asked of me. I felt great!
I could have had a panic attack and never came back to the office, but I survived!
As I enjoyed my proud walk back, I was enjoying the scene.
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| My future home! A girl can dream:) |
So after I got back to the office, I was sweaty, tired and hungry. Before I left, "C" gave me the list of tasks for me to do, which still had three other things on it. The second assignment was to prepare and change information on the loans that I started on Tuesday for the two publications needing Betsey Johnson inventory. This I spent a good portion of my day on, til about 3:30 p.m. I had to get the looks that were being sent all packed up and ready for pick-up.
Also on that list was to organize and check in the looks from Betsey Johnson's assistant that we work closely with when dealing with her merchandise. I had to first print all the looks from Style.com, and then find what we still had in our showroom to then send back to him. He was very clear of how he wanted the looks to be sent back to him. He wanted everything to be tied together in terms of hangers of each garment in the looks, include all accessories, as well as label each look with the look number on the website.
After I finished that task, it was already 5:00 p.m. only leaving me a half hour before I left. Thankfully the last task on my to-do list was to continue organizing the Hue storage unit. This was not a quick project and "C" knew that. She had me go back into the unit for the last 15 minutes and get as much done as I could. As I rushed down there to attempt making a dent in any cleaning of the unit, I again was freaked out by this long hall full of storage space, looking like a horror movie scene or something.
I was told to come back at 5:15 p.m. so that I wouldn't be rushing to get my things together to head to Penn. "C" is very good with that and knowing I have to leave at the right time to catch my train. I appreciate that when she lets me leave a few minutes early.
My walk back to the station is always my time to reflect my day and think about how I felt with the day's tasks. I felt very accomplished about today and the amount of things I did, which "C" agreed that today I did good work. It's a nice feeling being recognized for your hard work. Not many people get that. It usually works that you aren't spoken to unless you are doing some wrong, not right.
After today, I felt that given anything by "C" would no longer scare, or intimidate me, after dong what I did. I felt a sense of independence and confidence in myself as an intern and a person in a general sense.
I am once again excited to go back to the office Tuesday and experience yet another task that could be a life experience for me.
That has become the common thought of each day and what I have realized after my reflections. Although each day is very long for me, Thursday being the longest day EVER, I get the opportunity to learn all the different aspects of this business, how to accomplish certain things, how to deal with problems, and so much more. These aren't just things that will help me in my future career but in my future as a person living life and knowing that I can do anything I set my mind to.
Again, it's a great feeling and I hope everyone gets a chance to feel it!
Thanks for reading; you all are the ones who encourage me to be inspired and come home to write about my experiences! I thank you for reading my blog posts and being intrigued:) The feedback I've been getting has really touched my heart.
So stay tuned for Tuesday's post, which will include my first initial internship class with Tom Handley!
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