After a completely nuts morning of last minute moving out, which including shoving things in the crevasses of friend's apartments and a hurried trip to Jen's, Amaro drove me to South Station. The lines after the hurricane were nothing short of harrowing- I was likely not to be able to get on my 12:30PM bus until 9:00 PM, even though I had already purchased a ticket. Determined not to let this happen, I ran around trying to see which bus I could get on the soonest, and ended up buying another ticket with Lucky Star. Miraculously, I left South Station at 1:05PM.
The ride itself was uneventful, and apart from a lovely pit stop at Arby's, I mostly slept. I started to see New York, but it was still over an hour before we actually stopped. Meredith met me in Chinatown where the bus dropped me off. By this point, I was just so surprised, tired, and thankful that I had made it in a reasonable amount of time. We arrived to the apartment, I unpacked. Meredith cooked some scallops. I slept, totally knowing nothing about the next day except for the address and the name of my new supervisor.
The next morning, I woke up and left the house at 8:00. Meredith walked me to the station and pointed me in the right direction. From there, I was on my own.
It was sort of surreal, taking a New York City commute- just like it was another workday. But there I was, in the crowd, doing what many people do- wake up, shower, ride the subway to work.
I found the building. 350 Broadway. Pretty much every building I have been in has an elevator- which even in Boston is sort of reserved for very nice / fancy or very tall buildings. In Boston, it's mostly stairs, or if you're lucky, an escalator. Thank goodness there are elevators here everywhere- because I am living on an 8th floor and working on a 6th floor.
I walk in, and the elevator door opens on the 6th floor at 350 Broadway. The whole floor is dedicated to the film production company. I walk in, and nobody is at the front desk. I wander into a room filled with racks of clothes. I figured I was headed in the right direction.
I meet Amela Baksic, the costume designer who is a friend of my professor Linda Ross. I had scarcely been there for two minutes until Kate, the costume coordinator and my supervisor, hands me some directions and a garment bag and asks me to pick up 3 gowns from J. Mendel. And then, the day had begun.
I set out foot and learned the subway system, fast. In my first day alone I took the subway 8 separate trips- I picked up gowns at J. Mendel, returned items to Barneys and Saks Studio Services, and picked up an order from Manhattan Costume Supply. This is NOT going to be a sitting-in-an-office type job, which is great, because I like being out and about. Although I have to say, after making tons of returns today (7 different stores), my feet are very sore!
Last night after work, I wandered around the neighborhood where Anna, Zeb, and Meredith live. I was overwhelmed even by the Walgreens (even the drug stores are multiple floors) and the Whole Foods? Forget it! I couldn't even find bananas. And I squirted shampoo in my face when I was trying to smell different shampoos at Walgreens (for lack of a better way to differentiate between the million and one kinds). Oops! Alas, I did not end up buying shampoo or bananas, but did find some toothpaste and yams. They'll do.
This morning I walked Kate's (Angela's god-sister who lives 4 blocks from where I am staying) dog. My friend Evan said he wishes he could see me every morning, "dolled up" (as he called it) for my job, and picking up doggie poo. Well, that is exactly what I'm going to be doing every morning for the next few weeks!
Today I already felt more used to it all, although being out in New York City all day is indeed tiring- just so much sensory input! This morning I spent a few hours, with the help of another intern, sorting through that mass of clothes on racks I saw on the first day- because they all had to be returned. They ranged from $5 kid's tees to $800 Prada shoes and suits worth thousands of dollars. Each item had to be packaged and labeled with its original receipt and then organized into piles according to neighborhood. Once that was done, all of us set out to return the merchandise. It sounds sort of silly, but honestly, it was a great way to get to know New York City neighborhoods! I spent a lot of time on 5th Avenue and SoHo today. I have no idea what tasks tomorrow brings!
The ride itself was uneventful, and apart from a lovely pit stop at Arby's, I mostly slept. I started to see New York, but it was still over an hour before we actually stopped. Meredith met me in Chinatown where the bus dropped me off. By this point, I was just so surprised, tired, and thankful that I had made it in a reasonable amount of time. We arrived to the apartment, I unpacked. Meredith cooked some scallops. I slept, totally knowing nothing about the next day except for the address and the name of my new supervisor.
The next morning, I woke up and left the house at 8:00. Meredith walked me to the station and pointed me in the right direction. From there, I was on my own.
It was sort of surreal, taking a New York City commute- just like it was another workday. But there I was, in the crowd, doing what many people do- wake up, shower, ride the subway to work.
I found the building. 350 Broadway. Pretty much every building I have been in has an elevator- which even in Boston is sort of reserved for very nice / fancy or very tall buildings. In Boston, it's mostly stairs, or if you're lucky, an escalator. Thank goodness there are elevators here everywhere- because I am living on an 8th floor and working on a 6th floor.
I walk in, and the elevator door opens on the 6th floor at 350 Broadway. The whole floor is dedicated to the film production company. I walk in, and nobody is at the front desk. I wander into a room filled with racks of clothes. I figured I was headed in the right direction.
I meet Amela Baksic, the costume designer who is a friend of my professor Linda Ross. I had scarcely been there for two minutes until Kate, the costume coordinator and my supervisor, hands me some directions and a garment bag and asks me to pick up 3 gowns from J. Mendel. And then, the day had begun.
I set out foot and learned the subway system, fast. In my first day alone I took the subway 8 separate trips- I picked up gowns at J. Mendel, returned items to Barneys and Saks Studio Services, and picked up an order from Manhattan Costume Supply. This is NOT going to be a sitting-in-an-office type job, which is great, because I like being out and about. Although I have to say, after making tons of returns today (7 different stores), my feet are very sore!
Last night after work, I wandered around the neighborhood where Anna, Zeb, and Meredith live. I was overwhelmed even by the Walgreens (even the drug stores are multiple floors) and the Whole Foods? Forget it! I couldn't even find bananas. And I squirted shampoo in my face when I was trying to smell different shampoos at Walgreens (for lack of a better way to differentiate between the million and one kinds). Oops! Alas, I did not end up buying shampoo or bananas, but did find some toothpaste and yams. They'll do.
This morning I walked Kate's (Angela's god-sister who lives 4 blocks from where I am staying) dog. My friend Evan said he wishes he could see me every morning, "dolled up" (as he called it) for my job, and picking up doggie poo. Well, that is exactly what I'm going to be doing every morning for the next few weeks!
Today I already felt more used to it all, although being out in New York City all day is indeed tiring- just so much sensory input! This morning I spent a few hours, with the help of another intern, sorting through that mass of clothes on racks I saw on the first day- because they all had to be returned. They ranged from $5 kid's tees to $800 Prada shoes and suits worth thousands of dollars. Each item had to be packaged and labeled with its original receipt and then organized into piles according to neighborhood. Once that was done, all of us set out to return the merchandise. It sounds sort of silly, but honestly, it was a great way to get to know New York City neighborhoods! I spent a lot of time on 5th Avenue and SoHo today. I have no idea what tasks tomorrow brings!
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