Designated brain waves

I’m crossing over to the NYC lifestyle—sitting in a coffee shop blogging in the “Laptop room” as laptops are not permitted in the record room where records cover the walls and are available to listen to while you drink your perfected brew. Who would want to ruin their coffee experience with a computer? So not artistically chill.

Queens has many unique neighborhoods, and that’s what characterizes home for many New Yorkers I think. The hustle and bustle of the city has its pleasures, excitement, appeal, but when you find yourself alone among the masses, it’s the neighborhoods that provide an escape and a quintessential homely haven.

Emily, Audrey, and Cherie at the "Intern Table"

I’m beginning to feel like an essential contributor at my internship, and this brings much more enjoyment to the table for me. This week my biggest project was planning/sending out a shipment of new Matrix products to editors of consumer and trade magazines in the hopes that the newly launched Matrix Colorcare line would be a future feature in an upcoming issue. The pr plan of enticement was to first send an orchid flower to the editor with a tag of “an orchid’s color never fades, soon you’ll realize your hair color doesn’t have to either…keep your eye out to find out how” or something or other and then the box of hair product would be received a little later. Creative. Love that idea. That is one thing about ABPR I like. Fresh ideas, original angles. I had to unpack boxes of Matrix products, order bags-the right color of pink tissue paper-the right sized boxes-orchid plants, put together numerous gift bags, tie bows. Wednesday felt like an arts and crafts day. I stuffed gift bags with tissue paper, tied pink bows, put together boxes, wrapped and re-wrapped…

Thank goodness this was my project...

Yes I’m the runner and the bottom of the totem pole, hello I’m an intern. In all of that though, while I didn’t create the idea, I implicated the plan, did all of the grunge work, made it happen, and I have to find satisfaction in that. Expert gift bag coordinator, Skilled Fed-ex label creator—check. Put that on the resume.

...and this wasn't!! SO MANY.

Baked by Melissa cupcakes are a client of ABPR, and when the man comes in to discuss his PR account, he always brings in a batch. Wednesday they were blueberry flavored and the bite-sized artistically decorated cakes were too beautiful and too small to consider the probably 50 cals in each one. So I had four. The other evening, I dropped in a cupcakery on the Lower East Side, which used to be considered affordable and low-end but now is morphing into a pricier hipster scene full of cute boutiques and delish restaurants. Almond icing, lemon cake and raspberry infused filling formed Princess Dream which would just make sense for me to purchase. I think finding a different cupcake bake shop each week could be a healthy New York habit.

Alison Brod talked to me this week. She critiqued my bows on the sendout, which I happily fixed, said my dress was cute, which I had tried on from the showroom in the office, and when I brought her a slice of pizza (she bought me one too) she talked about her cravings and gotta have it moments. She’s human. I still consider her a celebrity, and she still doesn’t know my name, but hey, progress.

Inside the ABPR showroom. Clothes,
accessories, shoes galore.

And my mentor still addresses me as “The Intern” via email and IM. What’s in a name anyway. My mentor still rocks.

Audrey had luck this week at work, and stopped by a press conference for Godiva Chocolate which was hosting a Valentine's day sweepstakes for couples to write in their love stories to be critiqued by  romantic novelist Nicolas Sparks. For added publicity, one of Sparks' many fans, Blake Lively (GOSSIP GIRL) was there as well. Audrey sent me a blurry pic of my idol from her camera phone. Still ecsatic for her, and will forcibly make her watch an episode.

SKRILLEX (click on link for YouTube video of performance) came to Pacha this past Wednesday, and what a wild experience that finally ended around 7 am.  Yes I wore my pink hair extensions and rave wear, and no everyone didn’t live up to the normal attire expectations that a dub-step concert brings (think pasties, animal hats, and everything provocatively weird). The one thing that remains consistent when attending a dub-step concert is the unifying experience. The whole crowd is moving, dancing, hands in the air; it’s a sea of moving bodies, some without rhythm. Skrillex is hard to listen to without moving, the beat, the industrial sounds, the drops, the bass. It’s more about losing yourself in the atmosphere. Everyone’s “alter-ego” comes out. Mine involves challenging everyone around me to dance-offs. I’d like to think I was winning until about 5 am.

I did meet many interesting people. One was a German who was admittedly on drugs and also a European-renowned ballroom dancer who had traveled all over the world in competitions. He’s going to be a director someday in the horror or comedy department. Similar genres...? Another cute guy (think Timothy Olyphant or Josh Duhamel) ruined his appeal with back to back text messages x5, and his life story about a quest to be an opera singer. Looking forward to re-saving the rejection hotline phone number. Tips: when meeting someone at a club at 4am, one text the next day, if you ever actually use the number attained, can be considered appropriate. Ten just brings up images of men in tears or future serial killers. Both are disturbing.

On my way to find Pacha, the five story club that also has a location in my beloved city, Madrid, I asked some promoters in Times Square for directions. They ended up being comedians. We chatted for awhile, and they gave me four free tickets to their shows. Whoever said New Yorkers aren't friendly never stopped to ask for directions...