Monday, August 29, 2011

Takin care of business

I'm (pretty much) settled in at my awesome apartment in Chapel Hill and the craziness has begun! I hit the ground running and my "three-day weekends" are actually just a chance to get all my readings done for the next week. So far, all work and a tiny bit of play. I did get to go to a women's soccer game but no Mia Hamm sighting.

I don't have much to write about except school. I am officially in the Business and Media track, where I'll not only learn corporate communications but also how to write about business. Pretty snazzy. I read the Wall Street Journal and everything. Some other tracks people have are reporting, health and medical journalism, visual communication, strategic communications, communication law and electronic media. There are only 13 of us so not many people overlap and I'm the lone bizz girl. There are 22 people in the cohort above me but the theory is that they only brought in the amount of people they could fund this year. Either way, there are just 13 of us, and we're from all parts of the U.S. (and world), with all sorts of life stories and ages. I'm the baby.

Examples of people in my cohort: a Coast Guard officer, a surf instructor, a girl from Brazil, a guy that did the Peace Corp in Mozambique.

I'm a white girl from Alpharetta.

That aside, I'm hoping that coming straight from undergrad will help me out a little. My roommate, Tina, just started law school here and, judging by this weekend, we'll have similar schedules: Wake up, sit at our desks all day studying, treat ourselves with a shower and then sleep.

My awesome classes? Research Methods, Reporting and Writing News, Communication Law, and Digital Media Economics and Behavior. So far I really like my classes, my professors, this town, this university, and the supportive feeling of the program. There doesn't seem to be a downside (unless you count the amount of work, but that's what makes the degree what it is).

I feel really good about all this. I know I'm here for a reason and I'm excited to see where it takes me.

**No sightings of my gay best friends yet**

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Newest North Carolina resident

I am moved into Chapel Hill and I met some people in my program tonight! I'm excited and anxious and scared shitless. Until 7pm I knew no one within like 100 miles of me and I didn't know any roads. This is very different than moving to Athens with 60 people from my graduating class.

I've moved into my wonderful apartment and I am so excited that this is what I get to come home to every night. My tub is incredible. Who puts a marble shelf in the tub? I don't know, but I'm glad they do. I'm such a grown up.

I also don't have Internet or tv yet (blogging via iPhone- technology these days!) so I've been listening to a radio station that plays the same ten songs in a cycle. Hopefully when I get Internet I can update more about this new city but for now: no wifi= no pictures.

Some things I've noticed that I like:
- everyone goes about 14 over the speed limit. Perfect.
- people wear school paraphernalia. That's awesome because I'm so excited to have a new school that I've bought an obnoxious amount of Carolina blue already.

Many (hopefully) more things to come!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

A-head of the game

It's my last week of work before I move up to Chapel Hill to start my new life. And it's very bittersweet. I have lots of words to share about my internship, but they're probably too mushy and serious so we'll just talk about Chaz.

I mentioned earlier that a huge part of my internship-humbling-process has been carrying weird things. Or just things in weird shapes, unfailingly things that are hard to carry. Yesterday I think (hope) I maxed out the weirdness.

As an awkward-appetizer, I had to first wheel a cart-load of boxes full of books down to my boss's car. Which would have been fine, but our office cart was being used, so I had to use the tax department's cart.

This cart has proven itself to be an enemy in the past, and yesterday was a battle that I most definitely lost. These carts have four swiveling wheels. Or they're supposed to. The tax department cart only has THREE swiveling wheels. The front right wheel does not swivel. Which makes turning left extremely difficult.

Not only that, but after six boxes of books were stacked on the cart, it would have been hard to turn left WITH a swiveling wheel. So as I ride down the elevator, I look at my watch and realize that it's 11:30, prime lunch time in my building. As the elevator doors open to the first floor, my fears are confirmed that not only do I have to turn left out of the elevator, I have an audience.

I basically end up grunting and heaving and trying to lift the right side of the cart to two-wheel it into a left turn, which naturally fails horribly- leaving the crowd in awe and a few books strewn on the floor.

I picked them up and scurried out of the elevator bank, head down.


Now in terms of embarrassment, that might take the cake for the day. But in terms of carrying awkward things, Chaz does.

As part of a presentation that I'm running today, I have to demonstrate a wearable computer. It pretty much looks like a super fancy headset.



You say commands and it opens folders in the little screen under your eye and then you can tilt your head up and down to scroll through a document. It's very cool. And very expensive.

So yesterday I had to go get it and learn how to use it in order to demonstrate it today. I also had to get the accesories for it. Which include: a battery charger, an SDcard and holder, a carrying case, and... a mannequin head. SAY WHAT?

Yes, friends, yesterday and today part of my job is to carry around a mannequin head. Not only around the office, but the presentation is at Mercer, so in about 20 minutes I'll leave the office to carry said head around Atlanta.

Now I decided to name the head Chaz because he looks like a young fellow. And he has incredible bone structure. And I don't like the idea of carrying a stranger's head around so he needed a name.

So if you're looking for Intern Cindy today, I'll be the one walking through the Mercer campus carrying a mannequin head and wearing a headset computer, yelling "OPEN MY DOCUMENTS!"