The Play Company and More!

Exciting news!

I am now the Marketing Intern for the Play Company, an off-Broadway company that produces the American premieres of contemporary international playwrights. I start next week, and this upcoming month is going to be crazy! Santaland, PlayCo, and Town Hall!

I'm really excited to start working with PlayCo. This is exactly the internship I wanted, in terms of the specialization and their willingness to teach. I may have touched upon this before, but I was/am having a hard time getting hired, even as an intern because the minimum requirements companies are expecting are incredibly high. In my interview I was incredibly upfront out not having amazing photo-shopping skills, and non existent video editing skills, but they took me on because I have a willingness to learn, and because I'm totally serious about the field.

I just wanted to let you know. Also, the Santaland Puppet Theatre is only open to the public on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Life's Bittersweet

I generally try to find the silver lining when not so awesome things happen. Sometimes there isn't one, and that's when I use the spiritual beliefs to justify my misfortune. This isn't one of those times that I have to think about what the greater powers have in store, and it does have a silver lining, but it's kind of just a bummer.

This past weekend I had to make the decision to give up moving into the basement apartment in my grandmother's house. She would have had to charge me rent ($700 for a 1 bedroom, a STEAL for the NYC market) because she only works seasonally as a seamstress and my grandfather is retired, and this their only source of income while she isn't working.

Their current tenants applied for Section 8 housing (their rent is based on their income and the landlord is subsidized by the government), and were supposed to move out June 1st. They signed a lease and payed money and everything, but since the building is new construction there were some problems with the contractors forgetting to install things like the sidewalk and the meters that measure how much electricity each apartment uses. READ: CORRUPTION. So they've finally moved out, however just in time for my student loan grace period to end.

As if starting to pay student loans and rent on the same day wasn't a bad combination already, add in the fact that I still haven't been employed in a position with a salary. My ushering job gets me about $100 a week, and a little more money will come in once Macy's starts paying me, but it still isn't enough. I will continue to live in my tiny bedroom at my grandmother's, fortunately, rent free.

The reason I'm most bummed about not being able to move into the apartment, besides my independence and my own bathroom (I am 1 of 6 people living here with only 1 bathroom), is that my creativity is being stifled. I've had a whole bunch of projects in mind for the apartment. I'm not very picky about apartments, I don't care that my appliances aren't stainless and that my closet isn't walk-in. It's a combination of my independence and the fact that I will probably never be able to afford a one bedroom apartment by myself in this city. A studio, yes. But a studio is a big bedroom with the other rooms combined.

I've been bitten by the interior design and flea market bugs and it's starting to itch! I'm going to share some of my project ideas with you in the next couple of posts because I just can't hold it in anymore. Also, my birthday is in 2 days, and the only thing, other than student loans, I'm going to spend my money on is a copy of Flea Market magazine. I'm sure that will help the itch.

Toodles!

Santaland!

I never announced this on Dear Jane, I don't think, or I don't recall. But I got a job at Macy's Santaland this holiday season. This has definitely been a bucket list item for me. For those who don't know, Macy's originated the sitting on Santa's lap tradition. I first fell in love with the idea of Santaland my junior year of high school when my English teacher played part of David Sedaris' NPR special. Click the link to listen to the first part, there are four total. This was also converted into a one man show.

I originally applied to be a Support and/or Sales Elf, because that's the ad I saw on Playbill. My interview was scheduled for 8am at Macy's Herald Sq. and there had to be about a hundred people there. They corralled us into a large room to wait for interviews, we were greeted by the man in charge of the Santaland department, who had started out at Macy's as a Santa. They told us they were going to do one on one interviews, and I have to say, I am really impressed by that. There were three managers, two had a list of everyone's names, and the other just pointed and picked. I was the first one he picked. Since he didn't know my name I gave him my resume, and he immediately said, "Oh you're and usher?" And then he offered me a position at the Santaland Puppet Theater, as an usher. My life is ushering.

So, despite what David Sedaris said, they didn't even do a background check. I start training tonight!