The Less-Than-Glamorous Side of Things
I’m having an awesome time with my internship with the set decoration department of a feature film. However, as with most internships, it’s not all fun and games. Some of the things they have me doing really take that phrase the next level. Here’s what I’ve been able to cross off of my to-do list the past couple of weeks:
- Scrubbed a coffee pot because someone left the burner on with only a bit of coffee left. Subsequently, everything burned to the pot. Good job people.
- Since I have this thing about being at least 10 minutes early instead of 15-60 minutes late like everyone else, I’ve made the coffee every single morning. Definitely putting that on my resume, because I have pretty much learned everything there is to know about industrial coffee makers.
- Took out all of the clear pushpins because the boss doesn’t like colored pushpins. But actually. It’s like those bosses that you see in movies who only like one color of M&Ms. Except this is real life.
Perfectly describes how I felt during this task....
- Reformatted and reprinted lunch orders because someone was unhappy about being ranked on the list two spots lower than where they thought they deserved to be.
- Found "good" salad places. Before, I just thought there were places to get salad, and as long as they had a bit more variety than iceberg lettuce, things would be fine. Nope. Pro tip: it's helpful if you can find the word "organic" at least thirty times on the menu.
- Stayed at work two hours past when I’m supposed to get off multiple times, because my boss forgot about me. And I’m in one of those “don’t speak unless spoken to” situations, so all I can do is attempt to be visible so someone notices me and tells me I can go.
- Took the elevator multiple times. This wouldn’t be a big deal in any other building, but let me tell you a little story about the elevators in our office. The main front one looks nice, but hasn’t been inspected in SIX YEARS. By my understanding of Chicago elevator codes, it is sixty months overdue for its check-up. I’m fairly sure the elevator is hanging by a thread. And then there’s the freight elevator. It only has three walls, and there’s a part of the ceiling that’s missing so you can see into the elevator shaft. It makes a really disconcerting creaking sound as it moves. The only upside is that it gets inspected every couple of months. In addition, I’m lazy so I don’t like running up and down the stairs to get to the sixth floor. So basically you have to pick your poison when asked to go refill someone’s parking meter.
You can hardly see it but 2007!!! DANGER!!!
Don’t get me wrong, working as an intern for a major feature film is awesome. Even though I’m only here for a fraction of the time most other people are, it feels as if I’m a part of something bigger. There are hundreds of people, all over the country and overseas, working to make one singular movie. It's just that... well I'll be glad when I don't have to wash any more lazy people's dishes once I get back to school.