days seventy & seventy-one

Friday:

In two days, I'll be getting on a bus back to Boston. Where in the world has the time gone?

There wasn't really much to do today since most of the interns were at work. I took the opportunity to start packing, just to see if I was in over my head with how much I had to carry back. I heard some voices from across the hall and thought that Jordan was home but as I looked through the peephole, all I saw was Roland getting ready to move out :(

It was really sad! It all just kind of hit me at once.

When the Round Hill interns got home, we made plans to head to the Shake Shack for dinner before Dottie's show. I was trying to go the whole summer without eating there because it's a tourist trap lol, but I was more than satisfied with my vanilla milkshake and fries!

I was SO proud of Dots! I've had the pleasure of hearing her sing some covers this summer but I finally got to hear her original music tonight! We had such a great time with her sweet parents and I'm really glad that we were able to be there and support her.

Most of us headed back to the dorms and had a slight change of plans once we got there. We initially wanted to have a pretty loud night but then started watching this super interesting documentary about Bob Marley. We were glued to that computer screen all night!

Saturday:

Our last full day in New York.

Jordan and I got up and really started packing (more him than me because we had to ship his clothes back to Chicago.) After what seemed like a slow start haha, we finally got it together and headed towards the UPS store. They made him a custom box for his suitcase and shipped it right off! Amazing how you can ship almost anything nowadays...

We had lunch at this cute little French place and it couldn't of been a more perfect day to sit outside and enjoy the city. Both of us were silent at times and I'm sure a million things were running through our minds, but I think at one point, we both shared the thought of how lucky we were to have participated in this experience.

I went back to the dorms so I could change because I got offered the opportunity to work the evening performance of Rent! It was such a great way to close out the summer :) There were so many little moments that brought back sweet memories from when we did the show back in November of last year. There were a million people waiting outside so I didn't get a chance to talk to MJ (a Berklee kid who plays Angel) but I'm sure I'll run into him soon enough!

We thought about having a big goodbye party, but it didn't seem right with so many people missing. Instead, Jordan and I watched the pilot for a tv show called Sherlock and I am SO hooked! It was an early night due to the fact that we have to move out tomorrow morning (which, I'm really not excited about..) but everything will be alright...I'll be back soon!

days sixty-eight & sixty-nine

Wednesday:

Oh my gosh. Tomorrow is my final day :(

Thursday:

I didn't think it was going to be this hard to leave, especially because I finally had an awesome routine going. It probably didn't help that I literally worked for the most welcoming office in the world lol.

I tried to keep it together while I was working (leave your personal problems at the door- ALWAYS) and I actually had a lot of things to keep me busy. I did some research on the computer in the morning and packed up some merchandise for The Broadway Store until my lunch break. My lunch breaks are usually quick and I never really take my time, but I decided to walk around the block for a bit and clear my head of any negative vibes that were trying to creep up in there...

By negative vibes, I mean the feeling of being sad because this chapter of my life is coming to a close. Instead, I tried to turn them around and realize just how much I've accomplished this summer. The connections I've made, the team of supporters behind me, and the knowledge I've learned has all shaped me into a stronger person. New York used to be a dream for me and now it's much more than that; it's a plan in the making!

I got back from lunch and saw that the door to the room I work in was closed. That usually means that there is an interview going on for the internship position. I knocked on the door and was asked by my supervisor to come in and chat with them. After talking to the girl for a couple minutes, I was so not impressed and voiced that to my supervisor hahaha! He and I were on the same page, so for a hot minute I felt like such a pro ;)

The next thing that happened was the most genuine going away gift I have ever received and so perfectly timed!

Our boss stuck his head through the door and said "hey Carla, so I heard you want to be a producer?"

Oh my gah. He remembered!

Weeks ago, my supervisor asked me if I wanted to learn anything in specific from the internship. I basically told him that I would love to sit down with Matt (our boss) and ask him some questions about what it's like to be a producer and what his job entails. My supervisor then mentioned something to him but I thought he had forgotten about it because it was weeks since I first asked. He told me that he only had about 10 minutes but I sat in that office with him for 45 minutes chatting about my career path and what he did on his. It was remarkable, eye opening, and encouraging to hear him talk about so many different avenues and options that we both feel I can explore.

I was walking on cloud nine after our meeting and one of the guys in the office had a task that quickly brought me back to reality. I had to clean the dirt and dust off of the Memphis signs that had been hanging in the theater. One of the signs was for the creative team, so it was incredibly important that I cleaned it to the point that you could eat off of it haha. I thought it was cute that they had plans to hang one in the office :)

Then came the tear jerker. They surprised me by giving me this awesome card and these AMAZING cupcakes as a token of their appreciation!

How lucky am I?! They were all singing and wishing me the best on my last year of school. My favorite part was when Matt told me not to be a stranger and to stay in touch until I get back to the city.

What an amazing opportunity.

days sixty-six & sixty-seven

Monday:

Today was my last day working with the other intern. It was actually a pretty crazy day and one of our tasks was wig shopping? Hahaha.

There was an additional show of The Berenstain Bears on a harbor cruise and we hired a new actor for it. The show was only a couple days away, so we had to improvise by buying him a wig and sewing ears onto it! The only problem was, we couldn't find a men's wig anywhere. We even searched party supply stores and still came up with nothing. I'm sure it didn't help that our supervisor said we could go early today because that's exactly where my mind was the whole time haha!

We went back to the office with no wig, so our supervisor gave us silly little tasks to do since things have been pretty slow around the office. We dropped off the packages at the post office and then went and bought $20 worth of Reeses cups! We can literally blow through two family sized bags in three days!

I left work a little early for our final workshop of the summer. This time, the workshop was totally geared towards what I want to do! We had a chat with a musical director who also subs in the pit of some Broadway shows. It's a good thing I had two pages worth of questions to ask him because there were only four other interns there! I really made the most out of the workshop and afterwards got to chat with our internship coordinator. I asked her what she thought about me getting my masters degree in order to go into arts administration. Her response? "there's no reason a school wouldn't hire you if you have 10 years of experience on Broadway."

So that's exactly what I'm doing.

I'm still going to audition for BoCo's program, but I'm not so sure if I'll immediately attend. Only time will tell!

Tuesday:

This happened. It was amazing.

Jordan and I got our worlds rocked.

PS: We're in there somewhere on the left hand side of the screen. I'm wearing a black shirt and a gold skirt :)

days sixty-four & sixty-five: start of final week

Saturday:

It was super hard to get myself out of my comfy bed this morning! The only thing that really fueled me was the fact that I was heading back to New York today.

I literally had to mentally prepare myself for what is going to be my last week in New York. It sounds super cheesy but I'm finding it so hard to come to terms with the fact that I'll be re-adapting to my Boston life really soon. I'm making my time in Boston seem like it's the worst thing in the world and it's definitely not, but there is something so wonderful about finally being in the city.

The whole bus ride home gave me time to reflect and look forward to all of the wonderful opportunities I have through the connections I've made!

Sunday:

I was so unbelievably inspired today.

The other intern asked me to cover her shift at Memphis and I was flipping out because it was the closing night! The vibe in the theater was UNREAL. I could feel the emotion, even though I wasn't in the center of it. I walked in and everyone was busy making sure that everything was perfect for their final performance. I was working the mezzanine, which meant that I would be in the theater for the whole show. My manager gave me my money bag and supplies, then slipped me two little trinkets and told me that they were presents from the producers!

 The little white box had four peanut butter squares in it, with a sticker that said "good night and hockadoo!" I thought it was such a sweet gift and they apparently made a ton of them because I heard that they were giving them out at the stage door!

That cast was on fire today. They literally gave everything and more on that stage and I couldn't sit still! I don't really know who I have to thank for my ability of quickly picking up choreography (my dance teacher probably) but I know a good amount of choreography from the major dance numbers and I've only seen the show twice haha. So guess what I was doing in the back of the mezzanine? Hahaha. The usher next to me (who is also super pregnant) was dancing too!

At one point during her solo "Colored Woman", Montego Glover basically stopped the show at the very end and just looked around at everyone in the audience. With tears in her eyes, she cued the MD to bring the band back in and finished her song. It was unbelievable... what I would give to feel a moment like that!

I'm not gonna lie, I got teary eyed when they came out and sang "Love Will Stand When All Else Falls." The finale was the spectacular and they brought out the entire ensemble plus the swings. At one point, the band pulled out and Montego started introducing the producers and the creators. She even called up most of the original cast, which I'm sure was super emotional for some people!

I couldn't of thought of a better way to start my final week in New York. All I kept thinking during the show was "there is NO reason why I can't be up on that stage with them." I'm so ready and determined to get through the next nine months so that I can start working towards being here permanently. I know that I'm going to succeed in this city and I can't wait to see what round two will bring!

days sixty-two & sixty-three

Thursday:

I think I can say that I have the coolest internship in the world. Today they had me go up to Central Park and hand out business cards to all the people standing in line for Into The Woods tickets!

My favorite part of the day was literally spending almost 45 minutes in The Drama Book Shop doing some monologue shopping. It was so nice to have some alone time and feel incredibly productive about what I was doing. I haven't really announced it, but I'm going to audition for the Boston Conservatory's Masters Program. I'm not exactly sure if going to school for two more years is what I want to be doing, especially because there are so many factors to think about (like where the money is going to come from.) I'm still going to apply and just take it from there.

After work, I headed over towards the Megabus stop because I decided to make a quick trip to Boston. I have a really awesome gig tomorrow night at the Hard Rock and I definitely didn't want to pass it up! Honestly, who gets to play at the Hard Rock? Or better yet, who ever thought I would perform at the Hard Rock?! Hahaha.

As far as going back to the bean, I have mixed emotions. I'm excited to see my friends and sleep in my really awesome bed but I'm not excited to re-adapt to my Boston life, even if it's only for 24 hours. I just love the life and the routine that I have here in NYC

...and I'm not quite ready to give it up.

But I'm staying positive. I'm taking this little vaca to get my things packed and some other business in order. There's a lot to do to get ready for the big move and I'm getting a head start on it.

Friday:

Busy, busy, busy day today!

Since I have air conditioning in my dorm in NYC, it obviously wasn't something that I missed. I DID miss how incredibly comfortable my bed is in Boston!

I woke up pretty early and got ready to go have lunch with Tara. I just found out that she's going back home to Canada in a couple of weeks and I want to spend as much time as I can with her. We decided to hit up Tasty Burger, which is a BANGIN' burger place right by Fenway Park. I'm so glad we got the time to catch up, especially because the next couple of weeks are going to be bananas.

After lunch, I texted Jenna to see what she was up to. We met up and walked around H&M for a bit, which is one of our favorite things to do together hahaha. It was Jenna that convinced me to get my first pair of leggings (and yes, I'm totally guilty for wearing them as "pants" lol!) I was explaining to her that in NYC, girls wear leggings all the time (like in Boston) but some of them are clueless to the "rules" that you need to abide by when attempting to rock them as pants!

So with that said, here are the three absolute no-no's when wearing leggings:

1. You cannot and I mean CANNOT wear full underwear with leggings. You just can't. Especially when the underwear is too tight or even too loose (which I've unfortunately witnessed on multiple occasions.)
2. If you're buying cotton leggings and wearing them as pants, make sure they fit! Cotton leggings that are too tight = everyone and their grandmas seeing your flowery tighty-whities (which goes hand in hand with rule #1)
3. Make sure you're not pulling them up too high in the front... that's just not good for anyone.

We had a really good laugh about my rules because it's totally true! 

Then came the highlight of my trip- performing at the Hard Rock! Since it's our last show for a while, I went all out and wore my gold platforms with a little black dress. It's never a dull moment when I'm with those boys and I was excited to see them! We took a listen to the band before for most of their set and then it was go time.

The feeling I had up on that stage was unreal.

total. rockstar. status.

I always feel incredibly appreciated and respected when I perform with the guys and I'm so glad that I made the trip home. Videos and photos will be posted as soon as I can get my hands on them!

days sixty & sixty-one

Tuesday:

Woo! Today was exciting!

For the first bit of the day, I did the usual gig- wrote and responded to emails, checked bank accounts, made to-do lists, etc.

The second part of the day was just one awesome event after another! First off, Melody got her final chest tube out and is being released from the hospital tomorrow!!! I can't thank everyone enough for sending their love and positive thoughts to my special friend.

After that, a family friend called and asked when I was coming home. I told him I wasn't sure because I knew I wouldn't have the money right away. When Melody first decided to get the transplant, I told her that I would do everything in my power to come home and be with her after surgery. I'm really big on keeping my promises, so there was no question about me coming home. The timing is a little tight only because I have to move and then start orientation for Peer Advising, but nothing is more important than going home and spending time with her...

Long story short, that family friend bought my plane ticket and I couldn't be more happy and grateful.

As if all of that isn't exciting enough, I also got asked to cover a shift at the closing performance of Memphis on Sunday!! AHHHHH! The girl totally knew how to reel me in (even though she didn't really have to, I would've happily taken the shift) because she threw in "it's also the final performance."

I can't believe I'm going the closing night of a show!

Wednesday:

Work is definitely slowing down, especially since Memphis is closing. We've also had some pretty intense storms lately so the energy at work was pretty low. I was going out and doing random errands for people because there wasn't a ton for me to do at the office. I did get my dollar pizza today, which made me one happy girl!

We had a workshop tonight with Sony Music! At first, I wasn't really excited about it, but I chose to have a positive attitude because I know that I can take something away from every situation.

I thought that the workshop was at NYU, so I made sure to leave work early so that I could get there on time. I got there super early and thought "I deserve Pinkberry today" hahaha. I went to Pinkberry and even sat down thinking I had all the time in the world. When I got to NYU, the guard wouldn't let me in and kept insisting that he didn't know about a workshop on the 2nd floor.

Then it hit me. I was obviously in the wrong place.

I read the email again and realized that I was supposed to be up by Madison and 5th Ave! The panic set in and I was freaking out trying to figure out how I would make it on time. When I got to 34th, I saw a familiar face and it was another Berklee intern who was also running a bit late. We made it (almost 10 minutes late) but at least we showed up!

The workshop was super informative and we got to ask a lot of questions. We walked out with business cards, bags, and a ton of free CD's!

days fifty-eight & fifty-nine

Sunday:

We had such an awesome day today! I can't believe that we only have three weeks left :(

Williamsburg, NY is seriously the hippest place I've ever been to hahaha. Hip as in "wow, this place has a really cool vibe" and hip as in "holy crap, I've never seen so many hipsters in one place!"

Jordan and his family were walking around a flea market, so we decided to meet up with them. It was a really cool little market that had everything from hand made soaps to beautifully crafted jewelry! There were so many things that I wanted but my poor wallet was staring at me being like "you are absolutely not getting that because it's way too much money!" I went to go meet up with Dottie and Brian who had gone to another flea market down by the water that was just as expensive. Most of the items being sold could be found at thrift stores for much cheaper, so I figured I would keep looking until I found something I knew I couldn't get anywhere else (which I didn't haha.) It was BLAZING hot that day and I was even wearing a dress! But it didn't take long before the storm clouds moved in and I made the call to get everyone back on the train.

It was kind of an emotional night due to the fact that it was Jordan's last show of the trip and a lot of his friends and family members were there to see it. He and Brian did great as always and when Jordan brought his mama onstage to sing with him, we lost it! It was so, so, so sweet!

 

Monday:

The new intern was supposed to start at work today but called in and said she was in the emergency room? Not the best first impression, but I'm sure she was being legit about it.

The guy that usually goes to War Horse to grab all of the merch forms and money forgot to this morning, so he asked if I could run up there. It gave me something to do, so I didn't mind. I basically just had to jump on the 1 train, run across to Lincoln Center, and then come back down to midtown. The Upper West Side is super nice and I find myself walking around aimlessly for long periods of time haha.

I came back down and processed the sales sheets, then I took all of the packages to the post office. The other intern and I were literally sitting around doing nothing for a while and then our supervisor said "ok, go ask anyone if they need anything and if they don't, you can go home early today."

So we ran around hoping that no one had anything for us to do but there was one person who had the most bizarre request. He wanted us to go wig shopping because he needed an extra wig for the guy who plays Brother Bear in the Berenstain Bears. We ran around to all the ethnic wig stores in midtown trying to find this wig hahaha. We didn't end up finding it, which meant that I got to go home a little early and the other intern stayed behind to look up some more wig stores in the area.

Not too much happened tonight. I DID have an incredible gym session! I have my full flexibility back and I'm training in the hopes of running a 5K and then a half marathon (eventually...hahaha.)