After being home for a few weeks now I have to confess it seems like the momentum I had during the last leg of our road trip in terms of blog posting has all but fizzled. I can’t tell whether it’s because we no longer have the routine of posting every night in order to recount days that were continuously different than those before, or whether it’s just a general lack of material, but it seems harder to be diligent about posting since we’ve returned to the “real” world. Either way, a post seemed due.
There have been some changes to my situation since my last post over two weeks ago. After completing a full week at my internships I discovered that, while I was working outreach and program growth for both nonprofits, the organizations and my role in them were quite different. While I think it’s unnecessary to enumerate reasons for liking one internship over the other, I’ll just say that I feel like the internship in Greenwich is far more conducive to my interests than the internship in New York. I really enjoy the work environment, and the fact that I feel incredibly useful while I’m there. Plus, I have to admit that the 1.5+ hour commute to NYC was a drag. Because I was already feeling negative about my internship in New York, I decided that I didn’t want to continue. I wanted very much to find a part-time job of some sort to make up for the days that I would have been at my internship, and also to earn money so that I wouldn’t be relying on my parents and my depleting (or depleted) personal funds. I decided that I would look for part-time jobs, and once I’d found the right one I would end my New York internship.
Luck (more like perfect timing) seemed to be on my side when I went to my Greenwich internship the following day. While speaking with the Executive Director, he told me that in the weeks to come the organization was going to be short staffed with various employees and interns out of the office due to surgery, spring break, jury duty, business trips, etc. Therefore, he was interested in hiring me full-time, at least temporarily until the office was well-staffed again. He told me that I would work 35 hours per week, with half-days on Friday, and I would be paid (fairly well) on an hourly basis. I tried to hide my excitement as I told him that I thought it might be a possibility, and I would let him know as soon as I had confirmed my availability. It was amazing to think that I would be paid not only for the days that I wanted to get a part-time job, but for the days that I would already have been in the office for my internship. The timing could not have been better. I explained to the Executive Director in New York that my situation had changed, and I would no longer be able to continue with the internship for various reasons, including my financial situation. He was understanding and kind, and told me to stay in touch. The following day I returned to my Greenwich internship bearing the good news. They were extremely grateful that I could “help” them on such short notice, and I couldn’t believe that I had found a paying position that I knew I already loved. It was an incredibly exciting step.
So this past week was my first week full-time (well, technically not since I’m only doing 35 hours… but close enough!). I start every day at 9:30am, which means I get to sleep until 8am. I imagine that a few months ago I would have been horrified at the idea of getting up as early as 8am for five days in a row, but it’s actually not as bad as I imagined it could have been. The office is very busy at the moment and while there are particular assignments that I am “always” working on or could be working on for our event at the United Nations this fall, the Executive Director and the Musical Director also ask me to work on projects concerning other events or the organization itself. I feel like time goes by so quickly that it hardly feels like a long work day. The other employees are incredibly nice and are careful to take the time to explain certain details or aspects of the organization and/or projects so that I actually feel like I know what I’m doing. Applications started today for the event, so I know the office will only get busier. I look forward to it!
As you probably read in Brett’s posts, we’ve had a busy two days, and it will be nice to relax tomorrow before going out to dinner at Hot Tomatoes. And by “relax” I probably mean drinking tea and continuing to tackle the disorganized clutter that is my bedroom at the moment. Brett and I both agree that it’s been really hard to come home to so much STUFF everywhere after only needing what we had in the car for so long. Hopefully my organizing will lead to lots of donations and a change from my pack-rat lifestyle pre- roadtrip. I’m optimistic!
<3 J
