Love Love Love

There's just no other way to say it: I love my Kate Reed Designs internship.

This morning, I wrote emails, looked up descriptions and designs on etsy.com, and help put samples together. I cannot wait to get started on our new letter press (check out the Kate Reed blog) and get some designs going. I have some Christmas card ideas and am still thinking about doing something for sororities (let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions!).

Speaking of the letter press, who knew how cool it would be?! Letter pressing is like a lost art, and I can kinda see why. It's very tedious. You have to get just the right about of ink, the right color for ink, AND make sure you place the paper in the right place every time. You can only do one card at a time, you know. And when someone wants a set of, say, 10, you have to do it TEN times and it all has to be exactly the same. It's very much a trial and error art. But it's so freaking cool! I can't wait to really get down and dirty with it.

Also nice thing to hear: them saying they need to set aside some of the budget so they can hire me on at the end of the internship. I can't even tell you how exciting that is to me! It makes me want to buckle down and really show them that they can hire me and never EVER regret it. I hope I can do that. Like I said, give me any ideas or suggestions and I'll make some design templates! You could be helping me out :)

As for "the other"...let's just say that there's definitely a lack of communication, which is sometimes annoying. Okay, ALWAYS annoying. But, I am just an intern, so I can't expect much more...right?

But on a good note, I get my adorable puppy next week! I can't wait! :)

Honeymoon stage is over

...as the title would suggest, the exciting, exhilarating feeling of interning is gone. Don't get me wrong, I still love both of them and am 100 thousand times happier than I was, it's just...a little boring now. Or at least today was.

Not only did I literally sit at my desk playing on my phone for an hour and a half, but when I did get something to do, it was going through emails and deleting them. Awesome.

At least I get to learn the art of the letter press tomorrow. Hopefully that'll provide some stories to tell :)

And on a good note, I leave for Montana in THREE days!!

Thank goodness for my little brother...

...or else I wouldn't know how to hold my own in the "the other" office. These boys are SO much fun - shooting each other with nerf guns, playing ping pong and even the random yoga session in the middle of the floor! They tell funny jokes, make funny noises, and do, well, funny boy things.  Like I said, good thing I have a little brother to give me plenty of practice on handling/playing along with these things.

Don't get me wrong - this is a legit place and they definitely get things done. I am a little nervous that I won't deliver. Take it one day at a time, right? At least I made a good first impression for these boys :)

Kate Reed is still going amazing. I have a lot of creative freedom and can design just about anything I want. I have some ideas :)

And I'm learning so much about the printing industry! Who knew there was such a difference between digital printing, screen printing and letter press? Heck, who even knew there WAS a difference? I sure didn't. And we're getting our own letter press, so go ahead and add that to my list of skills. Can press my own paper? Check and check.

I love not being treated like the typical intern. I don't do any bitch work (okay, maybe I will a little, but come on, I AM an intern after all) and I get a good laugh every day. Something tells me that these next four months will be life changing for me - not only in my career but in learning new industries, making new friends, and teaching me some things I didn't know about myself. 

And since I have a MUCH better schedule (don't go in till 9:30, get home at 5 and NO weekends), that gives me time to...

Train a puppy!

If I can ever decide which one I want. It seems like I get my heart set on one and then something goes wrong. It's a little disheartening, but I'm sure (god, I hope) it'll be well worth the wait.

So, dear blogger, let's make a toast. A toast to good jobs (or unpaid internships, whatev), a good schedule, and the future. Because it's never felt brighter than it feels now.

Change is good

Dear bloggers,

I am proud to announce that in the past couple of days, my life has changed. Now, I know you're thinking "mandaaa, you've been talking about the changes you want to make for a week or so" but that was all talk. That was all planning. THIS, my friends, is action. This goes beyond the dream of change and the planning of change. This actual change - and all in the past two days!

Now that you're all in suspense, I'll let you in on the good news:

1. I put in my two weeks notice at the office. And it went surprisingly well. I talked to my boss about what was going on (the cliff's notes version, at least. Aaand I did leave out just how much I hated it there - no need to go into that). She gave me a hug, told me she'd miss me, but was really excited for me because she knows this is a dream of mine (which she did know - we spent two weeks sharing a bed in St. Louis, so needless to say, we got to know a little bit about each other). Not only that, but she went ahead and took me off the schedule (there are new people who need the hours and since I'm not part of the team anymore, I'm not really considered. I understand. No hard feelings). So basically, I'm done. I don't ever have to drive back to the office ever again nor walk around a sam's club randomly talking to people (no offense to sam's club. I loved making new friends with the sample ladies). Yes, that means I don't get paid for two extra weeks, but I'm actually okay with that. So that means a few days off (a few much deserved and needed days off) to sleep some, run errands, actually see the people I call my friends. That is until...

2. My internship starts! After no contact for a week or so, I heard back from a company with an internship and they wanted an interview (flashback to the last post). I met them, talked to them, and just fell in love with the job. It's for Kate Reed designs. What they do is design stationary, notecards, things like that. The position is 1/3 design and working with the art director (who is a young TCU grad, so we have a lot in common), 1/3 social media (facebook, twitter, blogs, etc. - you know, my expertise) and 1/3 regular intern work (ie: stuffing envelopes, running errands, things like that). They only wanted one intern and they picked ME! Not only does it have the possibility of a full time position at the end of it, but it's what I want to do in a little bit different environment. I start Wednesday :)

Things seem to be falling into place (knock on wood) and for the first time in a long time, I can't wait to see what else happens! Here's hoping they keep working out for me because it's a good feeling when you wake up happy and knowing it's going to be a good day. I've missed that feeling. I'm glad it's back.