All About Work

Hey y'all! (still haven't lost my Southern touch, y'know?)

Two weeks ago, I started working at Butterfly Studio Salon on 5th Avenue. Although it graces the profile as a high-end salon with an affluent range of clients, the staff are some of the most down-to-earth New Yorkers I've ever met. Clients feel at home the moment they walk through the doors. The atmosphere is chic and cheerful, a nice balance between comfort and classy. 

The waiting area consists of vibrant orange cushions and a small fish pond with two Kois named after some of the product lines we carry (Shu Uemura and Kerastase). Clients can busy themselves with snacks, beverages and magazines while waiting to be attended to. 

I work 3 days a week at the front desk as a receptionist, greeting clients, scheduling appointments, answering phone calls, making beverages and ensuring that everyone (including the hair technicians) are happy. It's been great so far. I'm learning more about the products and services. My coworkers are amazing. Every now and then, I get various drinks requests from the clients. Most of them are fine with water or sparkling water (doesn't take a minute to prepare those) but sometimes they want something more, like a decaf cappuccino with skim milk on the side, or an iced coffee with "one-quarter soymilk and three-quarters black coffee without sugar but a packet of Splenda." They think we're Starbucks. Haha.

Honestly, I don't even drink coffee, much less know how to make it. When I first started, I felt like a lost lamb thrown into the world of coffee-making (I still do). Thankfully, my coworkers are understanding and patient enough to teach me how to make (and style) the drinks the right way. I learned that you shouldn't just serve hot tea in a cup with the teabag floating visibly. What you should do instead, is stick the teabag in a teapot with hot water, and serve that along with a matching black teacup. Presentation is pretty important. Okay, so we're not Starbucks. Starbucks doesn't care about presentation. We're technically an in-house cafe.

My morning routine goes something like this: I wake up, do my morning devotion, shower and dress, pack my lunch for the day, attempt to style my hair, and bolt before I miss the 9.55AM bus. 15 minutes later, I get to the subway station, rush down several flights of stairs and hop into the train that takes me to 23 Street, where I get off and grab a muffin or a granola and try to scarf it down as I cross the streets to get to work. I don't have time for a proper sit-down breakfast anymore, but I should probably wake up earlier so I can make myself a bowl of cereal or oatmeal.

These days, I try to cook a big dinner the night before and pack the leftovers for lunch so I won't have to eat out during my 30-minute lunch break. The last time I stepped outside for a quick lunch, I ended up shelling out $10 for Spanish rice, grilled turkey and vegetables. Some of you are probably thinking, "Ah but $10 for a meal is a very good deal!" It might be, but unless I'm making some big bucks, it's going to be pricey eating out all the time. I allow myself to eat out with friends every now and then, but when I'm alone, I cut back on all that because I'm reminded of my rent, bills and groceries. 

I love this job. Apart from the fact that it pays my rent and bills, it's always a joy working with a talented group of fun, friendly people. It's a humbling position, one that requires me to be extra polite and accommodating, and it also teaches me to multitask in hectic situations. It's a great experience and I wouldn't trade this for anything else. If I can put a smile on someone's face, it's totally worth it. This job is a blessing, and it's why I'm able to stay on in New York at least until the end of the year, or early next year.

Well, that's my part-time job. The real reason I came to New York was to gain some experience in journalism or magazine-writing. I interned at Fashionista for a few months, but that ended on the last day of May. 

Today, I went for an internship interview with Seen Heard Known, an interactive digital quarterly magazine that prides itself on fashion, lifestyle and other cool events around the city. The magazine is free and available for download across Apple, Android and other platforms. Log into your iTunes or Android Market and search for "SHK Magazine." Do check out the latest issue, "Summer Needs No Explanation." I assumed it was just like any other magazine, but I was wrong. It is interactive. It's a magazine in motion. The words dance across the screen, buttons are ready to be pushed to reveal more pictures and text, music rings through your earphones. The interface embodies beauty, elegance, creativity and innovation. I was mindblown. It's basically an app with beautiful graphics and lively, engaging content.

When I looked up the address last night, I realized that SHK's office is just A FIVE-MINUTE WALK from Butterfly Studio! They're both located in the same thriving area of the Flat Iron District, right beside Madison Square Park, where the long lines form every lunch hour for the famous Shake Shack burgers (There's even a Shack Cam on its website that lets you view how many people are currently standing in line.)

I met with the managing editor of SHK and she briefed me on the responsibilities and so forth... and to cut the long story short, I GOT THE EDITORIAL INTERNSHIP! I'll be starting with SHK at the end of August :) Yay! 

God is awesome. I've been praying about a journalism/writing internship ever since my last one ended, and over the months, I've learned to surrender my dreams and desires to Him, trusting Him to lead me where He wants me to go. There were some rough patches in between, but it was through the hard moments that I was reminded once again of His unfailing love and mercy. He listens, He understands, and He provides. :) Praise God!

The Future

The future scares me sometimes.

It's unpredictable, it's ever changing and it's full of promises that remain a secret.

Only God knows my how my future unfolds but He won't tell me. If only He would.

"Oh, Carissa. You've been so obedient this month! As a reward, I'll reveal to you what you're going to do over the next two weeks."

It doesn't work that way.

I don't know where I'll be two years from now, whether I'll be in the United States, Australia, Singapore or back home in Malaysia. Okay, maybe two years is quite a long trip into the future, so let's shorten it a bit. What about six months from now?

I need to do an internship before I graduate, but I have absolutely nothing planned. I'm totally clueless about where I should intern at. I'm comfortable with online journalism and magazine writing and would love to intern at a magazine or an online publishing company. I don't even know if I'll be interning in Arkansas, Texas, California or NEW YORK. God, I would LOVE to go to New York for a holiday, but I'm not too sure if I want to stay in that rowdy city for three whole months and take the subway to the office every day. The cost of living in New York is just way too high; I doubt I'll be getting a paid internship anyway. Besides, I'll be honest. Big magazine companies like Cosmopolitan, Self and Glamour actually intimidate me.

I've just been thinking a lot lately. I've been thinking about the future even though I know I shouldn't. It's so much easier to live for the moment, isn't it? It's so much easier to bask in the present, reminiscence on the past and dream of the future, but it's scary when you start trying to make that dream a reality. Because when you lay out the pieces of your future in front of you, you see so many missing pieces. And then the big picture doesn't look so pretty anymore; it looks incomplete. That's when you start searching high and low for the missing pieces and drive yourself crazy when you don't see them.

People say it's better to live for the moment so you can focus on the current and not worry about the future. They say it's best to let the future unveil itself. There's only so much you can worry about, and worrying over the future won't make it any better. They're right. But I can't help thinking, you know. I can't help feeling scared that I won't be able to graduate on time, or that I won't be able to find a suitable place to intern at when the time comes. I know I should just thrust these concerns to God and let Him take the wheel because that's what He's good at. It's hard, but I'll do it.

I'll release the wheel and let Him control my destiny. The future is in His hands, not mine. And wherever I end up six months or two years down the road... it doesn't matter right now, because I have a whole semester to finish :) I have assignments to do, tests to study for, story ideas to fetch. I have a busy semester that desperately needs my attention.

I don't know where I'll end up. But I know one thing for sure.

Wherever I'm meant to be, there He will be also. :)

I know I'm not alone.