Status: New :)
Let It Roll
The First Day on the Job
By 'information packet,' Mr. Lennox meant an 'information sheet.' All I got from his receptionist Jenna was a single-page word document that included directions on how to get to the building, where to park, and contact information for Mrs. Collier in case I couldn't find the place where I was supposed to check in upon arrival. Also according to the sheet, the internship involved working from 9 to 5 during the weekdays, including some extended hours due to special events and other such assignments.
Basic information, I thought to myself as I brushed my teeth. My bed side table clock read 6:45. After throwing my long brown hair into a messy bun at the top of my head, I stepped into the shower and tried to wake myself up. My stomach grumbled five minutes into my shower so I quickly finished up and toweled off.
I must have spent twenty minutes staring at my closet wondering what an appropriate 'business casual' outfit would be for the first day. From the way Mr.Lennox was talking about my boss, I gathered that Mrs. Collier had high expectations of those who worked for her, so I needed to make a good first impression. I settled on a pair of slim fit black dress pants, a tiffany blue blouse, and a beige blazer. I rolled the sleeves of the blazer up so that the tiffany blue lining would show and compliment the blouse. I kept my accessories simple with cream colored flower earrings, a beige and blue bracelet, and a beige belt. By the time I finally slipped on a pair of nude, closed-toed shoes, it was 7:30.
"You look good, Popov," I observed silently to myself, looking in the mirror. I let out a sigh. Good wasn't good enough.
It's the hair. It was frizzy and had several kinks in it from the bun I threw it into while I showered. The question was, do I want to straighten my hair or curl it? What would look better with this outfit? I tilted my head, squinted my eyes, and eventually, I decided to give my hair defined waves by curling it with my straightening iron.
I kept my make-up simple, with a thin line of brown liquid eyeliner lining my top lid, light pink lip gloss, mascara, and powder to reduce shine. I pinched my cheeks to give them some color; I figured blush would be superfluous since I would be naturally flushed running around all day anyway.
By 8:10, I was shoving my phone, a protein bar, and the directions into my purse and bouncing out the door. I was probably going to get there ridiculously early, but I figured it was better than getting there late.
*****
"Read these packets thoroughly, sign off on these papers, then come find me for your intern quiz. After that, we'll take your picture and scan your finger for your access card and then you'll be ready to start."
I nodded at the stage manager who had quickly handed me a medium sized stack of papers before walking away. Nice to meet you too, I thought to myself sarcastically.
The address that I was given was of a sound stage, not of an office building. I didn't even have to call the number that Jessica listed on the information sheet because as soon as I got there, this stage manager intercepted me and start catching me up with what was going on in the studio. I guess this internship was going to be a lot more hands on than I thought...
I walked over to a chair that was placed right by the open door I had just come through. Sitting down, I opened up the first packet and began to read:
Rules:
1) No photography on set! This should be self-explanatory, we need to respect the confidentiality of everything that makes Nickelodeon great.
2) Keep relations professional on set. If you do make friends, keep recreational activities away from the Nickelodeon name.
2) Tardiness is absolutely unacceptable.
3) Wear proper business attire. Forever 21 does not sell proper business attire. Closed-toed shoes are preferred, flats are acceptable.
4) Never turn off your business phone, and your personal phone should never be on while you are at work.
5) Keep your business phone on silent or vibrate at all times— pay close attention to it throughout the day.
6) Report back to Mrs.Collier at the end of each day via email or text message—the message can be as long or as short as you deem appropriate, but descriptions of the day's happenings are required. Failure to report will result in consequences TBD.
7) General working hours are from 9-5 during the business day week; unless otherwise told, you should be on call during the weekend for special events and scheduled shooting sessions.
Contact information:
If you have any questions or concerns about your assignment, see Mrs. Collier.
You'll acquire more contact numbers once you've been assigned.
I rolled my eyes. How informative.
I signed the last sheet of that packet and moved on to the next, which was more about the history of the Nickelodeon channel and it's programming. I smiled as I read the descriptive summaries of some of my favorite programs growing up, from CatDog to Hey Arnold! I breezed through that packet easily and tucked it under the remainder of the pile. Before long, my contract was signed and I officially belonged to Nickelodeon for the summer.
"Ok, three questions on the quiz and you're set. Number One: When and where was Nickelodeon founded?" The stage manager shut the door of the sound booth he was just in behind him before taking my paperwork off of my hands.
"1977 in Ohio, and it was originally called the Pinwheel Network. The Nickelodeon name relaunch came two years later."
"A+. Number Two: If you have any questions, you should call…" he trailed off, handing the paperwork off to someone who seemed like a clerk.
"Mrs. Collier."
"Great job. Final question: what is our most successful show?"
I furrowed my eyebrows. After going over all the information I had just learned in my head, I stated, "That was not in the packet."
"No, it wasn't. But it is the final question we ask all new incoming employees," the stage manager said, shuffling the keys on his keychain, trying to find the one that would open the door in front of him.
Was this a trick question? I pursed my lips and thought about the question logically, going through all possible answers in my head.
"Spongebob Squarepants, based on the duration of its original run."
The stage manager stopped what he was doing and paused to look at me for the first time since I stepped through the doors. He raised his eyebrows, shifted his eyes in thought, and made an impression of the infamous "not bad" face that Obama is famous for. I tilted my head.
"Well?"
"That isn't the answer most people give, but it definitely has merit to it. Welcome aboard, Ms. Popov," he said to me, stretching out his hand, which I happily accepted.
"You can call me Bridget," I said, smiling at him.
"I'm Nick."
"Junior or teen?"
He paused, smirked and replied, "at Night, actually." A wink followed the quip.
I raised an eyebrow and was going to respond, but Nick motioned for me to place my thumb on a scanner outside the door. As I did, he unhooked his walkie talkie from the back pocket of his jeans and paged for Mrs. Collier. As he was talking to her on the walkie talkie, I looked him up and down and thought him to be mid- to late 20s. He was hot.
"It was nice meeting you Bridget. I've gotta run, but Collier's on her way."
"Alright, thanks."
"No problem."
And with that, he was gone. I took my seat again by the door and waited for a short five minutes until a tall, skinny woman wearing a navy blue business suit turned the corner.
"You must be Bridget," she said with a curt smile as she approached me.
"Yes, he-"
"Come with me."
I followed her on a tour throughout the sound stage facility; meanwhile, she was telling me about the different positions that interns held over the summer: personal assistants to the directors, producers, stage managers, managers, or actors, publicists' assistants, public relations of the studio, etc. Sometimes interns were assigned to an entire show in general, and did everything that was asked of them that pertained to that show. That's what I was going to be.
"Your assignment is a bit different since Big Time Rush is both a band as well as a TV program; you're going to be the bridge between the two. You're going to help manage their schedules as band members and actors. Understand?"
I meekly nodded in response.
"Bridget, meet Kendall. He's one of the members of Big Time Rush."
Basic information, I thought to myself as I brushed my teeth. My bed side table clock read 6:45. After throwing my long brown hair into a messy bun at the top of my head, I stepped into the shower and tried to wake myself up. My stomach grumbled five minutes into my shower so I quickly finished up and toweled off.
I must have spent twenty minutes staring at my closet wondering what an appropriate 'business casual' outfit would be for the first day. From the way Mr.Lennox was talking about my boss, I gathered that Mrs. Collier had high expectations of those who worked for her, so I needed to make a good first impression. I settled on a pair of slim fit black dress pants, a tiffany blue blouse, and a beige blazer. I rolled the sleeves of the blazer up so that the tiffany blue lining would show and compliment the blouse. I kept my accessories simple with cream colored flower earrings, a beige and blue bracelet, and a beige belt. By the time I finally slipped on a pair of nude, closed-toed shoes, it was 7:30.
"You look good, Popov," I observed silently to myself, looking in the mirror. I let out a sigh. Good wasn't good enough.
It's the hair. It was frizzy and had several kinks in it from the bun I threw it into while I showered. The question was, do I want to straighten my hair or curl it? What would look better with this outfit? I tilted my head, squinted my eyes, and eventually, I decided to give my hair defined waves by curling it with my straightening iron.
I kept my make-up simple, with a thin line of brown liquid eyeliner lining my top lid, light pink lip gloss, mascara, and powder to reduce shine. I pinched my cheeks to give them some color; I figured blush would be superfluous since I would be naturally flushed running around all day anyway.
By 8:10, I was shoving my phone, a protein bar, and the directions into my purse and bouncing out the door. I was probably going to get there ridiculously early, but I figured it was better than getting there late.
*****
"Read these packets thoroughly, sign off on these papers, then come find me for your intern quiz. After that, we'll take your picture and scan your finger for your access card and then you'll be ready to start."
I nodded at the stage manager who had quickly handed me a medium sized stack of papers before walking away. Nice to meet you too, I thought to myself sarcastically.
The address that I was given was of a sound stage, not of an office building. I didn't even have to call the number that Jessica listed on the information sheet because as soon as I got there, this stage manager intercepted me and start catching me up with what was going on in the studio. I guess this internship was going to be a lot more hands on than I thought...
I walked over to a chair that was placed right by the open door I had just come through. Sitting down, I opened up the first packet and began to read:
Rules:
1) No photography on set! This should be self-explanatory, we need to respect the confidentiality of everything that makes Nickelodeon great.
2) Keep relations professional on set. If you do make friends, keep recreational activities away from the Nickelodeon name.
2) Tardiness is absolutely unacceptable.
3) Wear proper business attire. Forever 21 does not sell proper business attire. Closed-toed shoes are preferred, flats are acceptable.
4) Never turn off your business phone, and your personal phone should never be on while you are at work.
5) Keep your business phone on silent or vibrate at all times— pay close attention to it throughout the day.
6) Report back to Mrs.Collier at the end of each day via email or text message—the message can be as long or as short as you deem appropriate, but descriptions of the day's happenings are required. Failure to report will result in consequences TBD.
7) General working hours are from 9-5 during the business day week; unless otherwise told, you should be on call during the weekend for special events and scheduled shooting sessions.
Contact information:
If you have any questions or concerns about your assignment, see Mrs. Collier.
You'll acquire more contact numbers once you've been assigned.
I rolled my eyes. How informative.
I signed the last sheet of that packet and moved on to the next, which was more about the history of the Nickelodeon channel and it's programming. I smiled as I read the descriptive summaries of some of my favorite programs growing up, from CatDog to Hey Arnold! I breezed through that packet easily and tucked it under the remainder of the pile. Before long, my contract was signed and I officially belonged to Nickelodeon for the summer.
"Ok, three questions on the quiz and you're set. Number One: When and where was Nickelodeon founded?" The stage manager shut the door of the sound booth he was just in behind him before taking my paperwork off of my hands.
"1977 in Ohio, and it was originally called the Pinwheel Network. The Nickelodeon name relaunch came two years later."
"A+. Number Two: If you have any questions, you should call…" he trailed off, handing the paperwork off to someone who seemed like a clerk.
"Mrs. Collier."
"Great job. Final question: what is our most successful show?"
I furrowed my eyebrows. After going over all the information I had just learned in my head, I stated, "That was not in the packet."
"No, it wasn't. But it is the final question we ask all new incoming employees," the stage manager said, shuffling the keys on his keychain, trying to find the one that would open the door in front of him.
Was this a trick question? I pursed my lips and thought about the question logically, going through all possible answers in my head.
"Spongebob Squarepants, based on the duration of its original run."
The stage manager stopped what he was doing and paused to look at me for the first time since I stepped through the doors. He raised his eyebrows, shifted his eyes in thought, and made an impression of the infamous "not bad" face that Obama is famous for. I tilted my head.
"Well?"
"That isn't the answer most people give, but it definitely has merit to it. Welcome aboard, Ms. Popov," he said to me, stretching out his hand, which I happily accepted.
"You can call me Bridget," I said, smiling at him.
"I'm Nick."
"Junior or teen?"
He paused, smirked and replied, "at Night, actually." A wink followed the quip.
I raised an eyebrow and was going to respond, but Nick motioned for me to place my thumb on a scanner outside the door. As I did, he unhooked his walkie talkie from the back pocket of his jeans and paged for Mrs. Collier. As he was talking to her on the walkie talkie, I looked him up and down and thought him to be mid- to late 20s. He was hot.
"It was nice meeting you Bridget. I've gotta run, but Collier's on her way."
"Alright, thanks."
"No problem."
And with that, he was gone. I took my seat again by the door and waited for a short five minutes until a tall, skinny woman wearing a navy blue business suit turned the corner.
"You must be Bridget," she said with a curt smile as she approached me.
"Yes, he-"
"Come with me."
I followed her on a tour throughout the sound stage facility; meanwhile, she was telling me about the different positions that interns held over the summer: personal assistants to the directors, producers, stage managers, managers, or actors, publicists' assistants, public relations of the studio, etc. Sometimes interns were assigned to an entire show in general, and did everything that was asked of them that pertained to that show. That's what I was going to be.
"Your assignment is a bit different since Big Time Rush is both a band as well as a TV program; you're going to be the bridge between the two. You're going to help manage their schedules as band members and actors. Understand?"
I meekly nodded in response.
"Bridget, meet Kendall. He's one of the members of Big Time Rush."
