19. tides turning

i got the most amazing internship with a wonderful woman! monday will be my last day at chic little devil and then i will begin my internship for Ele Keats!

18. Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth"--this too shall pass

According to an ancient Sufi story, there lived a king in some Middle Eastern land who was continuously torn between happiness and despondency. The slightest thing would cause him great upset or provoke an intense reaction, and his happiness would quickly turn into disappointment and despair. A time came when the king finally got tired of himself and of life, and he began to seek a way out. He sent for a wise man who lived in his kingdom and who was reputed to be enlightened. When the wise man came, the king said to him, "I want to be like you. Can you give me something that will bring balance, serenity, and wisdom into my life? I will pay any price you ask."

The wise man said, "I may be able to help you. But the price is so great that your entire kingdom would not be sufficient payment for it. Therefore it will be a gift to you if you will honor it." The king gave his assurances, and the wise man left.

A few weeks later, he returned and handed the king an ornate box carved in jade. The king opened the box and found a simple gold ring inside. Some letters were inscribed on the ring. The inscription read: This too shall pass. "What is the meaning of this?" asked the king. The wise man said, "Wear this ring always. Whatever happens, before you call it good or bad, touch this ring and read the inscription. That way, you will always be at peace."

From "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle Chapter 8

17. chic little devil wears prada

when i first came to chic little devil, i was introduced to the INTERN HANDBOOK. this worn out white binder was my first friend. after reading over my internship duties several times (as it requested), i had to sign my name in the back and answer some questions about myself. as i flipped through the previously filled-out pages, i noticed there wereway more intern entries than there were interns. after putting the intern handbook back where it was supposed to be, i stood awkwardly in the middle of the showroom.
that just about sums up my first day at chic little devil. i stood around awkwardly. when directed to shaina, the "intern manager," she looked over at me and my friend disgustingly and said "i'm with a client."
interns aren't interviewed before being hired at chic little devil. it's kind of a hit/miss type internship, where it's really up to you to make this worthwhile or not. i have yet to decide if it's a hit or miss for me.
the intern handbook strictly says that one may never miss a day. while this may have convinced me for the first half of my first day at the style house, i quickly learned better. you're lucky if the employees even bother to learn your name. with 6 other interns at the style house at one time, it's that whole "too many cooks spoil the broth" scenario. one intern puts something where it belongs, and another moves it elsewhere, to a place it looks better. after sweeping, an intern might mop the floor of the backroom, requiring another sweep. a lot of the time, the only work we get is to clean up the mistakes of the intern that's standing right next to you.
i feel like it's the first day of school every time i get dressed to go to chic little devil. you have to dress to impress, and wear your best clothes. the trendier, the better. heels are a plus. however, if i wore heels i would be six feet tall and in terrible pain and horrible moods by the end of the day.
i have had to mop, sweep, hang up fallen clothes, fold and refold bags, sweep the balcony, wash the dished, empty ashtrays, glue corkboards to walls, carry mounds of clothes, and fold up enormous and heavy rugs. i have been a janitor to chic little devil.
today was probably the best day for me. i'm hoping this means that things start to look up, because getting another internship this late in the summer seems unlikely. today i helped a "senior intern" (a girl my age who happens to know an employee there and doesn't have to do shit work) and i bsaically sat at a computer all day. this was, of course, while 3 other interns bleached the walls on the balcony for hours on end in an attempt to get the rust off. i realize that i need to play my cards right in this business. i did today and i'll do it again. this is devil wears prada shit. i'm almost down.

16. upbeat friday

i spent today with my mom. we went to moca to see an exhibit that i have been dying to check out. "a changing ratio" featured art by rothko, pollock, rauschenberg, lichtenstein, warhol, and oldenberg. it was pretty incredible.

rothko! there were a room full of them. they all seemed to be vibrating with different types of energy. this one was one of my favorites.

jackson pollock, number 1!!!! this was the first painting of the series that he did. you can see the excitement on my face.

after, we went to phillipe's downtown, where they have french-dipped sandwiches. delicious! i'm back home now, after of course going to the market to pick up the ingredients for our family dinner. summer is nice!

also, i have an interview for an internship on monday. it's for this brand, treesje, that make handbags. they seem to be a really nice company so i hope i get the position! and then i can leave that awful internship at the style house. fingerz crossed!!!

taura comes back on monday! i can't wait to have a nice long video chat with her. it'll be really good to catch up/make plans for when i come to visit her in arizona!

that's all for now, bye!

15. interesting start to summer

at this point, i'm just trying to find another internship/job. i'm a little desperate and i need to leave the style house as soon as possible. fingers crossed.

14. first day of work

bad: anorexic girls eating peanut m&ms and diet coke for lunch, mopping and sweeping floors, pretending to be busy for hours on end, straightening and re-straightening racks of clothes and jewelry, being ignored and treated poorly, standing on my feet for way too long, listening to dumb music and awful conversations.

good: looking at beautiful clothes all day, looking at beautiful jewelry all day, walking through downtown on my lunch break, discovering an amazing hole-in-the-wall mexican restaurant, making new friends, gaining "experience," beautiful views of los angeles from the balcony, very discounted (and originally expensive) clothes i'll probably buy.

13. thoughts

i have been spending the past few days with elayna. it's been nice.

things we have done:

-shopped. got a dress, a skirt, and a couple of pairs of shoes from urban outfitters--all on sale. i got a pair of sandals from anthropologie on sale as well, along with some bracelets from brass plum--3 for $10.

-ate. we have eaten so much goddamn food. 8 oz. (burger place), yogurtland, apple pan, farmer's market, chipotle, kokomo's, enzo's, bobaloca, paco's.

-slept. snuggled. taken pictures. etc.

and others:

-undie run was kind of amazing. i saw ucla in a completely different light, it seemed like a much happier and different place, a school i was actually proud to be a part of, friends i was happy to see.

-i've been exhausted and i haven't slept well in days. but i guess that's okay because it's summer.

-yesterday i saw a friend from high school who hadn't heard about my break-up. so i had to talk about that all over again and reliving it kind of sucked. yesterday was hard, today has been easier. it's a trend and it'll pass.

-i start my chic little devil internship on tuesday. i have to choose an outfit to make a good impression. the task seems absolutely daunting, as it's a style house and it seems practically impossible to dress the part.

-i'm still set on that mannin jewelry internship. i'll be emailing the woman shortly to see what her deal is. i want that internship, it was kind of made for me.

did i mention i'm tired?