My First Day Part II: Office Edition

            A first day at work can take you many places. It can take you to the bathroom, where you take deep breaths and fight back tears. It can take you out to a fancy dinner at the end of the day to celebrate a job well done. Most first days however, do not take you to the morgue.

            That’s right. My first day of work took me to the morgue.

            Let me backtrack. I know I already wrote about my “first day,” but today was my first day in the office. Needless to say, it was not what I expected.

            I am not a morning person to say the least. The earliest I will schedule my classes is 12:20 p.m., and even that is pushing it. So you can imagine how difficult it was for me to get up at 8 a.m. this morning. Despite my body resisting, I dragged myself out of bed and even managed to put on makeup and look halfway decent. Once I was on the road, I was ready to take on the day. (The large Dunkin’ Donuts iced coffee didn’t hurt.)

            After a 40-minute commute that included lovely views of Fairmont Park, I officially entered my first day of interning. My first task was to count hundreds of clipboards and paper displays. It took a lot longer than expected, mainly because I had to organize the supplies. (I admit, I may have miscounted a little, but suddenly I was being rushed and I was overwhelmed. Let’s hope I was somewhat accurate.) I then had to order more supplies, which meant searching the Internet for the best deals. This also taught me the power and joy that comes with a company credit card.

            Next, I had to make some phone calls to confirm order details for our upcoming event. The event is the Spring Festival Preview Party, and it is a very big deal in the office. There was a slight incident involving an older gentleman cancelling his ticket order after we asked him for his credit card security code. This was a slightly traumatizing experience for my first day on the office. Aside from the cancellation, forgetting to leave a number on a voicemail, and possibly miscounting the clipboards, I would say my time in the office went well.

            But my day was nowhere near over. Suddenly, to my surprise, I was being sent on tasks all over Philadelphia. The first stop was the Health Department and then several different businesses. At that moment, I was very grateful for the GPS I had just gotten for my birthday.

            However, I spoke (or thought) too soon. For some reason, my GPS did not recognize the Health Department address. I tried to use my phone and GPS at the same time, and I was extremely misguided to say the least. Before I knew it, I was at UPenn’s campus, facing the frats. Turns out, I had picked the worst time to get lost on Penn’s campus. It was move-out day and the traffic was crazy. Turning around was not easy, especially since a few of the roads were closed. It took me way longer than it should have just to get in the right direction. After asking a cop for directions, I thought I had it. That was until I found myself in a prison parking lot. Literally. After a series of unfortunate events and a last minute turn, I somehow ended up at the Health Department...which also happened to be the morgue. Yes, my first day on the job and I was paying a visit to the morgue. I felt like a Pretty Little Liar, probably because those girls frequent that creepy place.

My first day at work, basically.

            I got out of that place as fast as I could. Finally, it was time for the fun part. A big part of the Preview Party is the silent auction. Gloss PR gets donations for the auction from Rittenhouse Row businesses. My job was to go from place to place, picking up these items. There I was, my first day on the job, taking on the city. I just had the name and address of my destinations, finding them was up to me. I felt extremely accomplished and independent as I was navigating my way through the city. If this is considered a job, I will work everyday, I thought, walking along beautiful and hip Walnut Street. I was surrounded by high-end stores and edgy people in impressive outfits. On top of that, I was discovering all of these cool and chic businesses, allowing me to experience the city in a way I normally wouldn’t. It took some navigating, but I successfully made it to all of my destinations and received all of the donations. I drove home feeling like a real working girl, blasting my new DEMI CD, ready to take on whatever this internship held for me.

            Not bad for a girl who spent part of her day at the morgue. 

The view outside of COOK.