A little background

My parents live in New Jersey, my brother lives in New York, and I go to school in Boston. So when it came to choosing my internship you would think I would be choosing between the great cities of New York and Boston. Wrong.

I went to San Francisco

Why did I go to San Francisco? To expand my horizons. Moving out here as been a wonderful experience, and I am not sure if I would have been able to take this opportunity in any other circumstance. Remember, interning gives you a lot of flexibility. One, it is short term. Two, you are only responsible for yourself. Three, if it turns out to be a mistake, it is easy to fix. So even though I am loving my time out here, I would have had an exit plan if things turned out to be less than ideal.

What I am enjoying

The entire vibe of the west coast is so much different than the east coast. In general, the people are friendlier and open-minded out here. Evey thing is a little more relaxed, and people keep things in perspective and balance. Everyone that I know and have met out here has been so great in terms of helping me maximize my experience. Everywhere I go people are teaching me about the city and making sure that I am comfortable and having a good time. I’m couch-surfing this trip, and nearly every time I bring that fact up, another couch if offered to me - people are that inviting.

Mind you there are great opportunities in both New York and Boston

There is a lot of tech going on in these two wonderful cities, so that didn’t play a role in my decision. I figure that when I am done with my time in San Francisco it will be far easier for me to venture into opportunities in either city. As much as I love San Francisco I probably see myself staying east coast after school. I credit my family, and the New York Jets (and Knicks) for my decision

I have a secret and for a while, I’ve been embarrassed to admit it. My Facebook profile is missing a piece, my Twitter account has yet to comment and at every mention of New York (a city I’ve never even visited before) I have to bite my tongue to avoid divulging this personal bit.

I watch Gossip Girl. And I like it.

I find myself rationalizing this immature fondness much more than my pretentious coffee hobby, my iPhone ownership or even my brief “Toxic” obsession. But in my Gossip Girl rationalizations, a pattern has emerged: I’m convinced that the show is actually good. So, here I am, sharing a testament to its wisdom.

A lot has changed since episode 13, but for a while, there was a strict pecking order separating middle-class Jenny and moneyed-up Blair. Blair was atop a social group that Jenny was eager to join. Jenny would do anything to fit in, but it was usually these little demeaning favors: grabbing some coffee, dropping off library books, making ice cream sundaes for the director… wait a minute – that’s not from Gossip Girl! That’s from my one-month stint as a Production Assistant! What is happening? Have we entered televisionland?

I spent this May in Prague, working as a Production Assistant (PA) on the new GI Joe movie which comes out in about a year. As I caught up on my Gossip Girl viewing, I realized the parallels between the underhanded relationship in the show and the ones I was building on the set of GI Joe. But it’s much more insidious – it was for Jenny also. Everyone grins and bears it because it’s the standard for entry-level work, and most of the crew approves. It’s “paying your dues.” It’s the we-all-had-to-do-it-too story. Indeed, these are the same excuses for making a bunch of freshmen run through the Tenderloin late at night after guzzling a bottle of laxative. And it wasn’t until Jenny actually called it “hazing” – she actually said the word “hazing” in the show – and that’s when I realized what I was doing.

But being a PA isn’t exactly the same as earning your place on the football team. As a PA, you are getting paid and you are trying to get access to an incredibly exclusive industry. It’s a way of developing and demonstrating your work ethic. So, there’s nothing really wrong with it. You just get to prove your passionate commitment to… making lattes.

Don’t get me wrong – I met some incredible people in Prague – some who disagree with the “hazing” tendency of PA work, some who don’t. I’d even consider returning to the PA life for its stress-threshold-increasing virtues, but for now, it’s not for me.

That’s why I love interning at Revision3. It’s a collaborative methodology with a positive atmosphere. I might make a few photocopies while I’m here, but at least they’ll serve a purpose beyond showing my loyalty to Blair.