Workaholic

The past month has been crazy. I have worked 38 days straight. Minus a sick day. And leaving early a couple times. Today is my first Saturday not working in a very long time. And I enjoyed the day, I really did. Would I have rather laid in bed all day watching movies and being super lazy, not bothering to get out of my pajamas. Perhaps. But did I need the time to hang out with friends and enjoy one of the best days of Fall? Yes. So with that, this Saturday didn't slow down, in fact, I'm tired already, and it's 10:00 p.m. Call me a workaholic, but I need to stay busy. I currently work at Mall of America for another seven days, and I still work at Charming Charlie for what seems like infinity, so with that. Here goes the past month, through photos, because writing about every single event that has gone on would be far too overwhelming.

Barbie Princess Charm School. A 20 minute presentation that little girls can sit through to learn how to curtsy, sip tea, and use manners. Oh, and everyone gets a barbie hair crown too.

Wristband counting. Yep. I'm the one who chooses the colors. Oh, the power.

Scrapfest 2011. A ridiculous-ly busy event, but one I wish I participated in!

The super SWEET set-up an un-used "ballroom" space at MOA had for a VIP party for the cast of Victorious and the teeny-bopper guests.

The Cast of Victorious. I just happen to catch five minutes of the show the night before and at least had some idea of who these kids were.

Chris Kluwe at Sky Deck's for a ticket giveaway. Probably one of the highlights honestly. Since this event was a "secret" until the day of.

The Christmas Room. Yep, those are glitter trumpets just laying around.

Kendra Wilkenson book signing. She is a super sweet person. Celebrities are ordinary people. Crazy.

Gumby display for Canstruction. Yep, those are food cans to then be donated to Second Harvest.

The crowd for Marlee Matlin. A very motivational woman for not only the deaf community, but everyone I feel.

Alright. This was definitely THE highlight of my internship probably. Yep, that's Babar. Well his head at least.

This internship has been so great. The people are amazing, very fun to work with, and there is somewhat of a laid back atmosphere, even considering the high number of events that go on. I'm going to miss it. I honestly think "What if" and try to stop myself. But what if I did complete this internship through December; where would my future lead? I will never know. It's been a very bittersweet feeling knowing I am leaving. I've never quit a job before, and to put in my official two weeks notice was a bit nerve-wracking. I can only be thankful for the time I have spent with Mall of America and the Events Department, for they have opened my eyes to another side of event planning that exists. Thank you, Mall of America, may the next seven days be great ones. 01 02 18

One month later.

Time flies. Yep. You heard me. Time really does fly. I always thought this was an expression adults told kids just to make kids enjoy the present time. But they were right. Time really does fly. It's been over a month since my last blog. That is ridiculous. I honestly though, have not had time to write. And if I do have time, I have chosen not to be on my computer. Where has the time gone? I never though it went this fast at school. Maybe that was because I wanted time to fly, now I would rather reverse the clock or at least slow it down. And here I am with a new job (yes, add it to my ever growing list of jobs) and a new life in front of me. Are you ready to hear about my last month? I don't even know if I am. Uffda. I will post shortly about my crazy life. That is, if I have time. Because I really should be sleeping right now. 01 02 18

Day Four.

I won't have time to do these day by day posts EVERY day. But I have the night off. And want to share (and remember!) my first days with the Company. So here goes, Day Four.

The meaning of "It's Friday" doesn't quite exist when you work weekends. When I woke up today, I thought I'm glad it's Friday so I can catch up on sleep and clean this weekend, but alas!, I work. Tomorrow at the Mall for the Pride of Vietnam event and Sunday night for a CC Social and spiffing up the store before the Regional Manager comes Monday morning. So much for catching up on sleep, errands, and cleaning. I'll be glad just to get my clothes washed, folded, and vacuum the basement (where I live. In case you forgot.)

So, onward to Friday. Today was a relaxing day. I was able to have TWO glasses of hot apple cider (yes, the non-real kind in the instant packets, but nonetheless) from the endless supply of hot water at work. Which, is why I will bring my own tea box & bottle of honey. Yep, I haven't changed :)

I went on the Mall Walk today, as I will do each Friday, to check for extra event signage around the Mall. And delivered the show times to each Guest Service desk.

Then, this was an exciting part. Seeing the MASSIVE, and I mean MASSIVE, amount of lost items the Mall has accumulated over the past 2-3 months. There is a whole room dedicated to lost items. Clear garbage bags full of brand new things (that people buy, set down, and forget about), leftover clothing left on benches, on rides, etc. And strollers by the handful - how do you forget a stroller? The real kicker. Someones luggage. Full. Not just their luggage, but their clothing and everything. How the heck do you lose that?

Well anyway. All of these very nice things were donated today to Cornerstone, who will be able to sort through everything and give out everything they can. I loved this part of the day. It was such a great feeling. I'm sure I'll do it in another 2-3 months. Amazing.

On to Scrapfest. This event will go down in one week. Today, I made the badges for the vendors whom will be there. Monday, I will laminate them, and they will be sorted and ready to go for Thursday.

A couple signs made for Toddler Tuesdays, a few slides prepared for the big screen, and Friday came and went.

Each day is something new, and that's what I love.

01 02 18

Day Three.

Thursday, Thursday.

Who would think I would have to hand deliver fliers to the retails stores to let them know about a meeting date change. Yep, that flier delivery girl was me. I did all of second floor. Took me an hour and half. I bet over 2/3rds of those retail stores I haven't been in ever. And now I have. What made me laugh? The manager at the Marble Store (geeky electronics, etc. I can't remember the exact title) was EXCITED to learn about the meeting. He can't wait to attend. Love it.

Nothing like exercise at the mall.

Then it was lunch time.

Then I learned about one of THE best positions the Mall has. Working with the community. Taking care of donation requests, doing philanthropic work, and planning the walks/runs that take place for a cause at the Mall. This woman does it all and gives back SO much. Which makes me proud to work for MOA. (There will be a blurb about this community position again for Day Four - fyi) I was asked to go to four stores in the mall to pick up items for gift baskets for prizes for The Purple Event, coming up next Sunday. I visited Microsoft, Cantina, BWW, and Cadillac Ranch. Yep, I collected $800 worth of items.

And I also got to create three gift bags that are being donated. I got to buy the items from the Mall store and then assemble them. LOVED IT. In the future, there will be huge gift baskets to do - can't wait! The bags I assembled were all valued around $100. Quite a bit to stuff in these little bags!

I learned more about the Toddler Tuesday program - I'm the one in charge of them from here on out. Which, sounds more important than it actually is. Everything is basically planned, they just have to be executed and paperwork filed. And then I get to attend the event and be the go to person. Which, I love kids, so why not go anyway?

Yep. Love my job. And this is only Day Three.

01 02 18

Day Two.

Day Two. Event Two.

The Hartford Paralympic Event was held on Wednesday. The Rotunda was transformed into a basketball court and sitting volleyball court for the Olympians. From 8am to 2pm the event continued. I wasn't present the whole time, but walked back and forth from downstairs to upstairs - I know my way around the maze of the back hallways pretty well already.

I met the Captain of the Paralympic Sitting Volleyball team, Brent Rasmussen. Who is a really nice guy and so down to Earth. Read more about him and you will soon realize he is such an inspiration to so many.

He will be competing in the Paralympics in 2012 in London. Super cool.

It was a nice start to the day, seeing the event, and meeting new people. Then I sat in on the PR/Events meeting, the Events meeting over lunch, followed by the Operations/Events meeting. I was introduced as the intern, although I can't tell you who anyone was.

All the meetings were followed up by going over important paperwork that go with all the events (which there is a TON of paperwork). And each event gets sent to about 30 individuals, so e-mails are plentiful at MOA.

Then, I learned what to do with the show times for the movies, since I get them on Thursday and I put them into a PhotoShop document and distribute them to Guest Services in the Mall Walk that happens on Friday - where we (yes, there is another intern with me) walk the mall (yes, every floor) looking for leftover or out of place events stuff/signage. Quite exciting, I know.

01 02 18

Day One.

I've always liked the Mall of America. Especially after I worked there all last summer. And now, I get to call it home again. With an even better gig than I could imagine. I'm the Operations Assistant aka Intern. And I love it. Here's Day One.

Day One

Jumped right into Toddler Tuesday. From 9am to Noon. Got Ice Cream from the freezer and wheeled it to the Rotunda. Set up kid tables with table coverings, crayons, and coloring sheets. Was a judge for the theme of this week - "The World's Largest Show & Tell" - and got to select seven kids to win based on their show and tell item. WHICH was hard. Thank goodness everyone got a prize, some just got a bigger one. Because one kid did CRY. His brother won but not him. What was I to do? The parents asked if they could buy the 'big prize' (which was a little Diego backpack filled with toys) for their other son, and of course, they could. But really, why not just tell them to share it? Oh well. So yes, I made a kid cry. But life goes on. I also watched my first episode of Backyardigans. And know have the song stuck in my head.

Yep, the episode "International Super Spy" is now stuck in my head.

Had lunch. For an hour. That was paid. First time in my life. I enjoyed getting paid to eat. 

Got details from the other Coordinator's of what they do and what events are going on.

Got my own e-mail address and checked out my desk.

Had a tour of the Theatre and learned details about their position.

Took my badge picture, signed paperwork, and got all registered with HR.

Went to Orientation from 5 to 7:30pm. Learned all about MOA again, Phase II for the mall expansion, and the perks of the job.

THEN I went to Charming Charlie. Which was too much. Because it was markdown night. So from 8pm to 2am I was ticketing sale jewelry. Went to bed at 4am that night, then back to work at 8am. Ridiculous, I'm still tired. BUT I survived.

And that was Day One.

01 02 18

Easier said then done.

Alright. I tried to be artsy with my nails last week. Didn't really happen. All started out well, but all was a mess when it was over. Thanks, Pinterest for making these swirl nails seem so simple. Lesson learned.

Supplies all ready. And the perfect colors to match my outfit.

Just in case, I had remover on hand. I needed a TON.

The theory: get a cup of water, pour your nail polish in it and it floats than dip your nail. Easy, right?

Super pretty... before I dipped my nail.

Even the swirl was pretty.

This is the final product. It's like I dipped my nails in triple thick paint.

There was one decent nail. So I was 1/10th happy.

I'd try this again, but not sure when. And I need to somehow revamp the recipe. Perhaps better luck next time!

01 02 18