First Day on the (Very Part-Time) Job!

That's right--I got a job! Although it's actually an internship. It just sounds better to say job, and there are fewer syllables. And yes, it is very part-time, which means that I work two days a week, six hours a day. Today was my very first day at CSLA, or Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency!

I was, of course, a little bit nervous to see what it was like in a literary agency. I had a great time though! I did get a little bit lost on my way to do an errand, but my smartphone came in pretty handy then. I became very well acquainted with the scanner/printer, and I learned some of the daily stuff that goes on in the office. The best part was when I got to read a manuscript. Yes! Can you believe that I get paid to read stories and give my opinions on them? Of course, that's not all that I do, but it made me very happy today. When I got on the subway to go home, I thought, "Shouldn't I be more tired?" I felt great! I think that's a good sign.

As far as other eventful things that happened this week, I went to a reading by Joanna Rakoff who wrote My Salinger Year. I finished the book the day before the reading. Here are some pictures from afar.

Yeah, that's a pretty awesome place to do a reading. Sometimes a passing boat or helicopter made a lot of noise, but it was neat to be outside. And how could you get tired of that view? I stayed at the Brooklyn Bridge park for a little while afterwards with some friends, and this is a little snapshot of what the skyline looks like when it's getting dark.

This is just about where I watched the fireworks on the 4th of July. It's a great view! Oh, and there was a separate reading at Bryant Park where Piper Kerman, author of the book Orange is the New Black talked about her experience in prison and read from her book. I could only stay for a couple of minutes, but her book sounds fascinating! You probably recognize the title from the TV show that's based on it. I'm not super interested in watching the show, but I do want to read her book!

Also, I did a little exploring around Harlem. My roommate wanted to take me out to celebrate me getting the internship. After some research, I settled on the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. It was so good--thinking about it now makes me hungry! And then as we were leaving the restaurant, we saw this:

I kind of wished that it was a Batman sign, and then I kept wondering what Harlem Man would be like. An awesome jazz musician? Speaking of awesome jazz musicians, I walked by the Apollo theater and saw names like Ella Fitzgerald and Etta James engraved on the ground. Pretty cool.
And I can't forget about these guys!

There was a whole crew of guys out here, in the middle of Harlem. It's not a very good picture, but there were at least four or five guys on the drums. I didn't get the trumpet player in the picture. I love the music on the streets and in the subway. I even saw some break dancers in one of the subway cars.

Also, I found out that quite a few people in Williamsburg (in Brooklyn) are vegan. I really wanted to laugh when this one guy got on the subway and was trying to sell an iPhone case for super cheap. He paused in the middle of his sales pitch and said, "By the way, I think you all should know that I'm a vegan. You could help support a good man." I know he was just trying to sell something, but it struck me as kind of funny because for all we knew, he might have stolen that iPhone case from a nearby store.

I went to a couple more interviews for some part-time positions. I don't think they would be as exciting as working for a literary agency, but I'll take what I can get! Have a great week everyone!