Forum » coffee break

Coffee Break: Goodbye, Internship!

Emily Meinhardt — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:51:31 +0000

As the summer winds down, celebrate the end of your internship with this video from interns at ad-agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky. These kids must have had it pretty sweet if real companies were willing to bid 18K for their creative genius. Welcome to the world of an intern: no respect or health benefits.

Coffee Break: My Half-Blood Prince

Madison Shimoda — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:00:21 +0000

After my rather tragic experience with Brüno, I was happy to correct my loss of hope in the movie industry (it clearly doesn’t take much to disappoint me) with none other than Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. With the final public acceptance of Voldemort’s return and Lucius Malfoy’s imprisonment, the movie takes a much darker and ominous turn. Without spoiling the movie (seriously, I can’t believe there are some of you out there who haven’t read the books), I can say this—be grateful of Draco Malfoy’s increased role in the story as Tom Felton turns out to be a talented actor, not to mention his cute looks. Alan Rickman is perfect as Severus Snape, as usual, and Michael Gambon’s portrayal of Dumbledore has become less angry and more like the Dumbledore we loved from the first movie (“No, I was merely reading the Muggle magazines,” said Dumbledore. “I do love knitting patterns.”). Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint has grown well into their characters—perhaps thanks to the practice they get from their acting careers outside of Harry Potter. Emma Watson, on the other hand, who has not acted nor wants to act beyond the Harry Potter movies was disappointingly lackluster, but she has definitely blossomed into the best-looking actor on set. This is also the movie where romance begins to unfurl between the young actors but unfortunately the romantic scenes are rather tepid and forced. My only wish was that the movie was longer (it’s already 2 hours 33 minutes). I can’t wait for Deathly Hallows Part 1, the first half of the final chapter of the Harry Potter saga.

4 stars/ 5 stars

Movie reviews will continue with I Love You, Beth Cooper.

Coffee Break: SF Fashion

Madison Shimoda — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 15:00:57 +0000

Tired of wearing CMC or American Apparel t-shirts? Don’t want to be caught at TNC wearing the same shirt with another guy/girl? Want to be environmentally and stylish?

Solution: Go vintage t-shirt shopping!Check out some of the cute vintage stores in SF. They carry t-shirts from as cheap as $19.

Old Vogue Men’s Vintage Store, 1412 Grant Avenue (415-392-1522)Old Vogue offers the best selection of men’s vintage in the city. Tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Columbus Avenue, this quiet shop makes for a serene vintage hunting experience. The staff is happy to help, but won’t pester you while you peruse the racks for a perfect three-piece suit. The collection is 50s to 70s, but you can easily craft an old-world style that’s in keeping with current trends. My favorites include silk cigar parlor robes and plush velvet salon jackets. Prices aren’t cheap but the unique merchandise is worth the price.
(via Sprig)

All American Boy, 463

Castro Street (415-861-0444)

Not a vintage store per se, this store carries a few lines—such as Tailgate, a vintage college tee label—and a fun place to shop! With its warm, woody interior, this cozy men’s store feels more like a walk-in wardrobe than a Castro boutique. The selection of shirts–sleeveless, knit tees, pullovers and polos–is impressive for a shop this size. Even more extraordinary is the array of Speedos: solids, stripes, plaids and Hawaiian prints. The store clearly specializes in men’s wear for warm climes. Factor in the assortment of fun, color-tinted sunglasses, and this is the ideal store for boys of summer.
(via CitySearch)

Coffee Break: Starbucks Giving Away Free Pastry July 21

Madison Shimoda — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:54:11 +0000

Starbucks said it will give a free pastry to customers buying any beverage on July 21 from a store’s opening to 10:30 a.m. The Seattle coffee giant said the free pastry offer includes muffins, scones, bagels, croissants, rolls, breads, pound cakes, morning buns, coffeecakes, cheese Danish, apple fritters, tarts, pies and other pastries.

The offer is good, Starbucks said, until all a store’s pastries are gone; the offer isn’t good in Hawaii, airport locations, and Barnes and Noble cafes.

To get the free pastry, one needs a coupon that be found here.

CMC students everywhere — indulge!

SOURCE: (http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2009/07/13/daily56.html)

Coffee Break: Things to do in DC

Madison Shimoda — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:43:40 +0000

You’ve settled in to your new digs in DC. You have realized your internship is boring/tedious/awesome/confusing. But you’re not 21 and you’re already bored with DC. Have no fear! If you’re domestically inclined or maybe just want to be able to sew a button, consider Honfluer Home’s Sewing Cafe. The concept: rent a sewing machine by the hour in a friendly, helpful, casual environment. If you’re not learning anything at your internship, at least you can learn something here.

Coffee Break: Working for the Weeking-NYC Edition

Madison Shimoda — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:00:07 +0000

Many CMCers find themselves in NYC for the summer. If you’re around, check out this free event in Central Park…Anne Hathaway in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night!

Free performance of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night starring Anne Hathaway
The Delacorte Theater in Central Park presents free performances of Shakespeare under the stars — often with star-studded casts (past performers have included Meryl Streep, Natalie Portman, and Philip Seymour Hoffman). The 2009 Shakespeare in the Park season kicks off on June 10 with a production of Twelfth Night starring movie star Anne Hathaway as Viola. Twelfth Night will run through July 12.

The Bacchae, the classic Greek tragedy by Euripides, will be presented with a score by Philip Glass from August 11-30.
2009 Shakespeare in the Park Tickets

Although tickets are free, they can be hard to come by. Tickets are handed out on the day of the performance starting at 1pm at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park.
The Delacorte Theater is located near Turtle Pond, just south of the Great Lawn in Central Park. The closest Park entrance from the East Side is Fifth Avenue at 79th Street; from the West Side, Central Park West at 81st Street. The theater opens at 7:30 p.m. There is a limit of two tickets per person. Call (212) 260-2400 for more information.
It’s first come, first served. Lines of eager theater-goers start forming early in the morning, so plan on camping out. There are also lesser-known outer-borough locations with shorter waits (see publictheater.org for details).

A limited number of tickets will also be available online the day of each performance. To get these tickets, you must register at publictheater.org and then log on between midnight and 1PM on the day of the performance you want to see to submit a request for up to two tickets. You must log on again between 1PM-6PM to see if you have been selected to receive a pair of tickets. People are chosen at random, not in the order that requests are received.

To help underwrite production expenses, a limited number of reserved seats in alternate rows are made available to Summer Supporters for $170 each. The policy of alternate row seating for contributors and non-contributors helps to preserve the democratic character of Delacorte Theater audiences.

SOURCE: http://manhattan.about.com/od/artsandculture/a/shakespearepark.htm

Coffee Break: FMyInternship.com

Emily Meinhardt — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:00:00 +0000

So you managed to snag an internship this summer, despite our failing economy and the fact you didn’t start writing cover letters until April? Maybe you’re making gobs of money, but hate yourself for Working for The Man. Or you’re working at a nonprofit with a “grant” from CMC wondering how you’re supposed to make $1000 last for a whole summer. Better yet, you’re not getting paid at all and thinking about all of the awesome things you could be doing instead of providing free labor in exchange for an extra line on your resume?

Make yourself feel better by reading about the horrible lives of other interns or submit your own story. You’re not alone. Introducing FMYInternship.com.

Coffee Break: How to ask the IT guy to help you out

Madison Shimoda — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:22:18 +0000

As part of our summer edition, The Forum will be bringing you a new series called Coffee Break. Think of it like 8:27 Procrastination, but for internship distraction rather than paper writing procrastination. More than dumb videos, however, we’ll be bringing you tips on how to survive your new professional environment and make it back to CMC with your sanity intact.

So the IT guy at your office might not be the nicest guy—I know first hand from experience. Well, it’s understandable that he’d be grouchy all day, tending to the old-man-who-should-be-fired-especially-during-a-financial-crisis-but-the-firm-won’t-because-he’s-around-forever who calls him to ask him how to print from Microsoft Word, or the person who calls in with a problem that could be fixed simply by restarting the computer.

Last summer, the computer at my workstation had a special problem that interfered with my work. Nothing is more annoying than a popup ad appearing on one’s screen when browsing the internet, particularly a popup with images of strangers in coital positions.

Such was my predicament. The first time it happened, I hastily closed the window, lest my colleagues see it and mistake me for a sex-crazed intern. I assumed I had clicked on a link accidentally on one of the websites I was browsing (those ads on the Times website, tsk, tsk). Then it happened again two minutes later. And again. I have never seen so many titties in my life.

I decided things were getting out of control and finally decided to call the IT help desk. After all, the computer had been slow since my first day, and according to my colleagues, my workstation has always been problematic. I felt special. I was the one who was finally getting help for this computer. I felt like I had stumbled upon an injured bird and the only conscientious pedestrian who decides to take the bird to the vet.

I picked up the phone to call the IT people when a coworker looked at me and shook her head.

“That computer’s been slow even before you came, sweetie,” she said. “No one’s dared to call the IT guys because they get upset when they have to fix stuff.” You’d think the IT guys’ job was to fix computers…

Except the IT people weren’t so happy to help. Virus scan after virus scan, spyware scan after spyware scan, the IT people did everything possible to try to get rid of this parasite but nothing could convince this $%$#% to get the (&^(&^@ out of my #@%&*^% computer. The IT people then tell me that they have to reformat the hard drive; the virus infecting the network and destroying everyone’s computer was a possibility. Incidentally, that was not something they wanted to deal with. Before they replaced my computer, I was reprimanded: Please don’t download anything or go to non-work-related websites.

I was deeply distressed by this. I do not download anything at work and the only non-work-related websites I go to are legitimate (the NYT and such). I do not view porn, nor do I download music. Why must I be blamed for the actions of the former occupant of my work station? After enduring a summer of computer issues and being teased for (not) looking at porn, I came up with a list of tips on how to handle the tech issues.

Don’t call the IT guy until you really, really need help.
If you do call the IT guy, don’t call him more than twice during your internship.
Every time you see the IT guy in the elevator or on your floor, smile and say hi to him. Find out what his name is so you can say “Hi Steve!” instead of just “Hi!” (This makes a huge difference.)
Don’t call them for seemingly important but not life-threatening things. For example, if they misspelled your name in your email address (e.g. if your name is spelled Steven and the email address they give you is StephenMcKenna@internship.org) don’t complain. You will have to endure people misspelling your name but that’s character-building. Grow a pair. They didn’t fix my email address for me last year. “You’re only going to be here for two months,” they told me. Keep your two-call allowance for more important problems. Like if there’s smoke coming out of your monitor.
If the IT guy does something for you, bring him a small token of appreciation the next day. Bring him a cupcake or maybe a candy bar with card.
Don’t look at porn at your workstation or look up lyrics.
Bring in your own laptop if you can.

Next time you face a computer problem, ask yourself “Do I really need help or can I live with the fact that (insert problem, e.g. cursor is missing, can only print to the printer on the sixth floor, etc.)?” The choice is yours.