Well…it’s more like 10-3:00, which is much more civilized anyway if you ask me, but after a year of post-grad drifting I have found myself an honest to goodness J-O-Beeezey! I am working for an interior designer here in Chicago, and the situation could honestly not be more ideal. Skeptical? Let me give you a little snap shot of my average work day:
10:00 a.m. Grab some coffee across the street, field some minor harassment from the doorman at the building, and head up to headquarters for a serious gossip sesh with the Boss Lady, who may be one of the more hilarious people in the world and would fit in like Peanut Butter and Jelly in Texas, and Leigh, the other (adorable) summer intern…
11:00 Head to the Merchandise Mart with Leigh and our various projects for the day. For those of you who do not know, the Mart, as it is known to those of us in Tha Biz, is 4.2 million square feet of designer show rooms on 25 floors over two blocks in the heart of downtown Chicago. Aka, Mecca, the mother ship, where I belong.
11:15 Follow Leigh around matching fabrics and trims to samples Boss Lady gave us.
11:45 Check out samples from designer library, feel like real legit employed creative genius, living the dream, at one with chic designer workforce.
12:01 Realize have morning coffee residue all down front of my shirt. Ousted from chic designer workforce, I am a total phony.
1:00 Continue search for perfect life changing beige fabric for suburban family living room. No longer feel cute under persistent and soul crushing neon lighting, but still have smug sense of accomplishment for finding a job that actually utilizes my skilllls (none of which I cultivated in college…btw)
2:00 Leigh and I decide it is time to break out on our own, head to Osborne & Little to peruse fabrics for our own creative endeavors, brainstorm about starting our own business, beautifying the lives of young working women like ourselves, and world domination.
3:00 Exhausted, head to fab downtown eatery to decompress and process our day
4:00 Back at the office, lay out the dozens of gorge fabrics we have collected as accents to Boss Ladies original inspiration, and marvel over the fruits of our labor.
Like I said, it’s a tough day, but I feel like I can handle the lifestyle for at least a little while longer. I think ambition is great, and having passions and interests are pretty essential for a long and happy life, but I think in these troubled economic times it is a blessing to have a job of any sort. Filling my days doing something I love with people who are a complete joy to be around is definitely something I am passionate about, regardless of the pay…or lack thereof.