How To Pull Yourself Together & Be An Adult At Your First Real Work Meeting

This morning, I was given an unexpected, but rewarding opportunity. My boss called from Carlon Leong, the creative agency i've been interning for, and suggested I join the Account Director and Art Director downtown to attend a workshop. There, I would meet the PR agency, media agency, and client group that are in collaboration with our agency. I was grateful, of course, but sort of stunned seeing as the meeting was half an hour away when I received the call and was unsure of how to prepare. I've put together a list of tips and do's and don'ts based on my experience today:

1. Don't panic - you used to roll out of bed and make it to homeroom in 15 minutes flat during high school.
2. Change out of your casual pants and pull on an appropriate pencil skirt.
3. Ask your roommate to assess if the amount of wrinkles on your shirt can be condoned for today.
4. Be punctual - speed-walk down Pitt Street but stroll in calmly.
5. Viciously tuck in your shirt and flatten your skirt on the 20 second elevator ride up to the 13th floor.
6. Turn off all of your electronics - especially your ipod, so that Lil Wayne's "Right Above It" doesn't start playing from your bag in the middle of the meeting.
7. Pick your jaw up off the ground after walking into the agency lobby and seeing the view from the window.
8. Smile when you reach the boardroom, shake hands, and introduce yourself, expressing how thrilled you are to be there.
9. Stop drooling over the Ryan Phillippe look-alike sitting across from you.
10. Don't be offended when they shove you in a corner seat in the back of the room; be happy to be merely a fly on the wall.
11. Let the aggressive PR girl nudge you even further into the corner - smile and look happy about it.
12. Listen to your mom's voice in your head that says, "Julia, stop slouching!" Sit up straight.
13. Act interested in what the presenters are saying, even though they use terms you've never heard of.
14. Nod your head and pretend you know the difference between "resi" and "CNI" (make sure to ask your boss at the end of the meeting).
15. Don't eat all the brownies on the table. They're not for you.
16. Stop staring at the brownies.
17. Don't give death glares to anyone who take brownies.
18. Laugh like you get all of their jokes, even though you totally don't understand Australian humor.
19. Take mental notes of the meeting structure, people's presenting skills, and use of PowerPoint to display ideas. Remember these for the future.
20. Act the most mature even though you're the youngest in the room.
21. Linger for 5-10 minutes after the meeting to thank the hosts for having you and compliment them on their work.
22. Call your dad and gush to him about your first real client meeting.
23. Leave the building and enjoy the rest of the beautiful autumn day sitting in Hyde Park, thinking about how lucky you are for all the opportunities coming your way.

Spring Break: Cairns!

I figured watching a video would be a bit more interesting than reading about my experiences over Spring Break. This is my first shot at putting together a video, so bear with me:

Special thanks to Jeanine Ilacqua for lending some clips, great video-teaching skills, and patience. Thanks also to everyone featured in this vid for making my spring break so exciting!

Here is a brief list of things we did:

- White water rafting in the Tully River
- Fed wallabies and kangaroos (and cried)
- Explored several tropical rainforests, including the Tablelands
- Swam in a waterfall
- Went crocodile hunting

- Witnessed a jello wrestling competition (no, I did no participate)

- Snorkeled in the Great Barrier Reef
- Almost drowned in the Great Barrier Reef

I was able to check a few things off my bucket list after this trip. I wouldn't have wanted to spend my break any other way!

 

How I Became a Typical Broke College Student

My parents brought me up to have pretty decent money-saving skills. Yeah, I like to shop, but I do have a bit of self-control and always look for sales everywhere I go. It wasn't until I came to Sydney, the 3rd most expensive city in the world, that I encountered a financial crisis.

Australian dollars look like Monopoly money...so could you blame me for spending it? They're colorful (and waterproof!) Much more fun than plain American dollars.

This was obviously before I left for Sydney.
An updated pic would be me with a $1 coin  in my hand.

I arrived in Sydney with some savings, but evidently not enough. After shelling out cash for wifi (yup - BU made us pay for wifi), a crappy Vodofone and plan, food to stock the fridge, $6 for laundry, and a couple meals out, panic set in. I was barely a month into my trip and my bank account was frightening to look at. 

I've now been living here for almost two months and have figured out some loopholes and learned to live on the bare-minimum. Here are a few things i've come to appreciate (in order):

1. 30 cent ice cream at McDonalds 

...only before midnight. This has become a weekly habit among me and my friends. That's a lie, it's daily.

2. 3 for $5 sushi on George Street

I'm not sure that I should trust sushi this cheap, but I will continue to as long as I can eat it and still be alive afterwards. So far, so good.

3. Free bus

There is a free bus that runs through the CBD (Central Business District) on off-peak hours. Great for exploring during the day. 

4. 4 for $1 cream puffs

This is a more recent discovery (in Chinatown), but there is always a line down the street for these. They have a pancake-like consistency with vanilla pudding in the middle. So no, they're not really cream puffs at all, but the Chinese really know what they're doing. 

5. Paddy's Market

From Wednesday-Sunday, fruit and vegetable vendors set up in the sketchy basement of Market City, where you can get really cheap food. I briefly considered a fruits-and-veggies-only diet when I bought 9 nectarines for $1.50. 

6. Freelance

This is a shoe store my friends and I discovered at the mall. They have weekly sales where you can find cute heels for $10. 

7. $1 bags of pasta

Coles brand products are always really reasonably priced. Carbs, carbs, carbs! 

8. The Reject Shop

Not sure why it's called that, but you can get 18 rolls of toilet paper for $4. 

9. $1 Hot Dogs 

There is a really hipster bar called The Soda Factory where they serve $1 gourmet hotdogs (normally $10) on Tuesdays. This is a godsend after a long day of internships and class. 

10. $3 tacos

My favorite spot - The Abercrombie - is conveniently right down the street from where I live. We'll meet up here almost every Wednesday to take advantage of the amazing taco deal.

11. $3.50 Meat Pies in Glebe

After paying more than double this price for a mediocre meat pie from Pie Face, this was a delightful discovery. The pies from this cute deli will be enough for a whole meal!

I'm practically become a vegetarian again because meat is so overpriced in supermarkets. I help my boss from a previous internship with social media tasks for extra cash. I sometimes eat 6 rice cakes in place of a real meal. But I couldn't be happier to be here and have the opportunity to see everything there is to see in this beautiful country - even if I have to make a few sacrifices.