Oh, yes. Since I last wrote, I’ve enrolled at this institution. I’m getting my master’s in Arts [in] Education. Lots o’ theory. And Nelson Goodman is going to become my best friend, whether I like it or not.

I’m loving it, though. It’s an incredibly intense, totally inspiring experience.

A public moment of gratitude for a job I come to love more and more and an amazing group of coworkers that I look forward to seeing each day.

I’m having a very “adult” moment this weekend.  An extremely close friend is getting married this weekend in Phoenix, and this is the first wedding I’ve attended that wasn’t that of family member of family friend.  It’s a milestone that I’m embracing with open arms.

Let’s do this, O-town.  I’ve got my waterproof mascara ready to go.

Have you noticed that I have a thing for squirrels?

Some members of my new family (from left to right): Kim (National Symphony Orchestra Press); Crystal (Explore the Arts); me; Laura (Institutional Affairs)

The past two weeks have been very bittersweet for me.  In my last entry I briefly mentioned some of my incredible fellow interns.  Well, last Friday was the last official day for many Kennedy Center interns.  While some of us were able to get our internships extended a few weeks in order to finish up some big projects, I had to say goodbye to many people who have become exceptionally close to my heart.

The internship program is conductive to quick bonding for many reasons.  While some interns already had plans for their time after the Kennedy Center, most of us were confused as to what came next for us.  Do we go back to graduate school? Do we try to find an entry-level job?  Do we stay put in D.C.? Should we move back home and try to save money while we job search?  One by one, we are figuring out the answers to these questions.  As unsure as I feel about my own life at the moment, I could not imagine what I would be feeling without the support of my fellow interns.  While we provide each other practical assistance, such as proofreading cover letters and resumes, it’s the time we spend together, both and inside and outside of the Kennedy Center, that consistently reassures me that things will work out.

I must express a special appreciation to Kim, the National Symphony Orchestra Press intern who sits approximately a foot away from me:

Kim’s daily schedule begins a half an hour before mine, and I can always count on her greeting me with a huge smile and an enthusiastic welcome.  I have been so blessed to benefit from her positivity, as well as her willingness to assist me with some…less than fun projects.  Since you see how physically close we sit to one another, you can imagine that we talk to each other.  A lot.   In fact, the Vice President of Marketing and Sales teases us practically on a daily basis about how often we are giggling over something that probably doesn’t have to do with that Washington Post review that we should be archiving.

In short: an enormous thank you to all of my fellow interns for not giving me a moment to regret moving to D.C.  Thank you for reminding me on a daily basis why I have been so interested in arts management.  Take note, arts organizations and graduate schools: you have some incredible talent headed your way.

Chicken Run

Sometime in between a career fair and an incredible performance by the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, I took a pretty bad tumble while on my gym’s elliptical machine.  (Who in the world falls while on an elliptical machine, anyway?)  I spent the next couple of hours on my couch, nursing the bruise with a frozen chicken breast.  I know that sitcoms dictate that I’m supposed to use a frozen steak, but when you’re not making a living wage, that cliché isn’t an option.

One of my goals during my internship is to become a better concertgoer.  Often, going to the symphony is like locking me in a room with a nice-looking man. Who only speaks French.  I’ll spend the first ten minutes or so letting the sounds wash over me, trying my hardest to appreciate the cadence.  But then it’s only a matter of time before my mind starts wandering, contemplating that big project at work or wondering how many lunches I can get out of the chicken breast I made last night (no, not the one I used to ice my leg).  Luckily, my cubicle mate Kim was a music performance major in college.  She told me some things to listen for during tonight’s performance, and it helped me focus a great deal.

I keep trying to fall in love with D.C., but various winter pitfalls are preventing me.  I spent the first two weeks recovering from some flu-like ailments, and my plans for the last two weeks were thwarted by Snowpocalypse 2010.  While I wait for the snow banks to melt, I’m completely content with falling in love with my fellow interns, who are the best lunch mates/concert-going pals a girl could ask for.

Also, our cubicle has a mascot:

According to his tag (and companion picture book), his name is Maestro Mouse.  I was going to launch an intern-wide campaign to find him the perfect name, but I never followed through.  (Because, you know, it’s a stuffed mouse.)  I currently call him “Mahler Mouse” which isn’t exactly an improvement.   When it comes to nomenclature, alliteration is admittedly such an easy way out.

During my freshman Winter Term, I interned with UCLA Hillel’s Dortort Center for Creativity in the Arts.  It was a great experience that sparked my interest in arts administration.  Upon returning to Oberlin, I started researching what would be the next logical step in pursuing this possible career path.

Unfortunately, most of the internships I discovered required that applicants at least be a junior in college.  In this category, there was one internship program that struck me in particular, sponsored by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.  I added it to my browser’s bookmark tap, figuring that it might be worth pursuing in a few years when I had some more arts administration experience under my belt.  And that is what I’ve spent the last four years doing.

My father was incredibly enthusiastic about all of my internships.  He spent his own college summers doing research at Caltech and Berkeley (the latter during the summer of ’67, so jealous!) and felt that those experiences gave him a strong understanding of what he wanted out of his career.  My first “big” internship was at TheatreWorks, an awesome, mid-sized repertory theatre in Palo Alto, California.  While it was an unpaid position, they were committed to providing interns with the best possible experience.  I couldn’t fully articulate it at the time, but I knew that I needed to intern with this organization.

Many parents would have encouraged their children to find another opportunity that was paid and/or closer to home.  But my father understood that this opportunity could very well open doors for me and was extraordinarily generous in his financial support during that summer.  The investment paid off, as I later scored paid internships with Center Theatre Group, the largest non-profit theatre organization in Los Angeles, and CBS Television Studios.

At the beginning of this semester, I remembered the Kennedy Center internship and  concluded that I was ready to apply.  The application process was a little nerve-wracking, as this internship represented something I have been working towards for the past four years.  So when I received notice yesterday afternoon that I was chosen to be the Kennedy Center’s Press Office intern, I spent the rest of the day walking around in a daze.  I’m extraordinarily grateful, but it’s very bizarre to get something you’ve had your eye on throughout your entire college career.

I have to confess that this is a bittersweet moment for me.  Since my father’s death, there have been many successes (and failures) I wish I could tell him about.  But the Kennedy Center held a special place in his heart.  One of my father’s earliest memories was watching the Kennedy Center Awards with my grandmother, and as far as I remember, he made sure to watch the ceremony every single year since then.   I sure he had faith that I would achieve something like this one day, but it was sad when I called home to deliver the news and only my mom was there to receive it.

However, the initial sadness is passing, and I’m becoming increasingly excited about living in Washington, DC.  Despite being a total American history nerd, I’ve never been able to visit the city, and how fortunate it is that I’ll be there for the National Cherry Blossom Festival.  Plus, the perk of my job is that I can attend as many Kennedy Center shows as I want for free so long as there’s availability.

This one's for you, Poppa Bear.

Decorations from Oberlin's Halloween Organ Pump (midnight concerts given by organ students in the Conservatory)

I am making a post on Dia de los Muertos to let you know that I, in fact, am not dead.

Last week, my housemates and I (along with our mutual friend Aries) had an impromptu tea party. It’s rare that all four of us are in the house during non-sleeping hours (let alone in the same room.)

From left to right: Chris, Ma'ayan, Aries (visitor), Sneha

During our conversation, my housemate Chris mentioned a blog that she started at the beginning of the summer to document her experience interning at a Los Angeles-based production company.

“Ah, fall semester,” she mused. “Where blogs go to die.”

And I knew that I needed to make an update on Squirrel Fancy, even if it was a brief one.

My semester is even busier than I anticipated it would be. For the past year, I’ve been overhearing the cliché about how applying for jobs is in itself a full-time job. Only two weeks into the process, I’ve come to realize how true this statement really is. In fact, the desire to blog is stronger than ever, but it’s hard to justify an entry when there’s a cover letter waiting in the wings.

I take cover letters very seriously, and I’m not just saying that for the benefit of any potential employers reading this because they googled my name. (A warm welcome, by the way, if the previous description applies to you!)

I recently was talking with a new friend about the differences between writing cover letters for internships while in college (“This is why your company/organization interests me!“) versus as a soon-to-be graduate looking for a permanent position (“This is what I can do for you!“)  At the risk of sounding like Pollyanna, I know that if I view writing cover letters as a chore, my resolve will be gone by Week 4 of The Great Job Hunt.  I try to see each cover letter as a way of reminding myself that I do have what it takes to land a satisfying job, even when The New York Times (and every other media outlet) tells me that this is not the case.

I’ve been trying to enjoy my last Ohio fall to the best of my ability.  Last Sunday afternoon, I set out to take photographs of the changing leaves, but I got distracted after having a staring contest with these two cats on my neighbor’s roof:

Each day is becoming just a bit colder than the next, yet I know that in a month when my house is buried in two feet of snow I’ll wonder how I could have considered 50 degrees to be chilly.

And then I think, “Golly gee whiz, Melissa.  This sure is a good metaphor for life right now, isn’t it?”

(Answer: Yes, yes it is.)

Well, folks, the drawers have been lined with official NASCAR wrapping paper, and the A Christmas Story replica leg lamp has been lit.   (And, yes, I have become more adventurous with my cooking, by which means that last night I added fresh basil and grated parmesan cheese to my Lean Cuisine Pasta Primavera.)  I’m gearing up for the third week of the fall semester, and I have to admit that my head is spinning with all the commitments that I’m accumulating.  Oberlin students seem particularly good at pushing the boundaries regarding how many classes and extracurriculars we can handle without having a nervous breakdown, although my mother has her doubts (“Melissa, you are actually studying, aren’t you?”)  So, as a testament to my actual engagement with my classes, here is a look at what I’m taking this semester:

Oberlin History As American History — Like almost all of my friends here, I am a major Oberlin history nerd.  I’m particularly jealous of whomever is currently living in the house on E. Lorain Street where Charles Martin Hall, captain of O.C. All-Star Alumni Team, discovered an inexpensive way to make aluminum.  Not only do I get to critically examine the college and town’s history for credit, I will be participating in a partnership with 10th grade students at Oberlin High School.  Together we’ll be working on a research project about women in Oberlin history.  Additionally, I wouldn’t be surprised if by the end of the semester I asked Professor Carol Lasser to be the godmother I never had.  She’s just that fabulous.

God and Holocaust in Jewish Theology — Admittedly, I first registered for this class solely to complete my Jewish Studies minor.  I think it’s understandable that I wasn’t particularly “pumped” to take a class about the Holocaust, but this might have been one of the best academic decisions I have ever made.  I’ve never done a formal examination of the Holocaust (sorry Temple Aliyah Hebrew School, you don’t count).  Visiting professor Zohar Raviv is perhaps the most talented lecturer I’ve ever encountered.  We haven’t even begun discussing the Holocaust, and his lectures already have an incredible emotional immediacy (Oberlin, figure out how to snag him permanently!)

Introduction to Musics of the World — While music is an inextricable part of my life, I have found myself increasingly frustrated with my lack of a vocabulary to discuss it.  Offered through the College Music department, this course doesn’t require any previous music background, making it a perfect place for non-connies like me to get a grasp on concepts like time, pitch and structure.  The syllabus is filled with political and cultural issues  (last Friday we discussed how the Nazis adapted Great American Songbook classics into chilling propaganda pieces).  Some of my best friends work very closely with Professor Jennifer Fraser through Oberlin’s Indonesian Gong Ensemble, and I am thrilled to get in on some of the “J-Fray” action.

Advanced Creative Writing Project (Part III) — I can’t begin to express how fortunate I am to have Sylvia Watanabe on my side.  My weapon/genre of choice is creative non-fiction, and she never bats an eye at how wacky and/or unflattering my stories are (which is often).  I find her feedback to be 100% dead-on, and I need to write as much as possible this semester in order to take advantage of her sage advice.  I’ll be finishing up a project I started last semester about the college/conservatory dynamic, as well as beginning a new piece about my oh-so-wacky and whimsical adventures at Zionist preschool (see, Temple Aliyah, I could never abandon you for too long!)

Creative Writing Practicum — Along with another student, I help Oberlin gem Lynn Powell put on the Main Street Readings series at the FAVA center in downtown Oberlin.  This week we are throwing a book party for my advisor Dan Chaon, whose novel Await Your Reply just made the New York Times bestseller list last week.  (How thoughtful of him to give me bragging rights!)

Hatha Yoga — I hail from Los Angeles, were the yoga studios are often lean and mean.  I’ve spent so many yoga classes there worrying about how fast I complete a vinyasa that I’ve completely neglected my technique.  This class is forcing me to slow. down. and make sure that my basic postures are correct before I attempt to tackle that headstand again.  My teacher, Eric, has a great sense of humor, which is perfect for someone like me who can only pretend to be so serious for so long.

Argentine Tango (EXCO) — At middle school dances, I would always flee to the bathroom the moment I heard those first synthesized notes of *NSYNC’s “God Must Have Spend A Little More Time On You.”  Sadly, I haven’t matured much since then.  Oberlin’s dance EXCOs are particularly good, and I figured it would be foolish to not give one a try before I graduated.  Also, my teacher refers to himself as “Timmy Tango” and sends us two page e-mails with subject lines such as “Quantum Physics and Tango.”  Objective win.

Between classes, two jobs, and seizing every last moment at Oberlin, I’m not sure how I will eat everything on my plate.  It’s like at a restaurant when your hedonistic friend at a restaurant convinces you that it’s okay to order the crème brulée and the mixed berry tart and the triple chocolate cheesecake simply because you couldn’t decide between the three. As a result, I’m sure there will be a night or two when I’m on my bed, clutching my stomach and cursing Thor’s name.  But, hey, I’ll always be able to tell people how that restaurant had the best desserts in town.