12. slices of humble pie

Hey hi hello.

Yes, I know I’m only twelve days late but I've been through a lot so please don’t hate.

I’m blogging from my last day as an intern here at Hill + Knowlton Strategies Malaysia, and I have so much to say today, so, brace yourself.

The Close

First things first. My very first independent internship has come to an end. I must say that it has definitely been one to remember. It was a good experience as a whole, even though there were tiny holes in the cheese like having absolutely nothing to do some days on end and resorting to Sudokus and Candy Crush to keep me sane. The people I have met here are diverse- they are so different that you can hardly believe they are all from the same company. The colleagues that I got to work with on projects were so willing to teach and share on both personal and professional levels and I am grateful for all that I have picked up here.

The two other interns with me. I'm gonna miss you girls ♥

Yeah I ain't in it cause I took it.

Thank you, Hill + Knowlton Strategies.

Spanking New Zardoze (Zar-dozey)

One of the highlights of my internship here was that I got to be on the team to launch a new fashion brand from Singapore. I've been talking about this brand for months now, to media, celebs and so on.. I've practically saturated my brain cells with their selling points and background information. But being on the team was definitely eye-opening and was a challenge I accepted with arms wide open. The initial stages were tough, the client was slightly difficult. But after a thousand and one phone calls, emails and follow ups later, we managed to pull it off.

Faye Hokulani the hostess.

The cast from The Apartment Asia, half of which was our client

The models, founder and Creative Director, JP.

Two of my favorite outfits, coincidence that it was the same model.

The celebrities that yours truly managed to secure for the event. From right: Joyce Wong (kinkybluefairy), Melissa Ong, Soo Wincci, Lisa Wong, JP, Raveena (founder), Pam & Van Chong.

As this was the first fashion client in this company, I’m glad I was part of the pioneering team. The client even mentioned that he was interested in extending the contract, so I’m guessing we must have done something right.

Oh, and the Deputy Managing Director offered me an extension because of the “outstanding and marvelous” work I did, but I think my time here is done. I need fresh grass to chew on.

Photo credits to: Maestro Ridwan

New Brain JUICE

As mentioned multiple times in my previous updates, I did have a buffet of delicious internships that I could have chose from. Note that I used “did” as opposed to “do”. Yep, that’s right. I no longer have the juicy menu of internship options that I once had.

It really was a nasty domino effect. I managed to secure all five internships that I was interviewed for, and BFM was always my first choice from the get go. However, the interview for BFM itself took place a whole week after the rest, and I had to keep Milk PR, Creative Juice, BluInc and JUICE magazine waiting. I got past the initial interview, but would have to wait for one of the many producers from BFM to contact me- once he/she read my CV and felt that there was need for an intern and called me in for a second interview. After an excruciating week of refreshing my email inbox and spamming the head of recruitment, she told me that the timing wasn't right for interns (she mentioned the elections, so fuck you government), and that I would have to try again next time. Ouch. Rejection sure is a bitch and a half.

Now, while all this was happening, I had three other companies waiting for my reply (I already declined BluInc from the start) so once I heard from BFM, I immediately emailed my second choice. Long story short, the position at Milk PR got filled up by another joy-eating, opportunity-stealing intern (sorry, I’m just bitter) and Creative Juice is in the middle of relocating and might not be able to accommodate an intern. Well, fuck. I was left with JUICE magazine, my third choice and only because it was an unpaid internship.

In case y’all did not know, I can’t do unpaid work. I have been working almost every unoccupied day of my life after SPM (tutoring, Starbucks, boutique, bars) and I basically run my own ship. I prefer not to have allowance from my parents for personal reasons (good ones, too), so working for free really isn't something I can consider.

But I guess (and pray) that all this has happened for a reason. Don’t get me wrong, I really do want to intern for JUICE, I mean why else would I apply for it. It just isn't ideal that they don’t pay interns, so I asked for a part-time option. I haven’t actually started work there yet, but I am already receiving emails and have been given a task to interview a really hot white guy from France. Well if that doesn't spell disaster, I really don’t know what does. We'll just have to see how it goes.

Back on Track

Regarding the drama for your mama I pulled with my last update, I’d just like to say that my train of emotions was derailed for a while with regards to my relationship, but I think we managed to get back on track. It’s not easy; I’m the one at fault here so I have a lot of humble-pie-eating and making-up-for-it to do. Arfu if you're reading this, I love you so much and thanks for giving me another chance.

I think I've said enough for today. I really should get back to sending kick-ass (read: kiss-ass) thank you emails and stealing documents and office supplies.

Till the next post.

Au revoir.