Take-off

I've always loved airplanes, but purely for the take-off. As the plane moseys down the runway, my anticipation builds, those butterflies in my stomach getting ready for some height. After rolling along for a bit, the plane stops. When it starts up again, gears shift and I feel the acceleration pushing me into my seat. Faster, faster, faster, until I feel a lurch and I'm no longer horizontal. As the people turn into ants and the trucks into toys, my favorite part of lift-off occurs: the stomach-drop. The weightlessness is unnerving at first as the plane adjusts to its new height and gravitational pressure (sorry if this is nonsense, science folks...I'm a French major), but then, right after that, is the exhilarating freedom of being weightless among the clouds. It only lasts a moment, after which the cabin pressure makes me feel normally heavy again, and I'm slightly nostalgic for a moment ago when I defied gravity. But then I remember...I'm in the SKY! Whoopee.

So I guess today, my first day at work here at Experience, is the take-off, complete with stomach-drop. It's been an overwhelming but incredibly fun day, and I've felt both weightless and heavy in consecutive moments. Coming in this morning to an office full of welcoming and enthusiastic people, I felt the acceleration capacity of a fast-paced, dynamic company. As our boss led Brendan and me on the "first-day" tour of the office, I smiled and joked with many people on staff, maybe not remembering names, but definitely remembering comments, ie, "no candid camera!" Getting the layout of assignments for the next eight weeks was grounding but exciting. Brendan and I have a lot of work to do, but it's great work. At one point this afternoon we even looked at each other and said "We're getting paid for this!?"

But the stomach-drop of the day, the real proof of flying, was shooting the beginnings of our first video. I held the DV camera in my hand as we ventured into the 90 degree Boston heat, the overheated battery almost melting under the heat from the sun. I was worried about getting the right shots (the unnerving part) but also inspired by the liberty we were given to "go out and have fun with this!" (the exhilarating freedom part). We got some great footage of Faneuil Hall and its surroundings, which you'll see in the upcoming videos, and I even felt pretty comfortable on camera, which is a first for me. Now onto editing (which I love) and posting of the first video!

Please stay tuned as Brendan and I take you for a summer-long ride of the intern's life as we document our time at Experience! With us you'll peer into the day-to-day scoop of having an internship, both at Experience and through interns at different companies. You'll also learn about the facets of a company and the diverse career paths of the people who make it run. But most of all, you'll hear about us goofing up, trying to be humorous, and basically having a trial-and-error summer! Can't wait.

Until next time, I'm signing off, complete with a two-fingered pilot's wave from my temple to the sky.