Three weeks... Half way done!

I can't believe that I only have three more weeks to go. It has gone by unbelievably fast. I can't wait to see Jake again but at the same time I'm sad that I only have three more weeks to see the rest of San Francisco.

I feel so relieved..... and happy

Today was another crazy day.... but it ended great! This internship hasn't been a dream so far but after tonight I think it will start getting better. Today was initially normal. I started out with doing the dishes and making sure the office was generally cleaned up. Then I finished getting client invoices ready to mail, metered, and then mailed them. There was a vendor presentation in the morning and I got to go. It was a lot better then the last presentation that I went to. A fabric rep from Cowtan and Tout came and brought food! Really delicious food (which was wonderful since I only had a small yogurt for breakfast). He showed some beautiful fabrics and it was nice and relaxing. I then went out for some errands (deliver items and such) and After lunch was when things started getting crazy.....
I was printing out images to be shown to magazine editors next week but they didn't print out so well. It wasn't so good.... not good at all. So I got to call the printer company people (my favorite thing) and talk to them about the problem. After awhile it was decided that the repair man would come on Monday and that I would need to go to Kinko's to print out the pictures. But then I another urgent job came up.... packaging and shipping mirror samples to a client in NY. First taking pictures and documenting each sample. I ended up getting everything printed and shipped and got off work at 6. Long day.
Two ladies that I work with invited me to drinks (wine for them, sprite for me) and so I went after I delivered the printed pictures. It was so much fun! I haven't hung out with anybody for three weeks and it was nice to get out and be with people rather then sitting in my apartment watching tv shows on my laptop. We got talking and it sounds like I will be getting to help with some design stuff this next week! eeeee!!! I am so excited and really hope that I am able help out and learn more about the design side :)

Never ending

Today went on forever. FOREVER. I didn't really go on errands today, which was nice not to have to drive... but I was at the computer typing all day which was not so enjoyable. They had me inputting one of the designers time billing for last month. Endless typing. It was interesting seeing everything that she got do do. All the design stuff and things that go into a project. It was also interesting to see how much every hour of work costs the client.
I'm so glad its Friday! Yay!

Errands, Errands and more Errands

Every day I am sent out of the office to drive around to pick items up and drop items off.  Google Maps has quickly become a favorite of mine. Driving around a new city, especially San Francisco is not an easy tasks. There are one way streets all over the place and intersections that don't allow you to turn left.

Plus there is the whole parking deal. It is impossible. Hate, Hate, Hate the parking here in San Francisco.

Side note on parking: There is only two hour parking for the streets around my work and since they don't have a parking lot that is what I get to do every two hours.... move my car. 

The perk to driving all around SF, even getting lost along the way, is that I am becoming very familiar with all the streets and locations in the city. I've only been here for two weeks and I think I know San Francisco almost as well as I know Logan or Pleasant Grove.

The many maps, directions and to-do lists that always cover the seats of my car.

CRAZY!

Another post today........
They had me deliver a birthday present to one of our clients today and something crazy happened.

I went there first and when I knocked on the door, no one answered. So I called the home phone and her cell phone. Still, no answer. So I decided to come back after I finish the other errands.
When I came back, there was still no answer to the door or either of the phones. There was a weird beeping noise that I heard but I just ignored it. I decided to hang it on the door and see if it was visible from the street...... it was. So I walked back up to the door and was trying to decided what to do with it when two police officers turned the corner and started walking up to the door. I silently started freaking out, oh dear... they are going to think that I am breaking into the house or something. crap.
I walked toward them when I realized what that beeping was.... it was an alarm. The alarm was going off. So I told the officers that there was a beeping coming from the house, it was going before I got there. That I was there to deliver a birthday present to the lady who lives there. They asked her name and then we noticed the neighbor peeking through their window. Turns out the clients house had been broken into before. I gave the present to the neighbor to give to the client because it turns our she is in Paris until July. Lucky her :)
Of course, She's not-so-lucky if her house got broken into.

Exciting adventures here in San Francisco.

CPA Training

Today I went on lots of errands and I also worked on one of my internship goals: CPA's.

CPA = Client Payment Application

As an intern I get to review the records and see if we have received payment from 

the client and if we have payed the vendor. 

While doing this, I have been able to see how much things cost. 

I am amazed at how much it costs. WOW.

I am learning a new program here as well.... Studio Designer.

They keep all the information for each item here. It's pretty cool. If they change the information in one screen, it changes it for all the different forms that relate to that item.

Flower School

Well today was interesting and fun.
The firm held a bridal shower today for one of the ladies here. She gets married on July 27 (the day before my birthday). So I got to run a few errands yesterday and today to get ready for it. Such as picking up the present for her and buying the food and champagne for the party. That was an interesting thing. Buying champagne.
I also got to set up for it. That was fun :) For the shower they had a flower arranging class so that she would know the ins and outs. A sweet thing to do since she is doing her own flowers for her wedding. The other reason for the class is so that the other ladies will know as well so they can help her do the flowers.
It was a lot of fun to play with beautiful flowers and to relax and have fun with the everyone at the firm.

After it was over, they asked me to stay late to clean up. The one good thing about staying late is getting to come in at 10 tomorrow morning. I get to sleep in! Yay! 

Cleaning up was not fun though. The tape left lots of sticky gunk that is taking forever to get off. So tomorrow I'll finish cleaning the sticky gunk off the island and wash the dishes as well. 

To top it all off, I got a parking ticket today. 

Oh joy.

At least I got to take home my flower arrangement :)

It's so pretty and happy looking.

1 down, 5 to go

This week was super busy and went by so fast. Kinda surprising how fast it went. I'm hoping the rest of my internship goes by so that I can get home and see my husband again. I am excited for the weekend and the chance to see more of the city. I'll check back in with pictures and stories of my adventures. :)

Goals

1. Learn how to write proposals and what goes into a proposal.

2. Learn about CPA's (Client Payment Applications).

3. Learn how to put together a PO (Purchase Order) binder.

4. Learn how to prepare agendas and learn what goes into prepping for a client meeting.

5. Maintain the materials library and learn about different companies that are used in the residential field.

Days 2 and 3

The first thing I get to do every morning when I get to work is the dishes. Oh joy. I find it kind of 

amusing that the one thing I refuse to do at home (because I hate doing it) is the thing that I get to 

do a lot of here in San Francisco. 

I am learning a ton of stuff and it is only my second day. I've learned how they keep track of time spent on projects, generally how the office is run and I also got to learn the process of getting quotes. 

Speaking of getting quotes.... super intimidating. Calling the vendors to get the estimates... well lets 

just say I was super nervous. That's another thing that I don't like to do that I am doing for 

my internship.... Calling people. ugh. But I did it, or at least some of it today. I get to finish tomorrow.

It's also my job to keep the office clean... aka, make sure there isn't clutter and boxes laying around the office. Even though it's lots of grunt work I like that I am able to be helpful. It's nice to be needed and know that I can make work easier for everyone at the office.

This is the materials library.... It's a total disaster zone right now. It needs lots of attention.

Hopefully I have some free time soon so that I am able to clean it up.

This corner area is my desk, except on Wednesdays...then the accountant gets the computer.

I get to sit by some super fun ladies.... Fany and Megan. 

 I love the details that all the houses have here. I parked by this gate today and couldn't resist taking a picture. I love the color and shape.

My Apartment

The Living Room Window. What I get to look out every day :)

My bed. The coat hanger is my closet

The Kitchen

The Bathroom

The Front hallway. Kitchen is to your left, Bathroom to your right.

First Day

When I woke up that morning I felt sick. Eating made me feel worse so I went to work on an empty stomach. To increase the awesomeness of the beginning of my first day, San Francisco decided to great me with rain. 

Luckily that is the end of the bad happenings for my day. 

When I arrived I was introduced to everyone at Kendall Wilkinson Design and got started on filling out paperwork. The Ladies at KWD are so nice and I look forward to getting to know them better.

On Mondays there is a staff meeting so I got to hear about what the firm is doing and see how they function. I also got to meet Kendall. Cool side note.... we have the same initials :)  .

I got to go to the San Francisco Design Center with the other intern Jamie. Such a cool place. I didn't know SF had a design center like New York does. As crazy as it is driving over there and finding parking (parking is insane here) I enjoy picking up samples, dropping others off and doing errands. I am able to learn more about the layout of the city and also more about vendors and such.

I learned today that another job that the interns do at KWD is the mail. We open it and get it to the right person.

We (Jamie and I) were in the office until about 7 and the designers were there even later. June is going to be a busy month! All in all, it was a great first day.

*side note, wearing heels was a bad idea. my feet hurt quite a lot.

Kendall Wilkinson Design

A bit about the firm I'm interning for....

You can check out their website at: http://kendallwilkinsondesign.com/

"We believe in the power of great design. We share a passion for the sophisticated, the delightfully unexpected, and making the old new again. Our mission is to inspire and enrich our clients' lives by creating artful, timeless, and fulfilling personal spaces.

Over nearly twenty years, Kendall Wilkinson Design & Home has successfully managed hundreds of full-scale interior design projects. Our tight-knit team of thirteen is well-educated in interior design and interior architecture, furniture design, project management, communications, and finance. Our designers are trained in a variety of styles, from classical to contemporary, formal to playful, and are experts in creating authentic period looks or mixing modern pieces with older gems.

Whether we are engaged in a full-scale remodel or customizing a furniture piece for a store client, our goal is to provide a well-conceived, functional design plan that can be implemented in a time frame, budget and style consistent with the client's desires. We take pride in doing our work well and in enjoying the process. "

The beautiful Golden Gate Bridge

The cables for the bridge are HUGE

I want this car :)

Fort Point 

HUGE front doors that looked so cool

We had a lot of fun with this hallway

 

 

We walked on the cables! Haha, JK its a tourist picture :)

Pier 39, Golden Gate Bridge and the Aquarium

 Hello there! Today after I got moved into my apartment we went out and saw some sights. 

We went on a boat tour of the bay that went around Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate bridge. 

Way cool. The wind was extremely cold and was blowing very hard but the fog cleared away so

that we were able to see the whole bridge :)

Under the Bridge

One side was completely clear and the other side had a bit of fog

There were so many boats sailing around the bay. So beautiful!

The Sea Lions at Pier 39 were a lot of fun to watch

The chocolate here is amazing! So many choices!

Cute :)

At the aquarium we saw so many  types of fish and sea creatures.

We also got to go through a glass tunnel with

sharks and BIG fish swimming around us.

I touched the star fish!