When the exams were over in May, I shouted “Hurray!”
And scoffed at friends who almost immediately embarked on their professional attachment and voluntary internship programmes.
Admittedly, I was one of those slackers who laughed at the idea of being so kiasu as to go for an internship, even if it wasn’t a part of my academic requirements. It was fun at first – the weeks of travelling, endless binging eating and shopping, but before I knew it, it was July and I found myself surprisingly longing for something more… challenging.
Which was why I spent the last five weeks of my holidays working as an intern for 8 Days. Fans of local magazines would know this weekly entertainment and lifestyle magazine under MediaCorp Publishing for its tongue-in-cheek features and juicy news about celebrities. It has a Singaporean slant with the occasional lah and shiok being used in articles.
It was quite easy to adapt to the office environment in Caldecott. For one, it bore an uncanny resemblance to our very own NTU campus, being sequestered in a tranquil spot on top of a hill with a canteen boasting affordable fare the likes of Canteen A and B. There’s your usual beverage stall, fruit stall, and Malay, Indian and Chinese food stalls with zi char dishes. Plus, yong tau foo, fish soup and vegetarian options for the health nuts.
Daily breakfast indulgence:
Just two dollars for this light spongy piece of pandan cake plus a large
comforting cup of hot Milo – both from the Caldecott canteen.
My messy office desk:
Interns normally don’t get an iMac desktop but as I had come in rather late in the year and desks meant for interns had been already taken up, I got the spare desk usually reserved for designers.
Not forgetting my pretty mug from home and 3-in-1 drinks from the pantry to keep me going:
Beneath the flighty celeb news, the tips for best eats, quirky website features and feel-good pages is a team of hardworking, dedicated, surprisingly serious editors and writers. In order to get yourself published, you must prove yourself to be a good, well-researched and concise writer. The editorial team in 8 Days is small compared to the ones at daily papers and other lifestyle magazines. Hence, editors and writers are often out on jobs and are too busy to guide you through everything with baby steps. I mistakenly thought popular culture was common knowledge that would not be daunting for me. Turns out I should have watched more TV.
Editor: Do you know who The Beach Boys are? Have you watched a Sandi Tan movie before? Have you heard of the Hipster Olympics?
Me: *blank face*
Fortunately, the editors were really patient and kind whenever I professed a lack of knowledge and I was still allowed to help with research for upcoming interviews and features they had to write. And mind you, reading up on dozens of articles and noting down stuff, even if it’s all about the Tom-Kat divorce and Stew-Pattinson break-up, can get tiring.
There were times where I stayed past 8pm to finish up research work since I am not the sort to be able to do work from home without succumbing to my bed. I found myself poring over past issues from the archives, trying to get a tight grasp of the style required by the editors. The beginnings of my internship were dreary, chock-full of research. The most I had written were tiny snippets describing the latest YouTube videos. So I was thankful for school mates who constantly encouraged me.
In her excitement at spotting my name, a dear, eagle-eyed NTU friend tweeted her edited photo to me:
My big break came in the third week when baked goodies were sent over to the office for sampling, which eventually resulted in the opportunity to write a two-page article about graduate students who became hawkers.
Scrummy muffins and orange chiffon cake from Kitty Bakes:
After which, the article assignments just kept pouring in – interviews with contestants from Australia’s Junior Masterchef (boy can these kids cook) and product reviews on top of writing for the usual YouTube column. I found myself increasingly enjoying the work and I appreciated even the tiny columns of writing I did for websites and food. In fact, these often proved to be the most tedious as they required many background checks and specific details. For instance, a mere paragraph introducing a restaurant would require price checks with the restaurant owner, picture requests from their PR personnel and knowledge of the ingredients used in signature dishes. The editor expected me to have thorough information about such details, even if they weren’t to be eventually included in the final drafts.
Some awesome freebies:
By the end of it all, five weeks with the 8 Days team had felt sweet but all too short. Yes, we all groan and moan about our working days during internships, but looking back, I marvel at the many things I had learnt and am happy I have all sorts of stories to relate to my friends. If I had to do it all over again, I would.
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