The deadline for the career blog post was approaching so my friends and I decided to just hit up a random workshop during Thursday’s club hours. I went to a general workshop about internships and learned about how to best present yourself in front of employers. I walked in expecting the workshop staffs to feed us information that was already familiar to us, but surprisingly I learned a lot more about acquiring an internship than I expected to. They had very detailed PowerPoints that identify the key qualities that we should have when we are looking for an internship. On one of the PowerPoints, it listed out the ideal qualities that employers look for when they are searching for an intern or an employee. There were a lot of skill sets and qualities but I think the most important to develop team-working skills, communication skills, and leadership skills. I knew this information before coming to the workshop but I always thought it was hard for me to showcase these skills. The staffs from the career workshop gave us specific examples such as articulating your thoughts precisely during an interview. Don’t rush what you have to say and be confident when it comes to expressing your ideas. It was a very helpful experience and I’ll definitely apply the skills I learned next time when I’m looking for an internship.

After I came back from my summer vacation this year, I decided that I needed a job to pass time, but I don’t want anything serious like a business internship that requires me to put in hard work. So I thought about applying to cafes and bubble tea shops. Ever since when I was a little, i always had this fantasy about opening cafes and working as a barista. So when I saw a job opening for Gongcha on Indeed, I was super excited. I thought to myself, your dream is about to come true! If you don’t know what Gongcha is, let me educate you real quick. Gongcha is a Taiwanese bubble tea drink franchise, and I always enjoyed drinking their bubble teas. I applied right away, speed through the interview process, and BAM! I got the job.  

I had high hopes for this job. I imagined it to be super fun and chill and I’ll just get paid without having to work and stress much. Well, I was completely wrong. The difficult part was not remembering all the standard procedures for making drinks, it was dealing with annoying customers.  Before working at Gongcha, I never had any retail experiences. So I didn’t know what to expect at all. I still remember vividly my first encounter with a rude customer. In Gongcha, we have the options of choosing sugar and ice level for drinks. This is supposed to be helpful when it comes to customizing your drinks. But customers think that this process is redundant and stupid. So there I was, repeating ten drinks to this lady and making sure the sugar and ice level were correct so she doesn’t come back and haunt me with it. She stopped listening when I got up to the third drink and started talking to her friends. But I still had to do my job so I continue to list the sugar and ice levels. She shoves me her credit card the moment I finished speaking and wanted her drinks right away. I feel like at this point you can guess where this story is heading to. After we finish making the order, she grabbed her drink and immediately complained after she took a sip. “Excuse me, this is not sweet at all.  And why is there so much ice in these drinks?” At that moment, all I can think of is every possible curse word I can use against this customer. But of course, I had to be as professional as possible so I tried my best to explain to her. My manager saw that I was struggling and she saved me from entering an argument with this lady.  

I just wanted to share this little story with you guys today because the one thing that I learn from working there was that just because we are customers, that doesn’t give us the right to be rude to those who are offering us services. So next time when the person who’s taking your order ask you just one more question, just be patient and answer them. It will make both of your lives easier. 

This was my second time visiting the Whitney Museum of American Art. My first time visiting was in January and it was an amazing experience. So I was very excited this time to see the new exhibitions.  One of the main reason why I chose the Whitney Museum was because I really enjoy photography, and there were so many aesthetically pleasing paintings and exhibitions in the Whitney museum for me to take pictures of. The very first exhibition that caught my eye was the 95 Horatio Street by a South Korean artist named Do Ho Suh. It was right outside of the Whitney Museum. It was a very interesting piece of artwork because it connected the High Line to the Whitney Museum. There were so many beautiful artworks inside but the one of them really caught my attention. It was just a drawing of a dollar sign, but the quotes around them were really powerful. “All the materialism that now distracts us from salvation will later be consecrated to salvation. When it has lost its power, it will become a symbol of worship.” Initially, I didn’t notice the words around the drawing and I thought it was just another piece of abstract art. However, as I move closer towards the drawing, I noticed the quotes and realized they defined the meaning of the drawing. It was a wonderful visit and I can’t wait to go again when there are new exhibitions!