A Business Lunch

Yesterday, after the rain stopped, I went to meet my two ex-internship supervisors - R and M - for lunch at SoHo Park.  I strolled into the office as if I belonged, but mostly only because the front-desk coordinator was out for lunch.  When I arrived I still hadn't fully figured out if it was supposed to be some sort of exit-interview, or just a friendly get together.  This confusion clearly sprung for the abrupt termination of the internship a few weeks ago - the managing editor decided to change their policy on not-for-credit internships only a month into my stay.  Before I left, my supervisors made it clear to me that they would have kept me if they could, and will keep me in mind if a position opens up or they have freelance available.

But, getting back to the point, was it an exit-interview or a friendly lunch; a business-lunch or a lunch-during-business-hours?  I was notably nervous, and told them how much I missed working with them and that I hoped all was well.  Everything seemed normal, although they did miss the work I saved them from doing while I was there.  We touched upon what I'm up to now, and my response was "Still searching, not too worried."  The subject changed to weekend plans and goings on about town, which was comforting because this is my first time staying in Brooklyn and they both R and M had happy suggestions about where to explore and what to see before I go back home.

Finally, I loosened up.   I figured that the distinction I was making was unnecessary and made me uncomfortable.  Did it matter whether or not they thought this was an exit-interview? No.  The best impression I could make on them was to just be myself.  We kept talking about Brooklyn and other things to do around Manhattan.  Somehow the NYC zoo came up, so I began raving about it; even though it's really small, it's comfortingly so; you can leisurely stroll through it, see everything, and continue your journey through the park without being exhausted.  R said maybe she'll do that this weekend.  Somehow Inception came up after talking about which TV-shows we all marathon and I gave a brief review and then explained my love for Joe Gordon-Levitt.  Maybe too much information for an interview, but if I want to work with them again the best way was for me to just be me.

When I got home, Jeremy was just arriving.  We walked around the neighborhood for a while, ate delicious tacos for dinner, and then settled in to watch The Baxter.  Today might bring more exploring, I'm thinking of walking over to the waterfront, even though Jeremy says it will be gross, to see the skyline.