Sparks Screening + Brilliant Bonus

It's safe to be a softy for Safe Haven. Two things lured me to see this movie, free tickets and the name Nicholas Sparks. Oh Mr. Sparks always manages to begrudgingly stick to our hearts with his sorrow-saturated tales of romance. We don't want to see a loved character be ill and we know a "happy" ending awaits yet we can't keep our eyes and ears away from the sappy cinematic experience. I'm not enthusiastic about his work but I'm still a fan. As long as he keeps draining tears, he'll keep racking classics and Safe Haven is a new addition to the list. It has enough warmth, twists, and beautiful scenery to be a (Sparks) success.

I went to a screening of this film, hosted by the Village Voice, on February 12th. I go to advanced free screenings frequently - it's one of my favorite things to do - and I have many sources for acquiring tickets. I was afforded the opportunity to view Safe Haven through the Village Voice's Film Club - it's free and you can join by simply entering your email on the paper's website - and its mobile alerts (triggered by texting 61721 to NYCFILM).

I got double tickets because I discovered the mobile method after I had received the email confirmation and thought it would be exciting. And it was! When my friend and I arrived at Sunshine Cinema there was a substantial line waiting for the screening and we got to skip it all because of a text! A text as a screening pass is uncommon and I'm thrilled that embracing the SMS system resulted in a major perk.

Another fun/out-of-the-ordinary aspect of the Safe Haven screening was its afterparty, sponsored by Stella Artois. The audience was invited to 200 Orchard, a nearby bar, directly following the film to enjoy a complimentary cup of Stella. A wristband and a tip for the bartender were the only requirements for grabbing a beer glass and enjoying the glowing spacious insides of 200 Orchard.

I love that my Sparks-induced stress was balanced with beer!

 

 

 

(Pics 1,3,4,7 - photocred to Village Voice Photographer Farooq Alihassan
     Pics  2, 5, 6 - photocred to me 
     Pic 8 - scanned copy of flyer 
     Pics 9, 10 - photocred to 200 Orchard's website)

Chocolate Collaboration

"Welcome to the Lindt Bear Holiday Experience." I worked a 6 day - 2 weekend - promotion for Lindt Chocolate to encourage holiday spirit. The promo, executed by Elite Marketing, consisted of an outdoor station equipped with several interactive components:

- Two ipads on stands outside of the tent displayed the new Lindt Bear app - It has an animated talking Lindt Bear (with a voice that sounds like someone who sucked helium) that records your voice and gives you the option to send the recorded message to family/friends. The free app is only available for iphones/ipads and can be downloaded from Itunes (from a link on the Lindt website).

- A lifesize inflatable Lindt Bear stood in the middle of the tent for people to pose with for free photo ops. We took the pics on an ipad (standing atop a tripod) and people entered their email addresses on the device to receive their photo. If they clicked the agree box before sending the email the photo would appear on the Lindt Facebook page. The ipad did not store any of the photos.

- An ipad on a stand outside of the tent allowed people to share their Lindt Bear photos via social media (Facebook/Twitter) or through email. We prompted people to enter the same email address they used for the photo and their photo would come up on the screen alongside the sharing options (which required users to log in). The ipad did not store any information. 

*The table loaded with clear-plastic cylinders filled with chocolate, bags of truffles, and big Lindt Bears was not for interacting. Hands off please. Display only! *

 *A giant inflatable Lindt Bear attracted curious crowds from a distance.*

And there was us ! - a group of people in santa hats, big red jackets, and black scarfs bearing golden Lindt logos (that we didn't get to keep). Our job, as the promo staff, was to engage as many people as possible with the brand.

We shouted in the street and gave out complimentary (milk chocolate) Lindor Truffles and mini Lindt Bears to passerby, along with 20% off coupons for the Lindt store. The location for the first half of the promo (Novemeber 29th, 30th, & December 1st) was the corner of 39th and Broadway. The tourists walking by were especially pleased by the display. It was nice to hear all the accented "Thank you"s as we distributed one piece of chocolate per person and offered other perks. The location for the other half of the promo (December 6th, 7th, & 8th) was the corner by the Diesel store in Union Square. As the hours winded down there were different chocolate rules - only people who took a photo would receive chocolate, a gigantic handful of it. Seriously, we happily shoveled chocolates into joined palms, pockets, purses, shopping bags, and backpacks. The other incentive program was rewarding people who shared their photo with three truffles packaged in a small bag. It pays to be a participant! A common question was why were we doing the promotion and my answer was for fun! People, no matter who they are, are always shocked by free goods that don't have a catch, especially in the city - just take them and be happy! 

Working the promo was entertaining and strenuous. The Lindt promo team was comprised of a bunch of good-humored individuals and we braved the coldness - which was the number one struggle - long hours, technical difficulties, hunger, and rude/crazy/conniving people with grace. I enjoyed compelling the masses with chocolate.

And I loveeee the inflatable Lindt Bear - we are a perfect match of adorable.

 

(all photo cred to me except the group photo, sharing ipad photo, and my pic on the ipad photo which are from Elite's Facebook. all the pics of me with the Lindt Bear were emailed to me.)

Magazine Magic

I was an unpaid editorial intern for ZINK Magazine for 3 months (August - November, 3 days a week) and it was a big step forward in my writing career. ZINK has an extremely small staff - I was just working with two editors - and this makes it possible for interns to do real work and get published! I found this internship through Ed2010 - a site that frequently updates with posts for internships at (both print and online) magazines. ZINK was a lucky find for me because it is one of the few publications that doesn't require school credit for interns. (I graduated in May.) I was emailed within a few days of applying to set up an interview and then I was hired on the spot. I wasn't familiar with ZINK but when I glanced through the mag during the interview I was impressed with what I saw. ZINK, a luxury fashion, beauty, & lifestyle magazine, is well known for its thick glossy pages of alluring photos - the editorial spreads are what attract the fans. I was happy to be part of an aesthetically pleasing publication and excited that my words would appear on its pages.

Being an intern at ZINK is equivalent to being on staff, minus the pay. Editorial interns pitch topics/products, contact PR people for press releases & high-res images, write, create titles, interview, transcribe, fact-check, edit, and copy-edit. Interns do it all (without serial commas, as per ZINK's style rules) ! And doing it all felt great. I am thankful that I had the rare opportunity (as an intern) to play an active role in producing an issue of an established magazine. I hit the jackpot with ZINK - I gained experience AND clips!

Check out my writing below from the Holiday Issue:

 

 

               033  Style Fusion 

  

I was content with the short (100-200 word) write-ups I was assigned and ecstatic about writing a feature. Feature-writing is my specialty and I was honored that the editors trusted me with a big (2000 word) story. I had a lovely time conducting the interview - the atmosphere and the people were inviting. While sitting on couches on the terrace of a fancy Broad Street building, Darian and Michela told me everything I needed/wanted to know in a friendly and relaxed manner. There was no time constraint for our conversation - a major blessing - and I recorded an abundance of notes. I walked away from the interview with high spirits and free Mikki More products.

                                (huge chandelier in the lobby of the building, photo cred to me)

  

 (photo cred to Mikki's Facebook)

I love the balm! - It tames my waves leaving them shiny, soft, and non-frizzy. It's my new go-to product after washing my hair (instead of gel). The fresh coconut smell is a bonus - it conveniently compliments the scent from the Herbal Essences Hello Hydration conditioner that I use regularly. Anyway, the Mikki More story is incredible and I'm thrilled I got to share it in an article.

Shoutout to the editors for their patience with me as I made them wait days upon days for the completed story. I am a super slow writer because I have perfectionist issues which lead to procrastination issues and this has been a problem for me for years. However, the excessive amount of time it takes me to finish an assignment always results in quality writing. My Mikki More feature is completely my own - meaning the editors didn't rearrange it/cut things out/add their own words - and I'm proud!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ZINK interns are expected to work at least 2 full (11am-6pm) days a week - hours are flexible if necessary. There isn't a set amount of time for the duration of the internship - a semester/season is standard but if an intern does good work and wishes to stay longer they are welcome to. Interns are comped metrocard fare for traveling to and from the office on Park Ave & 23rd street. There is no dress code and lunch breaks happen as soon as hunger strikes. Everyone - interns and editors alike - is responsible for bringing in a laptop to work on. The small office - ZINK shares a floor with another business - is especially cramped when everyone is present, and the internet tends to go out multiple times throughout the day, but the space is filled with thoughtful ideas, shared input, and laughs. Jen, managing editor, and Romy, senior editor, are sweethearts and it is a pleasure working with them. The company of fellow interns is enjoyable as well. The environment isn't glamorous but it's relaxed and  productive. Interning at ZINK is definitely a worthwhile experience. =)


(photo cred: my scans of the magazine)


    

Pie Pleasure

I adore apple pie. I hardly bake but I don't mind contributing this dessert to a gathering. The only time I'll get messy in a kitchen is to create a dish I want to devour. In the name of sweets, sharing is caring – Follow the easy recipe below to make this super-satisfying treat. (I don't know the origin of the recipe so I can't credit it. The directions for the filling are from a family friend but I don't know how she got them. The step-by-step instructions are written in my own words.)  Enjoy!  

9 inch pie

Pie Filling

- 6 small Macintosh apples

- ¾ cup of sugar

- ¼ cup of flour

- ½ stick of butter

- a bit of salt

- a small amount of vanilla extract 

- as much cinnamon as you want 

Pie Crust

- 2 cups of flour

- 1 teaspoon of salt

- ¾ cup of Cristco

- 6 tablespoons of water

First thing: Heat oven at 400 degrees.

Filing

- Peel apples. A peeler is the easiest/safest way to accomplish this but a knife also gets the job done.

 - Cut the apples. Fastest way is with a manual apple-slicer where you place the ring in the middle around the apple core and then push down. 

- Place all the apple pieces in a bowl that's big enough to stir them around in without overflowing.

- Cut the apple pieces. The slicer will leave you with big chunks – cut those in half.

- Pour (in any order) the sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, vanilla, and drop in the butter. 

* I loveee cinnamon so I pour in a lot. Even when I'm done pouring, I add more. If you enjoy this spice, I suggest you get shaker-happy as well. *

-  Mix everything with a spoon until all the apple pieces are covered with brown goo. (Make sure you break down and spread out all the butter.)

Crust

- Pour the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. 

(If you don't have a mixer or prefer the manual method, no biggie – just stir everything.)

- Set the mixer at a medium speed and add in the Crisco chunk by chunk.

- The flour will start clumping in little balls. Turn the mixer off and mix the flour with your hand so that all of it is moistened with Crisco. 

- Set the mixer at a low speed and add the water slowly, pouring it in different spots so that all the dough is wet asap.

- Turn the mixer off when most of the dough has balled up. Clump the rest of the dough together by hand.

- Break the dough ball in half.

- Dust flour all over a large piece of wax paper and place one of the dough balls on the paper.

- Dust the dough ball with flour and put another large piece of wax paper on top.

- Flatten the dough with a rolling pin until it’s big enough to cover the bottom and edges of the pie plate. (I use a glass one.)

 - Remove the dough from the wax paper and place it in the pie plate. 

Pour the filling in the pie plate/on top of the bottom-crust. Spread it so that it is level to the top of pie plate (meaning don't let it sit in a massive tall mound).  

 - Repeat the dough-flattening procedure. Make sure the second ball of dough becomes expansive enough to cover the pie and tuck into the edges of the bottom-crust.

- Make slits in the middle of the top-crust with a knife, like 5 of them. (The insides need to breathe while baking.)

- Pinch and roll the edges of the top-crust and bottom-crust together.

- Press down the dough around the whole pie with a fork.  

- Cover the edges of the pie with aluminum foil (to prevent burning the crust).

Bake for 30-35 minutes. (Time varies depending on the power of your oven. It also depends on how crispy you want the pie. I like soft crust so I proclaim the pie to be done when the crust is golden in the middle. More brown means more crunch.) 

 

                               Pie 1 - for me 

 

                               Pie 2 - for the fam

* My pies always have uneven lumpy crusts. I don't see the need for precision when it comes to pie. No matter the presentation, they taste amazing! * 

(all photo cred to me)