My Internship Journal
Monday, February 5, 2024
My Favorite Thing So Far…
This internship is off to such a slow start, especially compared to my classmates – who are all writing articles and/or truly experiencing immersion into their host experiences – that my first rection to this prompt was EVERY LITTLE THING!
I thought I was just being too sensitive when I first met with AJ in December. She kept asking me what I wanted to do?, which I thought was odd, but when a quizzical-faced AJ posed the question again at our second meeting, as Chelsea Jackson looked on, with an equally baffled expression, I realized I wasn’t sensitive, they just really weren’t sure what to do with me, just as they hadn’t known what to do with their first-ever intern, fellow MFA’er Peter Welch.
The promising news is that they eventually figured out what to do with Peter, so I know it’ll work out for me. And I’m compiling a list of suggestions and questions that I’ll email to Chelsea, as per AJ, that may inspire a project/task or two for me.
That said, my absolute favorite, besides the glimmers of hope for-things-to-come from my Zoom meetings with AJ & Chelsea, have been all the warm and welcoming emails that have continued to trickle in from everyone on staff and the readers too! Which reminds me, I really do need to reply to David Grubb’s last email!
Friday, February 2, 2024
Finally met with AJ again and was able to meet Chelsea Jackson who has been promoted and will be co-editing the MeR with AJ. They took me on a tour of the backend, Google Drive, of the magazine.
It was interesting how they’ve set up an easy to use and understand, straightforward database to keep track of their budget, authors, payouts, etc. I’ll be frolicking amongst the Sheets until our next meeting on March 4th, unless I hear otherwise from Chelsea, to whom I will be directly reporting from here on out.
AJ asked that I have a look at the MeR Masthead, a Who’s Who of everyone that works/volunteers there – which I already had, multiple times – and to make a list of the people I would most like to meet. Didn’t have to think twice about that. I want to meet fellow neurodivergent, Associate Editor Doug Scibeck. He deals predominately with their Syfy submissions and is in the process of writing his first Syfy novel.
AJ was delighted and said Doug would be invited to our March meeting. I’ve also been promised I’ll soon receive an MeR Submittable orientation from Chelsea; I’ve been doing my own Submittable exploration, but will be very happy to see MeR’s side of things. I may even get to read submitted articles in the near future!
Monday, January 27, 2024
Today I was supposed to have my internship orientation Zoom with AJ and Chelsea Jackson, but AJ is violently ill, so we’ve rescheduled for Friday at 12:30p. In a way I’m glad as I had such a bad night’s sleep, but it was nonetheless disappointing that there’s been another delay.
From the time AJ sent out the “Welcome to Our New Intern,” email I’ve been flooded with welcoming emails from the team. The most engaging have been from David E. Grubbs, the associate fiction editor.
David recently published his first book, the first in a series, A Trip From God. I’m early into the Kindle version and find it entertainingly “out there” and existentially insightful. Edwin Nedellaf and I have something in common, an amazing interaction with an Entity/Prescence greater than ours. You can’t beat the $1.99 Kindle price.
Actually, for the moment, the interaction I’ve had with David and getting my MeR email set up is the most internship action I’ve seen until now. AJ, Chelsea, and I are rescheduled meet on Friday, 02/02/24, let’s see how that goes…
Thursday, January 18 2024
So… Here I am on Thursday and no word from AJ on the introduction or my actual start date, though according to BPU I’m in an internship.
I have been reading more of the Fall 2023 edition of the Maine Review and archives, but it’s only served to confirm my initial
conclusion that the publication is definitely a reflection of its Editor in chief. If the submissions were devoid of bylines I’d automatically assume AJ had written most of them. That assumption is based on my having read her award winning book, which is also a wonderfully dark collection of fictional stories that expose the author’s eclectic personality.
I’m very much looking forward to working with her and the MR team – whenever it happens…
Update: Thirty minutes after I wrote the above I get an email from AJ thanking me for my bio and asking what name I’d like to be introduced by. I responded, “Alejandra, Alex for short.” Ten minutes after that she copied me on the intro email she’d sent to the MeR team.
Now I know for sure – all I have to do is complain, even if only to my journal, and a response from AJ will follow… LOL.
New Update: As happened on Monday, no sooner did I write the above entry AJ emailed Assistant Editor Chelsea Jackson and I about our availability for a Zoom meeting to serve as the orientation to my internship – YEAH!!! – we will meet sometime between Wed. 01/24/24 and Wed. 01/31/24. I’ll let ya know how it goes!
Monday, January 15, 2024
I was beginning to worry because I’d not heard from AJ Bermudez on starting my internship with MeR, so I emailed my concerns to Kate, who replied that I should be patient. Turns out I fretted for nought.
As if she were reading my mind, I received an email from AJ this morning, less than 24 hours before the official start date of my internship semester, and before I’d heard back from Kate.
AJ’s email requested I submit a mini-bio, which I’ve dispatched in response a couple of hours later. Hopefully I’ll hear back soon.
Friday, Dec. 15, 2023
Turns out Kate was fine with my meeting with Ms Bermudez during our Winter break; as long as I secure an internship before Spring semester begins she’s ok. I’m kinda nervous. I didn’t know one had to interview for an internship. Then again, why not? It’s a job, right?
I was glad to see that Ms Bermudez is punctual. As the clock on the right corner of my Mac screen showed 1:00 PM, the Zoom screen lit up with AJ Bermudez’s smiling face. Her email had mentioned we’d be joined by Managing Editor Chelsea Jackson and Associate Editor Doug Scibeck, but it was just her. I didn’t ask why, I was grateful to be speaking with her and trying to remain hopeful that by the time we finished the internship would be mine.
I didn’t have long to wait for her to tell me that “after the glowing recommendation Peter (Welch) had given me about you, it wasn’t a matter of if you’d be our second intern, I just wanted to meet you for myself and see if all of his praise for you had some feet. And to find out if I thought you’d fit in with the Team.”
WOW! Ok…
As our conversation continued, AJ, as she insisted I call her, must have asked me four times how I envisioned my time with MeR? I’m embarrassed to say I don’t believe I responded to her satisfaction, but my brain felt stuck every time she asked. All I could think of to say was, “I am open to doing whatever is needed, because I know that there is much to learn from even the smallest task, if I remain present to the experience.” What the hell kind of answer is that??? I know what I meant, but did AJ? No matter; what mattered was that I had indeed landed an internship! She told me she’d be in touch, that I’d probably begin the “first week of January because we’re about to get real busy.” Fine by me!
Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023
This afternoon, having decided on where I wanted to serve the internship required by my MFA program, I emailed AJ Bermudez, Editor (in Chief), of The Maine Review (MeR). I introduced myself, mentioning my connection to Peter Welch, MeR’s first ever intern, a former classmate of mine who has become a dear friend. I made sure to let Ms Bermudez know I was not only well acquainted with the literary journal’s style and submissions, but that I’d also read her book, Stories No One Hopes Are About Them, (winner of the Iowa Prize for Short Fiction) and how two chapters have stayed with me, “Octopus,” and “The Body Electric.” Reader, if you haven’t read this collection of “fictional’ essays, get ahold of a copy, you’ll be glad you did.
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*As an aside, if you visit The Maine Review’s website, Issue 9.2, Fall 2023, features the outstanding watercolor art throughout of my dear friend and former BPU classmate Peter Welch!***
I hope my email message wasn’t too long and that she’ll respond. If she doesn’t, I have no idea where I’ll land an internship as I’ve not come across remote internships that appeal to me, but I suppose I could gather up my courage and write to Seven Stories Press to see if they’d consider hosting a remote internship. I am holding on to the hope that I will be able to internship with Seven Stories at some point in the future; I’d like to experience working on Spanish to English translations.
Update: I was surprised that Ms Bermudez responded to my message within three hours of my writing her. She wanted to set up an interview – would 1pm on Dec. 15th work for me? Geese, that was two weeks away, the Fall semester would have ended on Dec. 11th. I hope this is alright with Kate (Professor Kate Whouley), as I’m late to the game of landing this darn internship.