Mind Games - Friday, August 14, 2020

you were the most beautiful thing i'd ever felt till now. and i was convinced you'd remain the most beautiful thing i'd ever feel. do you know how limiting that is. to think at such a ripe young age i'd experienced the most exhilarating person i'd ever meet. how i'd spend the rest of my life just settling. to think i'd tasted the rawest form of honey and everything else would be refined and synthetic. that nothing beyond this point would add up. that all the years beyond me could not combine themselves to be sweeter than you.

          falsehood - rupi kaur

There is something so beautifully tragic about the human mind.

It has the ability to create so much depth into certain situations that otherwise would hold no weight.

It idolizes a celebrity that, in four years, it will no longer give a spare thought. On the contrary, it accepts anguish from a breakup that it will remember colloquially just months later.

It elaborates feeling in such a way that, in the moment we are feeling, we become all-encompassed in the joy or despair that comes with the moment.

We pay no attention to how those immediate reactions will affect us in just mere passes of time.

The relationship we thought we'd never get over remains now as just fond memories and a grown sense of self-worth.

The high school championship we thought was our crowning achievement in life diminished to a statuette of metallic plastic and dust in our childhood bedroom.

It is beautiful that our minds have the power to give such meaning to truly inferior snippets of our days on this earth.

It is tragic that it holds so much imperceivable weight on how we physically and emotionally react seconds, days, months and even years after each eventually minuscule happening.

The mind is an incredible thing - whether that be for better or worse - yet as it is essential that we allow those overbearing feelings to wash over our physical beings, it is equally as vital to permit ourselves to wipe them away and continue on to the moments that truly define us.

Pittsburgh Penguins Internship - Week 15 (Final Week)

This past week was my last week as a media relations intern for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

As I am sure everyone knows by now, the Penguins were swept in four games by the New York Islanders, who held the second seed in the Metropolitan Division, just one seed above the Pens.

In the final game, all of the interns worked and we all got to have a hand in researching game notes and doing our usual game time activities. The only difference between our last game and any other game was that everyone was way more somber than usual.

Our last official day came two days later at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry.

We got to help out with locker clean out day, which was equally sad and cool to experience.

It began with organizing mail for the players and tracking them down in their locker room/lounge to sign 8x10s to give away in the off season. It ended with waiting for Sid to come into our office and sign all of his stuff so we could go to lunch.

In the meantime, we worked the press conference with Sully and GMJR - again, depressing.

Honestly, this internship was one of the best things I have ever done and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

#LGP

Pittsburgh Penguins Internship - Week 14

This week was an exciting (and disappointing) one.

After all of our work putting together the playoff media guide, we finally got to see the finished product - and she was beautiful.

It is so rewarding to see the final product after putting in hours and hours of research and proofreading.

On Friday, I went in to make credentials and help set a few things up for the postseason. It was pretty standard for the most part, as a lot of what I did was the same thing we have been doing in the regular season, just in higher quantities.

Sunday was an early morning with everyone reporting to PPG Paints Arena at 7:30 am for a noon Game 3. Like any other game, we got everything situated and set up, but again, we just had a lot more of everything. The media room was different for this game too because of the playoffs. It was so much bigger to accommodate all of the extra press coverage.

We had to troubleshoot a lot with visiting TV setting up in the wrong booth and visiting radio boothless (because TV took the booth they were supposed to be in) and credentials missing or nonexistent, but it made us all better because of it.

Even though the Pens are 0-3 in the series right now, it was a lot of fun to work a postseason game and to get to experience the rush of playoff hockey from a staff prospective instead of a fan.

Pittsburgh Penguins Internship Weeks 12/13

These past two weeks have been a doozy!

Last week, I was the day-before intern for the game on the 29th versus Nashville. It was the usual making credentials and getting things ready for the game.

I also worked the games against Nashville and Carolina while the team was on the hunt for a solidified playoff spot. Going into Tuesday's game at Detroit, all the Pens needed was two points to clinch a playoff spot, but they would wait until Thursday's game hosting Detroit (and for me to work) to actually clinch the spot.

That was an exciting night for us, and going into the locker room post-game was a fun experience... all of the guys were super pumped. The Pens' spot in the playoffs this year is their 13th consecutive appearance in the postseason, which is the longest streak in NHL history.

For Saturday's game, the Pens needed just one point to ensure they play the Islanders (as opposed to the Capitals) in the first round.

All of the interns went early to start proofreading the postseason media guide, which was built by all of us and the communications department at the organization in the course of pre- and post-game on Saturday.

The Penguins lost in overtime, but it was enough to hand us the Islanders in the first round, which is SO much better than the Capitals.

After the game, the interns and the game night staff (as well as full-time staff) stayed until 2-3 am to proofread and re-proofread the media guide. Despite being exhausted the next day, it was actually pretty fun - especially going on the ice as we were leaving.

On to playoffs!

Pittsburgh Penguins Internship - Week 11

This week was all non-game work for the interns.

While the Pens are going on a cold streak during their away games, we have continued to prepare for a postseason run and go through fan mail.

Geno and Sid both get a TON, it's actually a bit alarming. We've found license plates, hair lockets, notes with kisses on them, magnets, things to be signed, and then the usual "you're my hero" letter.

It is a mix of alarm and endearment opening fan mail, but fun nonetheless.

Next week, I go in on Thursday as the day-before intern to prepare credentials, then work the games on Friday against the Predators and Sunday against the Hurricanes.

Also, on a side note, my Guinness (mini golden doodle) turns two on the Saturday in between those games.

Next week will be busy at the end of the week, but we need as many points as possible if we want a playoff run!

Pittsburgh Penguins Internship - Week 10

Happy St. Paddy's Day everyone!

I didn't work today's game against the Flyers, but I did work the other games this week - Tuesday's win against the Washington Capitals and Saturday's afternoon loss against the St. Louis Blues.

At this point in the season, we have gotten into a good rhythm with game days. All of the interns have a good understanding of what to do in the different positions and we divvy up the work practically even every game. We also know what to double check and to keep each other in check so everything is as perfect as it can be.

We also got to go through some more fan mail briefly this week. This time, the mail belonged to Crosby again, but also included some intended for Malkin, who scored his 1,000th career point in the game against the Caps. My favorite piece that I opened was all the way from Russia and included a little magnet of Malkin's home province.

During the Caps game, a reporter who had made the trip from Russia just to witness Geno's 1,000th point needed escorted to the press box. Myself being a fan of Russia, I offered and made small talk with him while we went up. I learned that his name was Igor and that he would be in a little bit of trouble with his small newspaper if he came back without the 1,000-point story, so I joked with him that I would tell Geno to do it for him. (He was so happy when the 1,000th point was scored.)

Next week, we do not have any games, but we still might be going in for off-day work. Stay tuned!

Pittsburgh Penguins Internship - Week 9

This week was a big one for standings points for the Penguins.

Before their loss to Columbus in Ohio on Saturday, the Pens had gained standings points in six straight games (4-0-2).

After the loss to the Blue Jackets on the second end of their home-and-home series, the Pens bounced back to beat the Bruins on Sunday. Prior to that loss, Boston had a 19-game standings points streak (15-0-4).

I am really enjoying looking up stats at this point in the season, when players are setting personal/team/league records and things are heating up before the Stanley Cup playoffs.

After working two games this week, I attended Sunday's Bruins game as a fan - SUPER weird. Going to games as a fan is an assignment for us as interns/staff of the Penguins. It allows us to view things as fans do and give feedback on the overall fan experience.

I felt so out of place as a fan at a game. Usually, we don't really cheer in the press box and immediately after a goal, we are researching stats. Today, I took in the atmosphere and looked at marketing strategies and in-game activations.

Next week, I work two more games - Tuesday against the Capitals and Saturday (Pittsburgh St. Patrick's Day Parade Day) against St. Louis.