Drunken Interns

Professionalism in my office/job kinda has a huge gray area. We go to parties, we drink to do business. But when does the drinking and partying go over the top? Most fellow publicists I know make the majority of their networking buddies and friends through a drink. This is a problem for me cuz of the whole, allergic to alcohol thing, so I have to be that much cooler when I'm out. Kinda hard for me to do. Lots of pressure. If other drinking coworkers are around, its not so bad. But when 2 drinks turn into 8 shots and you're slurring words, calling reporters by the wrong name, and screwing up interviews, I'd say it's crossing the line.

I don't know how other companies work. We claim to have a no drinking on the job policy but we all know that's not a realistic policy. One time, I was working and apologizing for my then superior who was climbing the DJ booth to try to get Michael Strahan's Superbowl winning ass for an interview and making a fool out of herself, and the reporter simply turned to me and said. "Hey, its all part of the job!" That's when I was perplexed. Was I being a stuck up goodytwoshoes and should I just accept this madness? Or was I correct on my instinct of this particular situation being messed up? (FYI she ended up getting fired cuz she was in fact an alcoholic that couldn't keep her shit together.)

Thankfully 'nightlife' reporters and such are generally laid back and alchys themselves so it's usually not so much of an issue. But come on! You're on the job! Why would you WANT to get that trashed when dealing with national tv interviews and crowds of nasty people and complaining clients? Maybe it's hard for me to understand cuz I don't get a satisfaction from drinking that most do. Or maybe I just need to relax? I defiantly will admit im bitter cuz I cant go grab a drink and let loose as easily with a reporter. But still. Fine if AFTER the job is done. But during? I dunno.

Two drunken intern stories (note to self, I have to figure out how to do 'jumps').
We were doing an opening for a club in Times Square. Madness ensued. Drink tickets were sparse and the club was chaotic. So many people showed up and it was packed. I was put in charge of the press table. No one listens to a little white girl. My drunk superior (yes again), got on a couch to fight with the beast of a women in a fur coat and pigtails who was either a door girl or a bouncer. She was trying to take away the table and we were not having it. When another bouncer came, I just walked away. Then I was told the intern, who was 25 and at not only his first event but this was also his first day on the job, was wasted, creepy and had been fired. 3 times by 3 different people in the office. And if I were to see him, I was to fire him as well. Well, I did bump into the drunk/creepy ex intern a little later and wow, this kid was a winner. Eyes rolling in the back of his head, horrible convulsions that he thought was dancing. I told him to leave and he asked me for more drink tickets. I told him to leave again and he got so creepy I just walked away because i'd rather go watch Snoop perform. (Which he did with his cameras for his show, Run, D-Nice and DJ Cassidy. Earlier in the night, I was standing next to his body guard who I named Precious, cuz thats what every 500 pound, 7 foot tall black man should be named. I was next to Snoop when Drop It Like Its Hot came on and poked him in the shoulder and said "Hey! Remember when you sang this?" He laughed and then we smoked and he did the snoopdance. ) Turns out the intern ended up getting fired approximately 12 times that night by 5 different people. We never heard from him again.

This past week, we had another new intern start. He had been here 1 day. The next night, he shows up to an event at a club with a crew of 5. Wasted. He was still let in, cuz tech he wasnt working. Runs straight to the press table and attempted to take the last bottle they had. He was dismissed and told to leave. Next thing my coworkers see, is this kid flailing on stage next to Lydia. This kid deserves a raise!