Low stakes hot takes

Working from home has its benefits. You can hop on a call at precisely 8:30:00 am without rush-hour traffic slowing your morning. Relocate for a long weekend. Or the classic: business on top, casual on the bottom. But it also presents new challenges: Reliable internet connectivity (or lack thereof), kids and pets, new communication habits. It’s particularly difficult to come in as an intern. But this spring, Mackenzie and Olivia were up for the challenge.

A month in, we started noticing some inside jokes cropping up. We were delighted that our interns had managed to connect from afar. We also couldn’t help but wonder: what do interns talk about? So we asked. Obligingly, they shared their Slack feed.

Mackenzie Murray (MM) is a graphic designer, illustrator, and printmaker.
Olivia Zidzik (OZ) is a soon-to-be graduate of the University of Kentucky with a degree in Integrated Strategic Communication.

MM: I hate the question “what’s next for you,” but take it wherever you want.

OZ: I am shopping for jams.

MM: I don’t follow.

OZ: It’s an analogy from a clinical study. When presented with more jam selections, consumers are less likely to buy. The number of choices directly correlates with your stress.

MM: How does this relate to your next?

OZ: I am consumed by the idea that after May, I can do anything with my life. There’s a limit, and it’s not the sky. It’s jam.

MM: Jam sounds good to me.

Editor’s note: We also call our short meetings jams, so we were initially confused by this new concept of jam. But too many jams can definitely be overwhelming.

OZ: What’s next for you?

MM: After our chat, I’ll finish up some projects, grab some coffee, and take my post-work run.

OZ: What Bullhorn projects are you working on?

MM: Some new packaging and illustrations for Crank & Boom. Lexington Public Library concepts are coming along, too.

OZ: Those illustrations are great. I helped with a naming project not too long ago. It was fascinating to see what I read in Brad’s book come to life.

Editor’s note: And this is the point we link The Naming Book again for those of you who still haven’t read it.

MM: I need to read it. What are some of your work-from-home must-haves?

OZ: Scattered Post-it Notes, both of my planners, a half-drank cup of coffee, and a person to talk to every now and then; otherwise, I start to lose it.

MM: I also have to have a beverage by my side — at least three. Then there’s my sketchbook where notes and concepts live, plants everywhere, and Girlfriend Collective.

OZ: Ah yes, you mentioned a post-work run. How’s Montreal?

Editor’s note: Mackenzie recently moved to Montreal. This interview transpired mid-winter vortex. And Montreal accumulated over a foot of snow.

MM: I’m not as hearty as I thought. The Midwest-mentality made me think that the cold doesn’t bother me. I went on a run yesterday, and I was to-my-bones cold. And running through snow is like running with bricks attached to your feet.

OZ: Prime example of why I don’t do cardio.

…

OZ: What’s your love language?

MM: Serendipity. When the sun hits your face just right. Collapsing into bed after a long work day. The way you pair brie and jam on a cracker. Sensation-based moments. That’s my love language.

OZ: That’s beautiful. Textbook, mine is quality time. I feel the most alive when I am present with others. It’s an indescribable high.

MM: So, are you an introvert or extrovert?

OZ: Depends on the situation, but more often than not, an extroverted extrovert. You?

MM: Definitely an extroverted introvert. I can turn it on, but I need time before and after to do my own thing.

OZ: What’s your Enneagram type?

MM: Three, but I don’t know how much I buy into personality types. It’s the same thing as horoscopes. I blame Mercury being in retrograde when Mercury isn’t in retrograde.

…

OZ: Low stakes hot take rapid-fire. Go.

Editor’s note: Okay. Here’s the good stuff.

MM: Oh gosh. Kraft Mac n’ Cheese is at its zenith the minute you make it. Put it in the fridge? Might as well throw it in the trash.

OZ: Beyoncé is overrated.

MM: You’re going to start a war. Here’s another: lighting is the pillar of any home or space.

Exhibit A: your lighting sucks — it looks like you are in a cave.

OZ: Case and point. Also, sprinkles are futile.

MM: I could do without winter.

OZ: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is the pinnacle Christmas movie.

MM: People who stand up the moment the plane lands. Why?

OZ: Also on planes: out of common courtesy, don’t recline your plane chair.

MM: Olives are gross.

OZ: Oh.

MM: What?

OZ: We can stop there.