Monday, November 23, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Relevant Criteria: Marketplace
There are many important criteria to my audience, the average college student with a meal plan, including the food quality, service, cleanliness, atmosphere, and location at the Marketplace. Obviously people want good food quality. Since they paid for the food and therefore would like it to be worth their money. Service is also of great importance, as most people do not enjoy waiting in line for a long period of time due to a slow server at one of the food stations. Service also matters greatly because a person would expect a person that works there to be polite, nice, and willing to help you. Cleanliness is a big one. Would you want to eat at a place that is dirty? Of course not. The kitchen where food is prepared, the serving stations, and tables where people eat should be clean. And finally, atmosphere is of great importance. The atmosphere at the Marketplace should be one that draws people in, and doesn't push them away. Atmosphere should include aspects such as scenery and decorations inside, walls painted with a color that is pretty neutral, and workers should be happy and willing to serve you. Another major aspect of the Marketplace is location. The Marketplace should be located near a major area of campus, and be in a reasonable range of the dorms. This is because a student would not want to go so far just to eat, since most meals are eaten at the Marketplace because those students have meal plans. These are just five of many aspects important to my audience in relation to the Marketplace.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Audience Analysis: The Marketplace
My review topic is the Marketplace, which is one of the two cafeteria type restaurants in which you can eat on campus and is compatible with the meal plan.
Values
• What’s important to them? What do they value above all else? As a measure of their values, where do they stand on social issues?
The audience of my review on the Marketplace is students with meal plans. Quality of food is of great importance to them, since the Marketplace is where they consume most of their food. Major aspects of an average restaurant are valued greatly by students. Some of which are service, food quality, cleanliness, and location. Most people though that complain about this don't do anything about it, which reflects their stand on social issues.
Social Needs
• What are their friends interested in? What would it hurt them socially NOT to know? What do they need to keep up with in order to keep up?
Their friends are also interested in the quality, service, and cleanliness of the Marketplace. It is an often mentioned topic of conversation. It would not exactly hurt someone socially not to know, but a person would be left out of a conversation if that topic arose. In order to keep up with this subject, a person would have to be a regular customer at the Marketplace.
Cognitive Needs
• What do they consider real, direct, and tangible benefits? What do they need to know to be who they are and want to be?
A student that eats at the Marketplace would consider good food quality, good service, and a clean place to eat a real, a direct benefit. (I am unsure if the second sentence in the question could relate to the Marketplace, and I don't know how to answer it).
Values
• What’s important to them? What do they value above all else? As a measure of their values, where do they stand on social issues?
The audience of my review on the Marketplace is students with meal plans. Quality of food is of great importance to them, since the Marketplace is where they consume most of their food. Major aspects of an average restaurant are valued greatly by students. Some of which are service, food quality, cleanliness, and location. Most people though that complain about this don't do anything about it, which reflects their stand on social issues.
Social Needs
• What are their friends interested in? What would it hurt them socially NOT to know? What do they need to keep up with in order to keep up?
Their friends are also interested in the quality, service, and cleanliness of the Marketplace. It is an often mentioned topic of conversation. It would not exactly hurt someone socially not to know, but a person would be left out of a conversation if that topic arose. In order to keep up with this subject, a person would have to be a regular customer at the Marketplace.
Cognitive Needs
• What do they consider real, direct, and tangible benefits? What do they need to know to be who they are and want to be?
A student that eats at the Marketplace would consider good food quality, good service, and a clean place to eat a real, a direct benefit. (I am unsure if the second sentence in the question could relate to the Marketplace, and I don't know how to answer it).
Monday, October 19, 2009
Commentary: Skateboarding on Campus
Here at UCF there is a major issue going on. This issue has to do with skateboarding on campus. Many people use skateboarding for transportation around campus, and some use them just for fun. You wouldn't think this is a big problem, but if you were a UCF student for a day you would understand. Walking to and from classes can be a complete nightmare, due to having to watch out for skateboarders the whole time. Not only people who walk to class are getting hurt, the skateboarders are too. I witnessed this first-hand on my first day here at UCF by breaking my elbow skateboarding. Obviously this is a severe problem that needs to be addressed, but there are some disagreements over whether skateboarding should be only regulated somehow, or completely abolished.
From the perspective of a pedestrian, it is very nerve-wracking getting to class. One constantly has to watch out for skateboarders. While walking to class, people walking will hear the sound of the impending doom of a skateboarder rolling over the cracks in the sidewalk behind them. Then the person has to decide to move over or stay in the same place and hope for the best. Then once the skateboarder, hopefully, passes him or her, one can take a sigh of relief because they survived that one. After that, the person has to go through that over and over until they reach their destination. This can cause one to take more time to get to class and possibly be late. Also, if the skateboarder collides with the pedestrian, it can cause major injuries. The skateboarder can fall and hurt themselves, or the pedestrian can get hit and both of them can possibly get hurt. I personally experienced this on the first day, when I moved on campus. I was riding down a small incline that had a curb on the side, when there were too many people on campus to do it safely. I was going too fast to stop and was rolling directly towards a woman coming up the hill. At that point I had to make a quick decision and I decided to go between the woman and the curb. There was not enough space, and I hit the curb. It was literally downhill from there. I landed on my left arm and snapped a bone in my elbow by landing on the curb. Without skateboarders on campus, we would be without a lot of injuries. People wouldn't go through so much stress doing as little as walking from one place to another. All in all, campus would be a lot more safe and peaceful.
Although, from the eyes of a skateboarder, it is a completely different story. As told by many students I have talked to, skateboarding is a great way of transportation. One can get to class ten times quicker than walking. Not only is it time efficient, but it is very fun and exhilarating. The feeling of going fast, with little effort, and the wind blowing through your hair is great, says a UCF student that skateboards to class. The thing that walkers don't understand though, is that if they hear or see a skateboarder coming at them, the best thing to do is stay where you are at. The skateboarder already has the route that they are going to use to get around the next crowd laid out in their mind, so moving would mess that up and cause a collision. A lot of times when there is an accident that involves a skateboarder and a pedestrian, it is partly the pedestrian's fault just as much as it is the skateboarder's fault. Skateboarding is not that big of a problem from the skateboarder's eyes. If a skateboarder is being smart about riding and not being irresponsible about it, that person will have less of a chance of getting injured or injuring someone else. If skateboarding is eradicated, the only ones that will be punished are the responsible ones.
With all of that said, there are some possible ways that this can be resolved. Some ways could make one group happy and the other group not, while some could be a happy medium that both groups would be happy with. One idea that could well be a possibility is the school could ban skateboarding altogether. This would cease almost all skateboard related injuries, but make the skateboarding group very unhappy. Another idea I got from skateboarders that I talked to was to not allow skateboarding on the narrow sidewalks, but split the wider sidewalks into two separate lanes, one being for skateboards and the other for pedestrians. This would be a good happy medium for both skateboarders and non-skateboarders. Another idea I came across was not allowing skateboarders to ride during peak times of the day, or in certain areas in campus in which wrecks happen often.
Furthermore, both skateboarders and pedestrians have their own valid opinions about this issue and how it can possibly be resolved. These possible resolutions can either help or hurt one side or the other. This is done by eradicating skateboarding or establishing a compromise between both sides. Either way, the issue of allowing or denying skateboarding on campus is an issue that needs to be addressed and resolved as soon as possible, before any other major incidents occur such as injuries due to collisions or skateboarders falling on their own.
From the perspective of a pedestrian, it is very nerve-wracking getting to class. One constantly has to watch out for skateboarders. While walking to class, people walking will hear the sound of the impending doom of a skateboarder rolling over the cracks in the sidewalk behind them. Then the person has to decide to move over or stay in the same place and hope for the best. Then once the skateboarder, hopefully, passes him or her, one can take a sigh of relief because they survived that one. After that, the person has to go through that over and over until they reach their destination. This can cause one to take more time to get to class and possibly be late. Also, if the skateboarder collides with the pedestrian, it can cause major injuries. The skateboarder can fall and hurt themselves, or the pedestrian can get hit and both of them can possibly get hurt. I personally experienced this on the first day, when I moved on campus. I was riding down a small incline that had a curb on the side, when there were too many people on campus to do it safely. I was going too fast to stop and was rolling directly towards a woman coming up the hill. At that point I had to make a quick decision and I decided to go between the woman and the curb. There was not enough space, and I hit the curb. It was literally downhill from there. I landed on my left arm and snapped a bone in my elbow by landing on the curb. Without skateboarders on campus, we would be without a lot of injuries. People wouldn't go through so much stress doing as little as walking from one place to another. All in all, campus would be a lot more safe and peaceful.
Although, from the eyes of a skateboarder, it is a completely different story. As told by many students I have talked to, skateboarding is a great way of transportation. One can get to class ten times quicker than walking. Not only is it time efficient, but it is very fun and exhilarating. The feeling of going fast, with little effort, and the wind blowing through your hair is great, says a UCF student that skateboards to class. The thing that walkers don't understand though, is that if they hear or see a skateboarder coming at them, the best thing to do is stay where you are at. The skateboarder already has the route that they are going to use to get around the next crowd laid out in their mind, so moving would mess that up and cause a collision. A lot of times when there is an accident that involves a skateboarder and a pedestrian, it is partly the pedestrian's fault just as much as it is the skateboarder's fault. Skateboarding is not that big of a problem from the skateboarder's eyes. If a skateboarder is being smart about riding and not being irresponsible about it, that person will have less of a chance of getting injured or injuring someone else. If skateboarding is eradicated, the only ones that will be punished are the responsible ones.
With all of that said, there are some possible ways that this can be resolved. Some ways could make one group happy and the other group not, while some could be a happy medium that both groups would be happy with. One idea that could well be a possibility is the school could ban skateboarding altogether. This would cease almost all skateboard related injuries, but make the skateboarding group very unhappy. Another idea I got from skateboarders that I talked to was to not allow skateboarding on the narrow sidewalks, but split the wider sidewalks into two separate lanes, one being for skateboards and the other for pedestrians. This would be a good happy medium for both skateboarders and non-skateboarders. Another idea I came across was not allowing skateboarders to ride during peak times of the day, or in certain areas in campus in which wrecks happen often.
Furthermore, both skateboarders and pedestrians have their own valid opinions about this issue and how it can possibly be resolved. These possible resolutions can either help or hurt one side or the other. This is done by eradicating skateboarding or establishing a compromise between both sides. Either way, the issue of allowing or denying skateboarding on campus is an issue that needs to be addressed and resolved as soon as possible, before any other major incidents occur such as injuries due to collisions or skateboarders falling on their own.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
First Paragraph
Here at UCF there is a major issue going on. This issue has to do with skateboarding on campus. Many people use skateboarding for transportation around campus, and some use them just for fun. You wouldn't think this is a big problem, but if you were a UCF student for a day you would understand. Walking to and from classes can be a complete nightmare, due to having to watch out for skateboarders the whole time. Not only people who walk to class are getting hurt, the skateboarders are too. I witnessed this first-hand on my first day here at UCF by breaking my elbow when I avoided a woman and hit a curb. Obviously this is a severe problem that needs to be addressed, but there are some disagreements over whether skateboarding should be only regulated somehow, or completely abolished.
Monday, October 12, 2009
I.Skateboarding issue on campus at UCF.
1. Introduction.
-Describe issue.
-Describe how serious the issue is.
-Thesis of commentary.
2.Main body of commentary.
a) Explain the issue through the eyes of people walking on campus.
-Time it takes to get to class.
-Injuries.
-Having to watch out for skateboarders.
-How it would be without the skateboarders.
b) Explain through the eyes of skateboarders.
-Time it takes to get to class.
-How injuries could be avoided.
-Reasons for not eradicating skateboarding.
c) Explain possible resolutions for the issue.
-Eradicating skateboarding altogether.
-Making separate lanes for skateboards.
-Restraints on times and places for skateboarding.
-How these changes would effect the outcome.
3. Conclusion
-Conclude the opinions of both sides.
-Conclude possible resolutions.
-Conclude thesis.
1. Introduction.
-Describe issue.
-Describe how serious the issue is.
-Thesis of commentary.
2.Main body of commentary.
a) Explain the issue through the eyes of people walking on campus.
-Time it takes to get to class.
-Injuries.
-Having to watch out for skateboarders.
-How it would be without the skateboarders.
b) Explain through the eyes of skateboarders.
-Time it takes to get to class.
-How injuries could be avoided.
-Reasons for not eradicating skateboarding.
c) Explain possible resolutions for the issue.
-Eradicating skateboarding altogether.
-Making separate lanes for skateboards.
-Restraints on times and places for skateboarding.
-How these changes would effect the outcome.
3. Conclusion
-Conclude the opinions of both sides.
-Conclude possible resolutions.
-Conclude thesis.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Commentary: Q & A
1. How do you know what you know?
He has friends that skateboard and hears about the problems they encounter.
2. Who are you to the subject?
He doesn't skateboard, but his roommate and some friends do.
3. How is this event connected with other events?
It effects how much time it takes to get to class.
4. What if things were different?
Less injuries and conflict between people using different modes of transportation.
5. Why is it important?
Because it is related to courtesy and safety.
6. What are the general views on skateboarding?
Generally they are seen as a nuisance, and not very respected in society.
7. How serious is the issue of skateboarding on campus?
The issue is pretty serious. Many people get hurt or get close to getting hurt every day from it.
8. Why is it a serious issue?
Because it's difficult to maneuver a skateboard around the massive amounts of foot traffic at UCF.
9. Have students attempted to address this issue with SGA or any other associations?
Not sure, but you could definitely find out.
10. How many people notice the problem with skateboarding?
Pretty much anyone who walks anywhere on campus has come in contact with this issue.
He has friends that skateboard and hears about the problems they encounter.
2. Who are you to the subject?
He doesn't skateboard, but his roommate and some friends do.
3. How is this event connected with other events?
It effects how much time it takes to get to class.
4. What if things were different?
Less injuries and conflict between people using different modes of transportation.
5. Why is it important?
Because it is related to courtesy and safety.
6. What are the general views on skateboarding?
Generally they are seen as a nuisance, and not very respected in society.
7. How serious is the issue of skateboarding on campus?
The issue is pretty serious. Many people get hurt or get close to getting hurt every day from it.
8. Why is it a serious issue?
Because it's difficult to maneuver a skateboard around the massive amounts of foot traffic at UCF.
9. Have students attempted to address this issue with SGA or any other associations?
Not sure, but you could definitely find out.
10. How many people notice the problem with skateboarding?
Pretty much anyone who walks anywhere on campus has come in contact with this issue.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Commentary: Letter to a friend
Dear Nicole,
Here at UCF there is a big issue going on about skate boarding on campus. Students here use skate boarding as a form of transportation, but most are very inconsiderate about their peers who walk to class. People are getting injured very often, be the people walking and being hit by skate boarders or people falling off their skate boards. I experienced this first-hand, in which I narrowly avoided someone, but instead hit a curb and broke my elbow the first day of college. And even at the health center, when I was being seen about my injuries, there was another person that fell off her skateboard there too. The doctors acted like it was routine, because this kind of thing happens literally all the time. This is why I feel strongly about the issue of skate boarding. I am unsure though about how it should be addressed. Either skate boarding needs to be eradicated altogether, or there needs to be certain areas/times in which skate boarding is not allowed. These areas being locations where there is a lot of foot traffic, and times being when there are a multitude of classes releasing or starting. Other than the suggestions I listed, are there any others you can think of?
I was also discussing with fellow skate boarders about ways this can be resolved and we came to a very good conclusion. We decided that it would be a great idea to separate the sidewalks into two lanes. One being for skate boarders or bikers, and the other for people walking. Although this would increase foot traffic, it would decrease the amount of injuries greatly. The sidewalks would be perfect for this because most of them are very wide to allow service vehicles to move around campus with ease. Sure, it would take a little extra time to get to class, but cutting down on injuries would be very worth the extra few minutes it would take to get there. Another idea would be to restrict certain areas to skate boarders and some to walkers. Both of these, in theory, should work, but there is only one way to find out, take action!
I think this would be a great issue to discuss with the student government or school officials. Changes related to skate boarding on campus are definitely needed and I am sure that many people are behind me on this. I even skate board and I am for doing this. It endangers people's safety. Even though they are fun to ride, I am sure some fellow skate boarders would back me up on this issue. One would have to be very oblivious not to notice the obvious dangers that come along when people are moving at more than three times the speed of a walker, while they have no way to stop very quickly. Now that you have read all my reasoning as to why this problem should be a high priority in getting changed?
Sincerely,
Adam Stern
Here at UCF there is a big issue going on about skate boarding on campus. Students here use skate boarding as a form of transportation, but most are very inconsiderate about their peers who walk to class. People are getting injured very often, be the people walking and being hit by skate boarders or people falling off their skate boards. I experienced this first-hand, in which I narrowly avoided someone, but instead hit a curb and broke my elbow the first day of college. And even at the health center, when I was being seen about my injuries, there was another person that fell off her skateboard there too. The doctors acted like it was routine, because this kind of thing happens literally all the time. This is why I feel strongly about the issue of skate boarding. I am unsure though about how it should be addressed. Either skate boarding needs to be eradicated altogether, or there needs to be certain areas/times in which skate boarding is not allowed. These areas being locations where there is a lot of foot traffic, and times being when there are a multitude of classes releasing or starting. Other than the suggestions I listed, are there any others you can think of?
I was also discussing with fellow skate boarders about ways this can be resolved and we came to a very good conclusion. We decided that it would be a great idea to separate the sidewalks into two lanes. One being for skate boarders or bikers, and the other for people walking. Although this would increase foot traffic, it would decrease the amount of injuries greatly. The sidewalks would be perfect for this because most of them are very wide to allow service vehicles to move around campus with ease. Sure, it would take a little extra time to get to class, but cutting down on injuries would be very worth the extra few minutes it would take to get there. Another idea would be to restrict certain areas to skate boarders and some to walkers. Both of these, in theory, should work, but there is only one way to find out, take action!
I think this would be a great issue to discuss with the student government or school officials. Changes related to skate boarding on campus are definitely needed and I am sure that many people are behind me on this. I even skate board and I am for doing this. It endangers people's safety. Even though they are fun to ride, I am sure some fellow skate boarders would back me up on this issue. One would have to be very oblivious not to notice the obvious dangers that come along when people are moving at more than three times the speed of a walker, while they have no way to stop very quickly. Now that you have read all my reasoning as to why this problem should be a high priority in getting changed?
Sincerely,
Adam Stern
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Commentary: Observation and Impressions
As you observe, record the sensory details of the phenomenon/trend, as well as the spatial/contextual perimeters. How does it look and feel to you? Consider what it reminds you of, literally and figuratively. How is it like or unlike other things you’ve experienced? Note how others react to it. Are there differences between your response and others’ responses? What significance does it have for you? What significance does it seem to have for them?
Skateboarding doesn't really cause too much in the form of something that can be sensed, unless you are actually hit by one of the skateboarders themselves. This happens quite often from what I have heard from people I know. Most of the time, skateboarders hit pedestrians in crowded areas at peak times of the day, such as when many classes are beginning at the same time. To me, skateboarders that ride during these times are a nuisance because one constantly has to be looking out and making sure that he or she is not in the way of an oncoming skateboarder. This reminds me of rush hour traffic. The pedestrians being cars that are sitting in traffic patiently waiting to get to their destination, whereas the skateboarders are those people in cars that try to take dangerous measures to weave around the cars, which sometimes can cause an accident. The issue of skateboarding on campus has a very common response among a majority of people that walk to class. And this response is a very negative one. This issue is a very significant issue for students, including me, and I am sure many people would like to see a change.
Skateboarding doesn't really cause too much in the form of something that can be sensed, unless you are actually hit by one of the skateboarders themselves. This happens quite often from what I have heard from people I know. Most of the time, skateboarders hit pedestrians in crowded areas at peak times of the day, such as when many classes are beginning at the same time. To me, skateboarders that ride during these times are a nuisance because one constantly has to be looking out and making sure that he or she is not in the way of an oncoming skateboarder. This reminds me of rush hour traffic. The pedestrians being cars that are sitting in traffic patiently waiting to get to their destination, whereas the skateboarders are those people in cars that try to take dangerous measures to weave around the cars, which sometimes can cause an accident. The issue of skateboarding on campus has a very common response among a majority of people that walk to class. And this response is a very negative one. This issue is a very significant issue for students, including me, and I am sure many people would like to see a change.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Commentary Brainstorming
1.People messing around in the dormitory common rooms.
People in the common rooms stack chairs, play sports, and completely wreck the common room. This is a place that many people on the floor use. I would expect that once people are old enough to be in college, they would have the maturity to not run around breaking things like mindless fools.
2.Skateboarding on campus.
Skateboarding on campus is a major safety issue. Many people have gotten hurt riding them, but I hear many more complaints from bystanders that have been hit by them. I myself longboard, but I only do it at night or times when it is not a peak time of the day, for safety reasons. Either there needs to be a change in rules, or skateboarding may be completely banned.
3.Restroom cleanliness.
By the time a person in college, one should know how to properly use the restrooms without causing a mess, but for some reason, some people fail at this. It is either because of a lack of manners, or because they flat out don't care. I believe this is another major issue, but it is unlikely that it will ever change, since it would be hard to regulate this.
People in the common rooms stack chairs, play sports, and completely wreck the common room. This is a place that many people on the floor use. I would expect that once people are old enough to be in college, they would have the maturity to not run around breaking things like mindless fools.
2.Skateboarding on campus.
Skateboarding on campus is a major safety issue. Many people have gotten hurt riding them, but I hear many more complaints from bystanders that have been hit by them. I myself longboard, but I only do it at night or times when it is not a peak time of the day, for safety reasons. Either there needs to be a change in rules, or skateboarding may be completely banned.
3.Restroom cleanliness.
By the time a person in college, one should know how to properly use the restrooms without causing a mess, but for some reason, some people fail at this. It is either because of a lack of manners, or because they flat out don't care. I believe this is another major issue, but it is unlikely that it will ever change, since it would be hard to regulate this.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Final Draft: Memoir
Imagine working at a factory, in which every body working with you is over the age of 40, yet almost every one of them is acting like they have just reached their 10th birthday. Imagine trying to get back to work after coming back from a break, to find out you have just sat in a chair completely soaked with water, and the whole entire staff is standing behind you dying of laughter. Or you get off work, and eager to leave, you go out to your car, and somebody slopped silicone grease, which does not wash off, under all of your car door handles. If you are inexperienced, as I was, you would be comparing rolls of tape to determine if the rolls were the correct size. One would be doing this for nine to ten hours per day, five days per week, for three months. The job was very monotonous, and boring. The only way I got through it was the fact that I was being paid $9 per hour. If you weren't inspecting rolls of tape, you would be cleaning, taking the trash out, or as I said before, being pranked. Aside from those reasons, it was also a risky job since you work with machines that could potentially hurt you pretty bad. The job changed me and made me realize that I definitely want to go to college so that I do not end up like these people, or end up working fifty to sixty hours per week, just to be able to barely support myself.
First of all working at NADCO was a very monotonous ordeal. The you would be assigned to were insanely boring to say the least. If you worked there you would be comparing rolls of tape to a normal sized roll to determine whether the rolls were the right size or not. Basically, a company bought about 500 boxes containing more than 150 rolls of tape. But, when we made the tape we made the rolls too small by a very miniscule amount of about 1 to 2 millimeters, and the company returned them in exchange for all new, correct size rolls of tape. So they hired me, an unskilled worker, to compare each roll of this total of approximately 75,000 rolls of tape to a normal sized roll. I would compare these rolls of tape, putting good rolls in a barrel and bad rolls in a different barrel. I did this for most of the time I was working every day. This lasted for the entire 3 months of the summer. When I wasn't inspecting tape, I was sweeping up after the other workers, taking out the trash, doing minor machine work, or doing other miscellaneous tasks.
This job was very aggravating in the sense that you would be working with these types of people. Half of the employees at NADCO barely spoke English, and the other half acted as though they were children. It was impossible to have a half intelligent conversation with anyone. No one was ever serious, hence all the pranks and jokes done on me, since I was new to the job. A new person would be pranked very often. Pretty much anything a new person would do would include a prank being pulled. Even if you are in the bathroom, they would use an air pressure hose to shoot a cloud of baby powder under the door and make you think the building was on fire. Taking out the trash was a big hassle because anytime someone would pass this one guy, he would spray you with water. Sometimes they would put fishing line along the bottom of the door that leads to the dumpsters, so when anyone would come back in, they would trip and fall. They even went as far as to create labels with profane phrases, stick them on people's backs, and ask them to go to the gas station to grab food for them when break came. As soon as you would come back, they would pull off the sticker and show you and that's when you would realize why you got so many dirty looks.
Also, working at NADCO was a risky job at times, as is any factory. Typically, machines at factories have sharp blades, quick moving parts, and areas where things can get crushed. Well, at NADCO, there were a few injuries caused by machinery. One of these while I was working was a severe gash in a man's hand, which was so severe that he was rushed to the hospital. Another time an immigrant worker stabbed himself with a box cutter knife, and the blade went so deep that blood was spewing everywhere. This also resulted in being rushed to the hospital. This is a big reason I want to go to college and get a career in which I am not working with high risk machinery, where I could become injured for life, or potentially die.
Furthermore, my motivation for college is fueled by my past experience of working at the NADCO Tape and Label factory for obvious reasons. Through doing excruciatingly boring tasks, working with people who most likely did not graduate high school, and witnessing multiple work related injuries I have learned that I need to do well in school and get into a field in which I enjoy. Thus, I have a stronger drive to achieve as much as I possibly can. I feel everyone should have one of these experiences, to understand how much of a blessing it is to be able to go to college to learn and eventually achieve a career in which you enjoy. I am extremely glad I had this experience. Even though it was tough during it, I learned a great life lesson which has changed my life to a great extent.
First of all working at NADCO was a very monotonous ordeal. The you would be assigned to were insanely boring to say the least. If you worked there you would be comparing rolls of tape to a normal sized roll to determine whether the rolls were the right size or not. Basically, a company bought about 500 boxes containing more than 150 rolls of tape. But, when we made the tape we made the rolls too small by a very miniscule amount of about 1 to 2 millimeters, and the company returned them in exchange for all new, correct size rolls of tape. So they hired me, an unskilled worker, to compare each roll of this total of approximately 75,000 rolls of tape to a normal sized roll. I would compare these rolls of tape, putting good rolls in a barrel and bad rolls in a different barrel. I did this for most of the time I was working every day. This lasted for the entire 3 months of the summer. When I wasn't inspecting tape, I was sweeping up after the other workers, taking out the trash, doing minor machine work, or doing other miscellaneous tasks.
This job was very aggravating in the sense that you would be working with these types of people. Half of the employees at NADCO barely spoke English, and the other half acted as though they were children. It was impossible to have a half intelligent conversation with anyone. No one was ever serious, hence all the pranks and jokes done on me, since I was new to the job. A new person would be pranked very often. Pretty much anything a new person would do would include a prank being pulled. Even if you are in the bathroom, they would use an air pressure hose to shoot a cloud of baby powder under the door and make you think the building was on fire. Taking out the trash was a big hassle because anytime someone would pass this one guy, he would spray you with water. Sometimes they would put fishing line along the bottom of the door that leads to the dumpsters, so when anyone would come back in, they would trip and fall. They even went as far as to create labels with profane phrases, stick them on people's backs, and ask them to go to the gas station to grab food for them when break came. As soon as you would come back, they would pull off the sticker and show you and that's when you would realize why you got so many dirty looks.
Also, working at NADCO was a risky job at times, as is any factory. Typically, machines at factories have sharp blades, quick moving parts, and areas where things can get crushed. Well, at NADCO, there were a few injuries caused by machinery. One of these while I was working was a severe gash in a man's hand, which was so severe that he was rushed to the hospital. Another time an immigrant worker stabbed himself with a box cutter knife, and the blade went so deep that blood was spewing everywhere. This also resulted in being rushed to the hospital. This is a big reason I want to go to college and get a career in which I am not working with high risk machinery, where I could become injured for life, or potentially die.
Furthermore, my motivation for college is fueled by my past experience of working at the NADCO Tape and Label factory for obvious reasons. Through doing excruciatingly boring tasks, working with people who most likely did not graduate high school, and witnessing multiple work related injuries I have learned that I need to do well in school and get into a field in which I enjoy. Thus, I have a stronger drive to achieve as much as I possibly can. I feel everyone should have one of these experiences, to understand how much of a blessing it is to be able to go to college to learn and eventually achieve a career in which you enjoy. I am extremely glad I had this experience. Even though it was tough during it, I learned a great life lesson which has changed my life to a great extent.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Rough Draft: Memoir
Imagine working at a factory, in which every body working with you is over the age of 40, yet almost every one of them is acting like they have just reached their 10th birthday. Imagine trying to get back to work after coming back from a break, to find out you have just sat in a chair completely soaked with water, and the whole entire staff is standing behind you dying of laughter. Or you get off work, and eager to leave, you go out to your car, and somebody slopped silicone grease, which does not wash off, under all of your car door handles. That was what it was like when I worked at NADCO Tapes and Labels factory last summer. Duties of mine included comparing rolls of tape to determine if the rolls were the correct size. I did this for nine to ten hours per day, five days per week, for three months. The job was very monotonous, and boring. The only way I got through it was the fact that I was being paid $9 per hour. If I wasn't inspecting rolls of tape, I was cleaning, taking the trash out, or as I said before, being pranked. Aside from those reasons, it was also a risky job since you work with machines that could potentially hurt you pretty bad. The job changed me and made me realize that I definitely want to go to college so that I do not end up like these people, or end up working fifty to sixty hours per week, just to be able to barely support myself.
First of all working at NADCO was a very monotonous ordeal. The duties I was assigned to were insanely boring to say the least. I compared rolls of tape to a normal sized roll to determine whether the rolls were the right size or not. Basically, a company bought about 500 boxes containing more than 150 rolls of tape. But, when we made the tape we made the rolls too small by a very miniscule amount of about 1 to 2 millimeters, and the company returned them in exchange for all new, correct size rolls of tape. So they hired me, an unskilled worker, to compare each roll of this total of approximately 75,000 rolls of tape to a normal sized roll. I would compare these rolls of tape, putting good rolls in a barrel and bad rolls in a different barrel. I did this for most of the time I was working every day. This lasted for the entire 3 months of the summer. When I wasn't inspecting tape, I was sweeping up after the other workers, taking out the trash, doing minor machine work, or doing other miscellaneous tasks.
Another reason I am more motivated to go to college because of this job is so that I am not working with these types of people. Half of the employees at NADCO barely spoke English, and the other half acted as though they were children. It was impossible to have a half intelligent conversation with anyone. No one was ever serious, hence all the pranks and jokes done on me, since I was new to the job. I was pranked very often. Pretty much anything I would do would include a prank being pulled on me. Even when I was in the bathroom, they would use an air pressure hose to shoot a cloud of baby powder under the door and make me think the building was on fire. Taking out the trash was a big hassle because anytime I would pass this one guy, he would spray me with water. Sometimes they would put fishing line along the bottom of the door that leads to the dumpsters, so when I would come back in, I would trip and fall. They even went as far as to create labels with profane phrases, stick them on my back, and ask me to go to the gas station to grab them food for when break came. As soon as I came back, they would pull off the sticker and show me and I would then realize why I got so many dirty looks.
Also, working at NADCO was a risky job at times, as is any factory. Typically, machines at factories have sharp blades, quick moving parts, and areas where things can get crushed. Well, at NADCO, there were a few injuries caused by machinery. One of these while I was working was a severe gash in a man's hand, which was so severe that he was rushed to the hospital. Another time an immigrant worker stabbed himself with a box cutter knife, and the blade went so deep that blood was spewing everywhere. This also resulted in being rushed to the hospital. This is a big reason I want to go to college and get a career in which I am not working with high risk machinery, where I could become injured for life, or potentially die.
Furthermore, my motivation for college is fueled by my past experience of working at the NADCO Tape and Label factory for obvious reasons. Through doing excruciatingly boring tasks, working with people who most likely did not graduate high school, and witnessing multiple work related injuries I have learned that I need to do well in school and get into a field in which I enjoy. Thus, I have a stronger drive to achieve as much as I possibly can. I feel everyone should have one of these experiences, to understand how much of a blessing it is to be able to go to college to learn and eventually achieve a career in which you enjoy. I am extremely glad I had this experience. Even though it was tough during it, I learned a great life lesson which has changed my life to a great extent.
First of all working at NADCO was a very monotonous ordeal. The duties I was assigned to were insanely boring to say the least. I compared rolls of tape to a normal sized roll to determine whether the rolls were the right size or not. Basically, a company bought about 500 boxes containing more than 150 rolls of tape. But, when we made the tape we made the rolls too small by a very miniscule amount of about 1 to 2 millimeters, and the company returned them in exchange for all new, correct size rolls of tape. So they hired me, an unskilled worker, to compare each roll of this total of approximately 75,000 rolls of tape to a normal sized roll. I would compare these rolls of tape, putting good rolls in a barrel and bad rolls in a different barrel. I did this for most of the time I was working every day. This lasted for the entire 3 months of the summer. When I wasn't inspecting tape, I was sweeping up after the other workers, taking out the trash, doing minor machine work, or doing other miscellaneous tasks.
Another reason I am more motivated to go to college because of this job is so that I am not working with these types of people. Half of the employees at NADCO barely spoke English, and the other half acted as though they were children. It was impossible to have a half intelligent conversation with anyone. No one was ever serious, hence all the pranks and jokes done on me, since I was new to the job. I was pranked very often. Pretty much anything I would do would include a prank being pulled on me. Even when I was in the bathroom, they would use an air pressure hose to shoot a cloud of baby powder under the door and make me think the building was on fire. Taking out the trash was a big hassle because anytime I would pass this one guy, he would spray me with water. Sometimes they would put fishing line along the bottom of the door that leads to the dumpsters, so when I would come back in, I would trip and fall. They even went as far as to create labels with profane phrases, stick them on my back, and ask me to go to the gas station to grab them food for when break came. As soon as I came back, they would pull off the sticker and show me and I would then realize why I got so many dirty looks.
Also, working at NADCO was a risky job at times, as is any factory. Typically, machines at factories have sharp blades, quick moving parts, and areas where things can get crushed. Well, at NADCO, there were a few injuries caused by machinery. One of these while I was working was a severe gash in a man's hand, which was so severe that he was rushed to the hospital. Another time an immigrant worker stabbed himself with a box cutter knife, and the blade went so deep that blood was spewing everywhere. This also resulted in being rushed to the hospital. This is a big reason I want to go to college and get a career in which I am not working with high risk machinery, where I could become injured for life, or potentially die.
Furthermore, my motivation for college is fueled by my past experience of working at the NADCO Tape and Label factory for obvious reasons. Through doing excruciatingly boring tasks, working with people who most likely did not graduate high school, and witnessing multiple work related injuries I have learned that I need to do well in school and get into a field in which I enjoy. Thus, I have a stronger drive to achieve as much as I possibly can. I feel everyone should have one of these experiences, to understand how much of a blessing it is to be able to go to college to learn and eventually achieve a career in which you enjoy. I am extremely glad I had this experience. Even though it was tough during it, I learned a great life lesson which has changed my life to a great extent.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Memo
To: Ms. Moody
I am going to implement the feedback I got from my partner in class by increasing the length of my introduction, include more of my duties at the tape and label factory, and add in more strong visuals and insight. To increase the length of my introduction, I am going to add more details about my actual duties at the tape and label factory. I will describe the duties and how much I disliked them. I will try to think creatively, and go against my logical way of thinking to make my memoir sound better.
My memoir as a whole will include my duties, such as describing my tape “inspecting” in detail. Also, I will include more ways in which the employees acted inappropriately, such as pranking me while I was trying to work. And how lousy the job as a whole was, which can lead to my motivation to go to college despite this summer job. I plan on making my paragraphs more developed than I usually would, since the support is coming from my own experiences, which will make me able to have more details in my memoir.
From: Adam Stern
Monday, September 14, 2009
Introduction to my Memoir
Imagine working at a factory, in which everyone working with you is over the age of 40, yet almost all of them act like they have just reached their 10th birthday. Imagine trying to work after coming back from a break, to find out you just sat in a chair covered in water, and the whole entire staff is standing behind you dying of laughter. Or, you get off work, and eager to leave, you go out to your car, and somebody slopped silicone grease, which does not wash off, under all of your car door handles. That was what it was like when I worked at NADCO Tapes and Labels factory last summer. The job changed me and made me realize that I definitely want to go to college so that I do not end up like these people, or end up working fifty to sixty hours per week, just to be able to barely support myself.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Memoir Assignment: Invention
The Columbine School shooting and Virginia Tech shootings.
-What is it about? So what?
The Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings have given me a new sense of
awareness in school, and other populated areas. I understand since then that I
never truly am safe, and something bad could happen at any time.
The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
-What is it about? So what?
The September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon have, much the like school shootings, made me more aware of my surroundings. Such as looking out for suspicious activities on any sort of public transportation, especially planes.
The flood in New Orleans caused by Hurricane Katrina.
-What is it about? So what?
The flood in New Orleans has reminded me about how lucky I am, living in Florida, to not have gone through and type of disaster caused by a hurricane. It also reminds me that everything I have could possibly be gone in a flash, so I have learned to savor everything I have, not just including material possessions, but family and friends as well.
- My summer job at a factory called NADCO.
Over the summer of 2008, I worked at a tape and label factory called NADCO.
Working there made me realize how lucky I am to have the opportunity to go
to college, and I should definitely take advantage of it to avoid ending up
working in a place like that.
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