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.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
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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