Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Communication in my Work Place
The communication between the people at the work place is very good. There are only two people working in the office with me, so they are constantly communicating any new and relevant information that has come in to eachother clearly. They coordinate events and arrange to send each other updates or any necessary information. There does not seem to be any confusion or miscommunication.
Something that was a good experience to work on was creating a blog for the company. It was much more interesting than simply creating a blog account for school, because I had more freedom to design it and add more photos and videos to the account, and it's interesting to have the freedom and responsibility to create something that will represent the company.
This is my mentor, Giuliana, exhibiting an example of the proper dress code for the office, which is very casual and includes jeans and tennis shoes.
This is the desk that I was given, it provides a good amount of room to work and has two good computers.
Some of the work that was required of me today involved going over financial documents and ensuring that all the right names were listed and making notes of the ones that were not.
The people I'm working with are very animal friendly because of the work field that they are in, and have many pets. There are dogs roaming around the office that they regulrarly play with and take on walks.
Q:Has your company been affected by the recession?
A:Yes it has, our funding comes from government grants and private funding and people are much more hesitant during the financial crisis. This is one of the reasons that we have recently merged the company with another orginization.
Q:What impact has the recession had on product demand?
A:Buyers are more hesitant now, and we have had to downsize during the recession. We have recently let go 3 or 4 employees because of budget issues.
Q:Does the recession have an impact on the ability to travel to different elementary schools?
A:No, all of our elementary school visits are pre-budjeted.
Today I woke up at 8:30, and for breakfast I had cereal and grapefruit. I got my stuff together and got dressed and ready to go and still had some time to relax before i left for my internship at 10. My mom gave me a ride to the site which took about fifteen minutes, I arrived at the office at around 10:15 and went inside at 10:25. The first person I saw was my mentor Giuliana, who let me into the building and then spent the day with her and her co-worker Francis in their office. My main work space is at a desk located next to the window. It is a nice place to work because the office is big and open and my desk is in a nice spot. For lunch I brought a sandwich and an apple and ate at the office around 1:30. In the afternoon I helped tally up surveys that had been given out to children in elementary schools and worked on setting up a blog for the company. My mentor is working on a calendar for me that will describe in further detail the work that I will be doing daily, but in the next few days I will be most likely working on setting up the company blog and website editing. I think i will do very well at helping with the website and blog and going on fieldtrips and working with kids, as well as making choices for the film festival. To succeed at this internship, I'm going to need to learn more about html editing and websites, but I am very excited about working on this and being able to create something for the company. I'm nervous because editing the company website and dealing with the database information is a big responsibility and they are relying on me to make sure things go smoothly. I got home at around 5pm, the afternoon commute was not bad.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Blog #30
In the book Into the Wild, the author Jon Krakauer is telling the story of a man who has already died in his attempt to brave the wilderness on his own. In order to fully tell this story, he has to get his information from outside sources and somehow completely piece together the mystery of exactly what happened to the man and make it into a book without ever being able to directly communicate with him. To do this, he had to have effective interviewing techniques and the ability to extract a good amount of information from limited sources. This directly relates to the work that we are doing in Media Saves the Beach, because this involves a lot of those same techniques.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Nature Essay
Alia Boynton
Into the Wild
Is someone’s decision to brave the wilderness alone an act of bravery or an act of stupidity? Does surviving a near death experience unarmed make you a better person or does it simply prove that you have good luck? These are questions that often cross the mind of the reader while reading Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. Although I think that McCandless’ decision to walk alone into the wilderness with no proper protection or resources was a foolish and selfish one rather than an admirable and noble one, I disagree with the statement that there was “nothing positive at all” about McCandless’ decision to brave the wilderness alone, because there is no way that you can undergo an experience like that without learning something valuable, McCandless accomplished many positive things from his time in the wild, and it requires much more than just good luck to survive a near death experience.
It is impossible to really learn a lesson about something that you have never experienced for yourself. By going “into the wild”, McCandless made a decision that was frowned apon by mostly everybody. People say that nothing good can come from an idea like this, nothing can be learned by being foolish and irrational. But the reality is, most lessons are learned by doing foolish things. If you never get on a skateboard, you will never learn how to skate, even if standing on a narrow board with wheels and hurling yourself off of a jump may not seem like the most reasonable decision at the time. There is no possible way that you can undergo a near death experience and not learn anything from it. Just because the experience is not positive does not mean that you can’t learn a valuable lesson, one that you would not have learned otherwise. McCandless was very determined to embark on his journey, even though he knew his extremely slim chances of surviving and was advised by everybody he talked to that it was a bad idea. Before he left, he gave $25,000 to charity and burned all the cash in his wallet. Nobody burns all the cash in their wallet unless they are really determined to accomplish something. And although he did not survive his journey, I think that Christopher McCandless accomplished his goal.
Yes McCandless was foolish in his choice to face such a dangerous situation almost completely unarmed. Yes he was unprepared and did not consider the many people that he hurt by choosing to go out on his own. But it would not be a true statement to say that nothing positive came out of his experience. Many people go through their whole lives never really knowing the key to really being happy, never realizing the importance of the small things that they take for granted and never really experiencing the beauty of the world. McCandless achieved all of these things. Although he was not successful in surviving through his “final and greatest adventure”, I don’t think that was his intention. He lived the life that he wanted to and learned the things that some people will never know. On the day that McCandless decided that he is ready to leave, he writes in his journal that he had been reborn, and that “I have lived through much, and now I think that I have found what is needed for happiness”(p.169). This is something that a majority of people go through their whole life wondering, and never find an answer to. This is inevitably something positive that has come from McCandless’ experience in the wilderness.
“Surviving a near death experience doesn’t make you a better human it makes you damn lucky.” These are the words of one letter writer who did not agree with McCandless’ choice to go into the wild. I don’t agree that the knowledge that you have good luck is the only thing that you gain from surviving a near death experience. If you know as little about survival as McCandless did when he left for his adventure and are put into a situation in which your life could be ended and somehow make it through, you are inevitably going to learn something valuable about survival.
So although McCandless was not wise in his choice to take on such an unreasonable endeavor, nor was he noble or admirable in his intentions. But just because his reasoning is selfish doesn’t mean that he did not gain anything from the experience. Although he did hurt the people close to him by going into the wilderness on his own, McCandless gained the knowledge of how to find happiness and lived the final adventure that he had always dreamed of and faced situations that required more than just good luck.
Into the Wild
Is someone’s decision to brave the wilderness alone an act of bravery or an act of stupidity? Does surviving a near death experience unarmed make you a better person or does it simply prove that you have good luck? These are questions that often cross the mind of the reader while reading Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. Although I think that McCandless’ decision to walk alone into the wilderness with no proper protection or resources was a foolish and selfish one rather than an admirable and noble one, I disagree with the statement that there was “nothing positive at all” about McCandless’ decision to brave the wilderness alone, because there is no way that you can undergo an experience like that without learning something valuable, McCandless accomplished many positive things from his time in the wild, and it requires much more than just good luck to survive a near death experience.
It is impossible to really learn a lesson about something that you have never experienced for yourself. By going “into the wild”, McCandless made a decision that was frowned apon by mostly everybody. People say that nothing good can come from an idea like this, nothing can be learned by being foolish and irrational. But the reality is, most lessons are learned by doing foolish things. If you never get on a skateboard, you will never learn how to skate, even if standing on a narrow board with wheels and hurling yourself off of a jump may not seem like the most reasonable decision at the time. There is no possible way that you can undergo a near death experience and not learn anything from it. Just because the experience is not positive does not mean that you can’t learn a valuable lesson, one that you would not have learned otherwise. McCandless was very determined to embark on his journey, even though he knew his extremely slim chances of surviving and was advised by everybody he talked to that it was a bad idea. Before he left, he gave $25,000 to charity and burned all the cash in his wallet. Nobody burns all the cash in their wallet unless they are really determined to accomplish something. And although he did not survive his journey, I think that Christopher McCandless accomplished his goal.
Yes McCandless was foolish in his choice to face such a dangerous situation almost completely unarmed. Yes he was unprepared and did not consider the many people that he hurt by choosing to go out on his own. But it would not be a true statement to say that nothing positive came out of his experience. Many people go through their whole lives never really knowing the key to really being happy, never realizing the importance of the small things that they take for granted and never really experiencing the beauty of the world. McCandless achieved all of these things. Although he was not successful in surviving through his “final and greatest adventure”, I don’t think that was his intention. He lived the life that he wanted to and learned the things that some people will never know. On the day that McCandless decided that he is ready to leave, he writes in his journal that he had been reborn, and that “I have lived through much, and now I think that I have found what is needed for happiness”(p.169). This is something that a majority of people go through their whole life wondering, and never find an answer to. This is inevitably something positive that has come from McCandless’ experience in the wilderness.
“Surviving a near death experience doesn’t make you a better human it makes you damn lucky.” These are the words of one letter writer who did not agree with McCandless’ choice to go into the wild. I don’t agree that the knowledge that you have good luck is the only thing that you gain from surviving a near death experience. If you know as little about survival as McCandless did when he left for his adventure and are put into a situation in which your life could be ended and somehow make it through, you are inevitably going to learn something valuable about survival.
So although McCandless was not wise in his choice to take on such an unreasonable endeavor, nor was he noble or admirable in his intentions. But just because his reasoning is selfish doesn’t mean that he did not gain anything from the experience. Although he did hurt the people close to him by going into the wilderness on his own, McCandless gained the knowledge of how to find happiness and lived the final adventure that he had always dreamed of and faced situations that required more than just good luck.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Blog #27 Nature Writing
1.) McCandless decides that he is ready to leave the wild when he discovers that he has learned what he needed to learn from his experiences. In his journal entry, he writes that he has learned the importance of "the great holiness of food, the vital heat, positivism..absolute truth and honesty, reality, independence, finiality-stability-consistency". He also writes that he has found what is needed for happiness. This is the key, because really that's all anyone really needs. Once he has discovered this, he has no more need to remain in the wilderness.
3.)I do agree that McCandless' choice to live in the wild was a foolish and selfish one, and that he did not fully think through the negative affects that it would have on not only him, but everyone close to him who was affected by his adventure. I do not really see anything powerful and noble in his stuggles. He did not choose to have a solitary course of life in the wilderness for any noble reason or purpose. It was a purely selfish want to fulfill a personal goal and prove a point to himself, and if anything brought pain to his friends and family. I do not agree however, that "surviving a near death experience does not make you a better human it makes you damn lucky". Although I think that the choice McCandless made to attempt to survive alone in the wilderness alone was foolish and selfish, I think that it is still an incredible learning experience. There is no better way for someone with no knowledge of survival skills to really learn how to survive in the wild than to put them in a situation where it is absolutely necessary for them to be used. Anyone who suffers a near death experience has to learn something from it.
3.)I do agree that McCandless' choice to live in the wild was a foolish and selfish one, and that he did not fully think through the negative affects that it would have on not only him, but everyone close to him who was affected by his adventure. I do not really see anything powerful and noble in his stuggles. He did not choose to have a solitary course of life in the wilderness for any noble reason or purpose. It was a purely selfish want to fulfill a personal goal and prove a point to himself, and if anything brought pain to his friends and family. I do not agree however, that "surviving a near death experience does not make you a better human it makes you damn lucky". Although I think that the choice McCandless made to attempt to survive alone in the wilderness alone was foolish and selfish, I think that it is still an incredible learning experience. There is no better way for someone with no knowledge of survival skills to really learn how to survive in the wild than to put them in a situation where it is absolutely necessary for them to be used. Anyone who suffers a near death experience has to learn something from it.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
The Great Gatsby Essay
Evaluate The Great Gatsby as a criticism of the corruption of the American Dream.
The Great Gatsby. Just the name of this novel has a ring to it, a hint that it is about someone, or something with a good amount of power and importance. Anybody who has the title “the great” preceding their name must be something of great importance, right? At the beginning of this novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby is presented as a mystery man, living none other than what can be specified as the American Dream. He is wealthy, mysterious, handsome, and throws the most prestigious parties in New York on a regular basis. Everybody knows his name, he is the subject of the gossip of young giggling girls who attend his parties but have never actually met him in person. People come from all over the world to experience the festivities that take place at his house. Not only is he well known, he is the perfect gentleman, the type of man who would have a brand new dress personally delivered to a girl after her own dress had gotten torn at one of his get togethers. But one of the lessons that is taught to us in this book by the objective and observant narrator, Nick Carraway is that living this great fantasy is not everything that it seems. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the characters in his classic novel The Great Gatsby to portray that maybe living the American dream is more corrupt than it appears, and is not as wonderful as it seems.
In the beginning of this book, Gatsby has it all. He is charming and wins over pretty much every person he comes in contact with, has what seems like an endless supply of money and an endless supply of time. He has what everyone wants. But as the book continues your view on the fabulous dream life that Gatsby is living starts to change. As the book progresses, the character of Gatsby begins to unravel. It turns out that his entire past is a lie, and that he didn’t in fact finish his education at Oxford, or inherit his money in any respectable way at all. You find out that Gatsby is living the dream based on his mere desire to live the dream, a goal which he set for himself because he was too ashamed of his own boring average life. Thru ought this novel, Fitzgerald demonstrates the idea of perfection, and breaks it down to show that really, there is no such thing. Even “the great” Jay Gatsby, who has the life that everybody in New York wishes that they had, is merely a man using money that he had just recently earned in order to impress a woman, not to mention one who is already married.
This book is also filled with a web of lies and secrets. Gatsby wants to keep his reputation solid, and in order to do that he lies about his past, and makes it sound as though he went through a solid education at one of the most well known and well respected colleges, and worked his way to the top, when really he was a coward and dropped out of Oxford so that he could find a way to make his money faster. This inspires the reader to think that maybe there is no way to really achieve perfection, because the people who seem to have it all always have a background motive or a dishonest past to show that what they’re living is not perfection at all.
Gatsby is not the only character in this book who shows the corruption and downside of living the “good life”. One of the central characters of the book is Daisy Buchanan, a beautiful wealthy young woman married to Tom Buchanan, “one of the most powerful ends that ever played football at New Haven”(Fitzgerald, p.22), who came from an incredibly wealthy family and reached the climax of his life at age 21, but still has a big head from the power of his college achievements. On the surface, it appears that Tom and Daisy had it all. They spent a year in France on a whim and “drifted here and there unrestfully whenever people played polo and were rich together” (Fitzgerald, p.23). But despite the happy appearance on the surface, there was nothing happy about this relationship. Tom had a mistress who he would meet with when no one of importance to him was around. Daisy was well aware of this, although she never mentioned it. This was partly because of the deep love she had for Gatsby, which she hid along with her true feelings. By any observer’s speculation, Tom and Daisy were living the American dream, something that everybody wants. But when the truth beneath the surface is revealed, I can’t think of many people who would want to live that way.
At the end of this novel, after all of the mysteries are cleared and the deceiving facades have fallen away, Nick makes an observation about the people who live this fancy and corrupt life. “There were careless people, Tom and Daisy-they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”(Fitzgerald, p.153). This is one of my favorite lines in the book, it really shows the notion of imperfection that comes with trying to be perfect. Fitzgerald did an excellent job of using the different characters in his book to portray this concept that the “American dream” doesn’t really exist, at least not without a price.
The Great Gatsby. Just the name of this novel has a ring to it, a hint that it is about someone, or something with a good amount of power and importance. Anybody who has the title “the great” preceding their name must be something of great importance, right? At the beginning of this novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby is presented as a mystery man, living none other than what can be specified as the American Dream. He is wealthy, mysterious, handsome, and throws the most prestigious parties in New York on a regular basis. Everybody knows his name, he is the subject of the gossip of young giggling girls who attend his parties but have never actually met him in person. People come from all over the world to experience the festivities that take place at his house. Not only is he well known, he is the perfect gentleman, the type of man who would have a brand new dress personally delivered to a girl after her own dress had gotten torn at one of his get togethers. But one of the lessons that is taught to us in this book by the objective and observant narrator, Nick Carraway is that living this great fantasy is not everything that it seems. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the characters in his classic novel The Great Gatsby to portray that maybe living the American dream is more corrupt than it appears, and is not as wonderful as it seems.
In the beginning of this book, Gatsby has it all. He is charming and wins over pretty much every person he comes in contact with, has what seems like an endless supply of money and an endless supply of time. He has what everyone wants. But as the book continues your view on the fabulous dream life that Gatsby is living starts to change. As the book progresses, the character of Gatsby begins to unravel. It turns out that his entire past is a lie, and that he didn’t in fact finish his education at Oxford, or inherit his money in any respectable way at all. You find out that Gatsby is living the dream based on his mere desire to live the dream, a goal which he set for himself because he was too ashamed of his own boring average life. Thru ought this novel, Fitzgerald demonstrates the idea of perfection, and breaks it down to show that really, there is no such thing. Even “the great” Jay Gatsby, who has the life that everybody in New York wishes that they had, is merely a man using money that he had just recently earned in order to impress a woman, not to mention one who is already married.
This book is also filled with a web of lies and secrets. Gatsby wants to keep his reputation solid, and in order to do that he lies about his past, and makes it sound as though he went through a solid education at one of the most well known and well respected colleges, and worked his way to the top, when really he was a coward and dropped out of Oxford so that he could find a way to make his money faster. This inspires the reader to think that maybe there is no way to really achieve perfection, because the people who seem to have it all always have a background motive or a dishonest past to show that what they’re living is not perfection at all.
Gatsby is not the only character in this book who shows the corruption and downside of living the “good life”. One of the central characters of the book is Daisy Buchanan, a beautiful wealthy young woman married to Tom Buchanan, “one of the most powerful ends that ever played football at New Haven”(Fitzgerald, p.22), who came from an incredibly wealthy family and reached the climax of his life at age 21, but still has a big head from the power of his college achievements. On the surface, it appears that Tom and Daisy had it all. They spent a year in France on a whim and “drifted here and there unrestfully whenever people played polo and were rich together” (Fitzgerald, p.23). But despite the happy appearance on the surface, there was nothing happy about this relationship. Tom had a mistress who he would meet with when no one of importance to him was around. Daisy was well aware of this, although she never mentioned it. This was partly because of the deep love she had for Gatsby, which she hid along with her true feelings. By any observer’s speculation, Tom and Daisy were living the American dream, something that everybody wants. But when the truth beneath the surface is revealed, I can’t think of many people who would want to live that way.
At the end of this novel, after all of the mysteries are cleared and the deceiving facades have fallen away, Nick makes an observation about the people who live this fancy and corrupt life. “There were careless people, Tom and Daisy-they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”(Fitzgerald, p.153). This is one of my favorite lines in the book, it really shows the notion of imperfection that comes with trying to be perfect. Fitzgerald did an excellent job of using the different characters in his book to portray this concept that the “American dream” doesn’t really exist, at least not without a price.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
MSB Current Events
1.) http://www.great-lakes.net/teach/pollution/water/water3.html
This is a new website designed to teach people about the severity of the pollution that is currently found in our water. This is a very similar approach to my own in the sense that I want to educate the unknowing public about the dangers of our polluted water and the effects that it can have on them.
2.)http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/State_making_a_splash_at_Riverpalooza.html
Riverpalooza is an effort made to get the community involved in cleaning the local bodies of water. This is a good example of something that should be found in more areas.
3.) http://www.surfridersd.org/hotyb.php
I thought Emilie's "hold on to your butt" article was very interesting, because it is something that the public can so easily control but has turned into the most littered item in the world.
4.) http://www.sandiego.gov/thinkblue/pdf/0609bactiresp.pdf
This is an informational document showing the discovery of the hazardous storm drain draining waste directly into the water at pb point. This is very useful for me, because my subject revolves around the quality of the water in this area.
5.)http://environment.about.com/od/waterpollution/a/canadasewage.htm
This article sends a very powerful message about the affects that our pollution can have on us, it tells about the discovery that Canada flushes 200 billion liters of raw sewage directly into natural waterways every year.
This is a new website designed to teach people about the severity of the pollution that is currently found in our water. This is a very similar approach to my own in the sense that I want to educate the unknowing public about the dangers of our polluted water and the effects that it can have on them.
2.)http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/State_making_a_splash_at_Riverpalooza.html
Riverpalooza is an effort made to get the community involved in cleaning the local bodies of water. This is a good example of something that should be found in more areas.
3.) http://www.surfridersd.org/hotyb.php
I thought Emilie's "hold on to your butt" article was very interesting, because it is something that the public can so easily control but has turned into the most littered item in the world.
4.) http://www.sandiego.gov/thinkblue/pdf/0609bactiresp.pdf
This is an informational document showing the discovery of the hazardous storm drain draining waste directly into the water at pb point. This is very useful for me, because my subject revolves around the quality of the water in this area.
5.)http://environment.about.com/od/waterpollution/a/canadasewage.htm
This article sends a very powerful message about the affects that our pollution can have on us, it tells about the discovery that Canada flushes 200 billion liters of raw sewage directly into natural waterways every year.
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