Semester Deux, Blog Twelve

Dear Mr. President,

The recent upheavals in the Middle East and North Africa mark a great time for America to make new progressions in our efforts of providing economic aid to the regions. The presence of a middle-class in these regions are missing, creating a large gap between the upper-class/high authority figures and the lower class.

In North Africa, the current government cuts off prosperity, which could lead to development and diplomacy, by depending on government and NGO assistance, as well as foreign investments, but that only benefits the elite. There is a need for social and physical infrastructure in this region, and these needs are not being met. The World Bank's Doing Business Rankings show that countries that allow participation in local businesses thrive such as- "Mauritius(No.24), Botswana(38), and Ghana(87)"- in comparison to- "Mozambique(No. 141), Zimbabwe (158), and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (181). The countries that allow self run small businesses often thrive fluently, not to mention the men and women have their own support systems. If the low-class was able to start small-self-owned businesses, which a handful would grow into large businesses as time passes and a middle class forms, social and physical infrastructure could come naturally with a steady fund.

Similar to North Africa, the Middle East is in need of a self generated economy in place of government aid. There is currently an air of 'chronic corruption, poor socio-economic performance, and a persuasive sense of stagnation' which can not be changed overnight. In the 1980's some Arab countries initiated political reforms in order to support multi-competitive elections, but the efforts faded by the 1990's. This is reflected in current times, with Arab governments 'curbing political participation, manipulating elections', and limiting the peoples' freedom of expression. It has been a real struggle to plant democracy into these countries, as there is many other priorities along side that, and a true democracy may be out of reach without a true commitment from the United States.

Economic aid may not be the solution to the need of social and physical infrastructure that are necessary to these regions. Keep in mind that the Marshall Plan worked because loans were made to businesses first, which then were able to support social and physical infrastructure in the long run.

Sincerely,

Brandi Coley

Semester Duex, Blog Eleven

If you were President, how would you confront the multiple issues surrounding the Geneva Conventions that we have discussed in class over the past week?

If I was the President of the United States of America present day, and I had to confront the multiple issues surrounding the Geneva Conventions I would probably have the idea to restore America's well-known side of sticking to the rules of international affairs. The first thing I would do(or tell someone to do for me) is determine wheter Guantanamo Bay is on U.S. soil or if it's on Cuban soil. The laws of international affair probably differ depending on what country you are in, so thats a pretty big part. Then after that is figured out, , myself(or the hired person) would go through the Geneva Conventions to see what classifies one as a soldier, so we can then decide whether these prisoners are P.O.W.'s or just mere prisoners. From there you can determine how these prisoners should be treated, and also I would have them tried. And if people protested I would show the evidence of that guy from 9/11 who got tried and is imprisoned right now and other examples such as this to show the public or whoever that its happened before, and they weren't protesting then so why are they protesting now. I think there is just a mass hysteria going around because people aren't educated about things and so they just freak out, so maybe I would try to enforce something about teaching the public about the laws and stuff.

Semester Dos, Honors Blog

May 7^th, 1942

Dear John,

It's wonderful to hear from you and I am glad that all is well so far. Things here are going swell. I heard from the girls Meredith and Joann that at Minter Field, which is not too far from Bakersfield perhaps twenty miles, job openings as riveters were open. So we went right on down there and well what do you know, here we are working on the Army's training planes! It is actually quite nice here; there is a Chapel, a swimming pool, a theatre, a post office; when we are not busy with work there is always something relaxing and entertaining to do. I'm learning a lot about the Vultee BT-13 Valiant and the Cessna Bamboo Bomber; they're quite common around these parts. The student pilots use the BT-13 in their second or third phase of their training, oh my, I just realized you've already gone through this training so you must already know these things! Anywho, the work that I have been doing is quite interesting and challenging. I have an instructor who watches my every move; it is very much as though the men do not trust us. I'm sure they are unhappy with our presence in their working space, but I think little by little they have come to accept it. They often teased us and called us degrading names, and there is this lady by the name of Rosie who sees it fit to wear skin-tight red blouses and it bothered the men so much that our instructor asked her to wear overalls to work from then and on…That Rosie sure is a character. I do not understand why it is that she wears those shirts; everyone knows that factory attire calls for slacks or overalls. Where was I...? Ah, my work. While we were being trained on how to use the rivet gun properly our instructor gave us some metal sheets to practice with as he bore holes into the back of our heads. John, I am telling you, these men are either hostile or extremely careful about their work…perhaps a combination of the two? Well, now that I am thinking about it, it must be a combination of the two. I did not exactly realize the importance of our jobs when we first arrived. But here we are, with lives depending on us and the repairs we make on these planes. Sometimes while Meredith, Joann, and I are working, we sing that song “Rosie the Riveter” although it seems to irritate the men who get partnered with us at times. They say it is ‘too distracting’ to listen to us sing and that they may not do the repairs correctly with all of the ‘distractions’. Have you heard the song? It goes something like this:

While other girls attend their fav’rite cocktail bar, Sipping Martinis, munching caviar. There’s a girl who’s really putting them to shame, Rosie is her name. All the day long whether rain or shine, she’s a part of the assembly line. She’s making history, working for victory. Rosie the Riveter Keeps a sharp lookout for sabotage, sitting up there on the fuselage. That little frail can do more than a male will do, Rosie the Riveter. Rosie’s got a boyfriend, Charlie. Charlie, he’s a Marine. Rosie is protecting Charlie Working overtime on the riveting machine. When they gave her a production “E” She was as proud as a girl could be. There’s something true about Red, white, and blue about Rosie the Riveter.

There is more to the song, but I think that will do. I hope you know I’m protecting you overtime on the riveting machine, John—we all are. Sometimes when I take a break from using the bucker bar or the riveting gun, I think about the old days when mother used to set out lemonade on the porch on hot days after our play time. I miss those days, and I miss you brother. I am sure if mother and father were still around they would love to see how well we have supported each other through-out the years physically and emotionally, even how we have supported our country in its time of need! I hope you can forgive me, a long while passed since I last wrote to you and next time I will be sure to be quicker in my efforts-- John, I hope the war will not treat you too badly.

with Love From Yours truly,

Samantha Stanford

www.pophistorydig.com

www.nps.gov

WW2 Imagery

This shows the 'leaderes' of the allied powers, the big three. Joseph Stahlin, Winston Churchill, and Franklin D Roosevelt. When I see this picture I already know who they are, but if I didn't from looking at the way the picture was taken I could probably infer they were people important. Its shows them kind of looking down, and sincce theyre up kinda high its like theyre high society high power type of thing.

This is Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini who were part of the Axis powers..I'm thinking it was Italy, Germany, Japan, and Russia sort of tried but didn't exactly seem to be included with these three groups. Anyways, this is Hitler and Mussolini meeting in 1940. My first reaction was indifferent, I've seen the picture before.

In this picture theres a japanese soldier hitting an american soldier in the face. My inital reaction was shock, I've seen a lot of propaganda but not any that actually portrayed any violence. Even though its promoting violence and killing and I usually wouldn't like something like this, they do a good job of persuading Americans to go out and kill the 'Japs'.

Semester Dos, blog eight

To Kill a Mocking Bird, written by Harper Lee, told the story of two young children living in Maycomb Alabama whose father defended a black man in a rape case involving a white woman. The novel starts out when the main character, Jean Louise Finch otherwise known as Scout, tells the reader about her brother Jem's broken arm- Scout spends the rest of the novel explaining the events that led up to Jem's broken arm. Throughout the novel Scout introduces more and more characters, most of them living in Maycomb, except for one. Dill meets Scout and Jem one summer, and after that keeps returning. They have good fun together often making up games that revolve around Arthur "Boo" Radley, Maycombs 'crazy' shut-in. He dared Jem to go and touch the Radley house, came up with an idea of using a fishpole to stick a note that would invite Boo Radley to ice cream with them, even made up a 'game' where him, Jem, and Scout acted out the daily lives of Boo Radley. From day one, Dill was always very adventurous and creative (he made up very many stories in attempt to impress Scout and Jem) just like an innocent child. He represents the innocence and curiosity that children have. In a way, Dill almost represents Scouts state of childhood throughtout most of Part One of To Kill a Mockingbird. She asks many questions to her father Atticus Finch and to Miss Maudy who lives across the street as well about plenty of things. When she isn't asking questions, she is always out playing with her brother Jem, or in school trying to do right. Sometimes although she is only trying to do what she thinks is right, she gets into trouble. For example one of the poorer students, Walter Cunningham, came over to dinner and poured mollasses all over his vegetables. Scout tried to tell him his proper manners, not rudely, but got in trouble. In a way, I think her innocence has to do with this, because she hasn't been exposed to the evil of the world so she doesn't know what she is doing/saying could have a negative meaning depending on which way you interpret her actions. Scout finds herself facing the difference or wrong and right all through out the novel, especially when tension starts to rise in result of the upcoming courtcase. The kids at school jeer at her and tell her that her father Atticus is a nigger-lover and when she walked home from school an old woman named Mrs. Dubose harrassed Scout and Jem. Now Scout did not fully understand what exactly was going on, but she knew by the tone that it was nothing good. This is when she is first exposed to evil in the world and taking note of it. Jem and Scout both have a pretty hard time realizing that both evil and good coexist in the same world, but little by little they begin to understand, and they see the unfairness of it all. Their father Atticus Finch is the backbone of Scout and Jem's morals, often he guides them through a thought-process that leads them to what is right versus what everyone else thinks is right. When Atticus' brother gets Jem and Scout guns for christmas, Atticus even gives them a little piece of advice: “Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it. “Your father’s right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy . . . but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” This isn't the exact quote, but what Atticus told his children was that whatever they do, do not kill a mockingbird. Later on in the book after Tom Robinson, the black man that Atticus defended in the rape case involving a white woman named Mayella Ewell, the jury of course voted guilty although it was most likely impossible for Tom to rape her because of his shriveled left arm. Anyways, there was a good chance to free Tom Robinson from prison but he tried to run and got shot. I think this was an example of them killing a mockingbird, Tom didn't do anything at all. He was always helping Mayella, free of pay, anytime she asked. He truly was a mockingbird, did not harm, and in the end people who knew but simply did not care did away with him- solely because of what everyone other white person in Maycomb would do- it was commonality for white people to go free in court when they were against black men. In court Mayella almost admitted that it was her father, Tom Ewell, who beat her while he was drunk. Bob Ewell had seven children, the oldest was Mayella who was 19. She had never had much schooling, but could read and write. Everyone knew the Ewells as the low-down dirty poor southerners who just didn't care at all. Bob Ewell used his welfare checks all on booze, and hunted in the woods even though it was illegal(there was an acception since he had no other means of getting food for his children). Even after Tom Robinson had gotten killed, and even though Tom Robinson never raped Mayella in the first place, Bob went down to Atticus' office in the town and told him he would get him. A long time passed and no one really thought Bob Ewell would do anything, but one night he caught Jem and Scout and tried to kill them. Luckily Boo Radley saved their lives. No one ever saw it coming, they hadn't seen or heard a peep out of him for as long as they could remember, but here he was. Boo turned out to be everything Scout didn't imagine, he was kind, caring, kind of awkward, but still had the best intentions. I think Boo was another mockingbird. In the midst of all the rumors that went about him and the violence and sadness he suupposedly spread, all he really was was an innocent caring person that tried to help in any way that he could when he could. He was a mockingbird in the midst of all the chaos.

Semester Deux, Blog Seven

Honors:

The famous court case, Plessy vs. Ferguson fo 1896, it was decided that the Louisiana State law that required blacks and whites to ride in separate train cars did not violate the 14th amendment. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People(NAACP), founded in 1909, was based on civil rights and many members were equal rights supporters. The NAACP quickly gained recognition, especially by their involvement in court cases such as the 'victory against a discriminatory Oklahoma law that regulated voting by means of a grandfather clause (Guinn v. United States, 1910).' About 20 years later, the NAACP began to more involved in situations concerning the 14th amendment, as was mentioned before in the Plessy vs. Ferguson case. In the late 1930's, the NAACP became particularly involved with the state of Missourri, who had laws that forced 'qualified black students' within the state to pursue their educations elswhere. Charles Houston, the President of the NAACP in 1938, convinced the jury that the state of Missourri was violating the 14th ammendment with this law which influenced the court desicion in Brown vs. Board of Education in Topeka. The result of that case was that racially segregated schools were breaking the 14th ammendment, which led to a plan to desegregate school.s Obviously there were many people unhappy with this. On one side, white people still felt they were better and didn't want their children being involved with black students; on the other hand black parents feared for their childrens safety. It took strong federal forces such as political figures and in some cases, armed forces, for the desegregation to actually take place with angry whites terrorizing helpless blacks. In many ways, the NAACP has helped, and continues to help, further advance the African American population based on their belief in equal rights and the 'Black National Anthem':
Lift ev'ry voice and sing,
'Til earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the list'ning skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on 'til victory is won.

Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chastening rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat,
Have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,
'Til now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
Thou who has brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who has by Thy might
Led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee,
Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee;
Shadowed beneath Thy hand,
May we forever stand,
True to our God,
True to our native land.

Blog Six, Semester Two

http://nateaidanross.blogspot.com/ What stood out to me is that he went to internship from 1-3 and finished his project in just a week. Thats a really short amount of time and I think it would spark the readers interest to find out what an 'intern slave' spends their time doing. Also, his is out of the ordinary, since he said that he was cleaning and trying to entertain himself, I would like to know how well that worked out.

http://niiagamboa.blogspot.com/ What stood out to me in Nia's is that we had similar ideas. We both had a sort of focus on the differences between school and the work environment and how we are treated. I think that maybe a combination of Nia's pitches would work because you get an idea of how her internship has made an impact on her as a person, whether it was good or bad.

http://shoshmahgosh.blogspot.com/ I think a combination of shoshannas ideas would be really helpful to any newcoming sophomores. I really like hers becuase you can tell that she obviously has learned how to interct with others in a professional environment and it would be interesting to see a teens perspective on how to act in the work force

Semester Dos, Blog Five

Pitch One: Communication in the Work Place. Example1: Communication within DPR, workers getting information to me, measking for things, talking on the phone in conference calls, miscommunications...Example 2:Communications with Partnering Companies: the good, the bad, the ugly.....Example 3: Communcating to the public(aka Public Outreach)

Pitch Two: Conservation, Nature, Environment, etc, how/why I'm involved/would like to be involved. My opinions thoughts beliefs etc

Pitch Three: A combination of the two above, plus relation ships with the people who you work with and how to excel in the work place. I really like the idea of combining it all but it might be alittle hard but I'm up for a challenge.

Semester Two, Blog Four

links to three or more example articles that could provide inspiration for your Ampersand article. Along with each link, write at least one paragraph in which you explain what that example provides for you in the way of inspiration, a good model to work from

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0By0BP1hDLB5EMDJkYTJjZWItOTJhOS00NjMzLWIzMzktZmRhNTI5ZTljNzYy&hl=en&pli=1 I chose t his one because when I was reding it I immediately connected with the writer. She talked about how she wonder how humans affect the environment and how we can save it and thats ultimately what I'm interested in. I sort of don't like how it goes into a letter to Obama, I wouldn't do that personally, I think I just would write about communication efforts and how working together could benefit our environment.

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0By0BP1hDLB5ENjAxOTNjOGYtZWZkNi00NDFjLTk0OTctZmI5OGQ2M2QyNThl&hl=en I chose this one because as I read it I really actually connected with Chandler. The quick switch from school to office environments took its toll on most likely everyone who was in an office for 5 days a week. I think if I was to structure mines similar to his, I could tweak it entirely to fit my own experiences with internship. I could even blend the ideas of the other two articles with this one, like the one below, of figuring out what you want to become, and the one above about my personal interests in conservation.

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0By0BP1hDLB5EOWVhYTNhYTctZGU5Zi00ZGYzLTliODgtMDM4NTgyYzk2NDFk&hl=en This one is the one called What We Become by D'Vaughn. I loved it. I like how relevant it is, because internship is like a step towards us figuring out what we want to do with our lives as young adults and figuring out what our interests include and exclude, it addresses all of the things that have been going through my mind. I like that even though she doesnt exactly know what she wants to become, she knows what she doesnt want to become. And in a sense, I think knowing what you don't want is a lot stronger than knowing what you do want.

Semester 2, Blog 3

Post links to two exemplary interviews that you can use as models for your mentor interview:

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/obama-in-command-br-the-rolling-stone-interview-20100928

In the intro they have dialogue that kind of sets the tone for the interview that is about to take place, it give s the reader some sort of sense of what the characters might be like. They also include a setting the White House which is something most people are familiar with, so reading this, the reader will be able to make connections and therefore be more interesting to them. Plus the way the questions and answers are formatted is really easy to follow along with.

http://www.dga.org/news/v25_4/feat_SpikeLee.php3

This one is an interview of Director Spike Lee, now I don't know much about directors but after reading this you would know about him. They provide a lot of background info. What they do is go in and they have quotes in there but then they also have parts where they give background information so the reader can know what happened previously, or future plans, or what was happening during the interview etc. This is interesting, but theres a lot going on and I don't think I'd want to model my interview after it.

Semester 2, Blog2

What have you read lately (say, since last semester), that you found interesting? Why did it catch your attention?

The last thing I red that caught my attention was this thing in a magazine that showed a picture of the beach on a cold winter morning and how you could make your photo be a wideshot even if youre camera doesnt take wide shots. I t hought it was interesting because I like photography and I like wide shots but my camera doesnt take pictures like that. So what it said to do was you take a couple pictures of the same scenery and then open them in photoshop and combine them together so that they match up and wa-la there it is. There was also other cool ones but I don't remember them.

Semester 2, Blog 1

What are the big ideas that you are taking from internship into the next steps in your life?
Well at my internship it was actually focused one things with conserving San Diego's natural resources, and I'm interested in that for my career so my next steps in life will be to keep doing great in school and apply to colleges and then major in Natural Resources/Conservation.


What are your plans for the coming semester?
Get my work done on time, participate in honors. take SAT Reasoning, and 2 subject tests.

Internship Week 4: Final Blog

How do you feel about returning back to classes next week?
It relaxes me knowing that I return back to school next week...At internship I dress as if I have a POL everyday, so I'm looking forward to the whole roll out of bed and throw on whatever I see in my closet routine I've been doing lately for school. I'll miss my internship and the people here, but it will be sort of nice to be back in the school environment and see all my peers and teachers....at least I think it will be. There is also a possibility that I'll just feel plain bored at school because I've gotten used to doing different things all day and sitting in the classroom doesn't sound all that interesting. At least I won't have to worry about getting my clothes ready the night before.

Do you anticipate a different experience of school now that you have been immersed in a work place?
No, I've always sort of treated school as a work place in some sense. I mean, we are actually doing some sort of work there so I concentrate & stay on task...most of the time. I don't expect my schooling to differ now that I've been immersed in a work place.

What are you looking forward to about coming back? What are you going to miss about internship?
I am looking forward to how much I don't really have to plan ahead for school. Well there is always homework and I don't really know what we'll have to do for Haley's class(but everyone says its a piece of cake) but I'm really just looking forward to how relaxed our school environment is. I'm very glad we don't have to wear uniforms. But as it comes time to go back to school and leave our internships behind, I will miss leaving randomly in the middle of the day to go to a meeting that isn't in the building or going out on a hike. Those are things that we most likely will not do back at school...And I think most of all I'll miss my mentor. Her name is Trish, she is great! I think the fact that she has children who are in college/just graduating college really benefitted our Mentor/Intern relationship because we were able to understand eachother better, her as a mother me as a child...is sounds kind of strange to make that connection, but its something that I often think about. Trish is someone who I look up to.

Internship Week 3: Blog 2 out of 2

Read another student's blog. What stands out to you? What experiences do you have in common? What contrasts do you see? What questions do you have?

I chose to look at Noah's blog...he is interning at UCSD which caught my interest because thats a college that I am potentially interested in pursuing my education at....Anyways, sometime last week he was telling me about some Child Development study of the childs ability to match facial expressions with emotions, if I'm correct. I thought I would see a bunch of psychology stuff on his blog but I didn't. I don't even know if they are currently conducting the study?

What stands out to me is: There is a post that has a picture of a clock. The caption says

Time stood still as I entered the room. My body was telling me it was bedtime, my mind said it was 9am, and the clock told me it was 4:00...

At first I was thinking what is this picture of this clock doing here. Then I saw the caption and thought it sounds like some sort of exerpt from a cheesy girly novel...Twilight per say. Besides that, it stood out to me becuase in a way I feel like that at internship, seems like all the days are blended together and never end and I lose track of time ALL the time.

Experiences I have in common with Noah are: I have experience with technical difficulties. Like Noah said he isn't a tech kind of guy at all, well I'm not a tech kind or girl either. Theres a difference of knowing how to use the basic functions of basic software such as Microsoft Office programs, but it is taken to a whole new level when I was introduced to the Strategic Plan. Its something I've never seen in my life; a combination of PDF, PowerPoint, and Links?! It was sort of thrilling to just look at it and to my amazement, clicking on a link was much more fascinating than it usually is. My other technical difficulties is Microsoft Excel...Part of my project is creating charts, which I, for the most part, was comfortable with until I actually started doing it. Excel likes to decide how its going to display the information instead of letting me choose, which is completely frustrating because I really just can't do anything about it, it doesn't let me choose. That can get frustrating for me especially because I like to have some sort of control over the projects I work on, also the fact that the graphs made me have to use my math brain...I'd say my math brain is my weakest assett when compared to everything else. My grades even say so I passed with flying colors in Biology99% and Eglish3/History(Honors)98% but only 91%in Math3..I guess I should work on my math brain some maybe I'll go work on my Aleks when I get home. I guess a weak math brain isn't technically a technical difficulty.

He posted about the culture at his internship site. I think his site and my site share similarities as there are many coworkers, and a couple big bosses, everyone interacts with eachother but there doesn't seem to be any internal conflicts at all. Everyone is on the same page here, everything works efficiently.

Contrasts between us are..."Although things run smoothly at the UCSD Center for Human Development, I've sat in on enough meetings that there is conflict and communication issues with UCSD and the other sites participating in the PING study." This is something we do not share in common. At parks&rec there are 3-5 subdivisions, each has a boss and then at least 5+ workers in that division(I use 5 as minimum beause that is the ammount there is in our division; Resource Management. The others have many many more.) All of the subdivisions are in charge of different things such as Resource Management or Marketing. I've been to plenty of meetings and pretty much everything runs smoothly. Everyone here is very close knit, they communicate effectively, and the way things go almost seems effortless. The only conflict they have is with partnering companies such as Caltrans..I went to a meeting with DPR to Caltrans, who seemed to have not a clue what the laws and guidelines are. My mentor, shes great I love how calm she is, but at the meeting she had to repeat herself about seven times because Caltrans just didn't get it. Thats something I admire her for, if I was in her position I probably would've just gotten irritated. But I think thats something maybe the DPR needs to work on, if their 'partners' are being lazy and you-know-whatty- someone has got to step up and not play Mr. Nice Guy anymore. Gotta keep them on their toes.

Questions I have are... If I had a question for Noah I guess I'd just ask what he learned. The blog posts mostly talk about the environment and what goes on around him, but I'd rather like to know what he is taking away from the experience and the content he is learning/how it is affecting him.

Internship Week 3; Blog 1 out of 2

You are half-way through your project. How is it going? What challenges have you faced? What have you learned? What are you doing to ensure a successful completion of your internship project.

My internship is going very well. I've faced a technical challenge with excel involving the creation of charts because excel decides how it will display the information for me and I can't do anything about it, that gets frustrating. Another challenge I faced was recording my interview. The first time I did it, I realized that I didn't press start about halfway into the interview, then when I did press start, it only recorded one minutes worth of our conversation. It was pretty sucky, but now that I have more information about my mentor I can write more insightful questions. I've learned a bunch. Everyone uses jargon so I'm always asking questions, and interacting with all of the different people in my work environment gives me an insight to so many different parts of not only the DPR but the Resources Conservation Division(I work more closely with them). For example when I went out on the field with Maryanne, she told me about all of the conflicting companies such as Otay Water District who owns a patch of grass in Sunnyside where there is no sidewalk for the community to safely walk on, but still the Otay Water District isn't very easy on giving it up. I learned about GIS where they can plan trails using their special devices...everyones main objective is to get communities more involved with the environment and to preserve endangered local species. Lately to ensure the success of my project (designing the skeleton for the MSCP Annual Report2010) I have been sending out reminders to DPR/DPLU employees about the information they are supposed to get to me by the 21st. Everyone is pretty great about that, they follow up with me very quickly and when they do respond with information and I have questions they discuss things with me freely and treat me like an actual person which is great. My dad kept saying they were going to treat me like the hamster and make me go around and do minuscule tasks, but I've actually been doing some pretty intriguing stuff.

Internship Week 2: Blog 2 out of 2

How has or do you see your internship changing the way you consider that paths your future will take?

There is an eclectic amount of things I have done and seen in the duration of my internship. Here is what I've done so far:

• Attended various meetings: addressing internal issues of the Department of Parks and Recreation(DPR); addressing external issues that involve DPR, addressing feral pigs!, addressing Governor Jerry Brown's budget plan
• Reveiwed Governor Jerry Brown's budget plan for anything that may positively or negatively affect DPR, compile most important information & send out to DPR employees
• Participated in a state wide conferene call in place of my mentor, within the first hour of my first day
• Compiled Skeleton of Multiple Species Conservation Program(MSCP) Annual Report for the year of 2010
• Organized a meeting with DPR and Department of Planning and Land Use(DPLU) to assign roles in the MSCP Annual Report
• Created graphs displaying acreage of 2010 reporting year
• Visited trails in sweetwater with the Trails Coordinator

All of these things have helped me gain further insight to the world of Parks and Recreation, and while I'm still a newbie and get a bit confused when they throw their jargon around like its common knowledge, everything is new and interesting! I usually have to ask a lot of questions to understand what they're talking about, but when I get the big picture its like a light bulb goes off in my head and I get so excited because all of these ideas they bounce off of eachother are things I probably wouldn't have ever even thought of if I hadn't been on this internship. For example at sweet water summit, if they were able to connect all of the little individual community trails, the trail at sweet water summit could connect all the way to CUYAMACA! Doesn't that blow your socks off?! Well anyways, everything that I've done so far has only made me more set on my path to major in Natural Resources and Conservation which has little subcategories like Environmental Science, Policy, etc.

I am very happy with my internship.

Internship Week 2: Blog 1 out of 2

Technical Difficulties:

In the MSCP Annual Report, there are figures and tables used to display how many acres were gained/lost, where they were gained/lost, how they were gained/lost, etc. I have made contact with Gary Ross, the Senior GIS Analyst from Land Use & Environment Group (LUEG), and he said he would provide me with the 4-7 tables by the 18^th and the figures 1-3 by the 21^st, but that still leaves tables 1-3; that’s where I come in. It’s my job to make some sort of neat graphics that aren’t boring to the public and would display a lot of information through a visual instead of a text. I have been making these charts in Microsoft Excel, but I’d consider myself a beginner with that program- especially with creating charts. Many times it will tell me that the chart type I want to use doesn’t work with the information I have, which doesn’t make sense because I’ve created the same type of chart with the same information. It gets frustrating using Excel so I often go to their website for troubleshooting tips… Still, creating the charts is only a small portion of my project. Towards the end of January, my involvement with compiling the MSCP should be wrapping up which means I get to work with making it more visual (comparable to the strategic plan: http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/reusable_components/images/parks/doc/DPR_Strat_Plan_2010-2015.pdf ). The thing is, if you look at past MSCP Annual Reports (2009 for example http://www.co.san-diego.ca.us/dplu/mscp/docs/SCMSCP/FINAL_MSCP_ANNUAL_REPORT_2009.pdf ) they are completely different. The strategic plan is completely visual and technical, while the MSCP is purely documentation…I think the plan my mentor, Trish Boaz, has of making MSCP more visual like the Strategic Plan is such a fantastic idea, but I have no idea how to use Adobe PDF program! I shouldn’t worry though because I can always talk to other employees here, especially since the guy who worked on the Strategic Plan is just a one minute walk away.

Internship Week 1; Blog 2 out of 2

Describe the 1)project you'll do at internship, 2)including the skills and technology you need to do it and 3)what you hope your project looks like as a final product.

1) During the course of my internship I will be working on the Multiple Species Conservation Program(MSCP) Annual Report.

"On October 22, 1997, the Board adopted the County of San Diego Multiple Species Conservation Program South County Subarea Plan. The associated Implementing Agreement among the County of San Diego, California Department of Fish and Game and United States Fish and Wildlife Service became effective on March 17, 1998. The implementing Agreement requires the County to prepare an annual accounting of 1) all habitat gained through acquisitions or dedications of open space made through the land development process; and 2) all habitat lost as a reult of discretionary land use and certain ministerial actions."

This quote came from the 2009 MSCP Annual Report and it pretty much summarizes the purpose of MSCP annual reports, theres also another paragraph that summarizes the report and what the county needs in means of funds in order to meet its obligations nder the Implementing Agreement.

2) In order for me to complete this project, and complete it to the best of my abilities, I will need to be energized, be able to communicate with everyone who works in Parks and Recreation, ask questions, and my fabulous writing skills! I'll also be using the computer a lot for things like typing the MSCP and there is also graphics that are included which I may take part in producing.

3) For my final project, I would hope that when someone looks at the 2010 MSCP Annual Report they don't question who wrote it. I would hope that has the nth degree of professionalism in means of grammar and layout and things like that, and I am 99.9% sure I am capable of tackling on this project!

Internship Week 1; Blog 1 out of 2

What are you excited about, nervous about and wondering about?

I am nervous and wondering about if I will be able to actually start internship tommorrow because in order for me to intern they had meundergo a background check which was clear and then I moved on to my medical. The thing is the medical people haven't sent my paperwork to my internship site so I don't know if I can start tommorrow. Hopefully I will be able to, but all I can do is hope and pray that my paper gets through ASAP! I've been keeping contact with my mentor and have spoken with her at least once a week since before thanks giving break and we are both looking forward to working with each other. I just hope everything works out as planned.