Interview Questions for My Mentors

Questions for Lindy
-What is your position here exactly?
-How did you find this job?
-What is required to know for your job?
-How long have you been doing this?
-What is your least favorite thing about this job?
-Do you enjoy it?
-What did you want to be when you were growing up?
-Do you plan on making a career out of this current job?
-What is your favorite thing about this job?
-What are some daily challenges you have?

Questions for Rob
-How did you start this scrub line?
-Why did you not become a doctor like you wanted?
-What is required to know for this job?
-How long each day do you work?
-What is it that you do at your job?
-What is your favorite part of working here?
-How long did it take for your scrub line to become well known?
-Is there many competitors in your industry?
-Do you make the scrubs here?
-Is it hard to manage store that does online ordering?
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Internship Blog

What happen today?
Not much happen today at my first day of internship. Just the normal basic introductory stuff. Me and Nyachare got to our internship and met with our mentor. She introduced herself to us and she briefly explained what it is we will be doing there. Me specifically will be working on their web page and making it more “user friendly”. We then filled out a little bit of paper work but not much. We then got our passwords so that we can get on the computer and from there we pretty much just went on the internet and looked up what Network for a Healthy California is all about.

How did you get to internship?
Nyachare and I got to our internship through public transportation. We took the bus to the trolley center then took the trolley then took another bus which took us to a bus stop directly in front of our building.

What did you do for lunch?
I brought a peanut butter jelly sandwich from home and ate it on the trolley. You’re not supposed to eat on the trolley but I was hungry so I did and that was my lunch.

How did you get home?
My mom picked me up from my work site. Then we went to dinner.

How did everything go?
The whole day went smoothly. Not a lot of work was given. Hardly any was given aside from the paperwork I had to fill out and the research I had to do on the actual place itself. Overall, it was a good day and I feel that I will be very busy at my internship in the near future.

Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

History tends to repeat itself. When reading president Lincoln's Inaugural address I noticed that it can relate to some ongoing wars now. Lincoln's second inaugural address relates to two present day war related situations, in the sense that Lincoln supported a war then, while Bush supports a war in Iraq and Obama supports a war in Afghanistan in current society. Abraham Lincoln's role in the civil war tends to be controversial, although he did pro long the war he did it for the sake of saving the Union.

"So viewing the issue, no choice was left but to call out the war power of the government; and resist force, employed for it's destruction, by force, for it's preservation." -Abraham Lincoln. July 4 1861 Message to Congress

Lincoln said himself, in the quote above, that the reason he called for war was to preserve the Union. Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to serve for three months in the civil war. Even with the loss of so many lives, the war went on for four years. All this was done to keep the north and south together to keep the Union together and at the same time be slavery free. In Lincoln's second inaugural address Lincoln states:

"Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came."

This statement right here I think sets the tone for the entire inaugural address. When reading the address the sound of remorse for the war is in it. It was not about the triumph they gained from the Civil War by abolishing slavery, but it was the fact that so many died in order to gain emancipation for all. Contrast to how Lincoln was involved in a war, Bush called was for a different reason. After the attack on 9/11 Bush retaliated by sending soldiers to Iraq. Although he should have not been sending them to Iraq but rather to Afghanistan

"the fanatical perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks when they were plotting against us in distant Afghan caves." -Zbigniew Brzezinski. The Washington Post

Similar to Lincoln supporting the Civil War to benefit society, Bush thought supporting the Iraq war would benefit today's current society as well. Throughout the time of the Iraq war Bush did not receive full support from his country. Even though it was a strain on the country he believed the the war could help the US and provide safety as well. In Lincoln's second inaugural address it says:

"The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself, and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured."

"the war had damaged the country’s reputation, strained its military and now threatened its economy."

Even though the war has damaged our own country and another country(Iraq) Bush insists on "winning this war". He was thinking of the safety of America and had high hopes of winning the war. Like Lincoln, he supported a war to help benefit our country.

Our current president Obama relates to what Lincoln did during his presidency during the Civil War. Obama sees that where are troops need to be is in Afghanistan not Iraq and there is where they will be able to protect the US and other countries from terrorism. In Lincoln's second inaugural address it states at the end:

"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."

Obama sees the problem is in Afghanistan and by putting our troops there it may eliminate the problem entirely

"Obama has said the real front line of the war on terror is in Afghanistan and Pakistan, not Iraq. As many as 30,000 new U.S. troops will be sent to Afghanistan in the coming months, almost doubling the U.S. forces in the country."

Even though it seems contradictory that in order to achieve peace we have to make war, if it will help nations then it must be something worth doing.
Even though Lincoln's inaugural address is about after the Civil War it can relate to current day presidents and related events going on by how the war is handled and the reasons for the war. The common reason for presidents supporting the war is thinking it will benefit out country in some way.

• "Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War: Why President Lincoln Fought a War to Stop Southern Secession." US Civil War @ Suite101.com. 25 Jan. 2009 .
  
• "Bush Defends Iraq War in Speech - New York Times." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 25 Jan. 2009 .
  
• "Bush gives new reason for Iraq war - The Boston Globe." Boston.com. 25 Jan. 2009 .
  
• "Military Analysis - Afghan Strategy Poses Stiff Challenge for Obama - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 25 Jan. 2009 .
  
• "Obama talks to troops in Afghanistan - Chicago Breaking News." Chicago Breaking News. 25 Jan. 2009 .

Obama's Inaugural Speech

"We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom."

I chose this section of the inaugural speech because I found it to be very inspiring and are very much so words of wisdom. I think that as a nation we are in a time that is not so great but it is important to keep trying to strive for a better country and to me, this part of the text said exactly that. It sounds as though it gives hope to the country that we will perspire and become a once again better nation that is not financially struggling and where people do not have to worry about losing their jobs.
My favorite part of this section is "In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given." I can relate to this part of the text because I feel that although we are the US and it is the land of opportunity sometimes we do not succeed in what we want to. Sometimes it is not promised that we will achieve what we want, but the most important thing to keep trying and learn from your mistakes. I interpret the text as although greatness is not a given it is important we try and hope for the best and even when we don't succeed, we try again.

Obama's Inaugural Speech Text

Artist Statement Outline

"Never Good But Rules Of Paradise Are Never Nice
The Best Laid Plan Of Mice And Men Are Never Right"
(Nujabes, "Feather" lyrics. April 10, 2006)

When making this painting I chose to focus on the historical issue that people significantly remember, slavery. I felt this would be a good topic for me to do my project on seeing as how we just elected a new president that has a different racial background. My picture and quote are connected in several ways. The quote I chose from the song feather has a metaphorical connection to the relationship between slaves and their owners and also also provides a metaphorical picture of the environment in which the slaves lived in.

The first part of the quote that states "the rules of paradise are never nice" had me think of the environment the slaves lived in. For the slave owners, it was made paradise at the cost of the slaves lives. Although nice for the slave owners the slaves were still held against their own will, beaten, and worked hard for no pay or even freedom for that matter. Although slaves tried to rebel and fight for their freedom they were often punished harshly for this. A familiar case would be the case of Nat Turner where he rebelled against his slave owner by gathering other slaves and going from plantation to plantation killing men, women and children. The result of this ended in his death, he was hung when he was eighteen.

"The best laid plan" As I picked apart my quote I found this phrase standing out to me. The connection it has to slavery is the slave owner basically laid out the slaves life which is their plan. Although this may sound like it is not a bad thing I see it as it is. It represents how the slaves had no freedom and their life was planned out for them.

In the lyrics of which I pulled my quote from it speaks of the plan of mice and men which can metaphorically communicate a relationship between slaves and their owners during the time of slavery. When I was looking for a quote and heard that part of the song I knew I heard that saying before. After much research I found that the familiar wording is historically rooted. Although part of a song, the section that states "the best laid plan of mice and men are never right" roots from a poem by Robert Burns that was written in 1785. The poem is based on how a farmer runs over a mouse's home and shows dismay of the incident but at the same time talks about the hard times we endure. When researched, it may be theorized that the poem is based on the English repressing the Scottish but I see the poem to be open to interpretation. When I read the poem and heard the lyrics I thought of two groups of beings, one being dominant over the other. I applied this to my painting. I saw the slaves as being the mice and the slave owners as the men.

When creating this piece I hoped the audience to be able to understand the message clearly. I want the audience to take away the feeling of gratitude that we no longer live in this mindset where a group of people is considered better then another. I also want them to think about how we are progressing forward towards racial equality and how this has made out surroundings a better environment for the children of the future to grow up in.

Bush Loves Fish

When reading these two articles I find Bush's change of heart very interesting. I guess the question that the audience has when reading the first article about how Bush is trying to protect marine life in a large area is why the sudden change of heart when leaving office. No where in the article does it say why he is doing this, the best reason I can think of is because maybe he realized how much damage he has actually caused to the US and feels bad. After reading the second article about Bush's environment sins, I would feel bad too if I were him.

Bush's environment sin number two:

"Bush's vows to veto legislation that would limit greenhouse gases have consistently undermined Congress' feeble attempts to do anything serious about global warming, such as capping emissions."

To me this doesn't make sense because if Bush was concerned for the marine life then wouldn't he want to do something about global warming. Doing something about all the greenhouse gases would have been a good place to start considering how the number one greenhouse gas, CO2, can cause the ocean to become more acidic. Which I can imagine must not be good for the marine life seeing as they would have to adapt to a new habitat.

Bush's environment sin number four:

"Not once during the Bush administration has the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service voluntarily sought to list a species as endangered or threatened, offering it more protections."

Although he has done many things to hurt the environment I think what we have to look at here is how he is making an effort to make a difference in the environment someway now. Which is better then him leaving office and not having done anything at all.

"While he has resisted imposing mandatory curbs on greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change and has opened large areas of the nation to drilling, mining and other use of resources, by the end of his term he will have protected more ocean than any person in history. "

I also noticed a lot in the article how fishermen are getting mad because they want to be able to fish in a public area.

"If you're going to keep the public out of a public area, you need a darned good reason to do that"

This made me wonder, why do humans think they own the world? The first sign of life was a single cell organism, and after animals, so it makes me wonder why do humans have their rights, but animals don't have theirs? Technically they were first and although we may be smarter shouldn't we be considerate? And if we were so smart, wouldn't we be considerate?

Bush Protects Marine Life
Bush Enviornment Sins

Internship

1. What I hope to discover or learn about in the "adult" world of work while at my internship is that if you try to find the work interesting even though you aren't interested in that field, that it can somehow still be intriguing. This is said to be true even in high school work, that as long as you try to make it interesting then it will be. I am hoping to find that you are able to control the enjoyment level of the job by your attitude and the outlook you have on it.

2. What I hope to learn or discover about myself and my identity while at my internship is that I am capable of handling any type of work that is given out. I hope to find that I will be able to do anything that is asked of me on time and to the standards they wish to have it completed at.

3. Some goals I have for myself at internship this semester is that I learn something new about the work life and learn skills that I can take into the desired field of my interest. Even if I get an internship in a field that I have no interest in I want to at least have experience in that field so that I at least no what it is like.