Blog #4

I have already been to Lafollette buffet many times because I work there three nights a week and I eat there on a daily basis, so I am very familiar with my cultural site already. However, I have not begun to interview any of the workers or customers. I have only begun to observe from what I see on the job as an insider not as an outsider looking in. When I do begin the interviewing process though, I plan on asking very general questions at first like how did you get the job, what is a typical day like on the job, how long have you been working at the buffet, etc. I believe these questions to be important in order to get to know the employees better and get a better understanding of what they do on a daily basis. Some observations that I did notice about the employees is how they are all about routine. Every single day they do the same thing, at the exact same time, the same way.
I have not attempted some basic “academic research,” but I should start doing that to help gain a better understanding. However, I am not to sure where to start with my “academic research.” I believe “academic” research is conducting research using outside sources like the internet, library books, pamphlets, brochures, etc. “Non-academic” is conducting research by observing and interviewing.

Blog #3

I plan on exploring the Lafollette employees who work in the buffet. The buffet is open Sunday through Friday morning, and it is all you can eat $3.95 for breakfast and $7.30 for dinner. I have been to the buffet many times this school year to eat breakfast and dinner. I find myself going to the buffet more now during the winter time because of the cold weather outside, laziness and its convenience of being right downstairs from where I live. I have actually become more familiar with Lafollette buffet not only from eating there, but because I have started to work there. In doing this, I have come to understand all the hard work that is put in daily. Since I go to the buffet a lot throughout the week I notice all of the food preparations, cooking, baking and cleaning that goes on while I am there. Now, that I have begun to work there I expect to develop more of a relationship with the employees. Developing these relationships will help me get a better understanding of what they do on a daily basis when I am not there. My age, race, and gender will not affect what I see because at the buffet the employees are of all different ages, race and gender. Knowing that there aren’t any restrictions will only better my exploration of the buffet employees. Being an insider now, I hope to discover what goes on behind the scenes.

Blog #2

For hours at a time, I communicate and message people back and forth without even seeing them and it is all for free. Even if they are all the way across the country, I can still talk to them as long as they are on my list of friends. All I have to do is type a message and press post on the screen and it automatically posts on the other person’s screen aka wall. Not only can that person see what I write, but their friends as well. In order to consider someone to be my friend I have to ask them. It is then up to them if they want to accept or deny my friendship. Once becoming friends, I have access to all that they do. I can see who is writing to them, who they are writing to, all of their friends and what friends we have in common, when their birthday is, their relationship status, email address, photos that they might have added, where they are from, etc. Also, if they happen to be online while I am, we can send messages back and forth to each other without anyone seeing what we write to each other. Facebook is a great way to communicate with others, and it is also a way of stalking others without anyone else knowing.

Blog #1

This past semester, I had to write a reflection paper. There were no requirements on the paper except the length, so I wrote without outlining. The first part of the process was to turn in a rough draft. This rough draft was edited in class by some of my peers and then immediately returned. The second step was to revise our first draft. The purpose of revising is to correct the editing or corrections that were made. After revising, I had to set up a conference with my professor. Conferencing is very beneficial to me because I can have one on one time with my teacher about my paper and ask any questions that I may have. After conferencing, I revised my paper for a second time and turned it into a final draft. Once graded and returned back I could revise it again in order to get a better grade. Granted, I know not all teachers are like this, but it was very helpful to be able to revise a third time to improve my grade.
When writing a paper, I typically procrastinate until the last possible night in a quiet room where I can focus on getting it done. I struggle with writing papers especially when getting started. Once I get going it gets easier to me, but when it comes to actually picking a topic and getting started I struggle.