Final Project!

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About my final project

My final project is coming along great. Once I figure out how to transition one essay into another and interweave them it will be perfect. The essay opened up a lot of options for me. After finishing it I know how to research an area and interview subjects. I've gained the ability to write more fluently and with passion.

Interviews

In preparing to interview subjects about the parking lot I read about how to interview a person. In order to have a successful interview I need to know a bit about my subject beforehand. By doing this I will know what questions to ask and what questions not to ask. I want to avoid closed questions which bring about single answers and pretty much end the conversation right there. By asking more open questions I can keep the conversation flowing and find out more about my subject.

Reading for FRIDAY FRIDAY GETTING DOWN ON FRIDAY the 25th.

For this reading we read about a bowling alley. This reading was different from the others in that it had interviews. One interviewee, Patty, jokes around about how the league is and what they like to do outside of bowling. The owner of the bowling alley was also interviewed; This essay shows the various people you can interview and the answers you can get from them.

Group Work

Our project is coming along awesome! I'm in a great mood because its Friday and the day after St. Patricks day. The group is Noah, Kirk and I working on Pictures used in documents.

Midterm

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IHop

I walk into iHop and am greeted by a southern sounding lady. As she brought us to our table I noticed the people around. There was a good amount of old couples there, seeming to be ready for their breakfast. I notice that there is one family eating there. The kids are coloring with crayons on the handouts they pass out. There are 4 (4!!!!) kinds of syrups on each table, yet one of our bottles seems to be broken. There are also pots of coffee on each table. The waiters and waitresses are all wearing blue aprons which are store standard. The manager is wearing a red shirt and black pants. I know hes the manager because he comes over to us and asks us how our meal is going. One of the deals going on at iHop is all you can eat pancakes for 5 dollars.

This was a pretty decent starter site. Most of the people I saw were old people, although there was a group of high school kids that went there.

Bowling League

This weeks reading had a similar theme to last weeks in that bowling was the main subject. The writer explores bowling leagues, a new concept to her. She is one of the few females in the league. She describes some of the other bowlers who are around her. One person is wearing a Triple H shirt, which is from wrestling which I used to love to watch. Until it became so over-the-top fake of course which is when I stopped watching. Everyone around the alley seems to have a connection as they all cheer for others when they bowl a good game.
The writer also describes the bowling alley. It seems to be a normal alley, equipped with things such as a di disco ball for some nighttime fun. She also lists some of the prices, which seem to be relatively cheap depending on when this essay was written. There are also apparently specials around for younger kids that come to bowl. Theres the typical foods you would expect like pizza and hot dogs. In the end the essay just leaves off, leaving us to wait for what happens next week when she comes back with questions to ask the men.

Ethnography

For this assignment I'm planning on studying the people of the commuter parking lot. From what I've seen it becomes very crowded and confusing. Traffic can be backed up for a long time, causing multiple delays. Also there have been a variety of accidents in the parking lot.


Some questions I'll want to ask will be about the commute, how long it takes, whens the best time to get there, wheres the best place to park etc. Also I will be asking walkers who have to traverse the parking lot, seeing how the craziness affects not only the drivers but others as well.

Week 1

As the first full week of classes comes to an end I have read a few interesting articles. One of the more interesting works I read was the story about the Iowa 80 truck stop. In the story a man ventures to the truck stop and discovers the life of not only a trucker but also of the people who help to keep the service station open and running. I found it interesting how close-knit the world of trucking is. The drivers seem to have a good feel for each other and treat one another as friends. One of the more surprising things was some hostility towards the writer. Some truckers judged the writer to be a company manager in disguise, trying to catch them slacking on the job.

I enjoyed reading the story, I thought it told the story of an unknown part of American industry well. It was descriptive and really brought an insight into the world of trucking.