Composing "Revised" Field Notes:
You should have your "raw" field notes from at least one field site visit, (remember, you need at least four field site visits before Nov. 21st) and now it is time to take the next step and convert those raw field notes into revised narrative form. Using your initial observations and comments/reactions from one field site visit, as a basis to expand and embellish in terms of vividness, scenic description, character development, details, and complexity, write a narrative of 300-800 words.
Directions:
*Convert your raw field notes into a narrative of between 300-800 words.
*Write in present tense--as if the event is happening right now as you are writing it and your audience is reading it.
*This is a first revision, so I am not overly strict about punctuation and grammar unless it impedes reader comprehension.
*Have a title for the revised version--be creative
Sample heading for Revised Field Notes:
Marco McDougal
ENC 1101-0012
TR--9:00am-10:15am
Revised Field Notes Assignment
March 18, 2013
7:00P.M., Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Room 206, UCF Student Union
Young Democrats/Republicans
Organizing Meeting for April Debate
They Started Throwing Shoes:
Notes on a Joint Meeting of Young Democrats and Republicans
This is where you actually begin writing your revised notes. Be sure to use proper formatting as referenced above. Be sure to generate logical paragraph breaks in your narrative and complete a spell check before loading your narrative to the blog.
Don't think of this as something you will be sending to The New Yorker. What I want to see is a solidly written narrative (story telling) version of your raw field notes. So long as the sentences are complete, comprehensible, and represent an earnest attempt to recreate accurately your impressions, then you are in the ball park. Sloppy, hasty, and partially complete work will result in commensurate grade compensation for this blog posting.
Jeffrey Rancourt
ReplyDeleteENC 1101
Field Notes - Blog Assignment
October 30, 2013
6:00PM, Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Room 307, Seminole County School Board Offices, Sanford FL
FIT Link & Event Planning Meeting
“Do you Believe in Magic?”
Preparation Meeting - 8th Annual Connections Fair
There is a group of 9 of us at this conference table waiting. Everyone has a water and a bunch of handout flyers for the meeting. I am sitting with a pen and notebook in hand. I wonder where those flyers came from? I feel slightly uneasy in a room growing in size where everyone knows one another, and seems to wonder who I am as I reach out a hand to greet them. I try to relax and feel myself slouch into my seat as the traffic slows, it makes me feel more comfortable - a sense of belonging. I smile with each face in the room who I make eye contact with, not sure how to introduce myself other than by first name. I begin to jot field notes, both to look busy and to write down observations about the wide, shiny oak conference table, the competing smells of new leather chairs and a school cafeteria that exists in this conference room, it smells like old school classroom. Does every public education building smell the same? What is that? As I jot more notes into my CVS black spiral notebook, I realize that I look the part. I’m ready to attend a very important meeting. Everyone around me does too. There are three middle aged women sitting across the table from me talking to eachother about social work. They are wearing sweatshirts in a warm room and I suddenly become aware that I am too. I take off the sweatshirt and bump into Viola. She is sitting to my right. We exchange a few words about the late start of the 7pm meeting. She explains that the meeting runs late depending on the host. She continues to tell me about her role within the Seminole county schools as a liason for students entering college, She inquires about my needs, including whether I am homeless or in need of a job. She is polite to offer me services which I realize I have just over compensated in denying the need for with my answer, as I’ve replied with a swift NO!
I begin to wonder if Beth Davalos will be here? As soon as I think this to myself, in she walks. Beth runs the program and is also in charge of tonight’s meeting, a discussion about the upcoming Day of Connections. She has a very recognizable face, she has long curly black hair and a broad, sincere smile. I’ve only met her once before. When my wife and I moved here from New England, we reached out to her and her program to offer a monetary donation. We learned of the FIT program (Families In Transition) with millions of others during a 2010 episode of 60 minutes in which Beth gave a series of interviews and overviews of the homeless problem in Seminole County Florida to Scott Pelley.
Beginning at 10 minutes past the hour, Beth welcomes me and all of the others and launches right into the hour long overview of the topics for this preparation meeting.
Seongeun Woo
ReplyDeleteENC 1101
TR—6:00pm-8:45pm
Revised Field Notes Assignment
November 11, 2013
8:00A.M., Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Room 114, Guidance Office
Guidance Counselors
Usual Workplace
Same Job, Different People
I grab the long metal handle, and open the green heavy door. Is it bullet proof? As I enter the room, two of the guidance counselors greet me with a smile. Among three rooms with brown doors, all of them are open except for the head guidance counselor’s office. She is having a meeting with a parent. It reminds me of my high school life. I like college so much better. A student is talking to one of the guidance counselors. It looks like she is struggling with her AP classes. It is so stressful just by listening to her academic issues. Maybe I should be worrying about my academics more. I’m sitting on a black chair and there is a matching desk in front of me. Another chair is on the other side that is identical to my chair. There is a yearbook, my phone, and my wallet on the desk. I do not like my yearbook picture. Every single one of them looks horrible. Where is my yearbook anyway? And why do they have 2011-2012 yearbook out?
On one of the guidance counselor’s desk, there are loads of papers and folders. It looks like so much busy work. Does she go over every single paper? There is also a candy jar with a sticker that says “homemade”. The candies do not look appetizing. They are in all sorts of shapes and colors. They look old too. I wonder how long she had those candies for. On her desk, there is a computer monitor, a keyboard, a printer, a work phone, and a tervis tumbler. I love tumblers so much. The guidance counselor is wearing a striped shirt with gold earrings. I can’t see her complete outfit because she is sitting down. She looks like she has a great taste in fashion.
The head guidance counselor’s office has light green walls. I feel like green is the most popular color in educational environment. Green is everywhere. There are two pictures on the wall. One of them is slightly crooked which annoys me so much. I want to fix it. There is a dark brown round table with three chairs. Only one of the chairs is cushioned. Two wooden chairs have some scratches. Also there is a vase on the table with no flowers in it. The door to the head guidance counselor’s office is filled with college posters. Campus visit dates are listed on the posters. So many of them! I haven’t even heard of some of the colleges.
Matthew Watkins
ReplyDeleteENC 1101-0012
Revised Field Notes Assignment
November 5, 2013
2:53P.M., Sunday, March 3, 2013
9 E. Broadway St., Oviedo Townhouse Restaurant
Restaurant Employees and Customers
Daily Restaurant Service
A Taste of Southern Comfort
As I arrive in the small and under packed parking lot I notice how antique the sign looks and how the old yellow brick building looks at of place in the 21st century. I walk to the front door and the first thing I notice is the familiar sound of a Carrie Underwood song playing in the background. The manager is asking the customer about to leave how his business is going, very casual and friend like conversation shows he must be a regular. The young man working tells me I can sit anywhere so I sit at a table for two near the door. Before I am given a drink or a menu I start to look at a small pink sheet advertising the various home-style dinners offered on various days. A waitress is walking around to the few tables filled at the time asking everyone if “Yall doing alright?’ I am given a glass of water and a menu and more of this southern diction is used as she calls me “baby” in the very southern women way of doing so. I look through the menu which had a picture of old Oviedo on the front and after navigating the large breakfast menu I decide to order the “BELTCH”, or a BLT with egg, cheese, and ham. The very friendly server, who now tells me here name is Angelina, seems to be aware of my project. As I wait for my food I take notice of the various sounds including a kid crying, loud noises from the kitchen, and the noise of the cash register. There are various flyers by the cash register all supporting local businesses or events; this restaurant seems very involved in its town. I also look around at the various people in the restraint. There is two young Asian men (probably brothers) with their feet up in the booth, there is the family from which the kid was crying, an women kissing a man on the check in the booth (probably married), a mother with two kids both with an Ipad, another family, a group of three men in deep conversation, and another elderly couple seeming to be looking at me. This seems to be a strange group of people with much variety. At 3:15 I am served my sandwich coming with fries. The intoxicating smell of bacon is tempting it but I ignore it and continue to take notes. When I do eat I notice the food is really good. I start to notice the conversations around as the two brothers’ talk about various things including season tickets to the Magic, and trips to Australia. These two are not the typical people I would expect in this old school diner. A server makes the rounds to all the tables and closes the blinds for one man and asks everyone how is everything; all the responses were good showing the food truly is good here. I look around the restraint and notice all the old features in it including the aged looking metal stools, the table clothes, and the old juke box. The place also has southern appeal with Krystal hot sauce on every table and the music switches from country to classic rock. Two employees are casually talking as the restraint is not very crowded. At 3:37 I finish my meal and pay at the cash register. The man checking me out shows another sign of good service saying “Have a wonderful afternoon”.
Natasha Hutchinson
ReplyDeleteENC 1101
Revised Field Notes Assignment
November 5, 2013
5:20P.M., Friday, November 1, 2013
1801 E Broadway St, Oviedo, FL 32766
Publix
Different Slices of the Same Pie
As I approach, the doors labeled “enter”, they begin to open and I proceed inside. I look all around at the employees, the customers, and the products unsure of where to start. I finally pull out my notebook and pen ready to start observing. I begin to walk around the store and I immediately see great service and attitudes. I see a baker giving two children a free cookie of their choice, a cashier telling a customer “Have a nice day.”, and two employees exchanging in a friendly conversation while stocking. The whole environment feels very warming already. I continue to walk around feeling quite silly as I continue to scribble in my notebook with everyone’s eyes looking straight at me; or so it felt like. I’m going to walk to each station and observe how the different stations behave. The first stop is the bakery. The employees at the bakery are all very polite and “sweet” as I watch them make a cake and hand a women a loaf of bread. The communication between the workers is very soft and calming as a baker asks “Can you pass me the red frosting?” to her fellow baker. I begin to move on to deli adjacent to the bakery. The deli workers seem to work in closer quarters as they needed to hear people’s orders and make sandwiches to order at the same time. The deli employees are working at a faster pace than the bakery workers did and I assume it is because while bakers have days to bake someone’s cake or treat the deli workers customers need their products right then and there. I begin to move on from the deli and on to the seafood station. Walking up I can already tell it is a much different environment. I take notice that the employees are all male and they are rather aggressive as compared to the baker or the deli worker. As an employee pushes open the back door I hear yelling of fish orders and all types of things that I can’t quite make out. It was definitely a louder part of Publix although they were still as willing to help customers and inform them of their seafood products and opinions of the different types of food offered. The last place on my list to observe was the cashier station. I am truly impressed with the amount of customer service I am witnessing. The cashiers are constantly smiling as they interact with each new customer ready to pay. One bagger imp articular was interacting with some of the children in the store making the store feel very family friendly and “homey”. The cashier and baggers have great communication and help each other out whenever needed. As I am getting ready to bring my field note session to a close I see a customer begin to freak out about a missing item in her cart. The baggers had just switched places and the new bagger, a young man, handles the situation rather impressively as he persists to tell the women he will find her item and clear it up right away saying “I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”. He then finds the “missing” item in her cart and very politely helps her to her car. The customer service is clear in every station at Publix but in slightly different ways. As I write my last note I walk out the automated doors marked exit enjoying my time at this field site.
Kerstin Sosa
ReplyDeleteENC 1101
Revised Field Notes Assignment
November 8, 2013
11:30 AM, Sunday, November 1, 2013
El Redentor Presbyterian Church, Oviedo Florida
Kids ages 4-12
Children’s Bible Study
They Run the Show
The seats are arranged into a circle with a child filling each one. I take a seat and scan the room, studying each of their little faces and quickly discovering the personalities each one of them possess. I can’t help but pick out my favorites after watching for a just a few minutes. The teacher stands in the center of the circle, asking questions and explaining the following activities. The children are asked to take part in an acting activity involving masks and the biblical story of Esther. To my surprise most of their hands flew up to participate. Once the children that were more shy saw the others having fun they felt comfortable enough to join. I wonder how long this game will last before they lose interest. When that game gets old the teacher falls back on other activities she had planned prior to class. This happens at least three times. It’s easy to tell when they get restless and I’m glad that the teacher is prepared.
Towards the end of the class the kids sit at tables and color pictures that pertain to the day’s lesson. The teacher leaves for a few minutes and the kids are left with the “helpers”, teenagers that use this as an excuse to get out of sitting through a boring church service. As soon as she’s gone it’s like a switch goes off. How do they know that these adolescents have no power over them? The noise in the room escalates, kids are out of their seats, and some even roll around the floor like maniacs. There are 16 kids, too many to control. I’m getting really annoyed right now and I wish the teacher would come back sooner. Finally the teacher returns, the church service ends, and parents come to retrieve their children.
Samantha Muller
ReplyDeleteENC 1101-0012
Revised Field Notes Assignment
November 8, 2013
3:15P.M., Monday, November 4, 2013
1010 Bunnell Rd, Altamonte Spgs, FL 32714
Crossfit Altamonte and Sports Preformace
Olympic Weightlifting Training
Training for the Olympics
As I walk up to the warehouse, I look at the bay doors I'm way to nervous to walk in. When I step inside the first thing that smacks me in the face is the smell of sweat. I great coach Danny Carmargo and he tells me to "grab a platform". As I grab a bar and begin to warm up and stretch I notice that I'm a little shaky. Coach walks up to me and says before I start he wants to introduce me to the team. Meeting some athletes that have trained at the Olympic Training Center is a little nerve wrecking, but they make me feel like part of the team. As I grab the chrome 15KG bar, it feels rough in my hands. I look around trying to find chalk, I find aluminum tubs in the middle of the floor and theres the chalk! As I chalk up, I feel the cool breeze blowing through the gym. As I lift I'm wondering if the other athletes are judging me. Coach fixes a few things on my technique, its amazing how light weight feels with proper movement. between my sets I sit down, I realize the colors of the walls are blue with a black line about 10 feet up. My guess is that the black line is for wall ball shots for the crossfitters. Music is blaring so loud that you cant even put your own head phones in, i think its pretty cool. I look over and see this girl warm up, i think to myself holy crap thats my max! with everything thats going on around me, as i walk up to the bar about to lift, everything goes blank and blurry, i cant hear the music or see anything around me. after im done with the lift i think to myself i wonder if this happened to other people? i look down at my shirt and i didnt notice how much i was sweating. as the team is lifting the other teammates are cheering each other on! I notice that all the weight is measured in KG. Im not used to that, it kind of annoys me. everything looks so used and worn. i look at the platform and i notice theres a little number 2 taped to the front. the platform is just a piece of plywood with rubber mats on either side to take the impact of the weight falling. i feel humbled to be around such great athletes. as i look across the room to where the crossfitters are working out i think to myself i really wish i could work out with them, but this is alot more fun. i see people doing pullups and pushups, some are running outside to do a run, others are stretching for the next class. the last set i did felt so light, i wish i could go up in weight. Coach has me on conditioning week. As im changing my shoes and getting ready to leave i feel the sweat bead off of my forehead. i fill up my shaker bottle with water so i can drink my protein. i go and say bye to all of the team, they are so nice. but i still wonder if they think im a horrible lifter. i say bye to coach, and he invites me to see the team compete in the state championships this weekend, I am overjoyed that i get to cheer on my new teammates. i told him that i cant wait and thank him for practice.
Edward Buckley
ReplyDeleteENC 1101
Revised Field Notes Assignment
November 3, 2013
9:00 am Sunday, November 2013
King St, Oviedo Fl, 32765
First United Methodist Church of Oviedo
Choir
It’s a big day
The choir is getting ready to perform for a homecoming service which is a big deal at our church. There is a certain pride in this service as it honors not only the people who return for this service including the much loved former preacher but it honors the people who died in the last year and have reached their home, heaven. The choir is focused much like a big game for NFL teams. It’s like if their rivals are coming to town and they cannot lose. Performing below their best standards is losing and the choir is showing this focus and determination.
It’s 9:00 when practice is scheduled to start and the choir is all there sitting patiently waiting to begin their pre-service rehearsal. They are all here on time, sitting silently but also reviewing their music to themselves. The focus is amazing to me. I look at each of their faces and I get the same feedback, nothing. No one is looking up at me, they are all concentrating on their music and at nothing else. Kara, the music director walks in and like robots they all gaze up at her instantly. Someone walks in right at this moment and the disgust on everyone’s face surprises me. I think “He’s only two minutes late, relax” but they are all giving death stares. I’m shocked at their strong feelings for punctuality. I start feeling sorry for the guy and then practice starts. Kara gives a pep talk that reminds me of a coach’s speech right before a big game. She’s so passionate it intrigues me, it’s not just a silly performance to them, and it’s much more than that. They are passionate and it shows. The choir sings and they start sounding shaky and then in a couple of measures they fall flat on their face. They perform in 90 minutes, this really shouldn’t be happening. The soloist, choir, accompanist and director are all on completely different pages. The confusion changes everyone’s facial expression from happiness to their facial expression to the latecomer. Steve the soloist, says follow me. Wow. That’s not how it is supposed to work, that’s like the quarterback telling the coach “shut up I got this”. I’m disturbed. The chain of authority has dramatically shifted and this isn’t how choirs work. However they run it again and it works so I guess no harm no foul. Interesting though would have been the reaction of everyone had it gotten worse.
They end practice and they gather in prayer. It’s like a post practice huddle. They all pray silently and then someone volunteers to pray for the whole group. Their spirituality and togetherness touches me and I can see that they think they are part of something bigger than themselves. The prayer finishes and they all walk off smiling and relaxed. I admire this group and silently wish them well on their big day.
Trevor Khan
ReplyDeleteENC 1101
Revised Field Notes Assignment
November 8, 2013
9:00 PM Tuesday November 5, 2013
410 N Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, FL, 32805
Parliament House Resort Orlando
Gay Clubs
Dead Of The Night
I pull into the parking lot at promptly 9:00 pm and the only sound that can be heard is that of the radio in the car. The parking lot is nearly empty with cars parked at each end of it. I park in the Valet area which is now open to the general public due to it's lack of club-goers. I am surprised to see that the outside balcony of the resort facing the parking lot is entirely empty as well, usually it holds people leaning on the railings and smoking or texting. There is a single security guard sitting at the valet desk and he plays "Candy Crush Saga" on his iPhone as I pass. I approach the club it's self and I'm disturbed by the lack of music. Typically, the music is so loud it can be heard in the farthest point of the parking area. Tonight is supposed to be "Hip Hop Tuesday" in the main dance room and also "Bearaoke" in the bear den bar. Tuesdays are also trivia nights, but that stretches from 5pm-9pm and I'd just missed it.
I enter the courtyard through the side entrance. I am surprised to see that the Halloween decorations are still all in place and haven't been altered in the slightest. The DJ stand in the courtyard is surprisingly empty along with the tables surrounding the dance room. I go into the main lobby. There is a single woman sitting behind the desk. The sign says that the cover charge is $5 but the woman simply gives me a wristband for free claiming that "there's nobody here, so we're not really charging people,".
From the main lobby I enter the "hip hop" room. This room is always hip hop themed and can't be confused with the dance room being used for "Hip Hop Tuesday". The room is empty except for the bartender. The entrance for the footlight theatre is open so I enter, but see that it too is empty.
I exit the hip hop room and proceed down the hallway into the "pop" room passing on the way the Rainbow Cafe. The Cafe is the first real sign of people. There are 10-15 men eating in a big group and a single woman who wipes down tables and serves their food. I proceed to ask if they were here for Trivia Tuesday. One man, Randy, tells me that they were not. He explains that they're hotel guests who are about to leave and head to a different nightclub, Pulse, downtown. He says that Pulse is doing a karaoke night and that their are much more people there.
I continue into the pop room and see that there are a few more people. There is one group of 3 in the VIP area who are laughing obnoxiously and presumably intoxicated. 5-10 more people sit around the bar in different areas, all by themselves just listening to their music and drinking. Surprisingly, there is only one bartender when they tend to have 3-4. I finally proceed into the dance room. I am disturbed when my ears aren't met by the much expected hip hop music of the night, but instead are met with silence. The room is entirely empty. There isn't even a bartender.
I stick around in the near-empty nightclub until around 11:30pm ( a time when they get their largest influx of people) but notice that nothing changes. I am fascinated by the ever-changing club scene and determined to note more of these demographic patterns in my future visits.
John Whittington
ReplyDeleteENC 1101
Revised Field Notes Assignment
November 4th, 2013
12:00P.M., Thursday, October 31, Halloween, 2013
Seminole County Animal Services
Adoption Center
Interviewing Staff
Treed in Allhallows Eve
I'm waiting in the truck a little apprehensive. I've never done this before. I have a shyness that many guys hate to admit. I have always been a withdrawn person, but have managed to overcome it enough to get this far. I have decided to do this today on Halloween, hoping to at least get some enjoyment. There's an imposing county jail right next to the animal shelter about 50 meters away and in front of me. All the tall barbed fences look imposing compared to the regular sized fences surrounding the shelter. It gives the whole area around an ominous sense. “This must be a terrible place to be an animal” I think to myself. I'm staring through the windows of the immense jail and shutter as I think of the malevolent tendencies residing within. Just being in this close proximity suggests the scarcity of human sympathy in this region. After all, the animal shelter really is the final stop for most cats and dogs. The reason so many animals end up here is because of the negligence of uncaring people. A sharp shard of reality pierces me. How many people here really give a shit about an animal's life? Having these thoughts in mind, I open the door and step out of the truck.
As I walk towards the shelter, I hear the barking of many dogs coming from behind the fences. “I'm sure those dogs must get pretty annoying to the staff.” As I get closer, I notice Halloween decorations adorning the fences. This place really does look like an animal jail, but at the same time welcoming to potential adopters. I look at a scarecrow, arms stretched out with a smile on its face. Deep inside I feel moved as I discern a desperate attempt to save animals' lives. Almost to the doors, I start to hope that the reception will even let me interview one of the staff.
As I walk inside I see several cages on display along the front wall with tired looking cats in them. I walk past them and toward the back where the reception is. There are three ladies on computers there. I greet them with a warm “Hello, how are you all doing?” One of them responds and asks me what she can do for me. After explaining my purpose here, she takes more of a defensive stance. After a few seconds she says it will be alright if I ask only a few questions. She directs me to a door outside leading to the adoption center. I feel relieved that I got permission, but I pretty much plan to ignore her request for briefness. I promptly make my way outside to the adoption center.
Outside again at the side of the building, I notice an empty cat trap cage. It looks like the animal control personnel use these to capture stray cats. There are two people dressed up in costume standing behind some stacks of hay. They greet me and I greet them back and smile, a little surprised they would go through the trouble. Following the signs, I turn to the left and go into the back door of the building I was just in. Down a hall I find pictures of cats and dogs on each side with their names and descriptions. I stop and look at a couple, noticing how cute and, within this context, sad their expressions look. I continue on and make it to another door decorated with skull and crossbones tape and leading outside.
Outside once again and within many of the fences, I see a separate building housing the adoption center. There are separate fenced spaces outside attached to the building for cats to walk around in with carpeted cat trees for them to climb on and flap doors leading into a room inside the building for each. The building has its double doors wide open. Inside are cages with a rabbit and two barking miniature dogs. I notice two sliding glass doors on both sides of the room each leading to the cat rooms filled with about twenty cats each. “Staff must be present in room with visitors” reads a sign on both doors. There's no one around right now and I haven't wrote out the questions I want to ask the staff yet, so I decide to sit outside on a bench next to the enclosed cat spaces.
ReplyDeleteAs I walk to the bench I look at the cats and watch as they stare at me with a friendly demeanor. Having owned a cat before really gives me a good insight into what their little nuanced behaviors imply about their attitude and I marked that they were nice and chipper to see me. Sitting down, I take a deep breath and try to relax. I lean back to stretch and notice how great the weather is as I strain my neck up towards the clear sky. It's about seventy degrees outside which feels exactly like room temperature. It's a really nice day for Halloween for sure. After a moment of complacency, I start to look around in search of random objects to stare at in order to stimulate my imagination. I notice a lizard laying on a small statue of a dog on the ground right beside me. I am astonished “Why isn't this lazy lizard running away?” A thought suggests that the people here are nicer than usual to animals and the lizard doesn't feel threatened. I actually savor that deduction. It makes a lot of sense and I feel good about it as a result. Out of the blue, one of the cats meows at me from behind the chain linked fence. A few seconds later a couple more decide to meow at me too.
After writing several questions, I walk over to the cats behind the fence. They are excited to see me approach and the closest ones start purring loudly while clawing at the cage to get my attention. They somehow definitely know I'm a cat person. I stick my fingers through the fence and scratch some of their heads to their delight. I feel bad for them and wish they would find a home. In the corner of my eye I notice a lizard scutter across the cement and stop near another outdoor cat enclosure about ten feet away. Some of the cats over there assume a crouch and intently lock on to it with its every move. The lizard stares warily at the cats, oblivious to their confinement, and insinuates with its jittery poise a surprised exclamation, “oh shit!”. I chuckle to myself and realize how fun it is watching the entertained cats react to the lizard. It's probably the only merriment they have all day. If those cats weren't caged, they would pounce after that lizard with remarkable agility. They are amazing hunters and, pound for pound, outstanding fighters.
Searching around for the staff, I finally find someone. A gal about my age, (though I was stupid enough not to write down her name) with a comely appearance and timid demeanor (I can spot an introvert from a mile away). Contrary to what I suspected, she doesn't seem troubled by me asking for an interview. Instead, her curiosity is piqued. She tells me to wait for her in the cat room within the sliding glass doors. I go there, sit, and start waiting. Needless to say, the cats are essentially climbing all over me to get my attention. After a few minutes she comes in through the doors.
ReplyDeleteAfter several seconds of awkward silence, as what happens when two lone wolves meet, I try to break up the ice. “These cats are really cute.” “Yes they are” she responds. We both are smiling and petting the cats. I try to think of something else to say, but from the fear of just saying something retarded, I opt to just get down to business. “So..., how many cats and dogs are there here?” It turns out there are four-hundred cats and dogs in total. Only 15 to 20 dogs and 5 to 10 cats get adopted weekly with much more coming in. Today being Halloween, I thought of asking her the chances of black cats getting adopted. “They are very rarely adopted.” She says. “There was a lady here just last week looking to adopt a cat and wouldn't because we only had black ones. She told me she didn't want to bring bad luck into her home.” I am pretty surprised people still believe that. Moving on, I ask her where they get the cats. “Most come in as strays.” “Feral cats are looked at before they are put up for adoption, but most are put down.” They get lots of kittens born in “cat season” which occurs 2 times a year. Most go to foster homes if they have the room. She also explains that unlike most shelters, this place has no time frame for adoption. The cats here have an unlimited amount of time they can stay. However, if the place gets too full, they begin putting them down starting with the aggressive ones to make room. I ask about fights, “They rarely happen. It used to be a lot worse when they were in cages.” They now separate the males from females, hence the two cat rooms with sliding glass doors. Giving me something to look forward to for my next visit, she tells me that there are events held here often and sometimes they even get around 100 people to come. “National cat day is gunna be huge next year. Our director is integrating it into our event schedule.” Having asked her most of the questions, I politely wrap up the interview and thank her. “I hope you do well on your assignment” she tells me.
I feel like I've made a lot of progress with my first visit and am excited to come back. It is shocking how many animals lose their lives at this place, but it is also very surprising how much effort is put into saving them. I'm thinking of going to one of the events held here on my next visit in order to take more extensive notes. I also feel very strongly about, eventually, adopting another cat myself. We'll see.
Austin Kaercher
ReplyDeleteENC 1101
Revised Field Notes Assignment
November 8, 2013
7:00 pm Friday, November 8th
1251 E Broadway
Oviedo Babe Ruth
Baseball Fields
On a chilly Friday night i pull into a parking lot and park my blue mustang. I go into my backpack and grab a pen and note book for my second field sight visit. As i open my door and start to get out i hear a distant "ping" from a player hitting a ball right in the sweet spot of the bat. That sound is one of my favorite sounds in the whole world. When i get out of my car i start walking to the nearest field which was field D2. This is one of the prep fields that is 300ft to the center field fence. As i got closer and closer to the field i asked myself, " i used to play on this field?" This field seemed a lot smaller than i remember. Probably because after that i played baseball for Oviedo High and the field is much bigger. As i look around for somewhere to sit i see a bench right behind home plate is open so i go and sit down. I watch the players as they do they're pre game stretches and i think to myself wow these are pretty much the same stretches i always did. The pitchers mound that i used to pitch from is still the same sorry excuse of a mound as it was when i pitched from it. Small and very sandy to where your feet can slide around. The grass didn't seem as well maintained as it once was. There was many patchy spots around the field and also brown grass. As i sat there for fifteen minutes i realized the game should have started a while ago. The umpires have yet to show up to umpire the game. As a former player i knew how the kids were feeling, its always not fun when you cant play because two adults couldn't show up like they were supposed to. After that i decided to walk up to another field. The walkway into the main part of fields was still exactly the same as it once was. I began to hear one of the most annoying noises i have ever heard in my life. I noticed it was coming from all the lights in the complex. It was a very very loud buzzing noise. As i found my seat to observe a minor game i was impressed with the pitcher that was pitching, he was only about eight or nine but he was pitching really well and throwing many strikes. A lot of the players had they're pants rolled up to they're knees. This seemed more common with the younger players more so than the older players. As the sixth and final inning finished up i got up and started walking to my car. I was pleased with the community i chose and am looking forward to the next time i go.
Anika Glick
ReplyDeleteENC 1101
Field Notes - Blog Assignment
November 6, 2013
10:30 am Sunday, November 3, 2013
141 River Run PT, Chuluota, FL 32766
Morning Church Service
Good Morning
10:30 in the morning is too early for me to start conversing with people, but for church I must pull through. My family and I just pulled into the church parking lot and I can already tell that it’s really busy. The 5 lots that surround the church are taken up. I can also tell because we are being directed by traffic guards into a specific lot. We pull into the grassy areas which the church made into a parking lot and park. I’m so nervous to go in my stomach is filled with butterflies; I still don’t know anyone yet.
Walking in the entrance of the church everyone welcomes me and my family, they hand out there hand so I can shake it. I feel so awkward greeting them and shaking their hand. For now, I’ll just stay with my mom until S.T.O.M.P (Serving The One Most Powerful) starts; try and save myself from embarrassment.
It’s now 11 AM and I’m noticing all the teenagers go into one of the back rooms. I hear someone say my name; I turn around to see who it is and it’s my friend from physics. I ask her where the teen service is being held and she tells me it’s in the back room. We walk into the room right when the music is about to start. I think the band is amazing; they are very passionate about the songs they sing. Once they finish their 3 songs the youth pastor, and to my surprise he is also the drummer of the band, stands in the front. He is very animated and loud it’s awesome. He keeps everyone interested in his teachings about the trinity. I’m studying the room carefully now, it’s a decent sixe but I think the room for the teens can be bigger. Rows of seats take up most of the space in the room, and almost all the seats are taken up of kids. On the walls there are paintings that are incredible. On one of them it is of Jesus’ eyes and the other is painted part of a brick wall. Service ended and some of the teens help pass out communion and the band plays the last song. S.T.O.M.P got out earlier than the adult service so now I have to wait. It is so loud and hectic in the lobby, makes sense since theirs kids and teenagers everywhere.
Finally, the adult service is out and it’s 12:15. All the parents begin to pick up their kids and leave. I found my family and we leave as well.
Kim Conrey
ReplyDeleteENC 1101
Field notes-Blog Assignment
"Nite of Laughs"
6;45 Tuesday night Nov, 5, 2013
My friend Jason and I are on our way to SAK Comedy Club Downtown Orlando. The show titled Duel of Fools starts at 7:30. We show up and park, it is now 7:15 and we walk up to the door. The inside is old and has dark blue carpet. We stop at the front desk to pay for the tickets which surprisingly is only 12 dollars per person. We continue to walk inside and up two flights of stairs the inside is cold and is filled with the smell of popcorn. At the top of the stairs we notice there is a food stand, which at this time the smell as made both of us crave popcorn, so we stop to purchase a diet coke and some popcorn. we pay and proceed to enter the therater. I notice the room is dark with red chairs not like movie therater chairs, but classroom chairs. The chairs are in rows and the stage in front as a pulldown screen that is playing fun facts about the SAK Comedy Club, and some history of who got their start there. Actors such as: Ron Weaver, Kevin Mcdonld, Wayan Brady in 1991.
I sit down and look around I see a therater filled with mostly young people and a few older people. Their is large group of people together it looks like a family. Later I learned it was an old couple celebrating there 50th wedding anniversary, and they had their family there with them. There was their childeren and grandchildren. I thought it was so cute, and was thinking how great that would be to be married that long and still in love.
Finally the lights go down and the screen goes up. There is music playing, and the song is whip it an old 80's tune. This young guy gets on stage he is in his mid 20's. He is clearly the host his name is Adam. Adam introduces the improve actors ther are six of them and through out the show they will be put into groups of three to compete for the funnest group. Adam passes out number cards to the audience. The numbers are one-five and during the show after each skit we had to hold up one of the numbers, one being the worst and five being the best.
I was surprised that the audience had to participate through out the show. I found it fun to be involved. I was also very intrigued that these actors could just come up with lines of the top of their heads it was amazing! How ever, I was very disturbed and uncomfortable meeting the manager and trying to explan to her what I was doing there. She was nice but kind of caught off guard with my aproach. I gave her the consent form and told her to call my teacher if she wanted to verify my reason for approaching her.
The show had three skits the first one was called next line. The actors had to start with a word and the other actor had to come up with the next word and when they messed up or got out of the flow they had to switch to the next two actors. That one was my favorite. The second one was they had to act out Arnold Schwazenegger shooting the other actor and then come up with a off the wall line choose by the crowd. and the third one was called emotional roller coster, this one was they took suggestion of feelings from the crowd and then they took those feelings and acted like they where answering the door with chritmas carolers singing and the other actor would call out different emotions and they had to act them out now that was really funny.
The show was an hour and a half long and when it was over the actors waited outside the door to say by to the crowd. I was going to interview them but was not comfortable asking. I had some fun but could not really enjoy myself due to trying to take notes, which was difficult because the lights kept going off with every skit. overall loved it and can't wait to go back but however I don't believe the manager is going to let me in free so I will have to pay everytime which Im not looking forward to.
Shannon McNamara
ReplyDeleteENC 1101
Professor Longhany
Revised Field Notes Assignment
November 8, 2013
3:00P.M., Wednesday, October 31, 2013
St. Luke’s Lutheran Preschool
Three, Four, and Five Year Olds
Observing children as they interact in classroom settings
What is Stranger Danger?
Notes on Preschoolers and How They Interact
I'm sitting in a classroom which is colorful and full of happy children. There seems to be sections throughout the room where the kids can play. I am noticing a section where they can build with blocks, an area where they are making a craft, and a separate area where there are a lot of Legos for the kids to play with. As I look around this room I see a lot of art on the walls and names labeling who's art is who's. Not only is the art labeled, but everything else on the wall is labeled as well. The kids all interact with each other and I see a creative little boy to my right launching cars into a wall after he has made some type of contraption with the building blocks to form a ramp. I can see that four year olds find amusement in a lot of things that as an older person's point of view, we would not find fun for any more than a minute. As I'm sitting here doing my observations, a little girl walks up to me and holds up a paper covered in glue and orange and yellow scraps of paper. She proclaims, "Look what I just made!!", having no realization that she is talking to a complete stranger. I am observing on Halloween so I realize that the piece of artwork on the paper must represent a candy corn. As I'm sitting here observing other little kids come up and ask me what I am doing. I can see that a four or a five year old does not seem to realize what the stranger danger idea is yet.
I move outside to a playground to observe a different group of children, which I am told is the age group of threes. I can definitely observe that is hot outside and that I do not want to be out here for too long. As I look around the playground I can see four little kids swinging on the swing set and other little kids chasing each other around. I see a little boy in red chasing a little girl in red. Suddenly a little blonde girl comes up to the table I am sitting at starts to play with my keys. She tells me she likes my keys and then proceeds to ask me where I live. Her little friend comes up and sits next to me as well, also interested in random facts about me. I see that even though this is a group of three year olds, they do not understand stranger danger as well.
I went to observe another classroom with fours and fives in it to find them playing the game of hot potato. The kids are polite and listen attentively when the teacher explains the instructions. It is obvious that they have played this game before, and they even recognize some of the songs being played. I look around the room as the children play the game to see that it is very similar to the other classroom, consisting of the kids scribbles on the walls and almost everything seems to be labeled. I wonder to myself if the labels help the children understand things more. I have yet another little girl ask me what I am doing there and I can see that at the young ages of three, four, or five, little kids do not seem to understand the rule of “Do not talk to strangers.”
Narado Gaskins
ReplyDeleteENC 1101
Professor Longhany
Revised Field Notes
Moments Of Solitude
The feeling of entering a prison is one that most people haven't experienced, I wasn't aware of that feeling until November,01,2013 at 7:00 AM I walked into the gate and immediately observe a tower about 100 ft in the air and a guard with both an Ar-15 and a shotgun is relaxing and says hi. I get searched and stripped of my possessions once I clear the metal detector, and go through a section that is used to receive and transport inmates. The officer around is a seasoned guard, no younger than 50 years old and explains that during visitation days, this place is filled with visitors, and families of inmates and that it can be extremely loud and hectic in there.I see some young inmates at a distance who were cleaning the restroom and I felt disappointed because they had to be no more than 20 years old and I was told they each had double digit sentences, I didn't stay long because certain policies restricted me from such, but im excited for my next visit
Jannely Torres
ReplyDeleteENC 1101-442
Revised field notes assignment
November 9, 2013
2:25 P.M., Saturday, November, 9, 2013
Taco Bell
A peaceful environment
Taco bell- " Live mas, and quieter too"
You know, many people think that an average restaurant is loud, unsanitary, and just 'Ughh'. I kind of thought that too, until I came across this place. The Taco bell on Colonial Dr. and Alafaya Rd. Geez, I thought, the many times I have been here and I never noticed the one thing that everyone seems to suspect out of low cost restaurants, as some may put it. IT. WAS. QUIET. Okay, let me begin with my story. So, as I walked into Taco Bell, I was immediately looking around for a place to sit with my mom whom was with me on the job. Looking around, I saw the perfect little wooden table with metal chairs that I noticed had the bell logo on it, next to the trash cans, and said, " Okay were sitting there". So me and my mom began walking toward the table and what I noticed were eyes staring at the both of us. As soon as we sit down, I begin pulling my pen and paper out, getting ready to write this very paper that your reading. Looking up from writing, I saw right in front of me a teenage boy sitting by himself at a table. He was blond haired and blue eyed, wearing a black cap, a black shirt, and black shoes. The only thing that seemed to pop out of him were the rasta colored laces on his shoes. Okay, I'm not a stalker or anything, but, I was staring at him for a good few minutes, just watching him eat. What I got from this? He eat about two beef layer burritos. I saw that he was really hungry. But want to know what I really noticed from watching just one person eat? He was quiet, not saying a word. Now I'm sitting down and writing down everything I just wrote at the beginning of this story, when the teenage boy gets up from out of his chair and leaves. Not a word came out of him after he chowed down on some heavy meat. I figured he might not want to after his meal. I wouldn't. Next, I'm looking around the restaurant, trying to find something interesting to look at, or that at least catches my eye. Well, I noticed the paint on the walls were three different colors, Red, Yellow, and Green, the whole restaurant had just three paintings on the walls, which I thought were pretty cool since there was this monster with a gas meter in its chest that indicated hunger or full.
So me and my mom ordered some food and after a while, one thing came to mind. The restaurant was so quiet, that the only noise that there was in that place was the music playing on the speakers. EVERYBODY WAS QUIET. Lady Gaga was on, Nicki Minaj was on, Katy Perry was on, and others I'm pretty sure no body has ever heard of came on, but there was still a silence. Me and my and my mom had just finished our meal after spending 30 minutes in Taco bell, and the only thing I noticed were paintings on the wall, different colored walls, and less people at the restaurant. After leaving the restaurant, the silence was still there, but someone broke it with a " Have a good day".
Nicolette England
ReplyDeleteENC 1101
Field Notes- Blog Assignment
Recreation and Wellness
As I pulled into UCF at around 9 am, the recreation and wellness center was already packed with eager young adults. I get out of my car and walk over to the building and chose a place to sit on the steps outside. I began to think of what I should observe but quickly realized that I was wasting time thinking and just began to observe everything that I saw. At first i was bored but then I got past the basics of looking around and observing paint colors or things like the plants and got into my favorite thing to do, people watch. Most people that walked in were fairly in shape as to be expected while others lacked an interest in their general health. A couple of students would put out their cigarettes as they walked into the gym. I think to myself, "you cant be too concerned about your well being!" I guess people don't always work out to be healthy, they just want to look good. This idea put the thought into my head that the gym must be a very vain area. Next time i go here I will look more in depth to the vanity taking place in this area of the school. I looked up just to relieve my brain of all this thinking and witnessed a girl face planting up the stairs. This wasnt the first time this had happened today, but it sure was the worst. I held back my laughter as she looked around to see who had seen that horrific fall. Soon, she walked back down the stairs and left in what seemed like utter embarrassment. Looking down at my phone i realized i had been here for over an hour. I put my laptop away and began towards my car. Next time I come to observe, i will try to get inside the gym and look into the vain environment i expect this gym to exhibit.