Anndrea

May 22 2009

Journal #4 : LASTDAAAAY : Friday was hectic, as I would imagine it usually is. We got our spiders, and sold some of the new puppies, it was a good end of the week. The Goliath is as amazing even better than I thought it would be. Except I feel soooo bad for them because they are just so cooped up in tiny little terrariums with nothing to do all day, so I pray they sell soon and not later, even though some are quite expensive. They range from 30$ to 300$, but it seems a lot of collectors come into the store. Everyone has been so nice, and they're real cool about me being there, I like it. They were really nice saying goodbye, especially Kelly, I like her to most no doubt, not to pick over anyone, we've just had such a fun time together laughing about everything and we make stupid jokes all the times. Well this job is over, and as sad as I am, I'm kinda happy because it was a little boring. But I ended up leanring cash last minute and pricing which was cool. Anywho if I think to add anything else I guess I will. byeeee.

May 20 2009

Journal #3 : MIDLASTWEEK : I got sick Monday a flu I believe it could've been, not sure. Missed work Tuesday, sucked I felt so gross. Came back for Wednesday, and I can't say much else about what I've been doing. The job is quite routine, my feet have gone almost numb by about 1:30 from standing since I have no insoles, not fun at all, but at least I change into flip flops as soon as I leave, it helps a lot. We got some new dogs in, cutest ever. I haven't handled any of them because I only work on the side, and if you handle the side dogs you can't handle the center dogs, kinda lame, but for safety reasons. We're supposed to be getting some spiders in at the end of the week, but I'm not sure if we will. Hopefully since Tom said he ordered a Goliath, a.k.a a bird eating tarantula, how amazing, only seen a dead one in a frame, wow. I guess we'll have to see. Uhmmm, yeah that's about as much as happened : )

May 15 2009

Journal #2 : ENDOFTHEWEEK : This week has been long. Not all the days have been slow, only mainly Tuesday. It seems that under different supervisors the day go slower, can't explain it. I missed work on wednesday because I injured my shoulder and knew I couldn't work. The job is fun, I meet some funny people and hear some good stories about their pets. Selling the puppies is hardest. I don't know everything but I try to stay with other co workers so that I learn more stuff and can asnswer questions easier. I like the job but sometimes it gets tiring, I just wanna sleep and change my shoes constantly. I have eaten in the food court everyday which is weird for me since I don't eat mall food or out alot. But I try and eat the most normal food, like curry and rice. I've met more people and they're all really cool and they're a lot of fun to work with which makes everything a bit better. I think i'm gonna buy an aqua frog for my fish tank since I haven't seen them anywhere else and they're sooo much fun, I love them. But that's about all that has happened this weeek. ohkaaay, bye.

May 11 2009

Journal #1 : nooooteeeeee : i apologize that this is so late, i know they should've been in at 10 but when i tried signing in earlier it would not load, it kept saying i lost the connection, and i tried my desktop and laptop, so if i get docked marks, i'll accept that.

FIRSTSHIFT: Arrived half hour early so I had breakfast at A&W, made me feel a bit sick, but I was soo full. So I walked to work in the mall (which is waaaay at the back) and since the gate was closed I knocked and no one came so I realized it was unlocked so I went it. I was met by one of the dog caretakers (Sokura) and she thought I was a customer and I had to explain to her why I was there. The supervisor Kelly is amazing, she's so cute, and so friendly. I started by cleaning hamster, ferret, and gerbil cages. I then moved on and got to spritz the tarantulas they have (MOST AMAZING TARANTULAS I'VE EVER SEEN IN A PET STORE), Kelly hates them, but I obviously had no problem. I then spent 3 hours cleaning beta jars, since they are all individually tanked. My boss claims dead fish as "casualties", great wording I belive. I went on my break after that since it was 1 o'clock. I came back to meet William attempting to save his precious "lathargic party fish", not exactly sure, but he's great non the less. I then spent an hour cleaning filters of all the tanks since they know I'm a fan of fish. After that there really wasn't much to do since all the cleaning is done in the morning, laundry and all. I feel really bad standing around, but Kelly says theres no way to prevent it sometimes. I then played with a puppy who has been there 3 months and sadlt hasn't found a home, we call him Welshie, he's soooo cute, I would buy him if I didnt already have a cat. My day sort of started winding down after that. Met another worker, Lena, I like her too, they're all soo nice, it's awesome. I then got the opportunity to feed the tarantulas (<3333333) since the women who usually does had to call in sick, it was greeeaaaaat (youtbe "camel spider" and you'll see those monsters that aren't actually spiders, but I'll love them no matter what they are or aren't). So then I had to switch the puppy in the window so the other could sleep. After I cleaned about 3 more fish tanks, and fed them all for the second time. And then that was the end of the day. Ohkaaaay. Night.

March 12 : At my workplace when you do one thing, you usually do everything else. You learn cash (which I didn't since I'm only there 2 weeks). You feed the bugs and can do database work. I think since I'm a volunteer I've been able to do everything. But if there is no one in the museum then the only thing to usually do is database, which includes entering schools from all over the country or ones that have been in the lab in case they return, and creating labels because they send out many, many mail orders. There is a job doing On-The-Road Tours, which is where someone goes to a class and teaches them about different bugs and does crafts with the younger kids, there is only one girl that does that though. All the jobs are good and I have enojoyed being able to do all of them.
 * What types of jobs exist at your workplace?**

At my workplace the owner Jennifer has a degree in entomology and many other schooling to do with being a bug scientist. But to work there you need to have a good interest in being able to care for the bugs and know how to take proper care of them, and keep them in a suitable environment to keep them living.
 * What education is needed for specific jobs at the workplace?**

A great positive experience I had was on my first day. It was a wednesday so it's usually quiet during weekdays. 2 women came in with 2 young boys, Owen and Fisher, and a little girl Emma. I'm not sure where exactly they were from, but I'm pretty sure they knew their way around New Westminster. While looking around the 2 Mum's were also very interested by the bugs. The little girl, who couldn't have been older than 2 kept wanting to be picked up to see the bugs and not that her Mum wasn't paying attention to her, she just seemed to keep coming back to me when she would be put down, and always wanted me to pick her up. At first I was a bit hasty since it's a strangers child and I wasn't sure how she would react, but she was fine with it, and the little girl was quite happy with me, and her Mum seemed to think it was a cute bond her daughter had created. It was one of the best expiences I've had so far, not to mention it was my first day.
 * Describe one positive experience you had with a customer.**

Everyday is really a positive experience at work. I get along really well with my Manager and we talk about anything. She is only 25 so she is still pretty young and gets mistaken for a high school student so she talks to me about that. I enjoy it a lot. The owner has another job so I have only had the chance to work with her twice, and the On-The-Road representative Holly is never at the museum. Jayme works full time so we are together all the time. She has let me do things I know I may not have been first chosen to do by the owner because you have to have some better knowledge than I do, so I think that we have fun doing everything like that.
 * Describe one positive experience you had with a member of the workplace.**

March 13 : I was allowed to feed the predatory bugs yesterday and today again. I had to catch the crckets out of our tank, and feed them. It was really cool and pretty thrilling to watch the bugs that ate right away.
 * Describe something you experienced that was totally unexpected.**

I love my job. It's one of the most interesting things I could do. I have so much to do all the time and there is definitely never a dull moment there. I get to do everything a normal employee would do and I'm really thankful.
 * Describe how you feel about this type of work as you near the end of your work experience.**

Some similarities between going to school and work is the getting up early part and having to learn and pay close attention to details. A difference is that at work you are in a formal environment but at school you can dress in sweat pants and pretty much whatever you want, your teachers aren't going to much care, but at work, you're in front of strangers all day and need to make a good impression.
 * Describe some similarities and differences between working and going to school.**

"Someone hasn't used this vaccum in a while..." said by my manager Jayme when trying to disassemble the portable vaccum we have so she could clean the couch, and then a second later when she got it open it exploded with dust and we laughed for probably 10 minutes straight and it was a great experience, real feel good moment.
 * Describe one thing that someone at the workplace said or did that will be forever engraved in your memory.**