My summer job!!!

This is my blog to let everyone know what I am doing on a daily basis...so that I don't have to use all my phone minutes considering I am in a different time zone.

My internship started two Monday's ago, June 4, 2007. I moved into an apartment in a neighboring town, Charleston, IL, with the three other interns this summer. If you didn't know, I am working at Christensen Farms, a large hog operation. To quickly wrap up last week, Monday we were ortiented to the ways of the farm and what we would be doing. Tuesday was our first day in our specific barns. It's been interesting by having to shower in and shower out when going in and out of the barns. Also, my day starts at 5:30 a.m. That's right bright and early, but we are done about 2:30 each afternoon.

Wednesday thru Friday the girls and I were given a company vehicle to take to Iowa for the World Pork Expo. There we meet up with the Minnisota interns. It was a fun week of being spoiled by a great company. It was so much fun getting to know the girls in our 61/2 hours of bonding driving time, and also to get to know the other people involved in the compay. (We even got to meet the owner and CEO Bob Christensen himself, too cool.)

This past Monday got started when we met up with Tim Hockenberry. He is in charge of sow units. He took us to the nearby Mulitpliers. This is basically the same as our own breed to wean units that we work in, but they deal with the different breed lines and basically it is way more complicated.

We did this on Monday and Tuesday, and boy did I learn a lot on those days. I got to sleave a gilt, totally cool, do ultrasound on sows and gilts, and tons of other fun things.

On Wednesday we returned to our normal barns. We are starting to get a routine to things. We are given specific tasks to accomplish during the day, and then a few others along the way. I finally broke down and was able to give shots on Wednesday, all by myself. I cannot lie, I am proud.

Thursday we got the rude awakening and got to shower in pond water. That is what happens when the city water is cut off. Then I got into one of the rooms I have been feeding to find out that a strong sow broke the bolts off of her crate, and in the process broke the water line to her waterer. It was a normal day, for the most part, and tomorrow back to business.

I must rest up tonight because my aching body is telling me it can take no more. He, he.

Snapshot profile of a mail carrier

At 7:15 each morning, Nancy Workman can be found preparing the mail she is to deliver later on in the day.

After about three hours of sorting, Workman begins the infamous portion of her job, hand-delivering the mail to each and every house in her walking rout of approximately 23 square miles, which amounts to about 12 miles logged each day.

“I love meeting people on my route and getting to know them,” she said.

Her compassion for the homes and people on her route proved true when Workman once helped notify officials after she noticed the mail piling up outside one of the homes.

“I didn’t want to overreact,” she said. “But then I noticed the front door of his house. His screen was covered with flies. I went next door and asked the man’s neighbors to call the police. The police discovered that the middle-aged man had died of a heart attack several days ago.”

Events like that do cause an ill effect among anyone, but Workman still continues on her route, walking along from home to home.

Not only are the people and relationships important to Walkman, but so is the walking.

“Most letter carriers prefer driving routes, but driving just never appealed to me,” she said. “Walking is tremendous medicine, as it’s a great time for reflection.”

Through rain, or snow, no matter what lays ahead, Workman still will trod and be diligent about making sure her job is completed, and done so with a smile on her face.

Each day before coming, Workman watches the weather forecast so she knows what to expect while on her daily journey.

“Once you’re out there, you have no shelter,” said Workman. “There’s no place you can hide.”

Even though Workman loves the outdoors and the freedom she feels, other hazards cross her path every now and then that slightly infringe upon her passion.

“Dog poop can really ruin your day,” she said.

Not only can the remnants of these creatures, but they themselves, put a damper on the mail delivery. For this reason Workman keeps a can of dog mace in her dusty blue mailbag, just in case.

No matter what pitfalls come from being a mail carrier, they are not enough to stop Workman, ever.

“I really do love this job,” she said. “I plan to keep delivering the mail until I can’t walk anymore.”

Good idea

Here is an article that I found about a surprize wedding by a bride for her groom. You can read about it at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/fashion/weddings/22vows.html?_r=1&ref=style&oref=slogin.

I thought this article had an interesting title and it seemed like it would be a cute story. It was only partly interesting. The story behind it all was good, but the way the writer presented it was long and choppy. Even though the headline made you believe that this would be about a surprize wedding for a groom by the bride, it took until the very end of the article to get that across.

The article did do a good job at being a feature story. It was filled with lots of little details, but the details were not really connected to each other, and almost went too in depth.

It was a good story, but like o.k. movies, I wouldn't ever have to read it again.

Prince William out of love

Enjoy this little story about how Prince William and his girlfriend recently ended their relationship. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PEOPLE_PRINCE_WILLIAM?SITE=ININS&SECTION=ENTERTAINMENT.

This is a cute article about Prince William and his girlfriend Kate Middleton broke up. According to the article the news was on the front page of their local news, but here in the U.S. it is just a light hearted article. The writer does a good job at keeping the article light. He didn't end a marriage, he didn't propose, they simply broke up. Big deal, it happens every day, just not to these people.

The writer ended it in a very neat way with a 13-year-old girl saying that now she hopes to marry the prince someday. It is a cute way to end the article, bucause I think that just about every girl thinks that way.

Museum gift shops a blast!

Here is a cool article about gift shops at museums, check it out at http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070408/ENTERTAINMENT/704080326/1005/ENTERTAINMENT&GID=U2j1A4ZOOySFqfIfJzohrBaVWpWcPTziML4g85J8xjw%3D.

This is a very well written story, and I really don't have anything to critique about it. The article is a features story and it starts off with a good narrative lead. Then the nut graf comes in right after, and that truely is what the whole story is about, no straying. The article is a national topic, but the writer does a good job at localizing the story with local muesum workers.

Even though it is a features story, it could also fall into the category of business, because in the middle of the story it talks about the museum gift shop being a "business".

They put a rebuttal in towards the end, but do a good job of backing up their stance.

The sidebar is also full of valuable information that includes basic information of the local museums.

Finally, they seal the deal with a great ending quote.

All in all, this writer wrote a good information filled article, and it kept my attention the whole time.

"Blades of Glory" tops box office in first weekend

I found an article in the Indy Star about a movie I went to see this weekend "Blades of Glory". You can see the article at http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070402/ENTERTAINMENT03/704020348/1005/ENTERTAINMENT.

This article starts off well by giving us a little bit of background that relates to the types of movies that Will Farrell tends to make, and then goes in to how it topped the box office in its opening weekend. It was a good start. Since it is a feature story, it doesn't need to start with a hard lead, and it doesn't.

The problem is that the headline is very misleading. It leads you to believe that it is going to talk about the movie, but what it really talks about is the various moives that are out and how they are fairing. Not only that, but there are no real good transitions when the writer switches between these movies; which made it very difficult to read.

This movie may have topped the box office, but this story didn't.

Religious articles in the Indianapolis Star

Wednesday, March 21, 2007
- Section A, page 2: prayer of the day
- Wednesday Extra Taste Section, page 12: Billy Graham “My Answer”
Thursday, March 22, 2007
- Section A, page 2: prayer of the day
- Section A, page 15: editorial by Angelique Walker-Smith “Many possibilities in season of new hope
- Section B, page 4: story on the bishop of a church who recently passed away
- Section E, page 2: Billy Graham “My Answer”
Friday, March 23, 2007
- Section A, page 2: prayer of the day
- Section A, page 14: AP “Court clears French paper that printed Muhammad caricatures”
- Leisure Section, page 31: Billy Graham “My Answer”
Saturday, March 24, 2007
- Indystar.com, Faith and Values: Robert King “Ministering to the World”
Monday, March 26, 2007
- Section A, page 2: prayer of the day
- Section B, page 1: Just 1 Minute / All about Easter
- Section E, page 2: Billy Graham “My Answer”
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
- Section B, online: Bill Ruthhart “Same-sex marriage opponents rally”
- Section A, page 2: prayer of the day
- Couldn’t find the “My Answer” section online
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
- Section A, page 2, prayer of the day
- Section A, page 2, “Women’s History Month” quick read about Indiana’s first saint
- Wednesday Extra Taste Section, page 12: Billy Graham “My Answer”

**NOTE: every single paper, in a lot of the sections, had some sort of article about same-sex marriages. It is political and religious.