Link to my instagram!

http://instagram.com/abstractnature

Day 13

Today I got called into work to cover someones shift. It was a pretty relaxing day, I helped open again. All we do for that is clean and test the rides. Then I grouped a lot (loading people onto the ride), which is actually pretty tricky trying to make sure everyone is following the rules and meets all the requirements. Today I got sassed by an 11 year old girl who was mad when I said she wasn't old enough to ride with her baby brother. I also had to ask two ladies to take off their sweaters on the spinny ride because its a safety precaution. They both got really mad and refused to take them off, so I had to tell them they had to leave the ride if they wouldn't listen to me. It's really uncomfortable having to argue with adults. I also had to stop a ride in the middle of its course because 3 women wouldn't put their phones away after I asked them over the PA system multiple times. Today was stressful with making people follow the rules, and its weird being the one who has authority over adults, but it's also a pretty cool feeling.

Day 12

Today I spent going around town comparing prices for printing on canvas, then when I got home I tried to go through pictures, edit some, and pick which ones I'd like to print. I may or may not decide to use blank canvas and paint one of my images instead of printing it. It said online that the shipping of printed canvas could take some time, so I don't know if id get it in time for exhibition. In that case I would paint one of my pictures. I think I'm going to head to SeaWorld another time this week for another photography session! I love all the animals there, I wish it was easier to take pictures there though. It's hard because of the glass.

Day 11

Today was my second day of work all by myself, the second day of labor day weekend. Yet another 8 hour shift.. fun... It was pretty much the same as yesterday, except I didn't open and had a later shift. I made friends with a lot of my coworkers. They all seem to really like me! Theres Megan, Mari, De' Shane, Teyshauna, Jill, and Esmerelda. I found out that they scheduled me to work the night of prom, and when I tried to switch they told me that the best they could do was give me an earlier shift. So next weekend on saturday I have to work before prom and get ready afterwards which is going to be hard. Today I did have a chance to work on my people skills. I had to make a guy leave a ride because he was so overweight he wouldn't fit. Then I had to ask a lady if she was pregnant and tell her she couldn't ride. I actually had to kick a lot of people off of the rides today which was pretty hard. A lot of the parents don't take me seriously because I look so young to them. Everything turned out fine though, sometimes you just have to learn deal with difficult people.

Day 10

Today I had my very first day of work all by myself. It was pretty nerve racking at first, but then I got over it. Since it was labor day weekend it was a lot harder than normal, but it at least gave me a taste of what summer will be like. I had to work an 8 hour shift, as well as operate the rides by myself. I made friends with one of my bosses, her name is Megan and she's not that much older than I am. I got to work at 7:30 am and had to help set up and test the rides before SeaWorld opened. Once it opened, I operated the hardest ride, Abby's, by myself. I feel myself growing more mature as I work there alone. Its hard having to talk to adults, especially when they get angry at you. After working Abby's I worked the other two rides until I had to go home.

Day 9

Today I realized I could take better pictures on my iPhone than I could with my dads camera.. With my new iPhone lenses! I have a macro, wide, and fisheye. Macro is my favorite. I went out and took tons of nature-ish pictures with my macro lens, edited them, then made a new Instagram to show my favorites on. I decided an Instagram would get more views than just a normal blog. My first follower was a nature photographer with 31k followers! It made me feel really good :) my Instagram is called abstractnature

Day 8

Today has been a photography day, I walked around the neighborhood and practiced some photography techniques. I used my dads camera, some sort of Cannon. It's nice but kind of old.. Really makes me wish I had a new one with cool lenses. Once I got home I did a lot of photo editing and research on where to buy my canvas and how to stretch it onto the frames I made.

Day 7

Today I got called in to work, but nothing really made it a special day. It was a last minute call so it was a big struggle to get there. I'm glad I'm starting to feel comfortable there. It's getting me super excited for summer!

Day 6

Today I had my 3rd day of training at work. This whole week I have been complaining about how much I hate my job, but today really changed things around for me! At first I operated one of the rides for about 20 minutes, then I got sent to leadership to talk about all the rules again. Afterwards, I took THE test. The test that makes it so I am certified to actually operate the rides alone. After much studying, I passed it with a score of 100%! Leadership came up to me after I took my test and said that not only am I the youngest ride operator hired there right now, but I am the most confident new employee that they have ever seen. One of them even told me that from the moment she saw me, she knew I would be an asset to the team. This really helped me with my confidence, because despite them thinking I was confident in what I was doing, I was still nervous because this is my first job. Afterwards  they sent me to work by myself for the first time, grouping people for rides. This job really has taught me such good communication skills. It's amazing having those awkward moments with the guests that you have to handle... Like when they get upset with you, or somethings wrong in line. I know that sounds weird to actually like those moments, but I feel like I'm growing whenever I feel uncomfortable doing something. I'm so excited to be done with training and to now be an official employee!

Day 5

Today I went to school to make frames that I will later stretch canvas on. I just was working in Jeremy's classroom for a couple hours. I measured wood, cut it, glued it, drilled it, and then was done! It was actually a lot harder than it seems though. I had to have Jeremy and Cody's help with the drilling because I had never done it before. After making two wooden frames, I went to OB and took a lot of art photography. I know flower shots are cliche, but I still think I got some great ones ;)

Day 4

Today I woke up with text messages from my family on the east coast. They had sent me pictures of them at a family reunion that they had the night before and were asking if I could edit them. All my family knows that I am always the one in the family to take the pictures and edit them up, I have sort of a natural ability for it. I decided that I would help them out, and add the pictures to my photography portfolio for my senior project. Today, after editing the pictures for my family, I went outside and practiced "iphone photography". While doing research on the many different photography techniques I learned about a man who is making a living off of doing photography with his iphone. It also have a set of lenses for my iphone which makes the pictures come out at a lot better quality. I even have a macro lens for it, and its SO cool! I'll post the link to my portfolio as soon as I get it all set up!

Day 3

I didn't post yesterday because I was at work for 10 hours and was exhausted when I got home. I got to operate all of the rides by myself, and it was a lot of hard work. This job is really teaching me how to communicate with people. My bosses walked by one of the rides while I was announcing its start over the P.A. System. They told me I sounded more natural at using it than all of the other employees that were first training which made me feel a lot more comfortable there. It's so complicated memorizing all the operating procedures.. I have to take a test on Saturday, but I'm confident ill pass! :)

Day 2

A couple of days ago I went to a charity gala with my grandma. While there, there was a silent auction. While walking around I found a photograph printed on canvas of Venice, Italy. This inspired me to change my project up a little bit. I decided that since I wanted my project to have to do with artwork, I was going to photograph sea creatures and attempt to print them on canvas just as the pictures that I saw at the auction. I knew it should be tied into the work I am doing, which is why I decided to take all the pictures at seaworld. Today I spent my day searching online for ways to build frames and stretch canvas, then went to photograph animals. Once I got home I started editing most of the pictures. It was a really fun day!

Day 1

Today was my first day of training at SeaWorld! It was very nerve racking at first, but I seemed to make it through the day okay. My trainers name is Jose, and he did an amazing job at making me feel at home. At SeaWorld, my job is to operate rides in the Bay of Play (the children's area). I have to operate all three: Elmo's Flying Fish, Abby's Spinning Sea Stars, and Oscar's Rocking Eel. There were a lot of buttons to push, and each ride had a different order to push them in. Pre Boarding spiel, gate lock, look around, key, emergency reset, sensor, and finally start. Besides that, I also have to make sure everyone meets the ride requirements and is following all the safety instructions. This job already on the first day has helped to teach me people skills. On all the rides, no expecting mothers are allowed on. It is one of my jobs to make sure that people who I think look pregnant are not, and if they are they have to get off the ride. Because of this, I was faced with an awkward situation today in which a lady looked pregnant, I confronted her about it, and she wasn't. It was one of the most awkward situations I've had to deal with in my life, but I learned how to deal with it. I also had to confront a man who was almost too big for the ride, because his seat belt wouldn't buckle. But I solved the problem! At one point, my trainer cut his finger on a ride and it started bleeding profusely. They take blood very seriously at work so we had to shut down the entire ride. While he went to the medics, I was in charge of telling all the parents that the ride was down. The kids were fine with it; I gave them sea world tattoos to cheer them up. The parents on the other hand, specifically the dads, were very angry. By the end of the day, I had learned how to communicate professionally with adults in tough situations. It was a very tough, but very rewarding day.

Calender

I am splitting my externship into two parts. One half of it will be located at home where all my art equipment is, and I will be creating art and building a website to sell it online. The second half of my project will be working at my job at SeaWorld and learning how to be in the working environment since it is my first job. 

May 13-17: Work on project 1

May 17: Email pictures of project to my mentor to get critiqued

May 20-24:Work on project 2

May 24: Email pictures of project to my mentor to get critiqued

May 27-31: Work on project 3

May 31: Email pictures of project to my mentor to get critiqued

May 3-4: Work on smaller projects

I am unable to put down the times and dates I will be at SeaWorld right now because I have not yet received my schedule for that time. I will be working on my art every day though, regardless if I am working at SeaWorld that day too.