Jobs Should Get a Pat on the Back.

Jobs. We all have them or have had them at one time or another. A job provides experience in both that field and other areas. It builds confidence, improves communication skills, self-control not to punch people in the face because you would have a lawsuit against you, and interacting with co-workers is just part of the job description whether you like it or not. A job gives purpose, and oh yeah, it requires money well to, survive. Some jobs can be argued to be better than others, obviously. On the bright side, there is always an upside to perceive things and positives to every job. I am going to throw it back and recap a blurb from one of our readings in, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, that got my mind thinking…  

This a quote stood out to me which stated, “There are few jobs that in which years worth of labour that can be scanned in a quick scan of four walls and fewer opportunities granted to us to gather all our intelligence and sensitivity in a single place” (pg.182). From the context behind this passage, there are a few important pieces of advice that I interpreted relating to work, which is one can work his heart away at a job and can quickly be replaced for an unfair reason---(few jobs that in which years worth of labour that can be scanned in a quick scan of four walls) The second part could be interpreted to appreciate the moment in work specifically. I’m not saying to be scared that you will be treated unfairly at all, but look at improving your skill at something while you are there in that moment.  

Another way to view work, and how I interoperated that quote was just appreciate. The benefits that stem from a job could include new relationships (work friend colleagues) also known as the wing-man/woman. These people can be a huge support and ‘shoot’ you’re with them for enough hours, so why not have some fun with your wing-coworkers.    

I enjoy learning where ever I am. If I am at work I try to pay attention to details, be aware in general, be present, and again learn what I can whether that is learning from another employee or a boss.  DeBotton explains the benefits that stem from work in, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work. It influenced me to make a goal to focus on the upsides of having a ‘money flow’ to buy electricity, and take the opportunity to learn in any situation I am in.

--Journal Project Proposal(s)

What makes me happy?

Sun

Music

Ocean

Family

Quiet

Friends

My dog

Flowers

Sports

Art

People laughing

Spiritual enlightenment

Dancing with no rhythm

Journal Project Proposals

A personal journal to me is filled with treasures of the soul, heart, and mind. Some treasures are meant to be shared with others, and some are not. In this personal journal assignment, I want to share some of my inner thoughts with you.

In our last class meeting, gratitude was the main focus. Writing down on paper what I am thankful for and who I am thankful for really did make me feel well, happier. Sometimes I get caught up in the daily trials of life (which could be a lot worse) and forgot to stop and just say THANK YOU for being alive! Life is a beautiful mess that is far from perfect, but somehow the imperfections make life that much more perfect.

Idea 1: In my personal journal project I want to use song lyrics that I feel correlate with some of my journal entries because it’s one of things that makes me happy. I have been keeping my ears open for songs that have specific meaning to me; you know the ones that give you the chills when you listen to them. For me, a song can promote many different emotions through either the lyrics or the sound or both. I also realized certain songs that gave me chills at a prior time in my life, may not anymore. I suppose that is because we are always changing.

According to The Happiness Project, gratitude connects you to the natural world. I couldn’t agree more! For one, there is the perception out there that money will make you happy. Well, that’s a bunch of Oscar Myers Bologna. One piece of evidence that can back that up is the fact that there wasn’t always paper money in the world, yet people were still capable of being happy.

So, I am ending this post by saying I am going to include music in my personal journal project, but still searching for which songs and how to put it together. I am open for suggestions.

P.S. Feel free to comment with a song that speaks to you in some way I would love to take a listen! ;)

Idea 2:
I was thinking of reviewing my journal entries and seeing if I can spot any common themes or patterns. For example, highlighting words that appear more than once, or a common idea. Then use the common word(s) or theme, and make it into a rap lol.  I would use the common word I found or theme and make that into the chorus, and the other part of the song would still be lines from my journals, but more as the background. I'm far from a rapper bahaha...although I did just see Straight Outta Compton the movie and highly recommend it!

Idea 3:
I think this is the idea I am going with which is to write a short story. I am going to throw a few unexpected 'curve balls' in the story. The story is from a different perspective than my own. You will find out at the end of the story. Anyways, I am creating a book with the short story, printed pictures of my journal entries which go with the short story, include images, a poem, and a song playlist or correlating to the entries and concepts from class. I want to get it laminated so I can look back and be able to reflect on this time period taking this class, the different experiences, and just the random ass thoughts that came out in my journal.

-Coop

“Putting Ethnographic Writing in Context.”

Practicing ethnography can help improve the writing process. It requires collecting data, analyzing it, synthesizing, and reflection or a conclusion. According to our article, ethnography highlights human relationships, such as the relationships between a researcher and participates or a teacher and student. The article points out that in learning ethnography writing, there isn’t one set formula The article further discusses how there isn’t one set formula because ethnography is writing requires experimentation, personal voice, style, structure, and a purpose, which can vary depending on who is writing, who the audience is, and the relationship between the sender and receiver (pg 176).

In order to write with a stance there needs to be knowledge and understanding of that particular culture one is writing about or to. This includes knowledge of the values, habits, relationship dynamics, norms, and rituals of that particular culture. As we’ve learned, not everyone is the same, so sometimes generalizing can occur when making a claim about a particular culture that may exclude certain members of that group.   

One important aspect that stood out to me was an important part of ethnography writing is acknowledging the fact that it can affect the lives of those described in that writing piece. One cliché example I can think of is the reality television show, Jersey Shore, a popular show that portrayed Italian Americans living in the Jersey Shore. The show only took a very small population of six Italian Americans, who were loud, obnoxious; by the opinions of most, tan, liked to party, and identified themselves as ‘guidos.’ After the show was aired and gained popularity, there was an uproar response by many Italians in America because they believed the show displayed a false sense of their culture and the people in it. I come from an Italian family, and as I can say yes we are loud, we have far set values of the members on the show Jersey Shore. On a few different occasions 

I ran into some people shortly after the show aired that were from Jersey Shore. Instead of saying where they were from proudly, they felt they had to explain that their culture is nothing like the show and felt they were misrepresented. They almost seemed embarrassed from my observation. This is a shame because obviously MTV did not care or take into consideration that producing this show had the potential to affect other members of the Italian culture in a negative way.  

Understanding different dynamics of other cultures can be done by practicing ethnographic writing as well as improve one’s writing. Research, spending enough time in that culture interacting, learning their values, habits, and asking questions are all techniques used in ethnographic writing, which allows a writer to have a valid stance when writing.