My Work Life

One of the responsibilities that I really enjoy at work is when I scoop ice-cream for customers. A disadvantage about scooping ice-cream is that it is sometimes too hard for a human being to scoop, so we have to take some of the ice-cream out to let it melt a little. Some of my other responsibilities are making drinks, topping the ice-cream, and cleaning the department at the end of the day.

My primary responsibility is scooping ice-cream. We aren't assigned a primary responsibility. Anyone in the department can scoop, top (topping ice-cream), or run (making drinks). I like scooping the most. I don't really like running and topping the ice-cream because I'm slower at it than scooping.

I don't think that the impotent skills I have learned from Ghirardelli will help me in the internship; however, I always try to find ways to improve myself. For example, I try to memorize an order by looking at it once, so I can remember things better. Another example that would not relate to the tech skills is that I think of my job as a workout. I was a supervisor a few times, so I was able to gain some skills, but I still need to work on them. Some of the skills I have gained is being a leader, and managing time/work area. When I was a supervisor, I had to tell some people what to do instead of standing around, and I had to make sure everyone is working and sending them on break on time.

One lesson that I have learned while I was working is to listen to feedback. Everyone in my department has a different way of topping the ice-cream, scooping, or making drinks. Sometimes I did something wrong, so I had to ask the supervisor or manager the right way to do it. Another lesson that I have learned is to always work harder than others. I am a benevolent person. Whenever one my co-workers need help, I always help them.

Nonfiction Book Review

In the book "Freakonomics", the authors write about other views that some people had never even thought of. I think the authors wrote this book to let the readers have a different point of view about a topic.

A passage that left an impression is when the crime rates lowered because of abortion. I never thought abortion would be a huge impact on lowering crime rates. After reading the book, I had a different point of view.

The chapter that inspired the most discussion in the group as well as the class is the chapter about a child's name. Some of my group members thought it was funny to name your child "Cheeseburger" or “Loser”. We had no idea why a parent would give their child those kinds of name out of all the ubiquitous names. We had a class discussion about it, and the class also didn’t know why a parent would give their child those kinds of name.

I don’t usually read. The book was written in a way that I would understand; however, there were a lot of terms that I’m unfamiliar with. The language did make me lose a little interest because I didn’t know what the authors were trying to convey unless I look up the definition. I didn’t really bother looking up the definition because I read slow, and I didn’t want to waste time looking for the definition. The unfamiliar terms weren’t really explained; however, the authors gave plenty of examples to give me a better understanding of the chapter.

Yes, I would recommend this book to anyone in the college level. I hate reading, but I enjoyed this book. After joining Year Up, I always want to learn more. It might be because I’m changing the way I think. I think reading is important for me because I can learn a lot from it. I recommend this book to college level students because it might be too hard for high school students to understand because of the terms the authors used.

Process of Reading

The only annotation I did when I read was highlighting the words that I wasn’t familiar with. I am planning to find out what the words mean after I finish the book, and reread the whole book again, so I get a better understanding of what the book is about. In order to remember the definitions of the words, I will use a post-it note, and write down the word and concise definition.
 

I didn't ask questions or comment on sentences because I feel like that slows me down when I read. If I put my time into reading, I would annotate it fully. To me, annotating fully means to highlight the words that I’m not familiar with, ask questions or comment about a passage, and highlight the passage that stood out to me. 

Some advice I would give to another reader is to annotate every paragraph, so they can dive into the reading. 

I always try to find time to finish the chapter within one week. The reason why I don’t want to slow down is because I don’t have a lot of time, so I read whenever I’m sitting down on the bus. I was pessimistic about the book, but after reading it, I was interested in what I was reading. On Thursdays, I start work at 7PM, so I usually go to work after school, and read in my friend’s car until I start.

Credit Card Debt

In the Wall Street Journal article titled “Good and Bad in Credit-Card Binge”, Kathleen Madigan talks about consumerism with credit cards. People feel more comfortable borrowing if they know they will get paid in the future (Madigan 2012). Consumers will keep consuming if they know money will always come, but for others without a job, they don’t have a choice to purchase goods when they don’t know if they will have the money in the future. For most people, money comes and goes. They don’t know the importance of money because they focus on the present and not the future.

Affluenza is an ubiquitous disease that many people are suffering from. There are many symptoms, but one of the symptoms is purchasing goods when you don't have the money to pay it off. Most people apply for credit cards and use them to purchase goods instead of paying cash, so they can pay off the bill later on. Because of the choice to borrow money and delay the payment, people tend to use their credit cards even though they don’t have the money for it at the moment. Some consumers are still struggling with mortgages, joblessness, and past debt (Madigan 2012). Purchasing goods when you don’t have the money causes debt; as a result, you have to work longer hours to pay off the debt. It’s even worse for the people who are unemployed. They might not be able to pay off the mortgage payments for their house which will result in a foreclosure.

Madigan, Kathleen. “Good and Bad In Credit-Card Binge” Wall Street Journal 9 May 2012
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/05/09/good-and-bad-in-credit-card-binge/?KEYWORDS=credit+card

What's wrong with the clothes we wear?

In my Business Communications class today, we read an article about a stigma that goes with the clothes you wear. The article talks about this 17-year-old who was wearing a hoodie had been shot to death by a neighborhood watch volunteer who thought he looked suspicious. There was an uproar about this incident that lead to many angry Americans. What's even worse is that the volunteer was not charged by the authorities.

The issue about the stigma is that most people think that a person is gang related if they wear baggy clothes, hoodies, bandana, ear rings, and many more. The person who is actually wearing those clothes might think it's the latest fashion and like what they wear or they probably can't afford new clothes. Many people quickly assume the person is gang related by the clothes they wear or the way they look.

An example of the stigma would be an individual who didn't wear professional clothing to an interview. Most people knows that they should be dressed professionally during an interview. The interviewer will quickly have their answer about hiring the person or not. The answer would be most likely be no because of the clothes the person wore. The individual might not be able to afford professional clothing, but on the positive side, they might be very smart, nice, and they might have all the soft and hard skills the company needs.

My friends wear clothes from Foreign Exchange, Armani Exchange, The North Face, and many more brands. I don't know a lot about the latest fashion because I'm not into fashion. My friend wear their rings, ear rings, necklaces, and their hat backwards. Whenever I go into a store with them, the store owner or employees always stare at us like we are about to steal something when we look around to see if we want anything.

One time, I went to Bank of America to cash out my checks with my regular clothes. The employees that worked there were nice and asked me if I needed help. I told them what I wanted to do and they helped me. They had good customer service and I left after that. The next time I went in with my professional clothing that I wore to Year Up, they gave me excellent service. They told me I looked professional and started conversations with me. They asked me where did I come from, what I do, and about the Year Up program.

I believe that people's reaction depends on which neighborhood you are in. For example, a person might be comfortable in a rich and nice neighborhood, but if they are in a poor and bad neighborhood, they might watch their back constantly to see if someone is following them and keep their belongings closer to them. They might act differently at a neighborhood filled with people in the streets than an empty neighborhood

I reinforce this stigma by getting to know the person without judging them by the way they dress or look. Sometimes we unintentionally judge a person by the way they look, but once we get to know the person, all the stuff goes away

Pledge

I, Raymond Yan, pledge to speak and act professionally everywhere I go. To do this, I will speak professionally in front of friends and strangers. I will try to improve on my communication as well as professional skills by starting conversations with strangers. I will pay attention in my Professional Skills class.

I pledge to get my work done as early as possible by doing the work right away when I have time.  I will ask my instructor or colleagues for help if it is unclear. I will use my resources to help me with my work.

I pledge to become a great resource to my colleagues by helping others who are having trouble. I will give them my contact information if they need help with something. If we both don't know how to do an assignment, we can go through it together.

Chinatown

I currently live in Visitacion Valley, but I spent most of my childhood in Chinatown. Chinatown is always busy during the day because the clamors of people shop for food, products, and many more. It's filled with Asians and tourist most of the time. The streets are dirty because people throw trash on the floor. There is graffiti all around the neighborhood. A great thing about Chinatown is that you can sometimes bargain with the store owners to get a cheaper price; however, I don't like to do that. Chinatown is a great place to live because it's affordable and you can get most of the stuff you need.

I am who I am despite the neighborhood I lived in. School, friends, and family are the reason why I am who I am today. My family has taught me how hard and important it is to earn money. I'm glad my parents didn't spoil me when I was a kid. Because my father is retired, my mother is working full-time and always looking for more hours, so that we could pay off our bills. School and family have taught me the difference between wants versus needs.

Middle school has negatively impacted my English skills. The school is a great school with brilliant teachers who's always trying their best to teach. It was up to the students if they wanted to learn or not. I didn't like school when I was young because all I wanted to do is have fun. As I grew up and went to college, I found out how important school was. It was too late to take back what I did during my middle and high school years. I slept in my English class most of the time in middle school. In high school, I skipped class so I can hang out with friends. I have only read about five high school level books in my whole life. If I did well in my middle and high school years, I think I would have been better at critical thinking and communication which will benefit me in the future.

My friends are probably in the same situation as me with their English skills. Every time we communicate, we don't use big vocabulary. We don't do anything to build on our knowledge. All we wanted to do is have fun. When we skip class, we usually go to Chinatown and stand in the streets and just chat, or hang out at this place known as "studio" for hours. That was when I lived in Chinatown. Ever since I moved, we drifted apart, and we don't hang out with each other that often anymore.