Friday, May 27, 2011
Not Much to Really Say
Wednesday did not have much to report on. My responsibility for that day was just more cataloging of the books. I’ll still be writing the necessary amount of blog entries, but I’m warning that there will not be as much to talk about. Wednesday went pretty much exactly as I had imagined it would. Just spending the whole day working on the next book of pieces. However, one piece of good news was that I now only have to do two the three books. One of the volunteers at the Archives was assigned to catalog the contents of the second book, leaving me with the only the third one remaining. Even though this doesn’t change the large amount of pieces I still have to go, it does severely lessen the number, which is never bad news in my book. So, in conclusion, just more of the same today with some good news, but I really don’t see much changing from this during this week.
No Surprises Today
The start of this week at the Artists Archives of the Western Reserve was not slow but also not anything remarkable. Before getting to work on the more cataloging that I had to do, I was told to help set up for a presentation that would happen later in the day. Simply involved laying down plastic sheets on the carpet and setting up chairs. Laying down the plastic sheets was easy enough in that all I had to do was place them and then use tape to secure them to the floor. The only possible hiccup, as minor as it was, that happened was that the second roll of tap that I used was more difficult to work with, but it hardly slowed anything down. After placing the chairs out I went back into the warehouse to continue my heavy load of cataloging. There’s not really much to talk about at this point, just more of the same. Just flipping through the binders and filling out the sheets repeatedly. However, I am glad to say that after that day I finally finished the first book of things.
More kittens!
Today was a day filled with kittens, so it was a good day.
Melissa and I started in Kitten Iso, cleaning cages and taking care of the seven kittens there. It takes a while for us to do this room because these kittens don't get as much attention. My favorite kittens there right now are Moonlight and Adiemus, who are both adorable and lovable.
After that we moved to the Kitten Room, where there are currently nine kittens. Normally one would start in the Kitten Room because the kittens there have been cleared and are healthy enough to be adopted, but today we didn't. We cleaned all the cages, which meant I got to hold up to two of the kittens. My favorites are two orange tabby kittens, which I've named for myself, but the shelter calls them Hazel and Florence. My other favorite is a orange tabby tom who was on hold to be adopted that day named Asher, and to create more space since all of the kittens in the back were moving up, we decided to put Asher's siblings in with him. They were separated into twos after their surgery, but since they were from the same litter it was okay to combine them again. Unfortunately, the kittens didn't get along like we thought they would and we had to move Asher to another cage all by himself.
Melissa and I then set up the empty cages for the new kittens and began the process of transporting them. We started with Adiemus and Moonlight, and they didn't like their new living arrangements very much, but we tried to comfort them as best we could. Then we transported the next three kittens, and they were much more angry being held than the first two. The last two kittens were an easy move, as well, but after all that work Florence and Hazel managed to knock over their water bowl. This meant we had to clean their entire cage AGAIN, but it also meant I got to hold my favorite kittens again!
When all of that was done Melissa and I cleaned all of the cages in Kitten Iso, and then moved on to clean all of the cages in Recovery, as well. I felt like I needed a chisel to get off the mess in those cages, but somehow we managed.
Melissa and I started in Kitten Iso, cleaning cages and taking care of the seven kittens there. It takes a while for us to do this room because these kittens don't get as much attention. My favorite kittens there right now are Moonlight and Adiemus, who are both adorable and lovable.
After that we moved to the Kitten Room, where there are currently nine kittens. Normally one would start in the Kitten Room because the kittens there have been cleared and are healthy enough to be adopted, but today we didn't. We cleaned all the cages, which meant I got to hold up to two of the kittens. My favorites are two orange tabby kittens, which I've named for myself, but the shelter calls them Hazel and Florence. My other favorite is a orange tabby tom who was on hold to be adopted that day named Asher, and to create more space since all of the kittens in the back were moving up, we decided to put Asher's siblings in with him. They were separated into twos after their surgery, but since they were from the same litter it was okay to combine them again. Unfortunately, the kittens didn't get along like we thought they would and we had to move Asher to another cage all by himself.
Melissa and I then set up the empty cages for the new kittens and began the process of transporting them. We started with Adiemus and Moonlight, and they didn't like their new living arrangements very much, but we tried to comfort them as best we could. Then we transported the next three kittens, and they were much more angry being held than the first two. The last two kittens were an easy move, as well, but after all that work Florence and Hazel managed to knock over their water bowl. This meant we had to clean their entire cage AGAIN, but it also meant I got to hold my favorite kittens again!
When all of that was done Melissa and I cleaned all of the cages in Kitten Iso, and then moved on to clean all of the cages in Recovery, as well. I felt like I needed a chisel to get off the mess in those cages, but somehow we managed.
Robert's Senior Project- 10
Another perhaps interesting topic is how the soldiers fighting for the Union felt about the soldiers fighting for the Confederacy. Its kind of a complicated relationship. The Confederate soldiers are definitely perceived as the enemy. In nothing that I have read have I found any indication the Union soldiers had any real moral objection to fighting fellow Americans. If anything, the Confederate soldiers were like people from another country. Usually they are called the "rebels" or the "enemy", and there is often descriptions about the southern territory feels really foreign even though its really part of the US. There is a lot of teasing; before battles begin one side may yell insults about "rebels" or "Yankees". These are all insults but they are said in a funny way. So its not as if the two sides hate each other either. Many times Union soldiers will talk to confederate prisoners about home life or something like that. And really, once the war ended the two sides would get together and talk. Because very often a Union soldier will know a rebel. Either they were friends or they may even be related.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Kittens!!
Nothing all that exciting happened today. Melissa and I started in Kitten Iso, cleaning the cages and getting food and water for the babies, and then giving them attention. There are currently seven kittens in Kitten Iso, and usually I hold one or two so Melissa doesn't have to worry about them getting in her way, but since there are so many we usually have to use cat carriers to hold them while we clean.
When that was done, we decided to do Drop Off. One of my favorite cats in Drop Off, Henrietta, who usually is very reserved and shy, came directly up to us today and was very affectionate. She began rubbing her head against the water bowl and accidentally tipped it over onto her head. It was such a funny moment, but Henrietta must've been very embarrassed because she immediately retreated to her litter box.
On Thursday mornings two girls come in to volunteer and take care of the Kitten Room, and while their help is appreciated and needed, Melissa and I more than likely need to go back and redo their job. We have a certain way of preparing the cages so that kittens who usually climb the bars don't fall back and hit their water/food bowl, thus tipping it over and making a mess. We place the food/water bowls in the back of the cage so the kittens can climb all they want, but most other workers just put the bowls at the front. So, we had to redo every cage, but the upside to this is that I was able to hold a bunch of kittens today!
The rest of the day went normally, we finished up doing Quarantine, and then checked to make sure all the cats were still okay.
I spent a long time in the hot sun/windy rain writing down names on the bricks in the front garden. There are a lot of bricks there, and a lot of the names engraved on the stone are weathered so it's hard to tell what they say. I would much rather be cleaning cages than recording the names of donators.
When that was done, we decided to do Drop Off. One of my favorite cats in Drop Off, Henrietta, who usually is very reserved and shy, came directly up to us today and was very affectionate. She began rubbing her head against the water bowl and accidentally tipped it over onto her head. It was such a funny moment, but Henrietta must've been very embarrassed because she immediately retreated to her litter box.
On Thursday mornings two girls come in to volunteer and take care of the Kitten Room, and while their help is appreciated and needed, Melissa and I more than likely need to go back and redo their job. We have a certain way of preparing the cages so that kittens who usually climb the bars don't fall back and hit their water/food bowl, thus tipping it over and making a mess. We place the food/water bowls in the back of the cage so the kittens can climb all they want, but most other workers just put the bowls at the front. So, we had to redo every cage, but the upside to this is that I was able to hold a bunch of kittens today!
The rest of the day went normally, we finished up doing Quarantine, and then checked to make sure all the cats were still okay.
I spent a long time in the hot sun/windy rain writing down names on the bricks in the front garden. There are a lot of bricks there, and a lot of the names engraved on the stone are weathered so it's hard to tell what they say. I would much rather be cleaning cages than recording the names of donators.
Hep from the Legal Community
This Monday, a vast majority of my time (five hours) was spent inputting the contact information for members of the legal community (lawyers) into the Habitat for Humanity database. There was a somewhat weird moment when I entered the contact for information for one my friend's father; it was an eerie sort of, "Hey, I know him!" moment. Apart from that, the day went by normally and was just another day of data entry in the office.
The next day, the contact information was put to good use. A member of the Habitat for Humanity office named Christine Bucknell wanted to send letters to all of the lawyers in the database asking them for money. The letter they sent was asking for $1000, which seemed like a lot to me (my friend's dad wasn't going to give that much). However, the donation envelope that was to be sent with the letters allowed any amount to be donated, so it seemed like $1000 was more of the ideal than the expected amount.
My job was basically to put the donation envelopes in the letters which I would then put in envelopes. I would then put a mailing address label on the envelope that corresponded to the address written on the letter. I put stamps on some of the envelopes, but this project required more stamps than the entire office had, so Christine said she would buy more stamps later and put them on the envelopes herself. This job actually ended up taking all day, so I didn't do anything else on Tuesday.
The next day, the contact information was put to good use. A member of the Habitat for Humanity office named Christine Bucknell wanted to send letters to all of the lawyers in the database asking them for money. The letter they sent was asking for $1000, which seemed like a lot to me (my friend's dad wasn't going to give that much). However, the donation envelope that was to be sent with the letters allowed any amount to be donated, so it seemed like $1000 was more of the ideal than the expected amount.
My job was basically to put the donation envelopes in the letters which I would then put in envelopes. I would then put a mailing address label on the envelope that corresponded to the address written on the letter. I put stamps on some of the envelopes, but this project required more stamps than the entire office had, so Christine said she would buy more stamps later and put them on the envelopes herself. This job actually ended up taking all day, so I didn't do anything else on Tuesday.
WFR- Part 5
So, last evening a couple of friends and I left after classes to go rock climbing. Although I don't go rock climbing frequently it was cool being able to just get out there and climb a couple of faces and boulders. Most of them were very seasoned climbers and guides so i was in safe hands. Anyways, today I learned about heat related injuries (heat stroke and dehydration) and did a few simulations where we preformed a few traction splints and dealt with stroke/seizure patients. We also learned about anaphylaxis shock and how to administer epi-pens.
The end of the course is near and I'm only one written test and a practical exam away from getting my WFR license. I get the test later tonight and tomorrow I am to preform a simulation that I must execute nearly perfectly in order to get my license.
The end of the course is near and I'm only one written test and a practical exam away from getting my WFR license. I get the test later tonight and tomorrow I am to preform a simulation that I must execute nearly perfectly in order to get my license.
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