Landscaping (FOOD)

     As I went on with mentor-ship this thanksgiving break, I went onto find out my mentor professionally landscapes a couple El Pollo locos. Yes the restaurant, it was an old formal client he had and he really liked my mentors work so he went on to hire him at his new El Pollo loco locations. I went on to ask him, what is key when landscaping a restaurant compared to a house? He responded saying, "When you landscape a restaurant that is located near a major street you have to make the landscape appealing to everyone not  just a single home owner like at a house". When you make it appealing to everyone it makes costumers feel comfortable. A restaurant wants a customer to return so if I do my job correctly and as well as the employees of the store, costumers should return meaning I did a good job.

     So remember this the next time you go eat, is it really the food that makes you want to go back to a restaurant late nights or is it the landscaping? That was totally a joke, but really do keep in mind what a landscape does to make a restaurant more appealing. 

Blog 9: EQ

Content:
1.) I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ.

2.) a. What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?
Yes, I do think that this is an EQ that follows the rule of three for writing an EQ because it provides a frame work and allows for research but also it is not a yes or no question. Also it allows you to argue some points and the wording is great I clearly understand the it and what it is calling for.
 b.  What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation?
No, I do not think this is a good EQ because the wording might be difficult for some to read and it does not easily flow. Also the EQ really does not allow for argument since there are laws that state when you can convict someone, therefore limiting argument. Overall I feel like the EQ can be better.
 c.  What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?
Yes, this is a good EQ because it clearly states what is being argued and what is being focused on. Also because it allows you to argue a point and does not allow for recitation of facts. It also makes sense and the wording is good. 
 d.  How can an Anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?
No, I believe that this is not a well stated EQ because it does not word who is being treated, therefore meaning treating pets or etc...It really does not allow for arguments and its flow is not good. The EQ can be stated in a different way and an be improved to allow for argument and better flow. I felt based on the rule of three that it was not a good EQ. 
 
3.  Based on the rule of three I came with, "What is most important in creating a more aesthetically pleasing suburb landscape ".  

October post

During the month of October my mentorship schedule changes due to the season change. As the season changes so does the type of work  I do with my mentor. During summer the theme are bright red or orange flowers that bloom every so often. In fall/winter the type of plants that we change to are plants that can handle frost and cold temperatures. An example of a plant that can handle frost and cold temperatures and still look beautiful is the  leatherleaf mahonia... 

Many homeowner want their landscapes to look as natural as possible therefor that's why they hire landscapers to match the landscape to that of a winter or summer setting. 

As a mentor I enjoy working in the cooler temperatures of October because it is easier and less stressful but also because I enjoy the scenery of some houses. My mentor has houses that are located in Glendora, CA and the area is so beautiful that I often become distracted just staring at the Landscape. It is a real joy to work in the fall season. 

Blog 8: Research and Working EQ

1.  What is your working EQ?

• What is most important in creating a (business/home) landscape design.

2.  What is a possible answer to your working EQ? 

• Planning and analyzing your landscape before going on with what you have in mind. Planning and analyzing allows for a clear cut plan that you are sure of and confident to apply. 
• Also pick the right kinds of plants that are adapted to the climate you are living in. Most importantly capture what your clients wants and is asking you to do. 

3.  What is the most important source you have used that has helped you come up with an answer to your working EQ? 

• http://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Watershed/growgreen/landscaping.pdf
• The source above has helped me tremendously even  though it is very simple and is based on one area of Texas. With that,  It has showed me what you have to do when living in different climates and what you can do to make your house more aesthetically pleasing. Little details that wouldn't cross the mind when planning are present in this article, like Temperature, Season, Lighting exposure etc...It is a very good article.

4. Who is your mentor, or where are you volunteering, and how does what you are doing relate to your working EQ?

• Rosalio Jimenez is my mentor, he relates to my topic in that he owns his own business in Landscaping/ Gardening. He is a professional and teaches me all I need to know when I am on the job helping him out. He designs and plans landscapes for customer, while planning he gives me pointers which helps me answer my EQ. Also he teahes me how to install irrigation systems which a huge subtopic in landscaping.  

Independent Component 1 Approval

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours:

• For my 30 hours I plan to actually work to getting a feeling of how my topic really is. Ill will be helping my mentor in his business of landscaping. I will will be doing a number of things to help me explore more of my  topic such as planning and designing houses and properties. Also ill will be  fixing and installing water efficient  irrigation systems to plant plants that are need to meet expectations of customers. Many landscapers/Gardeners also maintain landscapes for residential properties and I will be doing so to see how it is to keep a landscape in good condition. 

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

• To show how I meet the 30 hours that are expected I will take photos, such as before and after shots, I will record with video and use log files to show what jobs we did. Hopefully that is enough but if it is not I can prove myself by using my mentor as a primary source of evidence that I did do my hours. 

3.  And explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

• By doing this I will prove my skills and show that I am fully equipped to move on in this profession. Working hands on will teach me the skills necessary to be a professional in this field and skills to be a good employee. It will also teach me the importance of studying and knowing different types of plants and how they live best in certain environments. Other important facts are that I will learn how it is to work in a small business and how to manage one as an employer, and I will learn how to advertise my work to attain clients to grow my business. 

4. Link is on side bar

landscaping and design

So as I researched I found there to be more articles and books on Landscape design then I thought. Whole city's and counties spend millions to Landscapers who design and construct their ideas. The County of Los Angeles had a huge plan back in 2004 which would make-over the rivers of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Public Works who was incharge of this whole renevation called it the "LOSANGELES RIVERMASTER PLAN". Here is an Artile Pdf that shows more details,  http://ladpw.org/wmd/watershed/LA/LAR_planting_guidelines_webversion.pdf

When I work with my Mentor one of the most essential and important rules in designing and maintaining Properties is working in unison with your customer. As long as your customer is happy your job is good. Also when you design you have to make sure the plants that are used are water efficient and used to the climate that the property is in and last but not least make sure that you yourself are pleased with your work. Here are some pictures of well designed houses and properties. Here is the article on well irrigated and water friendly landscaping, http://www.water.ca.gov/wateruseefficiency/docs/water_efficient_landscapes.pdf

 

Second Interview Questions

Content: 
The purpose of the second interview is justify your mentor as an expert in the field.  Thus, you will be asking at least 5 questions about their background and/or the background of the organization or company where they work.

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?
My Mentor is Rosalio Jimenez and he works for his own Business called "Rosalios Gardening".

2.  What five questions will ask them about their background?

• How long have you been working in this profession and where do you see your self heading to?
• How do you prepare your self for a long days work?
• On a daily basis how much of your money or effort goes to keeping your machines maintained?
• What other subjects or skills have to be learned to do this job?
• What happens when a costumer does not like their work but you put a lot of resources into that job? 

Blog 5 Project Reflection and Working EQ

 Content:   

The Pentagon:

Positive Statement: What positive thing happen as a result of what you have completed so far?

(1) Many positive thing have happened has a result of this senior project. One thing off the bat is the value of time, time equals money so the better and more efficient you work the more money you are going to profit. Also what the customer wants the customer gets, keeping your clients happy assures that they will return to your business and put you first when they experience the same problem. Last but not least planning ahead of your design assures for a perfect job that wont need a touch up in a couple months which will save you money and give your  business a good name.

 EQ Content:  Pick a piece of research or your interview.  How has it helped you improve your understanding of your topic?

(2)A piece of research that has helped me tremendously on understanding the importance of planning and design is "Los Angeles  master Plan". The Article helped out because it showed all the thoughts and blue prints that went in to making the surrounding rivers of Los Angeles look better. I never understood why it mattered what plant you used or where to put it but this article helped me out. It showed how to be efficient in picking what plant to use and how to keep the indigenous species going. For example why would you put a plant that requires a good amount a water to live in the California region where the climate is hot, whats going to happen is that you will end up spend to much money on water or you'll end up with a dead plant.  

What has worked for you so far in the senior project?

(3)So far, mostly everything has worked out. I have found a mentor, I have done my summer hours, there is an abundant  source of research and I have kept up with all my blogs. At first I wasn't so sure that there was going to be so much research but as i got to it I found out that there is much on landscaping design and landscape architecture. The two are very similar which helps out a lot because iI can use those articles and books for my research check. 

What hasn't worked so far?  

(4) The only thing that has not worked out for me is finding another mentor or getting an interviewee. Landscape Designer and Architects are always busy and on the move twenty-four seven. They never seem to have time to talk but other than that it has been good and I am having fun with everything so far.   Next time ill plan ahead several weeks so that I can interview but for my first interview check ill use my mentor. 

 Finding Value:  
(5)

• What is a potential question you would like to study this year?  (working EQ)
• A potential question i would like to study is, "What is the importance of design in Landscaping?" 

•  What do you plan to do for mentorship?  If you haven't found a mentor yet, then discuss where you are currently looking and who you are talking to to find it.  
• I plan to stick with my current mentor but I want to have a mentor that is a landscape architect so I can learn form both ends of the spectrum because my current mentor is a landscape designer and contractor. To find the Landscape architect im searching online and asking people that have contacts. I would love to have two mentors but one is fine enough. 

Interview Preperation

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  Why?

I plan to interview my Mentor who is Rosalio Jimenez.

I choose Rosalio because he owns his own business which is my senior project topic. His business is in landscaping, he designs and accomplishes what he and his clients have planned. He seems like he has a lot of experience and can teach me a lot about the job. Even when I mentored with him i would ask simple questions but he would give me in depth answers, he is the perfect interviewee. 


2.  You have to ask 5 questions.  What additional questions do you plan to ask? 

Set Five Questions: 

1. Do you enjoy working in landscaping and why?
2. What made you pursue your job in landscaping?
3. What is one thing that annoys you the most about your job?
4. If I want to pursue this job what do you recommend  for me to do? 
5. How well do you work with your clients and what did you do to aquire them?

Additional Questions: 

1. What did you do to get your contractors license?
2. About how much is the total cost of accessories and gas for your machines?
3. What kind of person do you have to be to be successful in this field?
4. How do you handle with the heat and working outside?
5. What do you do when you need to get a job done but mother nature gets in the way?
6. How many hours do you usually work a day? 

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Semester 1 ESLR Goals

1.  List your topic here:  Landscaping

2.  What do you plan to do this year to show growth in each of the ESLRs?  Be specific and use an example.  Examples can come from senior project, model assembly, core, and/or participation in senior class ASB or other organizations on campus (clubs etc).

I-POLY CITIZEN: 

• I will become an effective I-poly citizen and show growth by respecting others, helping the lower class and doing everything in my power to help the class of 2014. I am sure by helping teachers and volunteering I can become an effective I-poly citizen. When attending class and a peer needs help I will offer my help and help to the best of my knowledge. Also I will be responsible and try to join the most amount of committees and engage in senior activities.

EFFECTIVE LEARNER:

• I will become an effective learner and show growth by participating in class, paying attention to the teacher and studying every single day. Everyone has a different way of being an effective learner, people retain knowledge and what is being taught at different rates. Some can just listen and already become an effective learner. As for me, I will have to take notes and study several days before a test to retain what I have learned and be an effective learner. In class I will stay away from friends and always take notes ti be the most effective learner I can be.

EFFECTIVE USER OF TECHNOLOGY:

• I will become an effective user of technology and show growth by practicing on by typing skills, using programs such as Word and PowerPoint to make my life easier. Being a teenager and going to a technological rich school I already am an effective user but there is always more to improve on. Technology was invented to make life easier and I tend to take advantage of that. I will try my best to use technology in everything I can like homework, senior project and model assembly because by doing so I will use technology to help me and therefore be an effective user of technology. 

Effective Communicator 

• I will become an effective communicator and show growth by getting involved with my peers, getting along with others and ask questions when needed. An example of being a good communicator is getting an idea across to people without them asking any questions. Pitching ideas to peers and not arguing about whats being said. But to be an effective communicator you need an effective learner. If the person does not want to learn or take in what you are saying then you are not communicating. So to be an effective communicator you need everyone to hear you even the hard-headed stubborn people.

Senior Mentor Ship Component

Literal
1.Here is a link of my mentor ship hours- https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AqvHQ7PgSB6zdFN5QmlrWXlRLVNfWUtjMW9jdDBRZ1E#gid=0 
2.I Did my mentor ship with Rosalio Jimenez, who can be contacted at (909)538-6580.   
3.The only questions that were raised were-

1. Why pick this career, do I want to pursue this for the rest of my life?
2. Am I sure if I want to do this for my senior project?

Interpretative
4. I learned a lot from this experience, I learned how to work, how to please and talk to customers. I also Learned how it is to run a small business. Working with people is hard because not all of them will agre with what you have, many have different styles of doing things and as worker or"employee" the costumer is always right and gets what he or she wants. Also I learned how to work with tools and machines like commercial Mowers and tools to fix sprinklers.
  Applied
5. What I did didn't necessarily help me choose a topic but it did help me get closer to what I want to do. Landscaping is a very rigorous and stressful job it requires strength and diligence. I may Choose this as my topic cause I do enjoy doing this and working with people but im not sure if I want to work so hard the rest of my life. What I am sure of is that I would love to own many business of landscaping and make one huge landscaping corporation so that I don't have to work. I would just hire people to do the jobs.

2013 2 hour presentations reflections

 1.)
Weight Lost-Natalie
Woodworking-Sabastian
Interior Design-Natalie O
Locksmithing-Antonio
Clinical Soc Work Therapy-Brittany
Child Life Specialist-Alicia
Healthy Mexican Food-Manuel
Video Game Journalist-Cristopher
 Running a Skateshop-Eric
Political Campaigns-Angel
Animal Control-Cherokee
Physical Fitness-Jocelyn
Anesthesiology-Zhailah

2.)The only question i have is how long does the presentation actually have to be because some were longer and shorter than other. Do we get time at school to work on this?

3.)From what I have seen, the most important part of the presentations is research. Without research then you have nothing to talk about and you dont make time therefore failing. 

4.) I am considering doing electrical engineering as my Senior presentation because it is a topic that interest me and is a career i want to pursue in the future.