First three days of work

Hi everyone, Remy here again. Below is my account for the first few days of my new job.

Various times throughout the day – Cedarwood Farms

Today is my third day of work. I’d expected to write extensively over the past few days, but due to not having a computer the first day and being out in the field, then being constrained by battery power and work, I’ve been unable. Now I’ve got some time, despite having yet more work piled on me. It’s like being thrown off a cliff into a raging river without knowing the finer points of swimming, but I definitely won’t be board here.

The first day I was out in the field most of the day with the students. My task basically involved taking little cubes holding little seedlings, and placing them into little cube-shaped holes in soil. Transplanting, and potting on, they call it. A lot harder than it looks, especially when the cubes you’re trying to move suddenly decide to disintegrate on you. We also mixed big vats of soil made up of pearlite (a white powdery substance formed from volcanic rock) sand, and a few other ingredients I can’t recall. It was essentially like mixing a huge bowl of inedible, sloppy meat loaf, only without the wonderful smell.

I really enjoy the environment around here. Everyone’s really laid back, but still dedicated.

On my second day a bomb was dropped in my lap. I’m still waiting for it to explode. I was asked by the Cedarwood director to begin writing the script for the documentary the farm is doing. The purpose is to showcase the farm, with special focus on the Farm Workers program, which guides students with developmental and physical disabilities who have a hard time finding employment. Here they learn to farm in an environment which is easy-going and maluable with regards to their individual needs.

Given that I’m so new, it’s a little intimidating to say the least, and yet I find myself quite open to the challenge. I’ll need full cooperation from the staff and students in order to gain a fully functional understanding of the farm.

The third day on the job sees me continuing the work I began yesterday. I’ve got a brief outline started. Today I’m going to work on some interview questions for the students. I want to gather as much information as possible, keeping in mind that I might not get all I need by writing up a bunch of questions. I’ll need to email Guy (the director) to see if I’m on the right track with the outline thus far.

Just now, Guy came into the office and told me that by the end of the day he’ll want me to interview him, then begin writing an article about the farm to be published in a magazine called Take5.

So now I’ll be getting experience in writing articles, AND documentaries. Wow.

Late this morning I went on another semi-tour of Cedarwood. I collected a fair bit of audio to use in compiling an outline for the article, though it’s going to take a while to convert the useful sections of audio into text.

My main goal for this afternoon is to compile a list of questions to ask Guy. With this information coupled with what I learned and what I know already, I should have enough to begin writing the article. It’s funny, you even mention an interest in something, and suddenly it’s like you’re an expert. I sure hope I can measure up to what’s expected of me.

Final update: At the end of the day I’ve managed to compile a list of questions for the interview tomorrow. First I spent nearly an hour going over all the audiorecordings I’ve compiled over the last two days, trying to extract valuable information and convert it into text. It was like pulling sharp teeth. It provided me with enough information to write most of the interview questions. I would have gotten more done, but I had to go through a bunch of annoying provincial and federal tax forms and donate my soal to make sure I get paid the correct amount. Bloody wonderful. There was a bit of a hitch when we all realized I wasn’t a full-time student during the last semester, but it would appear that won’t be a problem now.

I’m finished for the day now, and am being given a ride home by Colleen, the volunteer specialist. The bus system out here is more round-about than even Nanaimo’s most annoying transit service, so finding an alternate way home is always a blessing. Tomorrow I need to interview Guy. The information I obtain from him should make it much easier to write the article, AND the website content the director wishes me to write. It’s been one hectic day. This is the disemboweled and headless chicken, Remy Chartier signing off.

P.S. After sending Guy my outline for the script, he said “looking good”. I’ll assume that’s a good sign.