Post 3

I worked three days this week. The tuesday and thursday that I worked was chaotic because I was super busy with school. I like that I only have to work three hour shifts usually. However, Saturday I had to work 7 hours. It was a long and very slow day and I didnt have anything to do I vacuumed and dusted the whole store. I had about ten people come in and only one sale. I didn't like that I wasn't able to do my homework because usually I just do my homework when it is slow. The homework that I had to do had to be done on the computer and I forgot my laptop and I am not even sure if we have Wi-Fi access. I didnt like doing a 7 hour shift especially with nothing to do for next time, I am going to see if me and the other intern can split the 7 hour shifts.

Holidays

So far I have not experienced much with holidays but there has been talk around Vista Hills in preparation. The two days after Thanksgiving are a big deal in wine country because there are usually a lot of tasters going out for their holiday break, so many vineyards will do events.  Vista Hills has their tasting room open but instead of 10 dollars it is 20 but you receive lots of amazing food and music.  These days are not like the past club member event because it is open to all who come which gives us a great chance to sign up new club members.  I am excited to work both days and try to sign some people up for the club.
I also saw some holiday gift boxes out at the club member party a few weeks back but that is all I have seen or heard about December holiday preparation.  I am sure there will be more later.

Apart from holidays we are getting ready for harvest! Hopefully that will start this next week and we will be busy sorting and working with the wine makers.

Week 1

Today was a good day for the patients I got to talk to and help with. I took trays in to many indivuals that just got out of surgery. One of them especially is the nicest man I have ever met. He asked me to read his book to him today, so after my shift, I came back and read a few chapters. But, besides that, I took people their lunches, ran errands for nurses, helped some doctors, and stocked the supply cabinet with the neccesary equiptment.

How Department of State handles the holidays:

Everything at the State Department slows down during the holidays. A lot of people are away and celebrate the holidays with their friends and families. I hear that from about December 15 till Jan. 15 things are slow. However, November and the first two weeks of December the work-load is heavy since everyone is trying to get everything done before the holidays. Since many people take leave throughout December work is slow for everyone since you often work with others to finish assignments. I am glad that the department is slower during the holidays because this is a time that we are all suppose to spend with the people that we love. This also comes to show that a big organization how works very hard is able to take the time and slow down during the holidays. Plus as humans I believe we are all more efficient when we take a break from school or work for a period of time.


Barbara Golic

Let's do something different this week!

Let's take a break from our usual blogging this week!  Since we're heading into fall and have holidays coming up, let's all take a minute and comment on how our organizations handle holidays.  I know some will completely ignore them, others will totally celebrate them.  Where does your organization fit?

If you have something really cool to report about your internship, please do, but otherwise, take a break and let's talk about something more fun.

blog 2

This is my seventh or eighth week of interning. Since I last posted a blog I have worked two times. I worked last Thursday and today (Tuesday.) Today was an easy day I didn't have very many customers come in today. Last Thursday I had a lot of customers and sales. I had to do two layaway's on the computer program which I wasn't familiar with at all. I messed up a ladys purchase by accidentally charging too much. It ended up being fine in the end because I was able to refund her credit card. Today and last Thursday everyone decided to come in at the last minute when it was closing time which was a little frustrating. But overall I think I am getting how to run the sales program to complete transactions and learn how to fill out the end of the day paperwork.

Week 4

This last weekend was a busy one for Vista Hills and the interns.  Friday we met at Panther Creek Cellars to see where a lot of the Vista Hills wine is made.  Our hopes were that the first fruit of the season would be in but because it has been such a wet year the grapes are not ready for harvest.  Instead we tested the brix and PH levels of the samples from Vista Hills.  This was interesting because this time we got to test grapes from every block on the vineyard and compare the differences and see growth from the last measurements.  A few blocks are starting to get where we want them but a common theme was lower numbers than needed to begin harvest.  We are hoping for some dry weather to help bring the harvest.  After testing we had a quick tour of Panther Creek and headed out.

Sunday was a big day for Vista Hills they hosted their largest event yet, a wine club promotional party.  Here we had all the wines available of the 2009 vintage for the club member and their guests to taste and purchase at discount. Each intern was assigned a pouring station with a specific wine that we did some research on, allowing us to share our knowledge and connect with the club members and guests.  I was pouring two wines the Fourman and the Skyraider (my particular favorite).  My experience at the party was amazing and I not only got to teach people about some phenomenal wines but also learned a lot and met interesting people.  The  main goal of this party was to sell cases of wine to and sign up the guests of the wine club members to be members themselves.  By the end of the day the sales manager was very happy with the outcome and work done by the interns.

 

Half-way through

I have officially started my sixth week and I must say that everything has finally become a routine. My work-load is about the same as last week (not much has changed). Today, we had an event at the DOS with MLK, III. I am glad I was able to participate and attend the event because it was really nice. Other than that I am just working on day-to-day tasks and assisting anyone who needs an extra hand.

Last week has been great for me. It was nice to at least have some feedback from my supervisor in terms of how I am doing. She was just asking me general questions like for instance if was learning anything, if there were areas I needed more assistance e.t.c

When I started my internship, for the most part I had to work with minimal supervision, teaching myself some of the stuff because my supervisor is usually busy. I strongly feel that it was for the better because I managed to do my own research on how to do some things and when I was stuck, I asked my supervisor or my coworkers. With the support that I get from people I work with, I now have a sense of belonging to the company.

First Blog

Hi, Im Courtney and I have been interning for about four weeks. I am interning at Red Berry Boutique on 3rd street in Mcminnville. I like it so far. I have only been working 3-6 hours a week but will probably be getting more hours. At my internship I clean and organize the store as well as make sales transactions. It can be a little chaotic because I am still not familiar with filling out the end of day paperwork but I will get it eventually.

In the swing of things...

This is my fifth week during my internship. I can not believe that time has managed to fly by. I am half way into my internship because I have 5 weeks left. My work-load has increased since I am familiar with how things work and function at the department. With people in and out of the office my work load ranges. I am glad to say that I enjoy working here, and that I could see myself doing this after college. During my time here I am also looking into graduate, and law schools. So far everything looks good but my option at the moment is graduate school.

10/10/11

Phew! The past two weeks has been busy. It is now a relief that all the end of month journal entries are done. As part of my internship, I prepare journal entries at the end of every month. This is is one of the busiest times I have because I have to meet certain deadlines so that financial statements can be prepared in time. I really enjoy doing journal entries because thats basically what I do in all my accounting courses, but only that I do them in a much cooler way using accounting software! Now that I am done, I have to reconcile all accounts and bank statements. This is not as bad because there is not really a time limit to do that.

Vista Hills Internship

Hey everyone,

My name is Jen Boston I am a senior at Linfield College with a major in elementary education and minor in music.  This fall I am interning at Vista Hill Vineyard in Dayton Oregon and will be working there for the year.  I will experience many aspects of the wine industry including the scientific side, marketing and business and hospitalities.  

Week 1 Sunday September 18 11:30-5:30 :

My first experience finishing a full day of work at Vista Hills was amazing.  Going in I was nervous to already be pouring and felt my wine knowledge was not sufficient enough to provide the experience for the tasters.  My nerves were quickly subdued, my coworkers helped me along and I quickly picked up on the flow of the tasting room.  After only a short time I felt more confident in my understanding of wines and excited for how much I learned in such a short amount of time.  It was a Sunday so it was a bit on the slow side but for a first day it was perfect.

I spent most of the day behind the bar pouring and talking with clients.  I met people from all over the States who were excited to talk and learn about wine.  Meeting so many travelers made me think of my experience studying abroad and I loved the atmosphere it created. 

By the end of the day all my nerves were gone and I was excited about the days experience and already looking forward to next week. 

Week 2 Saturday September 24 11-6:

Saturday brought in a lot more tasters than last Sunday.  We had a constant flow of tasters throughout the day and large group parties to fill the tasting room, at one point we had at least fifty people in. This was a higher stress environment but I still loved it.  I was able to use my experience with hospitalities from previous jobs to supply everyone with what they needed and keep them enjoying their wine.  

Along with my skills I have gained from previous jobs I have been able to use skills I have learned in my major; elementary education.  I was not expecting to really use concepts from elementary ed in an internship for a vineyard.  My ability to communicate and provide information about the wine was made easier with my knowledge and experience with teaching kids.  Yes, the tasters are adults but communicating new material to them is similar.  My time in the education department has given me the tools to do well at teaching even if it is outside of my major subject area. 

Week 3 Friday September 30 1-5:30

Friday was very slow compared to my other days of work, tops I served 30 people.  I did get to meet the other interns from George Fox and do a grape sampling.  We went out to the vines and walked through a few rows and collected berry samples from every few vines.  We then combined them and labeled which block they came from; we tested two different blocks.  After collecting enough fruit we headed back to the tasting room to run a test on the fruit to see their brick count.  This is a measurement that helps decide if it is getting closer to harvest.  Sadly, the fruit is behind and some blocks have not even come to color.  

The slow day was nice because I was given the chance to get out in the field for the first time.  I really enjoyed walking around the vineyard learning more about the vineyard management aspects of my internship.  I might look into this side of the wine industry for my project and presentation.