User:MajoryGhalami

=Freshman Seminar=

Always Wanted To Schedule

 * Topic

Perform Environmental Cleanup of Everett's Delta View Neighborhood
 * Research Component

Everett Washington's American Smelting Company/Adopt a Highway Program
 * week 1

Select section of Delta Neighborhood to adopt for clean-up/ discover methods of "adoption"
 * week 2

Contact Parks and Recreation for guidelines and legalities, research histories of clean-up organizations
 * week 3

Walk the area, photograph the area for "before" images, and organize my strategy for clean-up
 * week 4

Solicite contributions for litter containers/tools and protective garments
 * week 5

Make and post fliers informing neighbors of my "adoption"
 * week 6

Schedule sections for clean-up and gather information regarding recycling and disposal, research history of recycling organizations
 * week 7

Begin clean-up and segregation of collected materials, research individuals,groups and organizations formed that clean up large areas such as the Mississippi River
 * week 8

End clean-up, go over the areas for any missed items and inform organizations of discoveries such as road kill and larger items like tires. Photograph collected litter,count unique items,weigh similar items for weight totals/catalog #'s and then dispose/recycle. Compile personal experience/findings, data and research material in a respectable format for presentation

Midterm Assignment 1: Taste & Aesthetics
The Schubert Sonata sculpture was the only one I was able to see in person due to the weather. Thinking back on it now it was a disturbing sight. I think my opinions of it might be impure since I was in a rather foul mood beforehand. But I stepped underneath its outreaching appendages and surveyed its entire being. I might just be adverse to its color scheme and overall shape. It looks like a tree branch and something resembling scraps from a junk yard. It hadn't improved my mood.

Its supposed to symbolize undulating melodic notes to the gentle breezes. I suppose its brownish hue is in honor of some bass quality of sound and perhaps a ripling sensation of notes. The entire structure looks ready to topple any second, its center of balance so like a dish atop the end of some stick. Trying to respresnt music, but all I see is a hulk of stiff cold brown that, in no way, seems able to gently sway in the breeze. Its like a spinning top spinning slower and more unsteady by the second that when buffeted against by Seattle's gales would would sooner have its top heavy bits at its feet.

The work is dead to me. I don't think I feel anything for it. It feels like a mockery of sound. I think that's all I can say about it. I think I just dislike brown. It could have once been silver who knows but as it is... just not working.

After reading its description and what the symbology behind its shape represented I began to understand where it was coming from or going to. Although my eyes still find it repulsive I feel a tinge of respect for what its attempting to represent. After 18 years it remains standing.

Final Presentation

 * Topic (10%)

<<Delta Neighborhood Cleanup, goal: To contribute to the overall cleanup efforts of the Delta Neighborhood located on the northeastern tip of Everett Washington. My contribution was to do a cleanup of a portion of lands exterior to the perimeters of private property within a four block radius of my apartment (sidewalks, gutters, alleys, vacant lots, parks, and any other uninhabited surface).

This project was initiated when I noticed that the city had installed a large sign "The DELTA Neighborhood" outside of my apartment. A few days after that, a construction crew began installing a tree lined median that started a few blocks south of the sign and continued north through the northeastern tip of Everett. My family informed me that many years ago our neighborhood was the site of a historic smelter that was torn down in the early 1900's, the land quarantined as contaminated throughout the remainder of the century, cleaned up, and sold to a private developer who then built modern residential appartments and "old folks housing".

This activity caused homeowners within the neighborhood to upgrade the exteriors of their dwellings in order to compete with the area's rising property values. Some homes within the neighborhood are multi-family dwellings and the upkeep of their lands has not been as consistent as those with single families. So, every few houses there may be an occurance of litter, abandoned personal items, unkept lawns, etc. This situation kept the neighborhood with an overall ragedy look. My goal was to contribute to the elimination of this problem. I decided to pick up and dispose of waste materials being overlooked by the city.


 * Research (20%)

<>


 * 1) Internet site:

Public Participation Plan http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/sites/asarco/asarco_archive/psp_purch_cd/Everett%20Smelter/Exhibit%20E%20Public%20Participation%20Plan.pdf


 * 2) Book: Des Chenes, Elizabeth, ed. Garbage and Recycling. Christine Nasso. Print.
 * 3) Scholarly Journal:
 * 4) Other (interview, TV show,etc):book - Pregracke, Chad, and Jeff Barrow. From the Bottom Up One Man's Crusade to Clean America's Rivers. Washington D.C.: National Geographic, 2007. Print.


 * Your accomplishment (20%)

<> I succeeded in my clean-up of the Delta Neighborhood. I knew I'd be unable to remove every single peice of litter but the bits taunting me I made quick work of. Despite the cold and my lack of excersize I was able to do much more than I had first thought. Once the large obnoxious garbage was cleared finding enough to fill the gaps in the bags was rather easy as soon as I looked harder.


 * Project Review (50%)


 * 1)What went well - Found plenty of litter to gather and unexpected items like a Pocky stick box that is now a staple of litter pick-up in my eyes. Got a few statements of appreciation from passersby and property owners. Few even exchanged words with me regarding their own efforts to help keep the neighborhood up. I hadn't expected to receive so much gratitude. All in all I collected 5 garbage bags worth. Booyaka!


 * 2)What went poorly - I couldn't go too deep in the lawns of private poperty. Even though big objects were easy to see I fear I missed quite a bunch of buried trash and things hidden by leaves or too deep within thorny bushes. I regret that the animals living in those untouched areas must continue to suffer. I neglected a couple steps in my planner, those being the intentions to gain disposal information from Adopt a Highway and such organizations, as well as adopting anything as was my first intention. Due to procrastination I ended up disposing the bags in the local bin, without sorting the individual items, which on an environmental level negates the entire point of performing a clean-up. And I have yet to contact those that remove bird carcases and diapers in alleyways. I wonder which came first.  The last step of weighing and cataloging the garbage was ignored.


 * 3)Future strategies - I would like to perform the clean-up sooner than at the last minute. Early collaboration with a clean-up

organization would have prevented me from resorting to a land fill bin. I would like to involve the community in a large scale effort.

Self-Assessment
About Gen Ed; I have found that I have gathered some skills or am at least conscious or their application sometimes. I find myself catching the fallacies of the random speaker here and there. And due to the particular ones I found on its focusing assignment tend to hear the Allness factor most often. You suddenly favor blue thus you notice blue cars every which way you go.

Honestly I can not remember much else about the class from the top of my head. And I do not have my notes with me. But I am sure that after reviewing them the true spell this class has woven will be unveiled. I am sure I gathered much more than fallacies despite not trusting her brain to remember details exactly and enscribing everything, even the names of friends known for years, onto parchment. My brain betrayed me just the other day causing me to misinterpret the due date of my 2D-Design assignment. Confound it all!

I really enjoyed your teaching methods and liked your sense of humor. As far as helping the students realize the points they'd try to verbalize and form in their minds, you have a strong mind-reading ability. I'd like to add, without intending to offend, that the first imppresion of you was a look alike of Jim Carry, or that he is YOUR look alike. One of you shares the other's voice.

I suppose that is it. Thankyou for your time Steven. I would like to partake in sounding a consertina one day.

Do enjoy your break!

Final presentation; I think I did well despite my procrastination. I had ended up doing the actual clean-up on sunday. And I did not find much interest in the other sources I'd found or much use. I was mainly looking for something to stick on the page for that part. Sources have never been easy for me to find. Though I regret I was too nervous to remember the finer points of my research. I was planning on presenting with the enthusiasm others say I have for environmental topics, but that rant was left out.

I feel there was alot of gibberish being said and alot of not what I wanted being said. Rather dissapointing for I usually handle presentations with confidence not stutters and umms every other word. But my grade will reflect the effort I put into it. You get what you work hard for. But thankyou for putting up with that rather uninformative drabble. I hope I managed to convey something to you and the class.

As far as how the presention went in good terms, I lasted for almost 10 minutes. I thought I had too little information, turns out I didn't have enough time. I think my projection was adequate. Drama class taught me one thing.

I am not too sure what else to put here. I can't say that I won't procrastinate next time. I hadn't even learned my lesson when it caused me to repeat a class during summer. But I digress, I am glad about the overall product, not pleased about some parts and leaning towards mostly dissapointment. But I think going up there at all is better than not being ready and alotting to present the next week or skip the assignment alltogether. I am proud that I did complete it for the most part.

I am, deffinately, not using my ironwill care of the planet next time as a motivator to clean my neighborhood. Hypocricy till the end with me. I can not ask you to forgive me. I will likely disobey your advise again. But I hope, next time, I remember that cleaning up the environment is not fun and being in front of the desecration of my world only makes me angry and in even more of an incoherant frame of mind to do something about it.

But I do surprise myself: one day I might catch on.