Week Eight: Communication Skills

Written-email, letters The problems with emails and letters is that maybe people won't check their email too often, or letters won't reach people in time. A way to fix this is to hand the letter over yourself, or maybe just not send emails or letters at all.
Verbal-metaphors, speeches Metaphors and speeches can be really confusing to some people, they might not want to sit and listen to you blab on and on, and they might be too stupid to figure out your witty play on words. So, as a solution to these problems, you could just say what you want to, be blunt. You could also be more active in your speeches and catch the listeners attention.
Non- Verbal- bodylanguage, symbols Wearing symbols may seem cool, but it can be very offensive to some people, just like your body language can be. If your'e sitting beside someone you don't know and you have your arms across your chest, wearing an anarchy symbol, and you don't look happy, that person's going to be afraid of you. Maybe to fix your problem, you should express your opinions, not wear them, and lighten up a little bit; try and view yourself as others might.


I think that I have good communication skills when I need them most. When I am talking to my boss or a customer, I try to be on my best behavior and sound aspolite as possible. But talking to everyday people, or trying to "fit in", I can't do that. I can't communicate with other people very well sometimes because I feel I make things awkward, and if you don't have confidence in yourself, why would other people think you do?

Week Seven: Proper Cell Phone Etiquette

You could be worseyou know proper cell phone etiquette, but you don't always practice it. With just a little more effort, you can avoid the evil stares of strangers and save yourself the embarrassment of revealing private details on a quiet bus. Remember to use the environmental settings on your phone, excuse yourself from a conversation if it is necessary to make or take a phone call, and brush up on your cell phone etiquette here. And really, talking on your cell phone in the bathroom? That's just plain gross.

When I'm at work I don't use my cell phone unless I have downtime. Blackforest Bakery is going really well, I'm excited to learn how to make sticky buns and doughnuts. I hope to eventually be assistant baker. Brittany's so awesome, she explains everything clearly, and I think that since she's near my age level, wer'e easily friends and employees.

Week Six: Attitude

My attitude is generally bad. At home I'm not very nice, and the way i take and proccess things is usually mean and bitchy. Yet, at work, I may be grumpy in the mornings, but to customers I am nice and help them to the best of my ability. Over all though, my attitude is pretty poor and could use some tuning up.

At my learning service placement, I have a good attitude, I talk and joke with Brittany and other employees. Early in the mornings though, like around five a.m. it's only Brittany and I there, and that's the time when we don't talk much until around six or six- thirty. My attitude at service learning, is generally good, despite occasional grumpiness.

The attitudes of my mother and sister and influenced me greatly. My mom is a bitch and blows things way out of proportions for no reason, and my sister is a cry baby. I think I'm a little bitchy, but what girl isn't? So I try to be as far from their attitudes as possible.

Week Five: Workplace Safety

Task One: What are some of the potential hazards at your service learning placement? Some potential hazards in Blackforest Bakery could be getting burnt from the oven or doughnut fryer, getting cut from various knifes, you could also get very hurt from lifting over twenty pound mixing bowls.
Task Two: Foodbourne illnesses can be contracted from consuming infected foods and beverages. My service learning placement is a bakery, and to prevent these illnesses from overtaking our customers, we properly refridgerate our eggs, dairy, meats, and pre- made items. We also make sure that all of our edible creations are mixed and cooked to the OSHA standards.
Task Three: Blackforest has taught me that you need to be dedicated, no matter what career you choose. I think this because, when your'e a baker, if you don't want to get up around two in the morning to fix treats for customers by opening time, that's not an ideal career choice for you.

Week Four: Creating Your Resume

What skills do you possess that are unique to you? I have worked three different jobs, so I think some skills I've aquired are being able to handle customers (nice or not) and knowing how to perform as an employee.
What experiences in work or the community equip you to follow a career path you would like to pursue? I have worked food in two different places. At carmike I fix people their drinks, popcorn, nachos, and various ice cream- substances. At Black Forest Bakery, I also work with food: cookies, cakes, cupcakes, doughnuts, ect. Working in both these environments gives me the skills and experiences I need to follow my chosen career as a Pastry Chef.
What will you continue to do in your daily life to add valuable skills to your resume? I will graduate from highschool and then move on to college, get a buissness degree, work in many locations (I hope), and I will then finish my schooling at the Art Institute with a culinary diploma.

Week Three: Identify you Learning Style

Working at Black Forest Bakery, I've learned that in the culinary profession you should pay careful attention because there is little room to mess up. If you screw up, you have to start over, and that would be wasting supplies. The people I work with are really welcoming, although, at five in the morning, most of us are a little grumpy. The most positive experience I've had was when I mixed peanut-butter cookies and baked them by myself. Of course they came out perfectly, and customers were told that i was the baker that day. The only negative experience I've had were burning a batch of cheese wheels. As I said earlier, I had to start completely over, and I wasted a lot of dough. I look forward to working at the bakery during the summer and being able to learn how to decorate cakes and cupcakes. My learning style could greatly benefit me in this career because as a visual learner I can learn how to make pastries by seeing what's going on rather thanjust following oral instructions. I also get to read recipes which work well with my learning style.

Week Two- Planning for Immediate and Long Term Success

Task Three: In ten years, I want to be happy and have a successful career. To get to where I want, I can graduate with honorable grades and I can get a jump start on life in the real world by having experience, getting jobs, going to college and just being independent. I would like to think that in ten years I will look like and older version of me, with longer hair. I want to be married by twenty- four, and I also want to graduate from The Art Institute, I could do that by age twenty- two or three. I would like to be a baker, there's nothing else I can think of that I could want to do for the rest of my life, or that would make me as happy. After I graduate I could get a job in a bakery and start planning for the future of owning my own bakery and having a family.

Task Four: My first impressions of working at Black Forest Bakery were that it's going to be fun, and it's going to be a totally sick experience, but I was so nervous. I knew that the work I was going to do wasn't going to be easy, but I did know that I would enjoy it. So far, in this profession, Iv'e learned how to mix and to pipe decorations onto cookies and cakes. Iv'e learned basic bakery etiquette, like how to scoop cookies, make frosting, and mix dough. I can also make muffins, danishes, cookies, and napoleans by myself. In the coming weeks, I look forward to learning how to make elephant ears, doughnuts, and how to create strudels and brownies.