On Second Thought...

I decided to make a 2nd post tonight.  I wanted to talk about spring break week, which I did in my previous post. However, I also worked at the Folk and Heritage Festival all day on Saturday.  This was an old timey kind of event at Sahuaro Ranch Park in Glendale.  I was assigned to the kids crafts booth where we helped kids may horse-sickles (check out my horse-sickle in the pic!) and necklaces.  These were simple crafts that were fun for the kids and parents!  Mostly the kids could do them on their own, but I got to help a few with cutting and finding particular pieces to add to their necklaces.  

Overall it was a good day.  It was pretty toasty outside but we were under a canopy and there was a cool breeze.  It wasn't terribly busy so we were able to take breaks, which was nice because that gave me time to make it over to the "real" bathrooms rather than having to use the stinky port-a-potties.  Ick!  I hate those things!  So small and really, even their magic chemicals don't cover the stench, especially when it's nearly 90 degrees!  I digress...

Spring Break!!

Well, first of all, my spring break was great!  I went to Missouri and Kentucky to visit friends and family.  I had a blast and was a little sad to have to come back to AZ, but I'm done being sad and I'm ready to get this semester finished up.  

Ironically, this blog post is not about my spring break, but rather I'm writing about Deer Valley School District spring break.  "Why?" you may ask...well...let me tell you!  DV High School is just down the street from FRAC (my internship site) so many of their students visit us on a regular basis.  Since it was spring break last week, we had LOTS of kids roaming FRAC all week.  As one might expect, the kids tend to sleep in and then make their way to the fitness center sometime after noon.  Most of the ones who came last week were boys coming to play basketball in the gym.  Others hung out in the activity room and lobby. Occasionally, some end up "hanging out" behind the center and we have to go crash their kissy kissy party!  

The great part about this week is I got to see the full-time coordinators and programmers sharing the increased need for facility supervision.  Everybody was sharing time in the different programming areas making sure people were following the rules and being safe.  It's a good reminder that no matter how big your job is, if you work at a rec center, at some point in time, you'll end up in the gym yelling at people to stop hanging on the rim.  Honestly, I think the coordinators and programmers like to get out of the office and mix up their day a bit. 

Another great thing about spring break week was that I got meet employees from other Glendale P&R sites who came in to help manage the crowds.  While we worked together, I learned about their sites and programs.  There's some pretty cool stuff going on in Glendale Parks and Rec!  

Overall, I'd say it was a great week!  :)

Monday was Hump-day!

I am pleased to announce that on Monday around 1:30pm, I passed the halfway point of my internship.  Time flies when you're having fun, right!  When I get back from spring break, I'll be plowing head first into preparing a promotional packet to try to sell advertising space on the wristbands distributed to swimmers over the summer.  With the budget cuts, everyone's trying to think of creative ways to generate funds.  Selling ad space around the center is definitely a hot topic.  I'll get to work with various managers and marketing people in Glendale P & R to learn how to put this project together and hopefully score a customer before the end of my internship!  We'll see!!!!

The Weinermobile strikes again!

Glendale Parks and Rec does the Touch a Truck event annually.  This is a pretty cool event!!  For a few hours on a Saturday, a bunch of big trucks go to Glendale Community College parking lot.  There was a wide variety of trucks like fire trucks, tow trucks, UPS truck, police cars, various city maintenance trucks, and even the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile!  Guests can sit in the trucks and, of course, honk the horns.  (I wasn't prepared for all of the honking!  4 long hours of honking.  Whao.)  The best part about the event was that it was free of charge!  It was a beautiful day and lots of people made it out for this unique event.  

I was pleased to get to help set up and clean up as well as work while the event was happening.  I think it's interesting to see events liked this come together and then get put away like it never even happened!  I especially like to see how people work together to accomplish a common goal.  Never ceases to amaze me!   And, I got a little bit of a sunburn!  Nothing like getting started on the summer tan in February!