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Author Archives: Jackie
Posts: 9 (archived below)
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The Weekend Before Christmas
It was the weekend before Christmas and I was begging Mariana to give me Christmas Eve off. For the past couple of years that I have worked at Food Dynasty I usually get the day off. Yet, this year I lost the fight; but I do have Christmas day off so that made my shift all the more enjoyable.
I have worked at Food Dynasty as a cashier for the past three and a half years. It is located on 50th street on Skillman Avenue in Woodside,Queens. Many young individuals like myself do not last there long because the job is a lot tougher than it appears. Anyone who has worked part-time at a grocery store or any kind of store knows what I am talking about.
Food Dynasty hires people of all ages to work as cashiers or stock shelves. The other positions such as being a supervisor/manager and working in the downstairs office either require a degree or many years of experience.
Prior to working at Food Dynasty I had been a baby-sitter as a teenager and unable to find real jobs because I was not 18 years of age. Yet when I turned 18 in 2007 I got a job at New York & Company as a sales associate and worked there for three months. In September of 2007 I began to work at Food Dynasty out of convenience; I started college and needed a job close to home.I thought it would be an easy job.
The job is tedious at first because you must handle various types of transactions which include redeeming bottle refunds, processing W.I.C . checks(sometimes 5 at once), cashing personal checks for a purchase, gift cards, food stamp cards(there are sometimes special cases because there is EBT cash and EBT food amounts on one card), DEBIT/CREDIT,and regular cash transactions.
In addition to doing those transactions sometimes customers will do part credit, part debit, part cash, and part check-the combinations for one monetary transcation would amaze as well as confuse an individual who is not use to conducting all those adverse transactions where pressing one wrong button can ruin everything (then you must start over).
Plus, you must bag all of the customers’ groceries in a matter of seconds.There could be a group of five people purchasing a party-load worth of items (100 plus) and they will all watch as one cashier bags every item by themselves. Cashiers and other workers at dynasty have been deemed as slaves to the public, why else would they watch as a cashier bags 300 things when they have 10 people with them?
Many of them consider you to be a amachine so they are not nice to you and usually tell you to hurry up when you are taking an extra 30 seconds-literally. One customer said , “the cashiers always rush us out the door.”
At my store it is the customers that rush the cashier and throw their money at us, on the conveyor belt (while it is moving!) where the money gets stuck in the register half of time and give us dirty looks when we say “hello, how are you today?”
Food Dynasty workers get this type of treatment all year round, yet it heightens around the holidays . More customers shop at supermarkets to get bargains because they have sales on tons of items every week-especially on holiday/limited edition items like egg nog ice cream.
This year and on the weekend before Christmas 2010 I have encountered many miserable and mean people. Starting with the rude customers that have complained for the past month how they hate Christmas music that my job has been playing.
My photos above were taken on a friday night, on the weekend before Christmas which is why they do not appear hectic in spirit of the holiday season. The majority of customers in Woodside, Queens either shop at Stop & Shop by northern boulevard or Food Dynasty (for the most part) because they are the local supermarkets in the area. There are two other supermarkets owned by the Food Dynasty corporation on 46th and 61st Woodside (by different owners) yet they are not a pleasant hike in 20 degree weather.
In spite of it all we all work as a team at Food Dynasty to make one anothers shift bearable. At times we all individually feel like giving up because are hard work is not appreciate by customers who underestimate our worth and intellect all because we work behind a register (with an unsightly store apron).
The point of this project was not not go on a rant about how terrible my job is. I did this project in hopes of conveying whether through phototography or context what my co-workers and I endure on every single one of our shifts. Many people at my job and even in my family have worked in the grocery business for at least a decade and have encountered many walks of life; many stories were unpleasant. Many of my stories are unpleasant and I have only been working since I was 18 years old!
As cashiers we have consistently been dehumanized by the public. Some customers do respect us and do strike up conversations with us. When they do they find that the majority of us attend college, lead respectable lives and are intelligent individuals. On the other side of the register it is easy to judge someone like me; yet you perceive me wrong because my humanity goes beyond what your acclaimed ‘double-vision’ can see.
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- Another day, another shift.
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- Mariana, one of the book keepers tells me how her day at work was and then she will tell me to take a cash drawer to open up downstairs.
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- Sometimes the store is not busy, so I walk down the aisles and put throwbacks in their rightful places.
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- Robin walks around to stock some of the shelves while he can before he is called to do a delivery or attend the manager in some other way.
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- Then the store becomes quite busy in a matter of minutes, especially at the cash register on a Friday night.
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- Freddy, the store manager and John another cashier joke around; I see this as I am walking back to my register to open up.
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- After a rush, the store is once again slow so I run to the detergent aisle to put back clorox and scotch brite scrubbing pads for my co-worker Shampa.
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- Brian smiles even though the check-out counters have become really busy in a matter of minutes.
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- Since my register wasn’t busy Freddy sends me on another trip to put back store items.
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- Finally my shift is over by 9 p.m. and I browse the meat section to buy some items that my parents need; another customer impatiently looks for his chopped pork meat.
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- I am on the outside looking in and I truly dread when I have to work my next shift the following weekend! Christmas!
Noisemakers of Berkeley
As of last year, Berkeley Tower’s Co-op in Woodside, Queens saved an estimate of $1 million dollars to renovate the buildings’ 50 year old terraces, which were in dire need of a face lift. The company that is currently working on the Berkeley Tower’s Co-op is a construction company named Yates.
These renovations have more than just one down side. Many residents not only have to close up their terraces for a year (manadatory precaution for demolition of parts of terrace), yet must endure several defeaning drill sounds from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays.
Construction began several months ago and since then almost all of Berkeley’s residents complained to Berkeley’s Management office in the Jefferson building that the drills are supposed to have mufflers. If the drills have mufflers the sound would not penetrate throughout the building the way it does.
The majority of Berkeley residents are senior citizens and do not work, so the sound is a hinderance.One resident stated that “I leave the house during the day just to be rid of the sounds.”
Renovations must be conducted to ensure the safety of residents and the stability of their terraces. Thus, the project may cause confliction but it is neccessary that it is done and done correctly; drills must be used whether there are mufflers on the drills or not.
The Berkeley Tower’s Corporation consists of three apartment complexes: the Washington, the Madison, and the Jefferson. Renovations on the Washington were completed in November. Work on the Jefferson and the Madison will be done by the end of 2011. Berkeley residents still have another year of listening to the noisemakers of Berkeley!
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- My father couldn’t put his Christmas decorations this year, something he has been doing for the past 24 years.
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- The drill was used to break off cement that has held the terraces since the late 50’s into the early 60’s.
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- Scaffolding at the back of the Berkeley’s Jefferson building.
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- A Berkeley resident is suing Berkeley Towers because he doesn’t want to tak down his room.
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- Waking up all Berkeley Tower residents at the crack of 9:00 A.M. by deafening drilling.
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- The reason why my dad and other Berekeley residents can’t decorate or have piece of mind on a daily basis.
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- Scaffolding at the back of the Berkeley’s Jefferson building.
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- Workers going down on scaffolding to work on another floor.
Posted in assignment Five - ISSUES (black & white)
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Glancing toward the Ceiling
I have always sat in the student lounge on the third floor and admired this small section of Baruch’s architecture. I have never seen such a beautiful campus. When I had come to my first Baruch open house five years ago it was the architecture that had me in awe. If there is one thing I will miss when I graduate it will definitely be the ambiguous, yet astonishing architecture. Sometimes I would have bad days and I would look at the all the geometric shapes and metal hardware to find serenity. Usually I would seek solace from nature if I were feeling indifferent, but there’s no green refuge on the urban streets of New York City.
Tag Sale at The Madison
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- Sunday October 24th, 2010: Venus, Berkeley Towers’ Door Lady sporting the Tag Sale sign in the lobby.
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- Mr.Psarro tapes up the Social Committee’s table sign.
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- A neighbor brings down more of the Social Committee’s sale items: chairs.
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- “You should put the jewelry display this way so people can see.”
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- Lucy sells a once very expensive Christmas nic nac as Mrs. Gennaro hangs up her sale items.
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- Rihannan, Lucy’s granddaughter inquires about every item in sight for sale; on everyone’s table.
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- Neighbors Margaret, Karen, and Kate observe my mother’s hand strung earrings, bracelets, and necklaces with Swarsoski Crystal, garnet,sandstone, turquoise, and quartz beads.
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- Mrs.Gennaro talks to my grandmother about my mother’s beadding hobby as she admires some pieces on display.
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- Sales were slow through much of the day because St.Sebastian was also having an indoor flea market.
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- Joannie and another Berkeley resident comment on Mrs.Psarro’s new Skecher sneaks.
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- Joannie thinks my sister’s handstrung candycane ornaments are just “so cute” as she leaves with the paintings she purchased from the Psarros’ table.
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- Lucy sells another Christmas item to another neighbor.
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- Al Volpe, head of Berkeley Towers’ Board of Directors and Social Committee passes by to see the Tag Sale’s turnout which wasn’t very good this day.
The Tag Sale is a biannual event that takes place in the Berkeley Towers’ Co-op recreation room located in Woodside, Queens. The co-op’s Board of Directors and Social Committee wprk in unison to secure the two sale dates of every year: one in May and another in November.
Twice a year participating Berkeley shareholders rent tables for $15 to sell new and used nic nacs, furniture, rugs, paintings and handmade goods. This is also a day where the Berkeley Tower community socialize with one another as well as open their doors to the public.
The biannual Tag Sale is also advertised in the Woodside neighborhood’s local newspapers like the Woodside Herald and the Queen’s Gazette.
Posted in Assignment Four - Community
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Martin Viette Nurseries: East Norwich, New York
As you step out of your car the smell of maples and fresh autumn air fill your nostrils. The parking lot is nothing more than one big dirt patch and lose dirt feels like gravel beneath your sandals. The entrance to Martin Viette Nurseries looks as if it’s a hike from where you are parked but it’s nothing short of a 400 foot walk. The Martin Viette sign is hand carved from wood with white paint highlighting the words. Yet, the sign itself is flanked by May flowers which are sustainable within this fall’s ‘Indian summer’. As you approach the threshold of the Martin Viette’s home decor shoppe the musty smell of damp wood and Christmas spices envelop the atmosphere which makes you smile because you sense the holidays are finally here.
Martin Viette is a family owned nursery that looks like a farm from the highway. The products and vegetation it grows and sells are to accomodate the needs of gardeners and home makers. They also offer haunted hay rides during the harvest season which is in honor of Halloween. Their home decor shoppe will appease any devout Christmas decorator; my father happens to be one of them. These intricate and glitzy decorations will light up any adolescents eyes and evoke feelings of curiosity as well as joy. If you are not a child it will certainly bring out the kid in you.
Martin Viette holds raffles, hosts Garden Club and Good Earth Kids Club Meetings, MV plant seminars and events every month (and tons around the holidays). If you are a garden member you can regularly attend those seminars and receive weekly e-newsletters. However you do not have to be a club member or resident to shop there.
All are welcome but parking is limited and fills up quickly on weekends.Anyone can also purchase gift cards to their stores online ($1000 maximum). So what are you waiting for ? Don’t you want to feel like a kid again when the holidays start setting in as opposed to feeling your wallet is running away from you? For more information on the nurseries services, events, locations, hours of operation, and inventory go to http://www.martinviette.com/
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- Martin Viette Home Decor Christmas & Holiday Shoppe
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- Christmas Decorations
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- Pumpkin pickers at work.
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- A little girl hounds her father for some apples.
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- Kids run around as their mother pays for their pumpkins.
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- A Martin Viette employee shows a customer around the store.
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- Pumpkin field alongside Martin Viette decor shoppe. It’s huge.
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- Baby lambs awaiting to be hand fed.
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- Road alongside tree nursery, to the left of the pumpkin patch and field.
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- Something my father would place by my grandmother’s parking space in her garage.
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- One lonely pumpkin behind the petting zoo.
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- Children’s pumpkin picking field.
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- Family paying at Martin Viette nursery check-out, outdoors.
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- Martin Viette associate assisting elderly customers with their purchases.
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- A kiddle plays with christmas figurines by the shoppe’s cash wrap.
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- A section of the tree nursery.
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- Corn and wheat fields surrounding the mini petting zoo.
My Grandmother’s ‘Life’ After Retirement
I did my environmental portrait on my grandmother, Rose Marie Debonis. She was born May 21st, 1939 to Rafael and Carmela Marotta. Her childhood was spent around her family which she always happily reminices; when her parents and grandparents were alive. For most of her young life she lived on Bleecker Street in Manhattan. According to my grandmother, ” in those days there were a lot of Italians.” If she wasn’t in Manhattan she was visiting her grandparents, Frank and Maria Cirella in Staten Island which was where most of her family lived at the time. When she was 18 she began to date my grandfather, Pete Debonis and married him when she was 21 years of age. At the age of 25 she gave birth to my mother, Isabelle DeBonis who grew up in Queens and had three daughters; Jaclyn, Nicole and Samantha.
Ever since the day I was born my grandmother has helped my parents no matter what was needed. As a result, she has always had authority in my house. She may live down the hall but she is like a third parental figure who not only gives us money but also offers my sisters and I sensible advice she hopes we take into consideration. Aside for caring for her three granddaughters she loves to take care of her “two [other] furry grandchildren”: Sephora and Thumper. In the past she has driven us to school, work, and to do errands. She has always cooked and cleaned not only for herself but for us too, “like a servant” as she always says. I appreciate my grandmother and love her for so many reasons I just hope I can give her what she has given me. Even so, I aspire to be like her someday and when I tell her that she says “well, start now then.”
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- Grandma posing with her two furry grandchildren in her house on a typical Saturday afternoon.
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- She has always kept pictures of those she loves most up in her hallway.
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- My grandmother’s grandfather and grandmother were immigrants from Miglionico, Italy in the early 20th century which was when this painting was done.
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- She’s so meticulous about cleaning that she has to clean everyday. Yet, she really makes those countertops shine.
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- Grandma spending time with her “furry granddaughter” because she decided to give grandma a visit.
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- Thumper looking like a saint in Grandma’s sink, but looks are deceiving.
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- Thumper attempting to jump off grandma’s sink just before he runs around ragged around Grandma’s house.
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- Grandma feeding Thumper, her “furry grandson” broccoli after we all ate dinner on a Sunday night.
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- After dinner and desert Grandma becomes inseparable from her crossword puzzles which she does every night and morning.
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- As always Grandma is always preparing side dishes for the next day, this one is Italian-style roasted artichokes:olive oil, breadcrumbs,salt, pepper and a lot of love.
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- Grandma has always shined a light on her loved ones because they’re most important to her;” your immediate family is what counts.”
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- Before she retires to her bedroom to get sleep for the next day, she makes sure “the gases on the stove and knobs on faucets are closed” and that everything is order right down to her shoes being “on the rug ” and not her “clean floor.”
Labor Day at the Smith House
There are many ways to celebrate Labor day. This year my parents and my siblings were supposed to attend a family barbeque out in Long Island.
Unfortunately my father had gotten sick so we had to miss that family affair in early September 2010. Instead we shopped for my sister’s art class supplies and my photograpghy supplies.
Afterward, we went home and my father cooked shish kabobs and home made, deep-fried chicken along with other side dishes. My grandmother thought we did not have enough greens within our meal so she had cooked string beans.
We were disappointed that we could not go to the family barbeque, but we had created our own family barneque at home. It was small, but it was a perfect way to celebrate an American holiday like Labor Day.
*captions are on bottom of photos*
Posted in Assignment One - Event
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