Grunt Work

This week I spent eight hours scanning and sorting the physical copies of interview and an additional four labeling and sorting the scanned files into an excel spreadsheet file.
My last post had a pretty great summary of  what office life is like for me.

One thing I learned: to make sure everything is saved to more than one source. My computer crashed (literally... and screen separated from body). Fortunately I had been saving to a USB, but that reminded me to save it to a third source as well...

This coming (and final) week I intend to gather all of the hardcopies of what I've done and talk to Trish, my mentor. She will let me know whom I should talk to so that my efforts can be utilized by the playwright.

Unfortunately I did not get to interview more people about their lives in Sanford. However, depending on schedules, I might be able to do some of that this coming summer. We'll see. I don't have to volunteer just for school. ;)

This week is a particularly short blog because I am saving my "reflection over this full semester" for my last entry next week.  

An Office Job

           This week I spent a day in the office scanning paper, and another day labeling and sorting the digital files from those scans.

Like the transcription work, I do not feel like there is any enthralling revelation that I have from this. I am spending hours and hours processing hundreds or thousands of pages (digitally and physically) so that later someone else won’t have to.

 Here is a glimpse of what I was doing in the office:

1. The day started with a cup of coffee (see my lovely yellow mug) which I brought from home (because coffee makes every morning better).

2.Then I set up my printer/scanner. The office already had two other fax/printer/scanners but one of them could not connect to a computer and the other scanned each page independently. I needed my machine to scan 30 and 50 page documents as a single document, and so I brought one from home.

3. Then I dredged the files from the cabinet. As I opened each folder I compared them to our digital database so that I wouldn’t make duplicates. Then I scanned the transcription and permission/release forms separately (for ease of access later.) Then I stapled/paper clipped the interviews to their release forms and re-filed the physical copies alphabetically.

4. I have several new office friends now. One is the printer function which scans stacks of paper at a time. This process would be infinitely longer if I had to copy each page individually. The others come as a conglomerate: paperclips, staple remover, stapler, and sticky notes… These are the essentials of any office.

        Here you can see how much I’ve done. I feel successful when I stack it all together like that. 

 The next step is naming and organizing the digital files so that I can (finally) complete an excel. Imagine so much work for one spreadsheet?

This is why no one likes paperwork… Except that I did enjoy the repetition of the task. I don’t want to make a career of this job, but I am enjoying a few days in the office. 

So. Much. Paper.

       The last time that I walked into the optometrist for an appointment I noticed that they still kept their files in physical copies, and I wondered, why? It seems so inefficient. It seems like a difficult database to search since it is stacks and filing cabinets of paper. I now know why. It takes an incredibly long time to transfer information from hard-copy to digital database, especially if it is not impeccably organized to begin with.

       When I started my new task I thought that it would be a decent amount of work, but I had no idea of exactly how much. I hoped that I would have time to conduct more interviews. If I do have enough time for more interviews it will be a miracle. Right now I am almost overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of paperwork.

       This week I started organizing and labeling documents so that I can scan them into a digital file and then incorporate that file as a hyperlink into an excel document so that Jules Corriere, the new playwright, can make good use of the information that we already have.  

       I am really proud of myself for not getting a paper cut… yet, but I did get a crook in my neck.

Instead of the earlier work that I was doing (which required my interaction with other people) this job is really lonely. To some degree that is good. The office where I am working is secluded, so I can take off my shoes and listen to music while I sort and file and scan and list. It is nice to create my own work environment, but I do miss talking with people.

Change Will Come

                For those who have not seen Celery Soup’s production of Touch and Go (and you should) the title of this article is the name of one of their songs and a theme of their productions. I chose it because this week marks a change in my internship. I am under new supervision (My previous mentor is enjoying her vacation in China, but she will be back in time for my final review.), and my project focus has changed.  Since I have completed by four interviews my new task is organizing the interviews that have already been recorded or transcribed so that the new playwright can easily access them in the future. To that end, I spent time with Linda on Monday as she explained the current state of the documents (a combination of physical transcriptions, digital documents, and audio files) so that I may begin organizing them in an excel document. My first step has been organizing and labeling the digital files (grouping files by interviewer/interviewee). My next step will be sorting through the hard copies so, comparing them to the digital copies (checking for duplicates, etc…) and scanning copies to fill gaps in our digital information.

                Meanwhile, I am also finishing my fourth transcription.

                Something else Linda and I did while we met was travel around downtown Sanford so that she could introduce me to several other people whom Celery Soup wants to interview.

Although it will be impossible to interview and transcribe more interviews, I hope to at least conduct one or two more interviews for the database. Honestly, the interview is my favorite part of this process. The other aspects necessary and somewhat engaging, but I absolutely love talking to the people. I love hearing the new stories. I guess that makes me an extrovert? 

The Butler

          You know what’s odd about transcription? When sit in my corner I am not attentive to anything around me: my eyes on my screen, my mind on their words, and my headphones in my ears. For all intents and purposes it is solitary work. Unfortunately, I am a social person. I draw energy from people interactions and conversations. I thrive in movement and discussion–Which is probably why I think the interview process is so much fun. The surprising think about transcription to me is that I don’t feel alone while I do it. Even if I am not adding to the conversation, I get to listen to a conversation. While I type out their voices I assume almost the same silent-listening role as when I conduct the interviews.

As I predicted last time, the hardest part about transcribing my most recent interview (about the Butler movie with seven participants) at first was discerning one speaker from another. Some of the voices are very distinct, others less so.  Since I anticipated this problem, during the interview I noted which speaker discussed each topic so that, if I had trouble, I could just reference the notes. As I get farther along in the transcription, it gets easier to tell each of the ladies apart.

Also, many of the women from that interview were happy to give a follow-up interview based on the topics we discussed – which is super exciting. Therefore, while I transcribe this interview I am also noting several topics and discussions that they showed an interest in. Those topics can then be used as a springboard for their next interview.

Dinner and a Show

My fourth interview took place this Monday night at the Sanford History center in downtown Sanford. I led the interview, once again, but it was different from all of our previous interviews because we used a movie, The Butler (2013) to help us set the tone for the questions. For those who have not seen this film, it is the about a butler at the Whitehouse who served for seven presidencies and during the civil rights movement. As we watched the movie we strategically paused and asked questions of the ladies present. Unfortunately, the male interviewees were unable to attend this viewing. The responses we received were intriguing and sometimes startling. To me, the most interesting part was their consensus on so many things although their origins and backgrounds were often very different.

For those who have not seen the film, here is a link to the trailer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUA7rr0bOcc

Because it began around dinnertime we served sandwiches and fruit and drinks so that everyone felt comfortable. The questions I asked were prepared beforehand, although I occasionally pursued side trails based upon their answers. I focused on the topics of family and race relations and sought the themes of community, helping one another, and relationship. Here are a few examples of my questions.

1. Louis couldn’t understand why his father would serve as a butler. In fact, he was ashamed of his father’s position. When Louis went off to college, he became involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Cecil strongly disagreed with Louis’ choice. He was ashamed of his son’s decision. Cecil was so upset, he didn’t speak to his Louis for years. And the central image of fortitude that stands between them is Gloria who holds the family together. How did the age difference between you and your parents cause you to have different perspectives on things?

2. In your family, did you discuss desegregation? How did you feel about the issue? Did your family agree with you? What divisions did it cause among you? How did your friends discuss desegregation? How has your parents’ view of racism changed who you are?

3. In an interview Oprah stated that “Gloria is every woman. She represents every mother, wife, sister, friend and daughter who grew up when women were the silent backbone for everything and everybody. Women who sacrificed their dreams and desires for the greater good of family and children.” - Oprah Winfrey Describe the backbone of your family growing up. Who held everyone together?

All of the interviewees seemed keen to continue this discussion. The length of the actually interview was limited due to the length of the movie, but it stirred up thoughts which will be wonderful to readdress in a follow-up interview.

Another way this sort of interview could be conducted (for time’s sake) is by showing short 5-10 minute clips (perhaps from YouTube) to engage emotions and inspire interesting conversation.

One Down, One to Go

I am so excited because I finally finished editing the instruction manual for Celery Soup! It took a lot more time and effort than I thought it would–organizing all of that information and formatting it neatly and correcting errors–and a lot of the information was already vaguely assembled by a previous intern. I have a new respect for the time it takes to organize people and information in a professional way.

         My next interview will be on Monday, March 16^th based on the movie The Butler. This interview will be particularly interesting because it will incorporate a lot more interviewees (at least seven people will be attending) who are unrelated.  This means there will be new challenges. It may be difficult to maintain control over the conversation when we discuss a topic which interests several of the interviewees at a time. It will be difficult to keep the interviewees from overlapping. It may be more intimidating to question a group. Since there will be more challenges, there will be several things I must keep in mind (and since I just finished my instruction manual to help the next intern along, I know what I must be careful for). It will be important to ask questions directly to a person and not vaguely at a group. I should use the names of the interviewees I am talking to for ease of transcription later. Perhaps the most difficult thing to remember will be to keep track of time.