On Tuesday of this week I met up with my internship coordinator, Martha Karson, and we went into the vineyards at Vista Hills to remove "secondary clusters". These are green clusters of grapes which at this point will not ripen enough and will only make more work later when the grapes need to be sorted. We walked up and down the rows removing them with clippers.
I was able to spend a lot of time talking with some other Vista Hills employees who were there and also another intern named Isaiah from George Fox University. We talked all about the types of grapes and growing conditions. I spent over two hours in the vineyards and it was very hot, giving me a new respect for the laborers who actually prune and pick grapes for a living. I also ate a few grapes on the way. Production begins next week so I am looking forward to that very much.
-Chris
Monday, September 28, 2009
My second week
Hi every body,
Very interesting to read all your posts. So far I have done with my second week of the internship. We are moving slowly with the software program. We realized that the two software do not talk to each other, so I and another employee had to manually input all the new assets ID into the Fixed Asset software, change those IDs that were already in there to old ID, and changed some of the description and assets category (5-year asset, 10-year asset, etc). There will be a lot of work to get this done because we have about 15,000 pieces of inventory that needed to be input into the Fixed asset inventory. When all of them are in, then we will generate an excel from the software and then import the excel into the new Inventory software.
Also, this week, I had opportunities to work and help with the Vice President of Finance with his project. I got to look at their financial statements since 1990 and see how Statutory Accounting is different from GAAP accounting. I also help update the Investment Yield Project of the Direct of Finance that I did over the summer. The reason is that we took information from a company named AM Best, which rates all the insurance companies in the US. However, they had some updates in the way they rate, that's why I'm helping in updating that project.
I'm expecting there will be more interesting stuff to talk about as we are approaching year-end.
Very interesting to read all your posts. So far I have done with my second week of the internship. We are moving slowly with the software program. We realized that the two software do not talk to each other, so I and another employee had to manually input all the new assets ID into the Fixed Asset software, change those IDs that were already in there to old ID, and changed some of the description and assets category (5-year asset, 10-year asset, etc). There will be a lot of work to get this done because we have about 15,000 pieces of inventory that needed to be input into the Fixed asset inventory. When all of them are in, then we will generate an excel from the software and then import the excel into the new Inventory software.
Also, this week, I had opportunities to work and help with the Vice President of Finance with his project. I got to look at their financial statements since 1990 and see how Statutory Accounting is different from GAAP accounting. I also help update the Investment Yield Project of the Direct of Finance that I did over the summer. The reason is that we took information from a company named AM Best, which rates all the insurance companies in the US. However, they had some updates in the way they rate, that's why I'm helping in updating that project.
I'm expecting there will be more interesting stuff to talk about as we are approaching year-end.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
First week with Vista Hills
This was my first week logging hours with Vista Hills, a vineyard in the Dundee Hills. On Tuesday I drove there to meet with my intern supervisor, Martha Karson. We met in the tasting room, where she acquainted me with the different wines. I now have to remember the details so that when I pour wines, I can describe the attributes to the customers. I acquired my Oregon pourer's license over the summer, so I was immediately allowed to pour as we socialized with the guests. Usually at the winery there is a flight of five wines that people will try for $10. I also learned how to use the cashier machine.
On Saturday I spent three hours at the Art and Wine walk on 3rd street. We were pouring at Currents Gallery. Possibly due to the morning rain, turnout was low. While I had little opportunity to practice my skills, this turned out to not be so bad because I had the chance to talk to Mrs. Karson about various aspects of the wine industry and possible research topics. One that we discussed in particular was price points. The price has to be set low enough and attractive enough that the wine will sell, but once it is set too low, the wine will sell quickly and prices cannot be raised. Price points are studied heavily in Economics. While I decided not to be an economics minor, I have taken a couple economics classes and could see this as a viable area of study.
We also talked about different types of events. The Art and Wine walk is a monthly event, but Mrs. Karson had to keep track of the amount of business to see if this event is really worth the labor. At one point, there were nine people in the gallery and seven of them were artists. We were the other two, which doesn't make for a profitable afternoon. The same event, however, has drawn large crowds on other occasions.
At the end of this week or the beginning of next week, wine production will start and I anticipate spending a lot more time learning about how wine is made.
-Chris
On Saturday I spent three hours at the Art and Wine walk on 3rd street. We were pouring at Currents Gallery. Possibly due to the morning rain, turnout was low. While I had little opportunity to practice my skills, this turned out to not be so bad because I had the chance to talk to Mrs. Karson about various aspects of the wine industry and possible research topics. One that we discussed in particular was price points. The price has to be set low enough and attractive enough that the wine will sell, but once it is set too low, the wine will sell quickly and prices cannot be raised. Price points are studied heavily in Economics. While I decided not to be an economics minor, I have taken a couple economics classes and could see this as a viable area of study.
We also talked about different types of events. The Art and Wine walk is a monthly event, but Mrs. Karson had to keep track of the amount of business to see if this event is really worth the labor. At one point, there were nine people in the gallery and seven of them were artists. We were the other two, which doesn't make for a profitable afternoon. The same event, however, has drawn large crowds on other occasions.
At the end of this week or the beginning of next week, wine production will start and I anticipate spending a lot more time learning about how wine is made.
-Chris
Week 3
Hey everyone!
This week has been so busy. For some reason or another, all of my professors stacked it on, even in my real estate course. So unfortunately I was only able to go into West Hills twice this week. The first time I did some scanning for Scott, sending him listings and copies of photos. The second time I went in I was able to talk to Stacey, receive help from her regarding homework for my finance course. She also showed me some of the documents that we will be using once I am licensed. Other than that I did my daily tasks of filing advertisements, updating the green book of listings while quizzing Stacey about real estate information I didn't understand.
Hope everyones homework load isn't as big as mine! I'm still reading!
Write more soon!
cm
This week has been so busy. For some reason or another, all of my professors stacked it on, even in my real estate course. So unfortunately I was only able to go into West Hills twice this week. The first time I did some scanning for Scott, sending him listings and copies of photos. The second time I went in I was able to talk to Stacey, receive help from her regarding homework for my finance course. She also showed me some of the documents that we will be using once I am licensed. Other than that I did my daily tasks of filing advertisements, updating the green book of listings while quizzing Stacey about real estate information I didn't understand.
Hope everyones homework load isn't as big as mine! I'm still reading!
Write more soon!
cm
Saturday, September 19, 2009
My first week
Hi there,
So my first week at with the internship went smoothly since I have already knew a lot of people in the company. Even though I still had some problem setting up the computer with the right software for the inventory project that I'm doing, I was able to use somebody's else computer to get a feel with the software. We are now finishing up tagging all the inventory and moving into the software. The computer department installed a "not-complete" version of the software into a laptop, so I can follow the instruction manual and play with it. Originally, the company had a BNA FIXED asset software to keep track of all the depreciation of assets that are worth more than $500 when they bought them. However, I learned that even though many of the assets are under $500 but were still kept track in there. They explained me that a lot of them were cubicle assets system. When the company bought them, they bought so many at the same time that the total amount would worth several hundred thousand dollar. If they just categorized them as asset under 500$, they would be simply expenses of the company. However, by putting them in asset more than $500, the company can capitalize them and depreciate them over time. So that was all about the BNA fixed asset. However, many assets that were under $500 weren't kept track properly and that software is only for depreciation. So now the company bought a new software, BNA INVENTORY, which is for keeping track of all the inventories, no matter how much they were bought for. And that is what I'm working on right now because the company just bought the software, there are many things to work on that software to get it running right and to learn about it.
So my first week at with the internship went smoothly since I have already knew a lot of people in the company. Even though I still had some problem setting up the computer with the right software for the inventory project that I'm doing, I was able to use somebody's else computer to get a feel with the software. We are now finishing up tagging all the inventory and moving into the software. The computer department installed a "not-complete" version of the software into a laptop, so I can follow the instruction manual and play with it. Originally, the company had a BNA FIXED asset software to keep track of all the depreciation of assets that are worth more than $500 when they bought them. However, I learned that even though many of the assets are under $500 but were still kept track in there. They explained me that a lot of them were cubicle assets system. When the company bought them, they bought so many at the same time that the total amount would worth several hundred thousand dollar. If they just categorized them as asset under 500$, they would be simply expenses of the company. However, by putting them in asset more than $500, the company can capitalize them and depreciate them over time. So that was all about the BNA fixed asset. However, many assets that were under $500 weren't kept track properly and that software is only for depreciation. So now the company bought a new software, BNA INVENTORY, which is for keeping track of all the inventories, no matter how much they were bought for. And that is what I'm working on right now because the company just bought the software, there are many things to work on that software to get it running right and to learn about it.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Internship at Oregon Mutual Insurance (OMI)
Hello everybody, I'm Anh Nguyen. This semester I will be doing an internship in the Accounting department of OMI. However, in the summer, I already completed an internship with them. What different between the summer internship and this fall internship is that in the summer, I learnt about the whole company, I was placed in different departments every 2 weeks to learn. It was very informative. I learnt more that what I had expected. I started with zero knowledge in the insurance industry and now I know a lot more than 3 months ago!!! However, since my major is Accounting, I really wanted to have more time doing Accounting and learn more about real Accounting. So this fall, I'm coming back to learn in their Accounting department only. I'm expecting to learn more about their inventory, their budget, vendors, etc. I'm excited about that. Write more later :D
Friday, September 11, 2009
After my second class!
Hey everyone!
So last week was my first class for the real estate broker's course. I was pretty nervous but I met four people that were really nice and seemed to have a level head so I have some study buddies now.
This week we had our first drill exam which is a set of questions you take on your own time. There were 120 some questions and I only missed 23! That is really good considering everyone else missed about 40 or 60, there was only one other guy who beat me with 20 wrong. But he already has more experience than I do with all kinds of business. So I studied hard and it actually paid off!
This week I was unable to make a trip into West Hills as I am fighting off a cold, they don't want to get sick there, so I try to keep it at home.
Will write more next week, I think I have a new project coming up.
ttyl
cm
So last week was my first class for the real estate broker's course. I was pretty nervous but I met four people that were really nice and seemed to have a level head so I have some study buddies now.
This week we had our first drill exam which is a set of questions you take on your own time. There were 120 some questions and I only missed 23! That is really good considering everyone else missed about 40 or 60, there was only one other guy who beat me with 20 wrong. But he already has more experience than I do with all kinds of business. So I studied hard and it actually paid off!
This week I was unable to make a trip into West Hills as I am fighting off a cold, they don't want to get sick there, so I try to keep it at home.
Will write more next week, I think I have a new project coming up.
ttyl
cm
Sunday, September 6, 2009
My second showing!
This week I was able to go on a showing with one of my mentors, Stacey. Every real estate agent shows a house differently, her way differed from Scott’s way in that she did not sit on the furniture and wait for the clients to look around on their own. She walked through every room, even aired them out before they got there. Stacey took a tape measure and measured sizes of doors and furniture for the clients. But she warned me, these clients had seen the house once before and wanted to have a friend come and look. It is known that sometimes, not always but sometimes, a friend of a client can make your deal for you, or they can break the deal. I remember when my fiancée and I were looking for a house to live in our parents opinion often broke the deal.
Showing houses is one of my favorite parts of real estate because you actually get to go out into the field. I am learning what clients like in homes, what to look for that may impress them as well as viewing the houses in the neighborhood for comparable analysis. An important lesion I have been taught for showing is: clients make like something or not like something that differs from my own opinion of what they should want to live in. I guess you could consider this common sense, but it is still essential to selling homes.
This week I have also created a book/binder with the updated OAR laws. (This actually served as a great review for my pre-licensing course.) I also organized the new files for property management and created new folders for those documents. I’m glad I was able to help Ranaye with those tasks because they were cluttering up her desk!
Showing houses is one of my favorite parts of real estate because you actually get to go out into the field. I am learning what clients like in homes, what to look for that may impress them as well as viewing the houses in the neighborhood for comparable analysis. An important lesion I have been taught for showing is: clients make like something or not like something that differs from my own opinion of what they should want to live in. I guess you could consider this common sense, but it is still essential to selling homes.
This week I have also created a book/binder with the updated OAR laws. (This actually served as a great review for my pre-licensing course.) I also organized the new files for property management and created new folders for those documents. I’m glad I was able to help Ranaye with those tasks because they were cluttering up her desk!
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