My shadow day started at 12pm, but I arrived  at 3pm. I was late and my mentor gave me a lecture about it. I knew it wouldn't happen again though. The time I was at my internship was mostly spend doing nothing because my mentor was busy with clients. However I did get to go over my expectations and the job description for the day. My mentor, Shannon Anderson, and also my brother, told me that I would be in charge of answering phones, learning about tattooing, and how to keep the tattoo workplace clean. I am going to be interning at Simms Ink tattooing and piercing shop in Hayward. Its pretty laid back there and everyone is friendly. I was able to get this internship through one of my brothers during my parent teacher conference. He recommended that I should do it there at the tattoo shop because It would be more beneficial to me, and i agree. I am looking forward to day one.

On the official day for my internship, I cleaned a lot of the tattoo shop. I swept all the stations, cleaned the bathroom, took out the trash and cleaned off the bookshelf. I had to wear gloves to protect myself from blood-borne pathogens. I also sat in the front desk and helped about four costumers. They made my job easier because they knew what they wanted when they came in. I also had the opportunity to answer the phone a couple of times. I was in charge of getting the tattoo artist the phone and taking messages for them. My first day was completely boring. Besides the co-workers being extremely cool and laid back, I didn't have too much fun. My mentor told me that business was really slow that day and it will get better. My ability to thoroughly clean and organize the tattoo station impressed my mentor. He said that I did a great job and can't wait to have me back. Also, he even said he would hire me if it was possible. I need more help with answering the phones. sometimes I get nervous and not know what to say. I was mostly busy, but I had at least an hour worth of down time. I figured that time could be considered my lunch break. I really don't have questions for my mentor. I think he is really prepared and excited for me. I do not have any questions for my academic seminar teacher either. I just can't wait for things to start getting more exciting.

My internship is beginning to be how i thought it would be. I am discovering things that I didn't even know was related to working at a tattoo shop. For example, I learned a lot about blood-borne pathogens. My mentor, Shannon, told me that they are microorganisms in blood that can cause major infections and diseases like HIV, syphilis, and Hepatitis B and C. I also learned how to remove these microorganisms from the tattoo and piercing equipment by using this vibrating machine that contains soapy water. Then, I had to put them into a bag and put them into another machine that applied heat, pressure, and burning hot water to remove all of the bacteria. That was really interesting. Most importantly, I learned to always wear gloves while working with blood-borne pathogens. The thing I found most surprising abut my internship is that it is very professional there. A lot of the artists have years of experience and all of them are eager to pass their knowledge onto me. My mentor is looking forward to teaching me how to set up a station and prepare it for someone to get their tattoo. However, this does take a lot of time and practice, So hopefully I will get it soon. It sems pretty hard, but my mentor is going to do a great job of teaching  me. Hopefully i could use that as a project idea.

Imagining I was my mentor: "Jazzi is very interested in all the work she does here. I can't believe how interested she is in the business and I can see her working here in the future. I feel that she can improve with her people skills so that conversations flow more while she works with clients. Other than that, I am ready to approach with the skills she needs in order to set up a tattoo station. When I walked through the door, Im sure my mentor was shocked because I came earlier than expected. That gave me more time to meet the other artists and socialize. That made my mentor happy because I was talking with his co-workers and even had a cool conversation with Dane, the owner of the shop. I think my quality and speed impresses my mentor a lot. He always comments on how fast I learn something and is ready to apply it. again. My mentor most likely is not impressed by the way I handle the costumers. I feel that he thinks I am too shy, so he always help me loosen up by telling a joke so that the costumer is welcomed with a smile. Im sure my mentor would like to learn from me that I am able to run the front desk all by myself and handle the transactions when it invloves selling products like the clothing and jewelry. Also, My mentor cannot wait until I am able to set up a station on my own because he feels that it is key when working in a tattoo shop. I always hear my mentor overtalking with his clients about me. He brags about me being his intern and how I am his sister. He makes sure ythe sister part does not effect my work. It really feels like having a new person as my mentor. We both keep it professional, which is teaching me even more!