L. Vet Tech

                So far this year my plans for after school have changed a lot. My main issue with going away to a four year school is cost. Being a Physician’s assistant is something I really considered but 5 years of schooling will cost so much and even though it will pay off, I don’t think I am willing to pursue it now. I was looking into ECC and planning on working while going there to get some money saved until I decide what I want to do. One thing I have thought about was becoming a DEC officer. I would love to do that but the only problem is chances in becoming one are very slim. So what I am considering now is becoming a vet tech. It is a two year program, so it won’t cause me to accumulate too much debt. It doesn’t make a ton of money, but I really love animals and would like going to work with them every day. Also since it is a two year program, if I end up wanting to get a better job, I can go back to school while still working as a vet tech.

                The job outlook for vet techs is very good. It has an expected 52% increase between 2012 and 2020. As of 2010 they make about $30,000 which isn’t great, but isn’t terrible either. A vet tech works under a veterinarian and can perform medical exams and diagnose illness and injury of animals.

Alfred state, Medialle, and GCC all offer vet tech programs. I would be most interested in attending Alfred state if I could get a decent scholarship. If not I would probably look into GCC.  Overall, right now I am considering becoming a vet tech. However, that will probably change in a week or so because I can’t seem to make up my mind.  

L. Community College

                One thing that will always really annoy me is when people talk down to community college. Yes community college is very different from a private college, but it still is an education. In many cases it is a better financial decision as well. For example, many degrees won’t offer a job that will be able to pay back very expensive student loans. What is the point of going to school for four years for 60,000 dollars a year when someone will only make 50,000 dollars a year? It is best to look at college and decide whether or not a very expensive school is something that is necessary.  There are a lot of fun experiences and a lot of opportunity to meet people when you go to a big school. But community college could be a better choice in many decisions. A lot of people cannot afford an expensive education. So when kids whose parents can afford to send them to an expensive four year school talk down to kids who will go to community college it is very annoying. A college degree is a college degree. I think more people should consider community college if it offers what they are interested in. Or even start off at a community college and then transfer later on. It is a good financial decision for now and for the future. The amount of money one can save is crazy. ECC is about $4,000 a year where any other school someone could be staying and living at can be very costly. College is a very big decision and requires a lot of thought. It is very easy to be given a lot of money in a student loan, but unless you will be making enough money to pay it off, it is very difficult. Students must start making payments within 6 months after they stop attending school full time. It is very important to plan carefully for the future.

Thanksgiving plans

Thanksgiving is in two days! Everyone is very excited for all the food and festivities! Families thanksgiving traditions are all different but similar at the same time. Many people like to watch the football games and eat a lot of food. Some people like to go out hunting in the morning. And some like to go shopping on Thanksgiving Day or very early black Friday morning. I love the holidays because I always have so much fun spending time with my family. My family from New Jersey comes up. Thanksgiving morning one of my cousins and I go out hunting together. Then I go home and get ready to go to my uncles in Cheektowaga. My dad’s side of the family is all there and it is always a blast. Unfortunately, my mom has to work on thanksgiving this year from 3 pm to 11 pm. I feel bad she won’t be able to spend the holiday with her but my sister and I are meeting her when she gets out of work to go black Friday shopping. Overall, spending time with my family is my favorite part of Thanksgiving. All of the food is a close second.

                One thing I learned about Thanksgiving that is very interesting is that what we eat as tradition on the holiday is not what the Pilgrims and the colonists ate. The holiday has been altered very much than what it originally was. It was a 3 day long celebration that took place in 1621. Mostly venison was consumed on Thanksgiving, some wild turkey too. There was no pumpkin pie or cranberry sauce. Also the date of Thanksgiving has been changed a lot by different presidents. Not a lot of people know the facts about Thanksgiving, it is good to know what we are celebrating!

Varsity Bball

                I have very high hopes for my senior year of basketball. The team is looking very good so far. This year Coach Delzer is having the team do a lot of things differently this season. I was pretty let down to find out I am not a captain on the team, but there isn’t anything I can do about that. I can only work my hardest and be the best player I can be for my last season of basketball. Ever since 7^th grade I have worked for my senior year of basketball. My one regret is that I barely played in any of last season from my knee injury. The fact that I couldn’t improve last season because I wasn’t able to participate is always in the back of my mind. I would give anything to have been able to play last season. That cannot be changed though, and I will just need to work that much harder to improve. The team has a lot of potential this year. I think all the girls have a very good chemistry no matter who is on the court. There is a lot of talent, and the team is very extremely hard working. Our first game is today, it is non-league but it is our tournament. I really hope we win our home tournament. The senior girls have all played together for a few years now and are very good at playing well together. The first league game is home against Holland on December 12. This game will be very intense. Alden vs. Holland is always very physical and close. Over Christmas break there is a tournament we will be participating in in Rochester. Hopefully we make it into the playoffs and are able to have a great season. I am very excited for my last year of basketball.

Grey Thursday Shopping?

                Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Thanksgiving is a holiday where a lot of families gather and spend time with one another. Black Friday is always the day after Thanksgiving. Many stores open up early and have many great sales. However, as years go on and on black Friday is becoming bigger and bigger. Stores are opening up earlier and earlier. Stores have been opening up before midnight. This year, it is a little different. Stores are going to be open on Thanksgiving Day. People are referring to this as “Grey Thursday.” It almost seems as though shopping is becoming more important than the holiday itself. Cyber Monday is also a new thing where stores offer a lot of sales on their websites.

                How are the consumers feeling about this? A vote on The Jersey Journals website shows 94.61% of people think malls should remain closed on Thanksgiving and 5.39% would want them to be open. What about employees, don’t they want to be spending time with their families rather than working? Sure, some jobs require employees to work on holidays, like police officers, nurses, doctors, etc. But why do retail workers need to be working on a holiday? If stores open on early on Friday it makes no difference than if they open on Thursday. If anything, more people are likely to go.

                The problem is that people want good deals and sales, so they may go out on thanksgiving, not because they want to, but because they want to save money. There is not many days of the year where everyone in a family is able to get together. It is not more important to go shopping than to spend a holiday with family. Sure material things are nice, but doesn’t there come a point where we have gone too far?  

Erie County Food Inspections

                People should know what they are eating when they go to restaurants. There was no information regarding food inspections information until now. Now on WIVB.com you can go and look at the critical and non-critical violations of restaurants in each town of Erie county. Critical are red violations which can lead to illnesses and even death. Non critical or blue violations are due to cleanliness and equipment maintenance. On WIVB’s website you can look at all the towns and see every restaurant and what the violations are. Some are very surprising.

The New Fuji Buffet in Amherst had many critical violations, one including having 6 dozen eggs sitting out in a temperature of 82 degrees. The Dock of the Bay in Blasdell had 6 critical and 17 non critical violations just on August 9^th alone. The operator had to dispose of more than 250 pounds of meat due to the violations. The owner wrote a letter to channel 4 news to tell them the refrigerators were not working. The problem was corrected, 6 critical violations are still a lot.

Restaurants in Alden that are very popular may really shock customers with the amount of violations that they have. It is very important for people to know if places have critical violations because those are very bad and risk health. The West Alden Kitchen that we all know and love has had quite a few violations. Darrow’s, John and Mary’s GDI’s, and Mcgavin’s are only a few of the restaurants in Alden that have many violations. Visit WIBV’s website and click on dicey dining and see if your favorite restaurant has any critical violations.

The food inspectors of New York make sure they visit every restaurant at least twice a year. If the restaurant has violations they make sure to check back in more often.