See Norman!

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See Norman!

Ohhhh Oklahoma. OHHHHHH Oklahoma. Ever wonder whats in Oklahoma? Well Normans in Oklahoma. That's right, I am in Oklahoma. Well to get technical, I WAS in Oklahoma. But there is a city called Norman, OK and its right outside Oklahoma City where I was staying. Apparently its known for festivals, Bed and Breakfasts and Indian Art. But I'll just take the big sign with my name on it.
So this was my first city on my own, and I was very nervous. If you're wondering why, here's a little insight into what I do. I audit waterpark's, resorts, and pools that use our risk management services. These audits are done randomly and undercover for our clients, and they do not know when we come. When I go, I go in as a guest and video tape the lifeguards with a concealed video camera in order to make sure they are up to standards. After that I test guards on their skills and review the facilities paperwork. Its pretty cool! Now heres a few questions that you are probably wondering:

-So you look like a creeper with a video camera?Yes unfortunately. However a big portion of our training is learning how to conceal the video cameras in order to not get spotted by park employees, but at most to keep their guests at ease.

Oceans of Fun!

-Do guests get upset if they see your camera? Yes... 99% of the time. We carry an auditor ID badge with us at all times in the park, so in the event that a guest confronts us (or most of the time they just start giving us weird looks), I simply explain to them what i'm doing and show them my ID badge and they usually are quite accepting. In the event that a guest is unhappy still, they will usually go to a park official, who will again explain what we do. Unfortunately at that point the cover is blown, however that is still better than getting the cops called!

-Do you get to ride the rides and swim in the pool? Yes and No. There are 2 general rules for this. The first is it must not make the audit any different, by drastically altering our daily timeline. The second is that if it helps you blend in, it is definitely beneficial. Essentially this means be smart about it. Don't go waiting in a line for a slide if its an hour long and will then make the client have to stay an hour later that night. For me, getting in the water depends on a lot of factors. Here are a few: if the weather is nice, if I feel comfortable leaving my items alone (or else I have to pay for a locker), and if swimming laps will make me seem more normal. Its a fine line, but I do have a job to do :)

University of Oklahoma

Moore Tornado Damage

OK, back to Oklahoma (haha, get it?). So Oklahoma City was alright. There were some neat sights. The University of Oklahoma was very impressive, there was a rock climbing gym housed in an old grain elevator, and the Moore tornado damage. Seeing the damage was incredible. It truly made me feel small in this world, over how short of a time something could be destroyed. The cars on the freeway slowed almost to a crawl in this area and that's the only reason that I was able to take photos. Normally I would think that taking photos of this devastation is morally wrong, but despite this I feel that is was important for the world to understand how significant this damage was. My heart goes out to all the families affected by this tragedy.

Tulsa Lightning

The rest of my time in Oklahoma City was pretty uneventful. From there I travelled to Tulsa, OK. Theres not much to say about Tulsa, besides that a killer thunderstom passed through. Pictured is some of the lightning that I was able to capture. From here I travelled to Stillwater, OK and that will be in the next post (yes that's where the TBS and KKY National Headquarters is located!).


For more photos check out the #LyfInFocus-Oklahoma Album!

Be Sure to Check Out my Next Post: Stillwater Station!