Jason Lee is a Content Coordinator here at Zappos, and he is a fine worker and great human person. He is also very knowledgeable in all areas....he will be doing a weekly video blog here on the Zappos blogs to answer any questions that any of his fans might have. Below is his first installment.

My name is Jason Lee and I am here to make your life easier (and more fun).

Watch the video below to find out what the heck I'm talking about.


Cha-ching!

Check out the things on Sara's desk...or should I say lack thereof.


Ok, so her desk really isn't this boring all the time. Sara is in the process of moving from one building to the other and well, some of us take a little longer to adjust to new surroundings than others. It's ok Sara, your desk will be back to it's normal messy state in no time.

Introducing Finance Fashion Fridays!! Where you, the Zappos employee AKA: Fashion Patrol, can submit pictures, videos, or names of fashionable Zapponians.

Submissions are due every Wednesday beginning September 3rd for the kick off. Winners announced every Friday!

Judges:



ELENI D.

a.) What is your fashion statement?

My fashion statement I would say is Urban/Ghetto fabulous!

b.) Give me 1 Core value that you think best represents your fashion statement?

The Core value that represents my fashion statement would be "Do More With Less(I'll put a shirt on, wrap a belt around it, put on my heels(Dereon's) and I'm set)!"

c.) What has been your favorite Zappos fashion Expo so far of 2008?

The "Athletic Performance &Rideshop/Urban!"

RACHEL M.

1) What is your fashion statement?

I usually don't make "loud" fashion statements. When I shop, I try to stay away from super trendy items, and try to buy more classic pieces. I think that one of the best compliments that I get is when people tell me that I look like Jackie O! She is the epitome of classic style!

2) Give me 1 Core value that you think best represents your fashion statement?

Do More With Less! By buying clothing items that will stay in style for more than just one season, I am able to stretch my wardrobe. Typically, whenever I buy something new, I ask myself what in my existing wardrobe can be mixed and matched with the new item. I love it when I come home from a shopping trip and realize that the new top I just bought will look great with the skirt hanging in my closet or the cute flats I bought a few months ago.

3) What has been your favorite Zappos Fashion Expo so far of 2008?

The Fashion Team Expo. The shoes featured at this Expo were right up my alley. I loved checking out the designers new colors, interesting materials and beautiful styles.

GERALD M.

1.) Q: What is your fashion statement?

Beauty knows no pain or budget

2.) Give me 1 Core value that you think best represents your fashion statement?

Do more with Less. I hate spending a lot with the exception of my car payment and pony
hair boots!! Sometimes you gotta have something

3.) What has been your favorite Zappos fashion Expo so far of 2008

I haven’t been to one yet, but looking forward to it!! !

MICHELLE F.

a.) What is your fashion statement? Sophisticated fashionista

b.) Give me 1 Core value that you think best represents your fashion statement? Do more with less (money)

At Zappos we understand that you'd rather be in your backyard or at a show or walking around the new Vegas casino, so for that very reason we name and decorate our conference rooms so that they feel more like home or your favorite entertainment hall than your average board meeting room.

In our newest wing or the 2300 building the Finance and Training departments decided to make a competition out of decorating the new conference spaces. So they split up into teams, gave the teams a small budget, and they put their creative minds together to design their ideal conference room.

The prize went to "Backyard Bliss" designed by Keith C., Mahvash A., Cyndi T., Amanda N., and Johnny P. According to Cynthia Tatum, "It started as a 'Hard Rock Room.' We were going to have t shirts with labels that said "Rod Stewarts shirt" and socks that said " Michael Jackson's socks" But it never came together. Amanda Nevins really wanted a garden room and while she was in Spain, our team decided to change it up for her. Wal Mart was having this amazing sale on Summer stuff so it came about that way"

So don't fear your next full day of meetings, because chances are one of them will be in the backyard.

The Zappos book fair is here! So don't miss out on hundreds of discounted books ranging from best sellers to cookbooks to fun books for the kids. It's a great oppotunity to get a little something for you and the family and to not feel guilty about buying that book you always wanted, because the proceeds will help support the Arthritis Foundation.

You probably know the adorable and sweet Miss Kathleen J. as the head cheerleader of Zappos University but now it's your chance to see what items keep Kathleen's desk company when she's out rooting for her favorite team.

This is one desk you wouldn't want to miss out on. Gooooooooooooooo Kathleen!

Day 1- Saturday Aug. 2

3:30 am- Alarm clock is going off after I only got about 2 hours of sleep. I was awake packing and getting folders ready for the trip.

6:00 am- I spot Holly and Dee from the kids team at Zappos and they are heading to NYC too. We plan to catch a cab together into the city once we land.

4:30 pm- (east coast time now)- The plane finally landed after circling JFK for an hour and a half. All of the planes in the sky were backed up in a landing queue due to earlier bad weather in the area.

7:30 pm- It is packed in Little Italy on Mulberry Street as it has been converted into a pedestrian street. Everyone is trying to get a patio seat at any restaurant- it is a nice night out. We manage to find a magnificent restaurant that Holly had been to before and fill up on some tasty Italian food.

10 pm- Back in the hotel, freshly showered, and figuring what folders I need for my appointments in the morning. It'll be fun to see my vendors as well as to see all of the new sleepwear and lingerie styles. I have been told from various male co-workers that they wish they worked in my category. haha!

11 pm- Time to get to bed and aclimate myself to this time zone. Good night!

Day 2- Sunday Aug.3

6:45 am- Wake up call! I slept like a baby last night. I had my window open so i could hear all of the city sounds- love it! Going to check emails and get ready for my 9 am appt.

8:45 am- I arrive at the Metropolitan Pavilion on 18th & 6th. The Lingerie Americas show doesn't open until 9 am so there is a long line of buyers outside waiting to enter.

9:00 am- First appointment- Natori- one of my more successful sleepwear lines. I have an hour and a half with them but it flies by as we go over sales, best sellers, and both the Natori and the Josie lines. Josie is by the same designer but has a younger feel to it.

11:30 am- Still at the NAP booth. They work with a lot of European lines and import the product. I saw both the Derek Rose and Eminence mens lines. Now onto Crabtree & Evelyn Sleepwear.

12:15 pm- Crabtree has a lot of spa wraps which have been good for us in that brand. I still have one more brand at the NAP booth: Princesse Tam Tam- a French lingerie line. Between the Natori and the Princesse Tam Tam I see that light yellow, flamingo pink, and bright violet are trend colors. Spring '09 will be a colorful one!

1:05 pm- I meet Kendall from Blush Lingerie- a line we don't have yet. They are a family business run out of Canada- the line looks beautifully feminine.

2:00 pm- I go over to the PJ Salvage booth and see my rep Cindy Tell- we chat about business and I meet the president of Loomworks. Peter is from South Africa so we chat about that for a little bit. He is from Durban- a town I spent a month in during my documentary shoot in 2000. The spring line is so fun and yummy feeling- it's going to be hard to narrow down!

3:00 pm- I go to the Eberjey booth. Akemi tells me they just sent us our first shipment. Based on the time our photo department shoots the pictures and the content team writes the descriptions, we could be live with them in about 2 weeks- exciting!

3:30 pm- We finish early so I wander around some more. I see that the Jessica Simpson Intimates line is finally out on the market, so I meet the VP of Sales and sit down to see the line. It looks great and we already have the shoes on Zappos.com as well as receiving about 350 searches a day for it, so the demand is there!

4:30 pm- Bamboo Nights is my last appointment of the day. They launched on our site in July and the sales are amazing already- they definitely have a customer base out there. According to our sales by state report, we have sold the most product of theirs in Vermont- so unexpected! They show me some new additions to the line and then I hang out until the show
closes.

6:00 pm- Bamboo Nights is taking me out to dinner at Cook Shop on 10th ave & 20th st. When we check in at the restaurant, Louis and his wife Joy become celebrities as the hostess recognizes their last name, Van Leeuwen. Apparently their two sons own an ice cream shop and make the ice cream from scratch- it is all the rage in NYC and Brooklyn!

10:30 pm- After checking emails while watching American Dad, I am ready to call it a night! Wow, today flew by...

Day 3- Monday Aug.4

7:00 am- Rise and shine! I got a great night's sleep.

8:45 - Headed to 180 Madison Ave to meet with Cuddl Dudds. They have some great bamboo knits as well as underwear, undershirts, and thermals- good for fall '09.

10:00 am- Off to the Empire State Building for my next appointment- Smartdogs slippers.

10:05 am- Wow- lots of tourists in line to get to the top of the building!

10:30 am- Taking a picture from the 40th floor appointment room- I am being such the tourist.

11:00 am- Meeting Dereon Intimates- would love to bring them on for spring '09. The colors are bright and the style is urban. Kamille the Dereon rep and Cynthia, the designer said they plan to do plus sizes for fall '09, which is great, since there is such a void for that in the intimates category.

11:45 am- Cynthia the designer of Dereon and I catch a cab to the Curve NY show together.

12:00 pm- Curve offers free lunch to buyers and vendors so we grab a half sandwich. We eat them on the deck outside overlooking the river and the breeze feels so good. Across the way I see a lingerie model who's robe won't stay closed because of the wind. Ha! It doesn't even phase me to see women in lingerie anymore

2:00 pm- Cosabella appointment went really well. She shows me fall/ holiday and there are so many great pieces. They have only been on our site for about 2 months and are blowing out of items. Good thing it is replenishable!

2:30 pm- I just met with Only Hearts. The. main thing I heard before I had the appt. by various people was "I love Only Hearts!!!", so I knew going in that it may be something we might want to bring on to the site in the future.

3:15 pm- I finish the appt. early and I spot the Bedhead booth so I pop over to say hello to Joanne.

4:30 pm- At my last appointment with Natori Intimates. There is a very scary man a couple booths over in just his underwear. He needs a waxing very badly! Natori basics are doing amazingly so I look to pick up some fashion colors in those styles. The model tries on a couple of items that are new so I can see how they lay on the body.

5:10 pm- I see the actress Stacey Dash (from the movie "Clueless") on my way out- she has her own intimates line called Letters of Marque.

5:20 pm- I pop back to my hotel quickly to drop off 10 lbs worth of catalogs. Yikes! That all has to fit in my carry-on suitcase on the way home.

7:50 pm- At the Stanton Social Club in Soho with Natori Intimates for dinner. It is a tapas place, but with other kinds of food other than Spanish style- we had french onion soup balls- crazy, but so yummy. For desert we had makers mark milkshakes!

8:30 pm- I thank Natori for the dinner as they drop me off at my hotel. I then find Holly and Dee from the kids team at the Roger Williams Hotel so I join them for a drink.

11:30 pm- Time to go back to the Roger Williams for a shower and to check emails before hitting the hay. It's amazing how fast those emails can build up over the day.

1:25 am- Done checking emails- good night!

Day 4- Tuesday Aug.5

9:00 am- Happy National Underwear Day! The legendary National Underwear Day giveaways will take place around New York City with free undies being distributed to thousands on the New York City streets.

10:00 am- I meet with Gwen from Bendon and she shows me the Fayreform line for larger busted women (so pretty!) and the Elle MacPherson line.

11:00 am- I walked a couple blocks over to the NAP building and am about to meet with Karen Neuburger. I like how most intimates brands are located within a 4 block radius on Madison Ave- it makes it so convenient to schedule appointments and meet with everyone.

2:15 pm- Just learned that Le Mystere won an award in the fashion portion of the CILA awards last night! They consistently win awards for bra construction for basics, but this was a first for them in the fashion area. I congratulate the designer who is sitting in on our meeting.

4:30 pm- I have been running up and down Madison all day- am heading to 183 Madison for my last 2 appointments. One in a showroom and the other with Fleur't Lingerie which has been on our site since May. Such a cute, flirty, feminine line!

6:00 pm- My Fleur't vendor Leslie and I meet Holly and Dee and head to Soho for dinner at a Thai restaurant.

8:15 pm- We head towards Ludlow to find a neighborood bar to have one more drink at and find a place called "The Living Room" which is sort of divey yet hip. If I lived in NYC I would hang out there on a regular basis.

10:00 pm- Working on work emails back at the hotel and "I love money" happens to be on VH1. I am laughing my head off since they are having a crying championship on the show- they are rubbing onions and cayenne pepper in or near their eyes, blowing cigar smoke in each other's eyes, smacking each other, tweezing nose hairs--anything to make them cry. What craziness!

11:00 pm- Still working on emails but I better pack my suitcase so I don't have to worry about that last minute. I have a feeling all of the linesheets I picked up will take up about half of the space in my little carry on suitcase- eek!

Day 5 Aug. 6

5:15 am- Alarm is going off. I guess I should get up since supershuttle will be here to pick me up soon. My hair is in one big mass of curls and it makes sense when I find out that it is raining. Crazy humidity!{color}

6:30 am- Waiting in the hotel lobby for my ride and checking work emails on my blackberry.

9:30 am- I board the plane at JFK and head for home,sweet home :)

Below is the heroic account of a new friend that the RDesk have welcomed to their family.

As Spart (aka Spartacus Jones the Pirate Dog) walked over the edge of the Shaggy Mane II on to the plank, all he could think was, "Why is this happening to me?"

Spart began his life as an orphan. Not the happy Annie-type orphan, the other kind. Spart struggled through his early years by doing odd jobs, and stealing from upper middle class poodles and chihuahuas. Eventually, Spart was caught and locked up for his crimes, imprisoned in the Castle de Bruiac. Spart immediately swore off the name given to him at the orphanage (Fluffy McFluffy Woofy Munchkins III) in order to befriend his dungeon-mates.

He chose his name from his favorite Greek character, Spartacus, and the name of the infamous street of pirates, Jones. Spartacus Jones, soon known as Spart to the other inmates, became involved in a plan to break free from the dungeon at the Castle de Bruiac alongside other infamous dog criminals Jack the Russell Ripper, Peg Leg Pincher, and Pete-the-dog-with-a normal-name. Upon their escape, Peg Leg Pincher offered for Spart to join his pirate crew. Since Spart was on the run from the law, he felt that journeying on the open sea would be a great idea. On a side note, Jack the Russell Ripper was later turned in by Pete-the dog with a normal name. He was heard cursing, "Oh, why didn't I use a normal name like Pete!"

Finally, free without a need for money outside of what he could plunder, he felt as if he could pursue his true dream: skateboarding. Determined to invent the sport long before skateboards were called "skateboards" (formerly called "Oh Ye Board with Wheels Attached that Allows for a Skating-Type Motion"), he began building a large half pipe out of scrap lumber he came across while journeying through the Caribbean. Unfortunately, the accumulated weight of the half pipe was enough to sink Peg Leg Pincher's boat, the /Shaggy Mane./ After a quick stop at Tortuga to build the Shaggy Mane II, Peg Leg Pincher forced Spart to walk the plank, which brings us to where we started.

Spart fell in to the icy depths, and began to swim. Spart survived by eating small fish that floated past and doggy paddling, until the accidental ingestion of a poisonous blowfish resulted in the swelling of his head to enormous proportions. Using his own giant head as a flotation device, and making very sure not to ingest any more blowfish, he eventually washed up on to the shores of Alaska.

In Alaska, Spart was rescued by a lovable band of Eskimos. The Eskimos nursed Spart back to health, but could not restore the massive size of his head back to its normal size. They, in fact, renamed Spart, Ugnuchukalugupoofaluf, but Spart was not fond of the name and ran from the Eskimos, afraid of their lovable nature. Tying his own large head to a pack of wild wolves, he wolf sled to the US/Canadian border, and crossed in to the Pacific Northwest pretending to be a pygmy Sasquatch. Unfortunately, the trip was not an easy one and Spart lost an eye to frostbite.

Making his way south, he eventually ended up in the Southern Nevada desert. Desperate for water, he dialed Zappos, renowned for their customer service to see if they knew where he could find some water. The R-desk rescued Spart, and he immediately felt right at home in his new pirate environment. Here Spart remains, ever watchful with his one eye, to ollie anyone with enough gall to make fun of his overly large head.

This story is not based on real events or people. Time is not depicted accurately in any way. And, Spart is a stuffed animal.

Written By: Dylan Morris

Lets face it, when the work day is done we're left with very little time to take care of everything on our "to do list," which is why Zappos tries to bring some of the important tasks - like registering to vote - to us. For those of you who aren't registered to vote, I highly recommend taking a stroll down to the main entrance of the 2800 building to do so. Really, it's not every year that we get to pick a new President to run this country...

Da do da do da doo doo, da do da do da doo doo...what's for lunch today?

It's shredded pork, pasta and quartered potato day! Hooray! Oh, and don't forget to grab a slice or two of juicy watermelon while they're still in season - I'm gonna miss you Summer fruit.
Single tear:(

Zapponians have more things on their desk than you may think, especially if you're the Mayor of this crazy town. Come see the things that keep Jerry company at his desk all day.

P.S. It's Jerry's Birthday – Happy Birthday Jerry!!!!

I don't really have to explain much about this video...besides we did something kind of cool, and wanted to film the one time experience of it. Even Kyle gave a long speech about the pyramid and how it came about! However, Erin forgot how to use the flip video!


Make sure you have volume for this one! :)

Thanks to Max M. for making this video!

Zapponians are special beings, which is why we like to interview them one by one so that the rest of the world knows how special they are.

Today's Zapponian of the day is a fairly new member to Zappos...but her experience with cosmetics is anything but amateur.

Heeeeeeeeeere's Casey!

We are begging you to help us find this crazy chicken. More valuable employees have been gobbled up by what is now known as “El Pollo Grande.“

Devlyn T. had thought she smelled a Chicken pot pie when El Pollo Grande came up behind her and bit her on the shoulder. Luckily she got away and managed to alert the authorities. “I just love Chicken Pot Pie; I couldn’t help but be curious.”



Marcie A. said she smelled Fried Chicken before the large fowl attacked her. “It could have been Chicken fried steak, I wasn’t sure.” Almondia got away with a missing toe and her life.



Johnny P. actually set feed out for the chicken. We are not sure if he wants to capture the chicken for the huge $100 Zollar reward or because he just loves the taste of Chicken Alfredo.

John is very brave because the large fowl has been recorded at being over 8 ft tall and clocked at 25 miles an hour which is extremely fast for a chicken. Warning: Once again, the following pictures may be too graphic for the weak of heart

Recently the Kentucky HR team was in Vegas visiting the Las Vegas HR team. The Kentucky Fulfillment Center recently launched their new superhero theme. In addition to the warehouse getting a heroic makeover, the Zapponians in KY were given some fun superhero supplies. A few days after the team left the Cruise Ship Operations team received a care package with our very own superhero kit. Included was a t-shirt, wristbands, eye mask and a pin.

Rosalind, our Cruise Ship Assistant/First Mate, was eager to get into character. Our Las Vegas team also has a soft spot for the superhero sorts as seen in the pics below. The cape is already a staple for our team and the conference room shown resides in HR and was designed by members of our fabulous Recruiting team.

Beware! A crazy giant chicken has gotten loose from the nearby nuclear power plant and has come to eat tasty Zapponians. We have already lost some valuable employees and we do not want to lose any more. Thank goodness a random photographer caught a shot of the chicken so we can now identify it. Warning: The following pictures may be too graphic for young viewers. Hopefully we can bring in a temp to process payroll. Poor Deb.

Knee-high tube socks, ridiculously tight gym shorts, cheesy 70s music, mustaches…these can only mean one thing: the Content Team’s team-building outing at the Crystal Palace (Roller) Skating Center.

For those of you not from Las Vegas, Crystal Palace is where many kids and teens spend their days couple-skating and showing off their skills (or lack thereof!) on the roller rink.


We in the Content Team got to re-live our junior high days and roller-skated our hearts out to dance hits of the 70s. In the spirit of competition, we also had a couple of fun contests.

The heart-pounding game of skate limbo was interesting to say the least. We got to witness a 6’6” dude (Jason Lee) in tight sparkling spandex attempt what seemed mathematically impossible. But, in the end, it was Jen Brohl, AKA “JB” that took the victory in the limbo contest.
Although Jason didn’t fare very well in the limbo game (the odds were just stacked against him), he, along with his “side-kick” Matt Thomas, blew the competition out of the water in the costume contest! Their costumes really defy words, so I will let the pictures do the talking.



If you ask me, I think they enjoyed being in spandex and polyester a little too much.
The afternoon was definitely fun-filled, despite a few inevitable slips and falls. I’m not naming any names! ;)

We are all guilty of playing pranks on our neighbors, but The Night Riders took it too far!

It all started during this month's Spirit Week in CLT that The Night Riders and Team Sunny Side Up were formed, and the cross cubical rivalry between the two teams have gone on ever since. Sometime during CLT's Spirit Week Team Sunny Side Up's Mascot eggs were stolen from their crate. Of course it's not right to assume that the person sitting next to you is the one to blame for this, so they got a hold of the Egg-BI to do a thorough investigation.

During the past few weeks members of Team Sunny Side Up received anonymous ransom notes with pictures of their beloved eggs blindfolded and being tortured in the most peculiar ways - such as forcing them to read and to withdrawl their egglowance from the ATM. But, just like Batman's Riddle, no matter how sly you might be in leaving ransomed riddles, they always lead to your demise. Yesterday, a member from The Night Riders, Abby Morris, was arrested for first degree eggnapping by the head of the Egg-BI and a giant chicken (apparently word of this eggnapp got out around the chicken community, so they sent the biggest and baddest of them all to show what happens when you pluck the wrong tailfeather). Investigators said that one of the egg ransom pictures had a very clear image of her hand - more specifically, her wedding ring - so much for being sneaky, dear Abby.

Abby Morris, head of the mafiosa-like crew The Night Riders, had a very humiliating arrest during a meeting at Managers Row in the CLT department.

Moral of the story: Love your office neighbor as yourself and stealing things from neighbors desks only leads to humiliation by a giant chicken!

It's true, Birthdays do happen.

So you don't have to be a chicken about turning another year older – Jacob P.

Or hide in the mound of balloons that fill up your work area like a child's play pin – Karrie M.

So Happy, Happy Birthday to all who celebrated a birthday this week, and remember not to hide it, but flaunt it! Your new age looks good on you – actually I really can't tell the difference from yesterday to today, but I'm sure there's an extra birthday glisten in your eye that makes you look older and wiser, and we like wise people at Zappos.

That's right, I said it, today is the ever-so-popular Taco Thursday – which is better than the popular Taco Tuesday theme amongst most college bars. So get in line (yeah, the line that wraps half way around the office) or pay someone to stand in line for you, cuz you wouldn't want to miss out on these tacos!

Here's Brett Houchin's "How to" video on making the perfect taco on Taco Thursdays.

Looks like we need to start bakin' some pies, put on a big cheesy smile and give a warm welcome to our new neighbors - oh wait we're our new neighbors!

That's right, Zappos.com officially took over the top floor of the 2290 building. Right now it's just a large maze of cubicles and empty conference rooms but our CLT department will be taking it over soon and help Zappoify the large (and very "corporate" looking) space. But for those of you who aren't CLT, don't be upset that you don't get to move into an office with a view, because we ALL get to share the 32 new conference rooms named after Vegas stars and shows. Yay! See we all have something to look forward to, so bake those pies after all and welcome us into our new office.

All Zapponians may go take a gander at our new space, but I highly suggest bringing a buddy and a bottle of water - because it really is that big!

As you may know, the Finance department recently moved locations. They are still in the 2300 building but now call home, suite #190. With this new suite came 6 new conference rooms. The rooms were split among the teams to decorate and decorate they did! The creative juices flowed and flowed and leaked all over the floor. With six rooms we have the Moroccan room, the Wall Street room, the Backyard Bliss room, the War room, Happi Hotel room and the Spa room. Everyone slaved away and put their heart and soul into their rooms. A judging was held and the winner was the Backyard room! Come and visit when you can and take a peak.

Welcome to the first ever Things On My Desk Blog!

Everyone must know by now that Zappos.com is a very unique place to work. So why would the work spaces here be anything but decked out with a little weirdness and glam? Things On My Desk allows everyone to get an up close and personal tour of – well – the random things that Zappos employees decorate their desks with.

Check out how Jonathan H. in fashion turns his ordinary desk space into a high fashion (mainly Vivienne Westwood) shrine.

Here on the Kids’ Content Team, we all work under the watchful eye of Nick P. He is a leader, mentor and a darn good griller, despite the fact that he is only working with one and a half thumbs. Nick’s path to greatness started off in an odd way. He was born two weeks early, but still weighed in at an enormous 14 lbs. Stories have been told that he was born with a full beard on his face and a spatula in his hand.

When Nick was 3 years old his right thumb was crushed by a steel door and he was never the same. He was forced to use his left hand to complete his everyday tasks while ol’ stumpy healed. To this day, Nick can use both hands equally, which if you ask me is just plain creepy. He claims that he eats with his right hand, throws with his left, plays tennis and ping pong with his right, writes with his left and can swing a bat either direction, but I don’t actually believe that he plays tennis.

Nick never let his stump slow him down. At one point he was on a swimming team, a diving team, 3 soccer teams, a football team and a baseball team at the same time. His parents were forced to tell him to pick a sport and go with that one. In Nick’s free time he enjoys going to see live music, particularly jam bands. He has been to over 70 music festivals and 40 Phish shows and still claims that he is not a hippie. He also enjoys haggling with hippies and people in general. He has one word of advice-never pay full price in an open market over-saturated setting.

In all seriousness, Nick loves the Kids Content Team and the Kids Content Team loves Nick. I asked him what he likes most about working at Zappos, which is definitely a hard question for everyone who works here. Here is what he said, “The thing I like the most about Zappos is waking up in the morning and still liking my job after nearly 3 years. Most people go to work because they have to and they do so every day with a chip on their shoulder. Maybe it's just a means to an end for them. Maybe they hate their job and just see it as a paycheck. I like being able to honestly say that coming to work is something I like to do. I feel like what I do makes a difference and I truly enjoy what I do.”

Beautiful and so touching.

Now I’m sure you understand why I say: Thumbs are overrated!

We are beginning a new series here in Zappos Blog world: Zapponian of the Day! For our first entry, we have chosen to speak with Shanda F. from our awesome Content Team.

They handle all of the elements that you see on any given Product Page-Every element on this page, from the image to the description, comes from them! http://www.zappos.com/n/p/p/7426296/c/45998.html

Here is our interview with the one they call Shanda. Shanda has two cats. Kevin and Kyle. They were not featured in this interview because, well, they're cats.

Jacob P. from the HR department has developed quite the canned food collection on his desk and he has no idea who's responsible for this. He thinks it may have something to do with the potato incident a few years back...but he's not quite sure. Hopefully he'll get to the bottom of this before his desk gets confiscated by canned food!

I know most people think that we're ALL fun and games here at the Zappos Office, but truth be told, we work a lot harder than we play. (sometimes)

Check out how Zappos rewards its hard workers in Buying and Merchandising with the Trifecta award Hall of Fame!

Lynn S., our User Experience Manager, also know as 'Gumbi', has come up with a new method to vent frustration at the office at week's end. She builds clay respresentations of things, and then smashes them. Seems reasonable.


(Important to note: We date ourselves very badly with all of the Mr. Bill references.)

Is it a bird, is it a plane? No Wait...it's WALKEN! ..And he's here to save the day!?

So, it isn't as exciting as Bigfoot, but come on already! It's still awesome!

He came in flashing his smooth moves with his Zappos super hero gear on! I think he was having somewhat of a bad hair day as well? Maybe? The new super hero theme we got going on here at Zappos is pretty fun! We all get to pick a Super Hero name to get on our badges. Since the employees are the heroes, the supervisors and managers are our sidekicks! Being a sidekick here at Zappos, means your employees get to pick your new name! Muhahaahahah! I love it!



Super Heroes are so sophisticated.

Written by Christina Y. AKA Monster Yammo

Even in an office of over 900 employees, birthdays don't go unnoticed – mainly because birthday celebrations = free cake for the department, if not the entire office. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY Laura L.! And thank you HR department for the lovely red velvet cake!

Bigfoot has been spotted in Henderson, NV, and our reporter in the field, Melissa L., brings you this story.

We're appreciated! Or do we appreciate them more? Lets just meet in the middle and say that the employees here at Zappos.com and the owners of our beautiful (and free) coffee machine that sits next to the grand entrance to the Zappos headquarters - Express Oh! - appreciate each other! Today Maria and Mick Baily wanted to show the employees how much they love working with us - and lets face it, spoil us more than they do already - by making iced coffee, lattes, mochas, etc. in the lobby.


On a hot day like today, we definitely appreciate their appreciation! Thanks Maria and Mick!

Free lunch is always something to write home about, but free breakfast, now that's something to sing about! Today we're celebrating Breakfast All Day, Day at Zappos.com.

I'm sure some of you might be wondering what the colorful booth that is sitting up stairs in the 2280 building is for. You know, the booth that kind of resembles a lemonade stand or a kissing booth at a small town fair. Well, that booth is one of the many reasons why we LOVE our HR department here at Zappos.com. Not only do they do all the dirty work that most of us wouldn't want to do - such as dealing with important employee information - but they make sure that they are easily accessible twice a day for any questions that any employee here at Zappos may have.

Here's an example of questions or concerns you can have answered at the HR Lucy Booth:

• I moved. What form should I fill in order to update my records?
• How can I change my 401 plan?
• Can you tell me tell me more information about our benefits?
• Any questions involving employee relations.
• Any suggestions (such as more Items in the Collier Store)
• Recruiting employees
• How to nominate a coworker for the "Coworker Bonus."

Galen H., Director of Casual Lifestyle and a Zappos Icon, celebrates his birthday on this fine August 13th!

Galen has been with Zappos in the Merchandising Department since January of 2004 has been a jack of all trades in times of need, even jumping in and managing our Customer Loyalty Department for a year when he was called to duty! On a side note, Galen is the most sharp dressed man at Zappos (next to Chris P., that is)

Galen's team presented him with a birthday cake(s) in appreciation!

Galen has spent years dedicating his life to helping the customer, the employees and the partners of Zappos.com, and for that, on your birthday.....We Salute You, Good Sir!

As I was jogging last night, I came across a new friend named Chuck and liked him so much, I decided to invite him to come work at Zappos for the day. Melissa and I showed him around, gave him a desk and saw him off.


We ran into a few issues because, as you might be able to tell, Chuck is an inanimate object. But he did his very best! We're proud of you, Chuck!

Our CLT members are the true voice of Zappos when it comes to our customers. While we are unable to service our customers face-to-face, I started thinking it would be nice to put a face with a name and a voice! Ricki M. from the Comfort CLT business unit was kind enough to participate in a short Q & A. Please find her responses below:



Question: What are a few of the exciting things you have done this summer?

Ricki: "I'm hoping I haven't done them yet."

Question: What do you do to relax?

Ricki: "Read, play video games, visit casinos to play slot machines, and sometimes Bingo. Basically, I spend my life in front of one terminal or another."

Question: What is the craziest question you have been asked by a customer?

Ricki: "Four years ago, I was on vacation in Florida and I went into this little shoe store somewhere south of Miami. They had these shoes that were pink with a bow on top. Do you have them?"

Question: What is your favorite thing to watch during the summer Olympics?

Ricki: "HGTV on another channel"

Question: What are your top 5 favorite songs currently?

Ricki: "I'm a huge jazz fan, so it's never the song, but the rendition, that makes it a favorite, or not a favorite."

Question: What is your favorite Core Value (and why)?

Ricki: "Deliver WOW Through Service. If we didn't have that one, there'd be little reason for the other nine."

Question: What is your favorite part about working for Zappos?

Ricki: "The relaxed atmosphere, lack of drama, friendly people, and the ability to do what it takes to make the customers happy."

Do you have any questions for Ricki or any of our other CLT members? Comment below!

This ruthless challenge between Tiffany G. and Stephanie S. all started last week with two packs of Pop-Rocks and Coca-Cola:

"What do you do when your parents send you a birthday package full of candy?? You share it with your coworkers. What do you do when others realize 2 packs of Pop Rocks are in this collection of candy? You allow them (Dave aka "EL IT" and Stephanie aka "Sims") to talk you into testing out an urban legend...downing Pop Rocks with a popular soft drink that comes in a shiny red can. If you turn up the volume, you can really hear the Pop Rocks crackling"

Well, the competition continues this week with the ultimate Pixie stick chugging challenge! Here's how the game's played, the competitors take a shot of the ever so popular powdered candy and then chug a coke as quickly as possible. Sounds simple right? Well rumor has it that pixie stick powder and coke don't mix as well as cookies and milk...hope nothing comes up in the middle of this one.

Lets see who's the victor of this week's challenge.


Stephanie Sims, you are one hard core pixie pixie chugging, coke drinking, crazy lady! Tiffany, you too are crazy, but better luck in next week's candy/coke competition.

Yes, my friends, yes, there are many advantages and fun parts of working at Zappos. Butone of my favorites, personally, is the piece of modern technology in our front lobby. The machine of wonder and joy to hundreds. The invention that revolutionized the way in which we pop...um...corn?
Yes. That machine. Zappos has it's very own Popcorn Machines in our 2280 and 2300 building lobbies..this is to the delight of many a popcorn fan.
There is even a multitude of flavorings to sprinkle on said popcorn....from hot to sweet, they have it all! Including melted butter!
Our help desk members maintain the machine and make a new batch every hour or so to keep it fresh. Our own Christina E. caught this machine in action!
Help Desk and...well, popcorn....we salute you!

Melissa, our newest blogger here in Zappos land, was surprised today by a healthy helping of cottage cheese waiting for her on her keyboard when she got back to her desk after lunch. This may seem like a prank, but it was actually just a gift from her friend, Kris K., another wild and crazy person from the land of Zappos. Here is a visual representation of her post-lunch surprise.

This is her reaction....very happy indeed.

Melissa will return the favor to Kris in due time; you can bet on it!

Today, at Zappos, we are having our coveted Potato Day! Many Zapponians rejoice when this day comes around. The lunch is actually brought in from the Great Steak and Potato Company, and it is delicious...it drives myself and others into wild fits of bacon and potato-fueled madness!

The potatoes come wrapped in foil in huuuuuge coolers, and there is a selection of beef, bacon, chicken, ham, turkey, sour cream and cheese. I actually just had a bowl of bacon, my meat of choice! Melissa L. and I created an avant-garde video tribute to these fine food items. Enjoy! Potato!

In the online world of customer service a company like Zappos prides themselves on WOWing their customers. Whether it be having a special brand or particular shoe size in stock or being able to deliver an order in less than 24 hours, practically every department gets their fair share of praise.

Not too long ago, the Photo Department had a great moment in the sun and it came to us through an unexpected source. Skip Jackson is the Photography Instructor at Nashville State Community College and has been using Zappos' images as part of his curriculum for several years now. With Zappos' images setting the bar he begins each semester encouraging his students to think like customers. He asks questions such as, "How would you like to see this presented?" and "How can I show this product in the best light?" to get them thinking less like fine art and more like an applied art. "Chances are their work isn't going to be hanging in the Louvre. I want to teach them that these are marketable skills and that they can use them to put food on the table."

After one of his students informed him that Zappos photography department was just down the road in Louisville, Ky. Skip (pardon the pun) jumped at the chance to meet everyone involved in the photography process. Needless to say those of us in the photography department couldn't have been happier to have our own personal cheerleader for a day. Skip made his way from table to table and praised each photographer not only for their ability to shoot in a high volume environment but also for maintaining such quality standards. It was a fantastic opportunity on both parts - we as photographers got to have our ego stroked and Skip got a chance to learn the names and faces behind the images he presents his class every day.



Skip and Richard T. kindred spirits pose in the photo studio!

Written by: Dan C.

For those of you who didn't notice the new wraps on our company cars you need to take a field trip to the parking lot outside 2280 and check 'em out! There's only one word to describe these new whimsical graphics, and that is WOW! The new graphics are a wonderful display of the overall light-hearted spirit that is Zappos.com.

Thanks to our Creative Service Design Team!

Oh Kelly girl, are friend and commadre, has moved on down the line. Kelly's last day at Zappos.com was on Friday, and she will be missed! Kelly singlehandedly held Creative Services together, booking meetings, hotels, flights, ordered office supplies and everything else you can imagine. We are not sure how we are going to exist without her, but she was very helpful and, without her, holding down calendars and and meetings might get challenging. But she instructed us well!

On her last day, we had quite a celebration in her honor! Four huge 30' pizzas from Napoli's, cupcakes from the CupCakery, flowers and a few drinks at our constant hang out, Claim Jumpers, on Green Valley Parkway.

Kelly has been an amazing help for the entire department, and we wish her the best in the future!

The internet doesn't sleep, so why should we? This well-oiled machine known as Zappos.com is powered by more than just service - it's powered by coffee! Really, there is an accessible coffee machine at least every 100 feet inside the office and for those who feel like kicking it up a notch there's, America's Best Gourmet Coffee, parked (yes, literally parked) in front of the office, at least for a few hours, every weekday!

This traveling cup o' joe mobile is no joke. Co-Founder and Barista, Allen White, heads this one man coffee stand outside the Zappos Headquarters rain or shine (even during the unbearably hot summer months). America's Best Gourmet Coffee truck gets it's brewing and blending power from one generator and 16 battery packs! That's a lot of portable power for one beverage, but an Ice blended mocha on a hot Summer day is worth every watt.

Allen's favorite drink to make just so happens to be the favorite among the Zappos employees and that is the Kona Mocha (Kona espresso, blended chocolate, milk, and topped with whipped cream) - yummy!!!.

Now, because I haven't had a cup of coffee from every coffee house in America, I can't say that America's Best Gourmet Coffee really is America's Best, but I can say that it is definitely Zappos' best coffee!

It's raining...no, it's a hurricane outside!

Just as Christina E. and I walked outside to cover yet another exciting bit about the amazing people that help make life here at the Zappos Headquarters great, it started to rain. I know most of you are thinking big whoop: it's rain, it's a natural thing, it happens, and for you to be amazed right now is kind of like being dumbfounded by birds flying. However, when I say rain, I mean a vicious thundershower with rain drops the size of small dogs followed by pea-sized bits of hail moving fast enough to leave a good mark or at least make you say "ouch".

Good thing we had a camera with us, because nothing's funnier than watching the shock and horror on co-workers faces when they find out that it is raining outside followed by them making a make a mad dash for their cars (who knows, maybe they left their windows open...oops!)

Random holidays are the best, especially if it involves indulging in tasty treats!

Well, happy belated root beer float day, everybody! Typically I would have encouraged everyone to get up from their desks and run to the lunch room to make a holiday treat, but there's one little problem - WE'RE OUT OF ROOT BEER! Yesterday, Cassandra L., Elisa C. and Robin C. took a second out of their day to celebrate this all American holiday and were devastated when they looked in the fridge only to find the root beer missing. Oh the cruel irony of it all, root beer's most important day of the year and rumor has it that we'll be out of root beer for an entire week! AHHHHHHHHHHH! Hang in there root beer lovers we'll be stocked up soon.

Oh well, it's the thought that counts right? But I'm pretty sure root beer is going to be pretty upset when it finds out that diet coke was its substitute to the holiday float.

After last week's disappointment, Stephanie Sims was all smiles this morning because the "Random Act of Kindness Parade" decided to give her another shot!

"When I found out that I had been selected to be given a Random Act of Kindness and had missed them by five minutes because I had been in a meeting, I was extremely disappointed. I was robbed! The last time I won something was in a fourth grade raffle - I won a teddy bear, a basketball "signed" by Michael Jordan and a gym membership (what 4th grader doesn't want to get a gym membership? Take on those eating disorders early) - and I think I used up all my luck with that one raffle.

So, I'm glad they gave me a do-over Random Act of Kindness. I might come across as the most excited recipient ever, but that's because I finally got love from Finance and a Starbucks gift card. And I know they did this again for me because the Finance Dept. are really, really nice people, not because I badgered Maryanne and Marcie to do it again after promising to stay at my desk all morning."

Zappos is all about traditions, past, present.. and those yet to come. We're trying to do our part in the photo department, by creating the new ones, and honoring the old ones. Our newest tradition was birthed from a conversation about pies... starting the monthly Bake off challenge!!!

There was a plethora of sweets from buckeyes to Bananas foster! Everyone that wanted to compete brought in their sweets, and they were judged by panel of judges chosen at random. Our judges were Kaya, our stylist, Taurie, a photographer, Lacy and Joe, who are both Production coordinators. They Chose three winners based on presentation, best flava and honorable mention. And the winners are...

(insert drum roll here)...

*Best FLAVA*- Carol D... who made cherry cobbler... it was flava-licious

*Best Presentation*- Theresa S ... I made Bananas Foster

(PS.. ice cream+ 100 degree Kentucky summer = melted bananas foster )

*Honorable mention*- Andrea 'Andi' L., who made Buckeyes.. and they were scrumptious!



Other entries were submitted by:

Carla B. made Hello Dollies

Lynn E. made no bake cookies

Debbie A. made peanut butter fudge

Abby B. made chocolate fudge

Angela S. made chocolate fried pies

Stayed tuned for next month's cook off challenge!!! An 'Iron Chef' inspired cooking tournament!

Written by Theresa S.

J: So Heaven, how long have you been at Zappos?
H: 2 Years

J: What do you do in Human Resources?
H: I am the Human Resources Assistant

J: What is your favorite part of HR?
H: The random people that work in our department.

J: What is your favorite part about working at Zappos?
H: The environment, the feeling at Zappos. Just smiling at everyone. Dancing anytime and its okay, some people will even join you.

J: Speaking of dancing, you were highlighted in a former blog
showing some impressive dance moves. How did that come about?
H: Well, it was around picnic season and HR just got theirFlip camera.
The rush from picking up the picnic shirts had died down so I started to dance to entertain the helpers passing out the shirts. Next thing I know there is
paparazzi videoing me. My life hasn’t been the same since.

J: Well the dancing wasn’t an isolated incident. We have video of you dancing in a
banana suit. This appears to be your thing. Care to show us your latest moves?
H: Uh…sure!


J: Heaven? That’s an interesting name, care to share some background?
H: My name was supposed to be Autumn but my mom had complications when she delivered me and she decided I was sent from heaven, hence the name.

J: With that name I am sure you hear some interesting pick up lines. What is your favorite?
H: Most of them are inappropriate so I would have to go with:Random Guy: What’s your name?

Heaven: Heaven

Random Guy: Well, I was close. I would have guessed your
name to be Angel.

(Side note: Heaven’s sisters name is Angel, I detect a theme
here)

A group of Zapponians had a run in with a furry little creature this weekend while exploring the mountains of California....a small woodland creature referred to as a.....squirrel? We don't have those in Indiana, I don't believe. Our very own Help-Desk Extraordinaire Renna C. caught it on video and wrote a recollection of the events as they unfolded, along with her frightening trip on the "Tram-O-Death". Take it, Renna!

"It was just around noon on Saturday the 2nd. A group of Zappos employees were making their way to hike San Jacinto. In order to get to the trail head... climbers must take the Palm Springs Tram up the mountain to 8,516ft in elevation. Now, for those who are afraid of heights... this tram should be known as Tram-o-Death. Really! Just ask Vanessa L. just how "wonderful" this ride is.
Well, after being traumatized on the tram-o-death for 15 minutes... us volunteers stopped to eat at the restaurant within the tram station. All of a sudden, in walks the chubbiest squirrel I have ever seen! He obviously had been inside the restaurant before, so we made the decision to lure the newly named "Meryl" to our table with bread and potato wedges. Vanessa L. took an instant liking to Meryl, as you can see in the video. He was definitely the highlight of our time on the mountain!"

Behold, the power of the Squirrel.

Thanks Renna! Watch out for the woodland creatures, they are everywhere!

Lunch is always exciting here are the Zappos headquarters, but it's not every day that the employees at Zappos get to dive into mystery-meat meatballs. Now before I get a few snarls, I'm not bashing on today's lunch special - in fact I love meatballs! And based on my observations from today, there are a lot of meatball lovers among us Zapponians.

However, today's meatball feast left me wondering, what in the world are these Italian inspired balls of meat made of? And I can assure you that I'm not the only one answering this question with a big I HAVE NO IDEA!

Who doesn't love arts & crafts??

(First of all, that was a rhetorical question for all you naysayers!) :p

Well, apparently, craft activities are extremely stressful for some people. As long as you're able to let go of your inner perfectionistic critic, though, they can be a fun-tastic outlet for creativity!

The training team was all set & psyched to go race cars at Pole Position (with Ray A. threatening to put Loren B. "into the wall," of course).

Unfortunately, this off-site team building event had to be cancelled due to the busy week we were having. :( But, thanks to Renee N. and Marcela G., we were still able to spend some quality time together and build something for all to enjoy! :)

It definitely wasn't easy, though. First, the rest of the training team was called into a room under pretenses of having a meeting (about what, we didn't have a clue, though we were all suspicious). Mysterious graphs leered at us from a stand at the front of the room, and there was a wheel to the left with each of our names on it. "We will spin the wheel and the person whose name it stops on will give us their ideas for the direction the team will be taking over the next year," we were instructed.

Just when everyone was about ready to start hyperventilating (our Boss Lady especially!), the offending graphs were pulled aside to reveal a box of clay tiles and paints, and trays of yummy snacks appeared on the side tables.

"SURPRISE!! We're having a team building event today regardless!"

Relieved as we were to not be having that meeting, most of us were still stressed out about what to paint on our respective tiles. But once we stopped over-thinking it and remembered how to let loose and be a big kid again, our imaginations poured out onto the tiles through our little plastic paintbrushes.

Renee and Marcela even took them to be glazed and fired for us, and they came out beautifully!



Soon we will be building a "wall" with the tiles for all to see and enjoy when they come visit us over in the training area. Look for a new entry coming to a blog near you! ;)

As most people know by now, at Zappos.com we like to promote fun and a little weirdness (core value #3). So, since that particular core value is the Core Value of the Month for July, we decided to host a Sadie Hawkins dance, of sorts, on the 23rd.

No dancing was really expected to occur; the basic idea was to ask someone else to be your dress-up buddy for the day and come to work in matching clothes to take silly pictures. During the week before the event, there was obviously buzzing around the office about who was going to dress up like whom and what people were going to wear. But, for the deviously creative people in the training department, the real fun started with a simple email.

We've all done it at some point: you're reclining back in your desk, you take a sip of your caffeinated drink of choice, and you casually begin to compose a new email message to your buddy about some event or cheeky joke of the day that you're currently musing over. You start to type in their email address and, lo and behold, your super high-tech email program auto-populates it for you. You hit "Send."

Shortly after hearing the jeers and giggles of your coworkers start like a wave around the building, you double check your sent folder. Oh SNAP!

One of our Zappos family members inadvertently sent an email out to the whole company asking if a particular person wanted to dress up in matching Social D shirts with jeans and white shoes for Sadie day. The training team got such a kick out of this that we schemed to create matching "Social D" shirts and don them for Sadie day in honor of our muse, the email's sender (and to create a positive team & family spirit through laughter, of course). The sender actually loved our idea so much that she even personally autographed our shirts, and even the Zappos Mayor (Mr. Jerry T., helpdesk manager extraordinaire) joined in the fun!



As far as the rest of the event went, in true Zappos spirit, there were some fabulously creative costumes: a giant pair of handcuffs, two aspiring Guitar Heroes, and even Dog the Bounty Hunter and his--ahem--rather bosomy wife, Beth. All three actually won prizes, including Most Original for the handcuffs, Cutest Couple for the Guitar Heroes, and Most Creative for the dynamic bounty hunting duo.

I am humbly proud to say, though, that the training team did get an honorable mention... ;)

Poor Scott Schaeffer. Treasury Analyst in the Finance department has a deep and sincere love for all things Harry Potter. He even has a wand. This month Scott is in CLT training and somone has decided to kidnap his Harry Potter wand. They didn't just kidnap it though. They have replaced it everyday with something new. The first day was a twig.



The next day it was a Starbucks Straw, and the next a toothpick. All imprinted with "Harry Potter" Today it was a paintbrush.


Scott wants the wandnappers to know that he misses his wand very much and hopes it is safe and not scared.

It all started one day when:

Erin R. of Sheboygan Wisconsin, claimed she had never tasted fried bologna. Being a friend to her, I knew this was a shame. Her fanatical love for hot dogs was well known to all, and being that this landed in the same mystery meat class, I knew she'd love it.

The following day happened to be a Friday. I made sure to bring enough sandwiches for everyone, cut in small triangles for convenience. I wasn't in the least bit nervous about how the first-timers feel about it.

The food was a BIG hit. Thus, creating the bi-weekly tradition of Fried Bologna Friday.

Written by Jessica T.

Kyle loves him some fried bologna Friday's! Even the heartburn that comes with it!

Decked out in Jammies and nightgowns, the Finance department rocked out breakfast with a cereal buffet. They don't just pay the bills; they pay the bills in PJ's. They also enjoyed cookies and milk for an afternoon snack. With day of sugar like that, the staff had to be peeled off of the wall to get some work done. The only thing missing from the day was The Smurfs and Bugs Bunny on a continuous loop playing on a TV for them to veg out to.