Every other month we gather for our Spoken Word event. People are encouraged to share something special for the Spoken Word, whether it be a poem, short story, book passage, lyrics, or anything else that we find funny, interesting, or just a great read. This last Spoken Word event hit the year and a half mark and we are happy that this has turned into such a popular attraction.

Moving forward we will be blogging a Featured Piece from the Spoken Word. So, without further adieu, I will introduce a few pieces that were read this time around, and then we will share the featured piece. Enjoy!
Samantha Fleming – A poem written by Cary Grant that was submitted to Dear Abby

Alec – Finale from Theodor Adorno’s Minima Moralia
Zerina – A Poem of Friendship, by Nikki Giovanni

And now, our FEATURED WORK in full:

A Zap Rap
By: Amanda Cook

We'll say the Z is for the zoo that we've created
All the work anticipated
All those weird obsessions
And crazy self expressions

The A - Abundance
'Cuz you know we got it all
Keep risin' to the top,
But still, we love to fall

'Cuz that's where we learn,
Which brings me to the P
For progress - With no stress

Hard?
P-lease,
I'mma add another P
Just for them parties,
Yeah...

'Cuz work hard,
Play hard
That is how we roll
Z A P P
Brings me to the O
In WoW
Where it's all about the crowd -
The you
The me
The one big family
We're bringin' ripples of change
Further than we can see

A joke, a tear
A laugh, a bond
It all starts with you
We're bringin' smiles by the shoe

Powered by Service
I'll end it with S
An empire of strength
Humble, But the best.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Spoken Word. We drive the culture that we all live by and it is a beautiful thing!

Team Kaizen, representing our fabulous Customer Loyalty department and fully inline with our mission of continuous improvement, decided we were getting a little rusty on our ninja thumb skills. So, at Krissi's suggestion, we decided to have a little Kaizen Thumb War! Needless to say, it was a vicious and bloody affair...okay, not really, but we sure got in each other's faces about it! Here is the breakdown:

Round 1 – Jasime vs. Krissi
*Jasmine moves on
Round 2- Jasmine vs. Ernie
*Ernie moves on
Round 3 – Ernie vs. Jenny
*Ernie moves on
Round 4 – Ernie vs. Holly
*Ernie moves on
Round 5 – Ernie vs. Martha
*Ernie moves on
Round 6 – Ernie vs. Will
Ernie moves on and WINS!

So, congratulations to Ernie L., the Kaizen Thumb War Champion! Disclaimer: If any of you know Ernie and have seen his hands, you will realize this was not a fair fight. Sore losers?? You bet!

At this point, Kaizen decided it would be good to further humiliate me by highlighting my gross inadequacy in the battle of the thumb, so I went on to battle Krissi...and was ignominiously defeated. As I lamented by awful skills, Rob Seifker, who couldn't help but hear our antics, strolled over and asked to have a go. In the spirit of “Will's utter humiliation”, I was chosen to battle Rob...and subsequently lost. Let's go ahead and wrap this up now, but I just want everyone to know that I will have my sweet thumb revenge!

That Abbie Morris, a Lead in our fabulous CLT department, owns 15 pairs of slippers? Neither did I, and I find it both scary and interesting at the same time. Abbie also owns 40, yes FORTY, bandannas WOW! In an effort to keep this on one page, today we will focus on Abbie's slippers, though I cannot wait to spend some time focusing on the mass of bandannas that she sports. Abbie likes to create fun and a little weirdness with stats like these:

1.She will proudly go shopping in her slippers (like a hobo).

2.She has been addicted to slippers for all her life.

3.Her sister is worse than her (wow, I didn't know weirdness like this runs in the family).

4.It drives their mom crazy (big surprise there).

5.She is impulsively driven to buy them. . . if she likes them, they are hers, even if that means skipping an actual bill that needs to be paid (now THAT is an obsession).



I couldn't put this stuff into better words myself, so now I will share what Abbie herself has to say about this blatant craziness.

“A few years ago I could be defined as the girl who had a pair of slippers and a bandanna to match EVERY outfit. It I didn't, I simply wouldn't wear it. I own over 40 bandannas and probably 15 pair of slippers. I used to have a lot more but I've worn them out. That reminds me, I really need to get some more. My favorite pair has to be my Ohio State slippers that I purchased at Zappos.com (shameless plug). I'm from Ohio and my grandfather played for Ohio State so naturally I have to represent! Aside from those I have Marvin the Martian, Ugg, Old Friend, Acorn, long haired multi-colored (with and without sparkle silver accents), slipper socks of all kinds, solid colors in black, red, blue, and off white, Ohio State(used to have UC), and countless others that I couldn't begin to name!”

Wow, what an adventure! Please enjoy the three pictures we have included that show Abbie with three of her favorite pairs of slippers, the Marvin the Martian slippers, multi-colored with sparkle accents, and her Ohio State slippers. Abbie, we hope your Ohio State slippers don't run into my Siena slippers, I wouldn't want there to be an upset.