Birthday pranks are awesome, which is why they are such a common occurrence around here.

By the looks of it, Mauricio had an awesome and messy birthday!

Building strong working relationships among team members starts with a fun and dynamic work environment. When people are encouraged to be themselves and have fun at work, like they are at Zappos, the result is a stronger, more unified team.

Check out my book, The Zappos Experience, for an in-depth look at work-and-play integration within Zappos.

Maritza L. is a member of our awesome P.E.A.C.E. team, and this week, she is the subject of our Zapponian Spotlight! Maritza’s job is pretty sweet. She focuses on employee engagement and is our in-house events planner for the Zappos Family!

Cool random fact: Maritza's picture has made it into Rolling Stone Magazine, not once but twice!

Read on to learn more about this cheerful Zapponian!

Pick 3 words to describe your personal style.

M: Fun, Colorful, and Relaxed

 Who is your favorite musician or band?

M: I love Alkaline Trio! They are a punk-rock band from the streets of San Francisco. I’ve been planning on marrying the lead singer for years now, however, I’m married and he’s married, so I’m in my ‘waiting period’ right now. Maritza Skiba… that has a nice ring to it, right??

Name 3 things you never leave home without

M: My phone, my wallet, and a great tube of super glossy lip gloss.

If you could have dinner with one famous person, who would it be?

M: Oprah. She’s my idol, my role model, and she’s everything I want to be when I grow-up.

What’s the weirdest thing to ever happen to you?

M: I was on vacation in Oahu, Hawaii, and I went to the North Shore for some amazing shave ice. No kidding, I’m in the shave ice place for like five minutes, and I run into someone I know from Las Vegas. We just kind of stood there for a second, and we both couldn’t believe that we were meeting again. I ended up telling her that it looks like we were meant to be friends!

What’s your favorite part about working at Zappos?

M: I get to plan events, grant wishes, and just have fun every day. Sometimes I can’t believe I’m so lucky to be doing what I do for a living. Yes, it’s crazy, hectic, and sometimes stressful, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

A clearly defined culture and core value system is reflected in how Zappos hires their employees. Hiring for culture fit helps maintain the integrity of their unique company culture and core values. This ensures the perfect fit on both a professional and personal level!

Check out my book, The Zappos Experience, for an in-depth look at the Zappos company culture.

In The Zappos Experience, I take you beyond just the offbeat company culture that Zappos.com is known for. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at the service-centric culture and company core values that have allowed Zappos to revolutionize the online retail industry.

The Zappos Wishez program was established over a year ago, and since then there have been a wide array of wishes granted by our fellow Zapponians. Sometimes, it's as simple as a cute little Gremlin doll that talks! This is what Lisette M. from the ZCLT graveyard team wished for, and a little "wish fairy" granted her wish and made her day!

This goes to show that it doesn't necessarily take a huge act of kindness to make someone smile! Every little thing counts!

The Super Awesome Description award is a way of recognizing a member of our innovative content department once a month. If  a product description is particularly witty or creative,  anyone in the company can nominate the person who wrote it.  The nominations are then read by other members of the content department and voted upon; the description with the most votes wins. The writer of that description is rewarded with a trophy and a certificate, not to mention recognition from their peers.

The winner for August  is Erica S., who also had the pleasure of winning in February and June. Erica is part of the Clothing team and her portfolio includes Athletic Performance Apparel, Outdoor Apparel and Outdoor Apparel 2. Erica impressed us, yet again with her  clever  description for the Outdoor Research Women’s Sensor Glove.

We asked Erica a few new  questions to get to know her better. Check out her answers below!

How does it feel to win the SAD award three times in one year?

E: It’s crazy!

What is it about your descriptions that you think people relate to?

E: I try to be funny and provide as much info. as possible to help someone really understand the product.

What is the greatest piece of advice you’ve received when it comes to writing?

E: My favorite professor in college said “just write s***.” I would agonize over the perfect word, perfect sentence, perfect paragraph, and so it would take me forever to write something. She told me to stop thinking and just write, and worry about the fine tuning later.

If you could give one piece of advice to other writers what would it be?

E: I’m the one who could use some advice, so send it my way!

This week’s Zapponian Spotlight is on Tiffany G., copywriter for the User Experience team in Zappos Development, Inc. This native Floridian is known for giving the best hugs around!

Read on to learn more about this fun and quirky Zapponian:

Pick 3 words to describe your personal style.

T: Relaxed, comfy, and lazy – I usually look like I just rolled out of bed!

Who is your favorite musician or band?

T: Sara Bareilles – that girl can sing and she’s really funny, too!

Name 3 things you never leave home without?

T: chapstick, phone, sunglasses

If you could have dinner with one famous person, who would it be?

T: See second question!

What’s the weirdest thing to ever happen to you?

T: When I was in high school, both of my feet were run over by a slow-moving car. (ouch!)

What’s your favorite part about working at Zappos?

T: The people.