While my hobbies and interests have changed greatly over the course of my life, there is one thing I can say I have always enjoyed, and that thing is reading. I really don’t understand folks who “can’t read” (my husband included), because to me there is no greater joy! Ok, that last part is a stretch, but reading is pretty stinking wonderful. Sadly, these days I usually give up reading books in lieu of watching movies, surfing the internet or sleeping, but on our honeymoon, I read TWO books front to back. Yes! I am quite proud of myself. Not because I read two books in a short amount of time – I inherited my Mother’s ‘speed-reading’ gene – but that I was focused enough to actually tell Julian to find something else to do because I was reading. Usually I feel guilty and put the book down.
Plus, I can’t sleep on planes, and with the many long flights we took, reading was just about the only thing I could do.
Anyways – both books I read were fantastic, historical fiction (kind of) – The Help (about maids in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 60s and one woman who wants to share their story) and The Heretic’s Daughter (from a young girl’s perspective as her mother was tried as a witch in the Salem Witch Trials). I highly recommend!
Side note: Julian really loves the cover art for The Heretic’s Daughter. Everytime he sees it he mocks me saying “Are you kidding me?” – I guess I give him that look from time to time…
I started to read Pride & Prejudice on the last flight but am only 1/8th the way through. Gotta see what this Jane Austen character is all about, ya know.
It seems like everyday, I add another book to my Amazon wish list. I try to prohibit myself from buying new books until I’ve read the ones I already own and haven’t read but IT’S SO HARD!
Tell me, what are you reading these days? What do you recommend? How dorky would it be to start a reading club on my blog? I promise I won’t do that.
I still haven’t decided whether I’m going to shell out the dough and brave the crowds to see Alice in Wonderland this weekend, but something tells me the answer is “NO.” I do want to see it, but I’m more the type to wait and see how the reviews look – especially when it costs $60 to see the thing in 3D. Luckily, this vintage footage of the original Alice in Wonderland film from 1903 popped up on YouTube recently, and it’s almost as cool as the trailers for Tim Burton’s version.
Can you believe this was made only eight years after they started making movies? Also – can you believe the Alice in Wonderland story is over a century and a half old? It was written in 1866. Amazing.
P.S. This is my favorite still-shot of the movie so far. I wouldn’t mess with this mouse.
A couple months ago, I decided it would be cute to add a little section to the sidebar of my blog that shares the books I’m currently reading. If I were honest, that list would be longer than the entire sidebar, but I’m trying to keep this site (and my mind) clutter-free. You see, I’ve got this bad habit of starting [several] books and not finishing them. I’ve always been an avid reader, but these days, I’m so busy it’s hard to discipline myself enough to finish a solitary book. Plus, I read the most at night before bed, so reading always makes me fall asleep. I also tend to buy educational books, which can be a snore if you’re not in the right frame of mind. It’s quite the sad story.
Adorable home library loft.
In reality, my “Currently Reading” list looks like this:
Quite the eclectic mix, right? And this is only off the top of my head – I’m positive there are more. Many of those I’ve given up hope on months or years ago, but the truth is the truth.
I’ve also got quite an extensive collection of unopened books that I’ve either purchased or borrowed from friends. It would be great to start making a real dent in that collection. I’m not going to go as far to say that I’ll start a book club or even review books on my blog (how boring is that), but I would like to draw your attention to the sidebar and let you know that I’ve added the feature.
My list of books that I want to read grows tremendously by the day, so cross your fingers I can stay focused on reading more books, less blogs.
I still have to do a summary post about my trip to Vegas for BlogWorld Expo 2009, but the tour I took of Zappos.com deserves its own little blogdiddy. Thursday afternoon, thirteen of us crammed into a shuttle to the Zappos compound in Henderson. We had no idea we were in store for so many laughs and so much inspiration!
Zappos’ award-winning customer service is no surprise, the online retailer and its brilliant CEO Tony Hsieh have been featured on the covers of Fast Company, Inc., and many others. Their value is undeniable (just ask Amazon, who recently bought the company). What I wasn’t aware of, was their goofy, colorful, productive and absolutely infectious company culture.
The first thing I spotted walking in the door was a free coffee machine disguised as a robot like in Spaceballs. Then I noticed the free popcorn in the old-fashioned popcorn machine by the reception desk, followed by the toys, awards and props strewn about. “What is this place?” I thought to myself, as I knocked over a gold-painted column crafted from cardboard. Note: do not lean on these.
After drinking free coffee, registering for our tour, receiving free water bottles and gifting the friendly reception ladies with SocialVibe Pink Balls, bracelets and stickers, our tour began with a quick history of how Zappos got its legs.
Soon after, we were led by a giant Zappos flag up the stairs, past a class schedule of courses offered to employees to further their skill set and enhance their work experience. On to the epic call center, where all the award-winning service takes place. A few fun facts about their call center:
1. It never closes.
2. The reps do not use scripts, ever.
3. They have no time limit on calls. The longest recorded customer service call lasted 5 hours and 25 min. What patience! What dedication!
4. After their initial training, call center employees are actually offered $2,000 to quit, to test their passion and desire for the trade and the company. Our guide told us that less than 1% of employees take them up on this offer.
I quickly noticed that the entire office had a very bubbly, positive feel to it, and not only because their Marketing head was running around screaming with delight notifying the employees about a very exciting upcoming television spot for the company. Zappos.com’ headquarters are extremely cheerful and bright. They aren’t super glamorous like the Google campus, or anything, on the contrary it is mostly boring gray office carpet with icky cubicles – but the kicker here is that they are decorated within an inch of their lives with shoes, knickknacks, magazine cut outs, etc., looking more reminiscent of a kindergarten classroom than a multi-billion dollar company. I loved it.
We made a quick stop by Dr. Vik’s, Zappos’ in-house doctor (yes, full-time). He provides life coaching – both work and personal related – or as they call it, a “checkup from the neck up.” We took polaroids of us sitting in his office throne with crowns and tiaras atop our heads.
Next we were off to the cafeteria, where all the employees are treated to snacks and drinks all day long, as well as a complimentary catered lunch (which one of our guests happily helped himself to…. no names, ahem).
Later, we learned about the company’s innovative technologies for sorting and shipping merchandise – including a portability system called Kiva and the world’s largest carousel, measuring over 800,000 square feet, or the size of 17 football fields. UM, WOW.
Did I mention there is no cost for shipping? And that customers have 365 days to return merchandise, free of charge? Or that their shipping facilities are located in Kentucky, which means only 2-3 days to get to most US locations? Or the fact that it is just down the street from a huge UPS center? Oh. Well it’s true.
We also learned that until recently, the company relied on simple word-of-mouth marketing versus larger campaigns. They’ve just broken into TV commercials and sports sponsorships in the past couple of years. Here is one of their creative TV spots:
We perused the rest of the offices – the marketing department, various apparel and shoe departments, conference rooms, NAP rooms (because of studies indicating that well-rested employees are more productive, naps are encouraged on breaks), the Zappos Insights department (where other companies can come and learn how to apply the Zappos values and culture to their own organizations), and even “monkey row,” where the CEO and other executives sit (among the other employees – no walls or corner offices here!)
I’ll let the photos tell the rest of the story.
It wouldn’t be Zappos without shoes.
More shoes.
Really big shoes.
Hanging shoes.
Autographed shoes.
A scantily clad mannequin.
Now that’s a conference room.
Conference table collage.
Sesame Street decorations.
This row of cubicles – yes cubicles – is where their CEO sits. And the other execs. They call it “monkey row.”
The Insights department, where companies can come and learn the way of the Zappo.
What? It’s just a pirate, getting his bones shined.
The best part was, when the tour was done, they encouraged us to take free inspirational books on everything from marketing to management from their library, including the official 2009 Zappos company culture guide.
I have never walked away from a place with so much envy in my life! I highly suggest you all take a chance to explore how the Zappos.com company culture operates (they even have a blog where you can read about it), and replicate it as much as possible. I guarantee you will have much happier, more motivated and satisfied employees.
1. Deliver WOW Through Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8. Do More With Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined
10. Be Humble
AWESOME advice! Imagine how different your life would be if your business operated on the same values?
I’m royalty at Zappos.
Huge thanks to the wonderful @Sloane, KiVA Fellow and world-traveling-do-gooder, for setting the whole tour up.
There is a lot going on today, but I want to take a quick second to post something (and to help me keep things in perspective). I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately, and though I’ve read a lot of things worthy of quoting, this really stood out as I was listening to Francis Chan’s Crazy Love on the way to work this morning.
“God exists outside of time, and since we are within time, there is no way we will ever totally grasp that concept. Not being able to fully understand God is frustrating, but it is ridiculous for us to think we have the right to limit God to something we’re capable of comprehending. What a stunted, insignificant God that would be. If my mind is the size of a soda can, and God is the size of all the oceans, it would be stupid for me to say that he is only the small amount of water I can scoop in to my little can. God is so much bigger, so far beyond our time-encased, air-food-sleep dependant lives.”
Sunday night, my boyfriend and I (along with my coworker Chris and his beautiful wife Kelly) attended a free screening of No Impact Man at Environmentaland in LA. It was, in a word, inspiring. I first heard about No Impact Man about a year ago, maybe more. In a nutshell, NIM is Colin Beavan’s year-long attempt to live with no environmental impact.
Dragging his wife and daughter along for the ride, Colin documented his experiences via film, writing and blogging each step of the way, no electricity, no elevators, no cars, no garbage, even no toilet paper. Watching them as they graduated from struggling to thriving while living without television and buying all their own food at a farmers market (even visiting the local farm on which their food was grown), I quickly understood just why someone would want to give up all these simple, convenient comforts. Aside from killing our planet, which is more than alarming, it makes me a little ill to think of all the things we’ve come to depend on. Surely this over-consumptive behavior isn’t the way we were intended to live – is it? What happened to good old fashioned one-on-one entertainment with the people we love and planet we live on?
Before I get into a big rant here, I’ll get to the point. You should all watch this movie, which opens nationwide on Sept 11. I believe it has something to teach everyone (and for the record, his wife is abs. hilarious.) The Q&A with Colin after the film gave the very small audience a more intimate look into why Colin embarked on this daunting adventure (much of which has carried over in his day-to-day), and what he has learned from it. His book just hit bookstores yesterday and I plan on buying it.
Here are some other things I plan on doing:
-First of all, I want to sell my car. Whether or not I’ll be able to is yet to be determined. I have a brand new car that I just bought last summer, and I’m no dummy – I know turning around and selling would create a big fat void in my bank account. Plus, I live in LA. I only work 2 miles from home, so biking wouldn’t be bad, but there is the occasional need for a car. Perhaps selling and buying something cheaper is the solution? We’ll see. Onto smaller goals.
-No more plastic bags! Simple, and absolutely necessary. I’m not about to add to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch anymore than I already have… I’m buying a few more reusable grocery bags and gosh darnit I’m gonna use ‘em.
-While we’re on plastic, no more plastic bottles. I felt kind of silly sitting with a plastic Smart Water bottle at the movie premiere, but what other choice did we have when they were serving free wine (organic in cornstarch cup from a cardboard box, btw) and had no AC (they really meant it when they said “NO impact.”) I have a Camelbak that works perfectly fine, there is no need to litter up the planet with even more plastic bottles.
-Use less electricity. I have a big apartment, and it takes a bit of light to brighten this place up. But I love candles, and have windows on three sides of my apt, so why waste electricity? It’s more romantic, anyway. Unplugging appliances will be necessary as well.
-Less, if any, TV. I’m a busy girl as it is, so I don’t watch a ton of TV. I have my favorite shows, though, so I am currently “borrowing” slash housing my friend Serena’s flat screen while she’s rendezvousing in NY for who knows how long. My old tube-style TV is just sitting here in the corner. I think I might sell the old fashioned TV, use Serena’s for now, and then ween myself off of it after she takes it. I don’t really need cable these days anyway – hello, Hulu! At most I might get another display and hook it up to the good old laptop for movie and TV watching. Shows are better on DVD anyway.
-This is the most fun one… BIKING!!! I can’t wait to buy a bicycle and ride it EVERYWHERE. I’m a little nervous about “urban cycling,” especially in a city where everyone takes cycling very seriously. I don’t need a fancy pants bike, I just want to pedal, man! To the grocery store, to work, to the bank, to yoga, to my friend’s house, to wherever my day takes me. I can’t WAIT to drive less and bike more.
I am also going to limit myself to five vices. This is a pretty big thing, so I haven’t quite decided what my five will be (but I can assure you coffee and french fries are two one of them). Not sure how this fit into my impact equation but it did, so I’m leaving it for now.
At one point Colin was pointing out the advantages to living in urban environments – community, for one. On that note, I have to say one of the things that I love about living in a big city like this (despite the terrible air quality and overall yuck factor) is the opportunity to go to events like this. Even if they did refuse to turn on the air conditioning. I’ve lived without AC in my apartment for 2.5 years now, and I’m doing just fine!
This weekend was one of the best I’ve had in quite a while, thanks to a new stress-free attitude and two straight days of no work and lots of sun, sand and waves. Sadly, it wasn’t completely smudge-free. One of my favorite authors, Frank McCourt, passed away after a battle with cancer.
For as long as I can remember, I have loved reading. It’s one of those things that was instantly woven into the fiber of my being- reading came more naturally to me than speaking. I’ll blame it on my parents, both of whom consume books at an alarming rate. To this day, my Mother will come home from the library with a stack of 10 books and return them less than a week later. My Dad’s library is one of the most fascinating I’ve ever seen, full of everything from history to science fiction to vintage comic books that I ruined the pages of while reading them as a kid.
It’s no stretch to say that Frank McCourt was one of the most inspirational, influential, and talented individuals to ever survive. I use the word survive because that is what he was – a survivor. His first memoir, Angela’s Ashes, was an instant favorite of mine after reading it in my ninth grade English class. Reading about his struggles as the son of an abusive alcoholic father in a poverty-stricken neighborhood of Dublin showed me a side of humanity I never knew existed. There was something oddly beautiful about the challenges he experienced right from the get-go. He went on to put himself through school at New York University, which he chronicled in his second memoir, ‘Tis, and continued to tell his tale in his final book, Teacher Man. McCourt rose to the top and defeated all things that stood in his way – eventually becoming a much adored and respected Pulitzer-prize winning author.
Although both of my parents led by a strong example in making the best with what you’ve got, McCourt’s story taught me a lesson in strength and survival that I never realized until long after I had graduated high school. Not only did Frank McCourt survive, he thrived. What a way to live.
Positive things:
- Stress-free lifestyle.
- Beach days.
- Boyfriend visits in less than two weeks.
- Philosophy pure grace and Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer.
Negative things:
- AT&T’s service.
- Cancer.
- When theaters oversell movies.
What I’m Listening To:
- Bright Eyes
- Andrew Bird
- Bat For Lashes
- Adele
well hello
Wonderful, you found my blog! I'm Sarah, a writer, activist, believer, artist, lover of pretty things and cats. I'm also a newlywed (aww). To learn more about me, just click here. I hope my blog brings you a little bit (or a lotta bit) of happiness today.
