Roller Derby-itis

When an outing to attend a Cincinnati Rollergirls game was suggested recently, images of bad 1970’s Raquel Welch films flashed across the windshield of my mind and I automatically jerked the wheel to avoid the entertainment train wreck I thought I saw coming. But after an open-minded perusal of a game program where tongue-in-cheek aliases such as June with a Cleaver and Mae C. Stars labeled photographic expressions ranging from snarling grimaces to feigned angelic innocence, I knew I had erred on the side of snobbery. 

And so we went, eight intrepid game goers, knowing not what the evening held in store but exhibiting blind trust in Michelle the Instigator (who was suspiciously absent this night, but that's another story.)  In fact, we all were first timers but Bob; and he patiently endured the onslaught of questions that were pelted at him while we grappled with understanding the game.

 

Roller Derby is a blast, completely and absolutely. The campy appeal of the game atmosphere, the players’ obvious hunger to sack the competition, and the small venue all combine to make this sport a bawdy adventure that would appeal to anyone with half a sense of humor and even a slight propensity toward boisterousness.

 

There's already been a second outing for our group, and the third is around the corner. If you have Roller Derby in your city, round up your kids, a group of rowdy friends and anybody else who likes to cut loose and support your local team.  You won't be sorry. 

Dinner and a Movie

Back in August a group from CARSON wrappedhersheys.com went to dinner and a movie. For dinner we headed to Bravo. I ordered the margherita pizza and it was pretty darn good, but the best part of the night had to be the movie. We went and saw Batman: The Dark Knight. Now I did not see Batman Begins at this point, but with everyone talking about how good the movie was I just had to go and see it. I’m sure glad I didn’t pass up the opportunity to see this movie in the theaters. The best part in the theater was where the Joker was driving the semi and Batman tangled the semi up and completely flipped the semi over. You could practically feel it. Watching that part at home just did it no justice. A couple days later I ended up renting Batman Begins and caught up on everything I had missed beforehand.

Before this movie I was a Heath Ledger fan from 10 Things I Hate About You to The Patriot to Brokeback Mountain, though his best work has got to be in Batman: The Dark Knight. You couldn’t even tell it was him, from the make-up to his voice. I’m glad he was awarded a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor. Since the movie came out in July 2008 I have seen it 4 times and own it. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, I would highly recommend renting or buying it or even checking it out from your local library. Coming up next for dinner and a movie will be Olive Garden and Paul Blart: Mall Cop.

A Time of Giving

Christmas is just around the corner. This year CARSON wrappedhersheys.com decided to help out a local food bank around the holidays by having a company food drive. Last week Shared Harvest Foodbank located in Fairfield, Ohio dropped off a bin for us to place our donations in. The following day we already had employees bringing in donations. One employee had this to say about the food drive.  "I always give around Christmas time. I like to give to people who need and appreciate the gift. I've been blessed with everything I have, so I want to share my blessings with others."

Here is a list of items that most food banks are accepting: canned vegetables & fruit, canned soups, complete boxed or canned meals, boxed macaroni & cheese, canned sauces & boxed spaghetti, instant potatoes, rice, gravy in a jar, pinto beans, canned spam or ham, pop tarts, tuna, egg noodles, breakfast bars, pancake mix, peanut butter & jelly, flour & sugar, Velveeta cheese, toilet paper, hand soap, shampoo & conditioner, laundry detergent and toothpaste. This time of year if you have the ability to donate, some family out there will be touched by your donation.

Halloween 2008

As you all may know, Halloween was Friday, October 31. At CARSON wrappedhersheys.com Halloween is a big event. This year was nothing short of previous years, pumpkin donuts and apple cider to start off the morning, trick-or-treating throughout the building, a tasty pizza lunch and the infamous costume contest. We had an array of costumes from Sarah and Todd Palin, a bunch of 80's stars, Batman and Catwoman, a prisoner, chick magnet and many more. The winners of this year's best group costume was none other than the wonderful old ladies of the Phone Center. I don't think anyone was shocked to hear that Michelle from the Phone Center had won best individual. She definitely dressed the part of an old woman and had the personality to go along with it. All in all it was another great CARSON Halloween.

Bingo, Bingo

Here at CARSON wrappedhersheys.com bingo is a hot commodity. Why could such a simple game create such a stir? One of our previous winners actually got lucky enough to win again. Sue became the first double winner and possibly (hopefully) the only one. After she won a second time, everyone was sure she had some sort of scheme, but really it was just pure luck. Why couldn't she pass the luck onto others, like me? Soon Sue would lose her luck.

In the fourth round Christina became the new lucky winner. This was her first time participating in bingo, since she recently joined the CARSON team. Must have been the first timers luck. I need to figure out how all of these people besides me are winning. Maybe they have a sense of what card is the winning card or maybe it's just the luck of the draw.

The Great Month of July

The beginning of July was filled with excitement.  From Scott and Sharon celebrating their 5 year anniversary here at CARSON wrappedhersheys.com to another Bingo winner.

Cheers to our second round Bingo winner, Dee. Once again the winner was not seen running throughout the building yelling “BINGO”.  Someday I hope to see a winner doing this and am able to capture the moment.  The third round has already begun and everyone is patiently waiting for a winner. Congratulations Dee!

The 1st of July was Scott and Sharon’s 5th year owning CARSON.  Just recently we had a company meeting and to their surprise a slideshow was shown in their honor. The slideshow was composed of pictures from now and then to even videos telling heartfelt stories of the great owners.  One of our fine graphic designers took the time to compose them all together.  Happy Anniversary Scott and Sharon!

CARSON Bingo

When someone suggested the idea of Bingo throughout CARSON wrappedhershey.com , FunShine just had to jump on the opportunity.  Though this is not your normal game of Bingo, we took it a step further by adding our own personal touch. Instead of just using plain old numbers we dressed it up with some images of our mini products. There are 24 images of product and one free spot that sports the CARSON logo.  The chosen images were picked by everyone in the building. The images were displayed everyday on a calendar on our lovely new monitors placed throughout the building. As we were coming closer and closer to playing Bingo for an entire month we had our first winner.

As much as we wanted our winner to run throughout the building yelling "BINGO!", Sue excitedly displayed her winning card to everyone. I keep wondering how she managed to get so lucky with her card? Congratulations Sue!

We just started our second round of CARSON Bingo. Who will be the lucky winner this time around? Could Sue win two in a row?

Food Gone Wild

Around here at CARSON wrappedhersheys.com  we try to celebrate some sort of event every month.  April was big this year.  From a Hot Dog Day to National Cheese Ball Day.  I believe I have now discovered what our team thrives on, any type of FOOD . 

Hot Dog Day, whoever thought there would be such a day.  Friday April 11 CARSON celebrated the day solely for
this fine meal. Bob the grilling master braved the rainy weather to grill 38 hot dogs for the CARSON team.  All day
long it was raining Dogs & Buns.  Definitely something I have not seen before.  It seems like everyone enjoyed
the freshly cooked dogs.

National Cheese Ball Day on Thursday April 17 was a huge success at CARSON.  The guidelines were to bring in a homemade cheese ball, then everyone would vote for the most delectable cheese ball.  We had a total of 10 cheese balls dispersed throughout the lunchroom.  That day the rest of the marketing team and I headed to Panera for lunch, but even though we were stuffed we had to give every cheese ball a try.  There was a wide range of cheese balls, from cream cheese and ranch mix to a dessert cheese ball (whoever thought of mixing cheese and dessert was brilliant).  After a close call, Joe was our Cheese Ball Winner.  His cheese ball was even decorated with  little “OLE” flags.  Congratulations Joe!

Luck of the Irish

Here at CARSON wrappedhersheys.com we try to celebrate as many of the holidays as we can. On St. Patrick's Day this year everyone in the office was spotted with either green shirts, scarfs or even those little shamrock headbands on. There were some other things that kept the Patty Day celebration going.

One employee, Sylvia Thornburg, showcased the artwork of her niece that was created 15 years ago. She made a "Wee Little Leprechaun" pin out of fimo clay. This little leprechaun was a great addition to our CARSON family for the day.

There was also a little treat that was brought to us by Dee Stammer. She brought in mini cupcakes. You had the choice of white or chocolate cake with a pile of green frosting topped with sprinkles. Even though I'm not a huge fan of frosting, I sure did love those cupcakes. I had to hold myself back to only eat one. All in all, I think ye was a terrific day.

Dress As Your Favorite Wrapper Day

A few weeks ago, Carson’s Funshine Committee held the First Annual “Dress as Your Favorite Wrapper Day” which basically means pick one of our hundreds of wrappers and make a simple costume representing it. And needless to say, it was quite interesting. As I strolled in that particular morning, I glanced around the office and had to laugh, I had never dreamt I’d be so “lucky” to work with a… Fairy, a person draped in Christmas Lights and a Butterfly. Not to mention I happened to be wearing bowling shoes and a crown.

The mood that Friday was so much fun! At work, having a great time and still being productive, not a lot of people can say that. For lunch we were treated to an early Thanksgiving dinner catered from Burbanks. My eyes wanted seconds but my stomach said no… my eyes always win. After the delicious meal, we were going to have a contest to vote on the best dressed. But with the tryptophan kicking in and belts loosened, we decided that there was no reason to stand up in front of a crowd and be judged after a meal like that.

People got really creative, which is great because it just makes the experience even better. And that is one of the things you’ve got to love about Carson, the people… the crazy & creative people - myself included of course!