Friday Donuts

Dear Members and Constituents, I think corporate America’s obsession with efficiency is generally healthy. Companies create competitive acumen as waste goes by the wayside. Product prices drop as productivity proliferates. Granted, it’s not all goodness. Change can be disruptive and it seems people seldom stay in the same post for long. Institutional memory can easily evaporate and re-formed teams can sometimes struggle re-building their chemistry. Standing as an affront to the unintended negative side-effects of continuous improvement is Level 3’s own Friday Donut Club. It was 489 weeks ago today that I started this ragtag band of sugar seekers. Although the club has moved up (one floor) and around (four offices) and grown from fifteen to fifty members (with a hundred and fifty having gone through the ranks at various points in time), it has always had two constants: donuts and my fingerprints. For the past nine years and change it has been my honor to preside over this “vice”. Th

Dear Members and Constituents, We’ve all seen them. Cameras strapped around their necks, hair disheveled, making unexpected stops along the way. Looking out of place and not caring about making fools of themselves. As a matter of fact, we’ve all been them. Visiting the sites locals know about but never bother to go. Not caring that the traditional cuisine is not what locals eat and the antiques have recently been aged. I’m talking about tourists, of course. Why is it we only behave that way when we’re so far from home? I have a feeling it has something to do with the fact we don’t know whether we’ll ever be back, so we want to take it all in. As tourists, we have an expiration date and want to make the most of the limited time we’ve got. At home, on the other hand, we’re surrounded by the familiar, we have our comfort zone and we take our ability to take the sites in “sometime” for granted. I know folks who lived in Anaheim but never went to Disneyland until they moved three thous

[Posted by Ed Stocker] Dear Members and Constituents, Last week we celebrated the arrival of fall to our fair city. Now, our two weeks of Fall seem to be behind us this year.  Today we awake to the first really cold and snowy morning telling us Fall is gone and Winter is marching forward. To help combat the chill in the air and the dark skies above, Karl Schaller has brought in today’s treats.  We’ve got 4 dozen Donuts from LaMar’s to brighten up the morning and make it feel just a little warmer.  They’re delivered and ready to enjoy in the usual spot, 32C-510. Come on down and make your morning just a little better.  You’ll be glad you did. Thanks, Ed