Written by Steven D’Adamo

Well, the zombie apocalypse is raging outside, but I’m still alive, and Fort Talk Local has not yet been breached. I have some more tips for you to zombie-proof your home. This time, we’re dealing with windows.

The first question that needs to be asked when it comes to zombie-proof windows is, who needs them? If you’re more concerned with having a nice view of your front yard than you are with zombies breaking in, you probably won’t last long anyway. Windows should give you a view of what’s coming without exposing you to the danger.

1. Board up every window on the first level. Plywood, scrap-wood, or tables work well for this. Bullet-proof sheet metal is ideal. If the barricade can be knocked over or pushed aside, nail it or weld it down. This keeps the Walkers out and your withering sanity in. This applies to sliding glass doors too. Get rid of them. If your garage is attached to the house, block those windows as well. If not, your garage may already be lost.

2. Conceal any upper-level windows with dark sheets or blankets, especially when lighting your house at night. Having light shine through windows, even those on upper levels, is basically the same as screaming through a bullhorn and shooting off firecrackers. A shining light at night is an open invitation for every zombie in sight to come a-knockin’.

3. Use windows strategically to give yourself a vantage point to the outside world. Now, you don’t need a triple-paned bay window to be able to look outside. Choose one or two windows on each side of your house that give you the widest and farthest view. Cover them up as you normally would, but leave one corner or small space covered by a movable barricade, so you can quickly take a peek outside. A PlayStation works well for this — it’s not like you can use it anymore anyway!

Fort Talk Local is burdened with many windows, and two sliding glass doors. Remember that plethora of desks I mentioned last time? Well they’re now blocking the sliding doors, topped with seldom-used whiteboards and rugs. So, even if a pack of zombies breaks through the glass, they’d still have to climb over the desks. Keep in mind that zombies are stupid. It might take them longer than you think to figure out how to climb over random junk in their path.

I hope that helps. We’ll have plenty more to cover, especially if you didn’t already raid the nearest CostCo and are considering eating your shoes. Stay tuned for more zombie-proofing tips to come. Steve out.

Written by Steven D’Adamo

Hey guys! You’re probably feeling bombarded with Seva Call intern info pages (there are a lot of us!), but now it’s my turn to introduce myself.

Technically, I’ve been writing to you guys through the Seva Call blog since January. You know all of those service category articles we publish? There’s a real, live person who edits, rewrites, and publishes those, and for the last 7 months, it’s been me. Yes, I am a veteran among the Seva Call interns.

Well now I’ll also be writing less helpful articles for your reading pleasure, like our recent series about zombies. Check it out.

So, time for a little about myself.

1. I’m a native Marylander. I love my home state, even though I’ve spent 5 of the last 7 years living outside of it… or maybe that’s why I love it.

2. I tell people not from Maryland that I’m from Baltimore, because no one has heard of or cares about my suburban hometown of Columbia.

3. I have traveled to 14 countries, mostly over the last 2 years, and I still want to see more. And below is me, on a camel, wearing a turban, in the Moroccan Sahara.

4. My favorite book is The Hobbit. And yes I saw the first movie in theaters… twice.

5. My favorite band is the Foo Fighters.

6. I will eat any type of food once, and there is very little food that I actually dislike.

7. It is a life goal of mine to drive through every US state, even Alaska if possible. I’m not sure if renting a car in Hawaii after flying there counts.

8. I also want to be a college professor at some point. Who wouldn’t want summers off?!

9. I respond to comments on the blog. So leave a comment!

10. I thoroughly enjoy editing and writing for Seva Call, no joke. So I really hope you all enjoy reading.

Is that enough Jaime? I’m pretty sure that is all of the information about me.

Written by Jaime Fawcett

Welcome to the first ever installment of 8 Interns : 2 Months : 1 Office — a brand new series the Seva Call writers are undertaking to give you a sneak peek into the lives of the Seva Call interns. Each week we will volley a round of questions at one of our interns in no particular order of importance, relevance, or hilarity.

Some answers will leave you wanting more, and some may have you thinking T-M-I. Read at your leisure and at your own risk.

Hopes, fears, what they had for breakfast this morning! No answer is too big or small. Just think about it, now you’ll be able to fawn over your favorite intern all you want.

Example:

You: Rochelle’s mom owns a cattery??!? I love cats! Oh mi gawd, we should be best friends!

Me: She really does own a cattery. *nods*

Today, I would like to introduce Madeline! She is one of Seva Call’s lovely customer service representatives, born and raised here in Potomac, Maryland. She’s a Mid-Westerner at heart though, spending 9 months of the year at University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she is studying for a B.S. in Life Science Communications. She loves all things food and travel-related, as you can see in her photos from her trip to Israel.

What is your biggest pet peeve, like, you would saw off your left foot to avoid the situation?

Being stuck behind people that walk slow. And when you can’t get around them because they’re walking in a line! I hate it.

Any interesting hobbies? Running? Knitting? Spelunking? Underwater basket weaving?

HAHA, well, none of those. I really like walking my dog, Juneau. That’s not as interesting as underwater basket weaving but my family and I walk him around a lot of interesting places nearby.

QUICK! Pitch your most absurd startup idea?

A company that delivered Chipotle. I don’t know why Chipotle hasn’t invested in delivery. They should get on that. I would totally be a middle man for them.

Speaking of Chipotle, what’s your signature meal?

Burrito Bowl with pulled pork, white rice (none of that brown ish), black beans, mild salsa, cheese, lettuce, aaaaaand guac.

Coke or Pepsi. Choose wisely.

*wince* Neither. I don’t drink soda.

What was your favorite class in school and why?

I took a class about the evolution of music from the 1920’s to the present. I loved it. It was a small class so there was a lot of discussion, and we got to listen to a lot of cool music and learn about how bands got their start. It was really interesting, and the professor was awesome.

Tell me about your most ridiculous school/work assignment, classmate/co-worker experience, embarrassing situation?

I used to work at a pizza shop and we were about to close, and a huge rush came in of soccer kids and families, and I had a full tray of drinks. It just went everywhere. I drenched people and soda got on their phones. It was sooooo bad. I cried.

Favorite holiday?

Ummmmm, hmmmmm, favorite holiday…Chanukah, I guess. You know, presents and stuff.

What did you want to be when you were five and how does that compare to what you want/are doing now?

I don’t remember having a dream job when I was younger, but I have a dream job now. I want to be a host for a show on the Travel Channel, which basically means I want to be Anthony Bourdain, who hosts No Reservations. He just gets to travel everywhere and eat food! That would be awesome!

If the zombie apocalypse occurred and you had to bring 4 other Seva Call employees with you, who would it be and why?

Jaime (Thats me!): Good company; Kyle: He looks like he could kick zombie butt.; Allie: She would be good company also.; Andre: He could also kick major zombie butt

Favorite book/movie/artist/song/TV show, etc.?

Favorite Movie, that’s tough. I’m gonna go with Fried Green Tomatoes.

Favorite Band: The Shins.

I can tell you my favorite food? Pasta.

Hogwarts house?

Gryffindor….Duh.

Why is your watch so big?

It was a gift. I don’t know, don’t make fun of my watch!

Something that “skeeves” you out?

Gills, ugh. That scene in Harry Potter four when he grows the gills? Ugh. That was it for me. I had a conniption in the movie theater. *shivers*

Welp, that’s it for Madeline! Many thanks to her for parting such personal information to me and Seva Call’s readers. Next week we will be introduced to our a capella-singing junior-sales-representative, Josh. Perhaps, he will serenade me during our interview.

See you next week, Seva Callers!

Written by Steven D’Adamo

Greetings fellow survivors. Hopefully there are still enough of you left to get this article some decent hits. I kid, I kid… but seriously, the digital cash is somehow still flowing into my PayPal account from my pay-per-click ads… so thanks for that.

I promised that I would be back with some helpful hints to zombie-proof your home and survive the zombie apocalypse, and I’m here to deliver.

I’ve decided to help you out by letting you in on how the Seva Call Team has managed to keep Fort Seva Call up and running, starting with those all-important passages to the outside world: doors.

Now, we totally know that not everyone lives in a castle. And if you do, you probably don’t need to read this. So for those of us who actually live in the 21st century, post-apocalyptic wasteland: pay attention!

In general, you’ll want to protect your doors, while still being able to escape if your house is being overrun.

1. If your garage is directly attached to the house, make sure to reinforce the doors with plywood, or perhaps that absurdly heavy liquor cabinet you never used to store your one bottle of bottom-tier vodka.

2. You’ll want to have one door for primary entrance and exit. Make sure that you choose the heaviest, strongest door in your house for this. And then…you guessed it: reinforce it. But keep the peep-hole intact!

3. You’ll also want an alternative escape route. Perhaps an upper-level window near a tree, or a ridiculously-planned route from the attic, over the roof, and through the backyard would work best for this. The key is, everyone in the house must know this route, and it must be well-hidden and protected from randomly curious zombies.

Here at Fort Seva Call, we have a seldom-used garage filled with junk to act as an alternative escape. The garage can only be opened from the inside, and the scattered, dusty furniture acts as a pack-rat’s obstacle course for the zombies who will likely chase us through there at some point.

We also happen to have a surplus of oversized desks that have been recycled into barricades. Only a start-up home office could be so fortunate.

Hope this helps you zombie-proof your homes. I’ll return with further updates. Steve out.

Written by Rochelle Cecil

 Hello all!

I’m Rochelle and I’ll be writing numerous blogs for you this summer, so I thought it only fair to introduce myself. I don’t want to be that awkward kid in the corner who randomly says things but nobody knows her name, you know?

Okay, first thing’s first.

Starting September 2, I will be going into my final semester (yay!) at Houghton College. I know, you’ve never heard of it. It’s in a hamlet — not even large enough to be its own town — in the middle of Western New York. Your questions: What’s a hamlet? What’s Western New York? Wikipedia knows both.

What do I study, you ask? Well, it’s a mouthful. Ready for it? I’m a Communications major with a Visual and Media Arts concentration, as well as an English major and Writing minor. Basically I read poetry and novels, write a ton of papers, and spend an exorbitant amount of time in Photoshop and Final Cut Pro. And I love it. I’m also heavily interested in gender studies and the impact of new media in society.

On to second-rate things. Umm….Home! Yes, you’ll love home. Know why? Because, I’m from Kansas, and there is no place like home.

Alright. Glad we got that over with. Now, to clear up a few other things:

Kansas is a state, not a city, or a county in another state. It’s a state. Again, Wikipedia if you don’t believe me: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas. In case you couldn’t tell, I like Wikipedia. It’s got such a great history and really encompasses the idea of big data and online social communities…I’ll stop rambling, but if you want to know more, I wrote a giant paper about it! 🙂

Kansas is also not covered in corn; that’s actually Nebraska. We have wheat.

I don’t have a dog named Toto.

I don’t have ruby slippers.

I didn’t grow up on a farm.

I don’t say “ya’ll,” though I do say “C-ment” instead of cement, “ruff” instead of roof, and “pop” instead of soda.

I have seen a tornado — more than one actually.

Level three information, aka fun facts:

I love reading. Romantic and Victorian literature is my favorite. I’m currently obsessed with Elizabeth and Robert Browning’s love poems, and I’m in the process of rereading The Twin Towers.

I run often and I will run a marathon! Eventually. I’m determined, and you can’t stop me.

And, I recently cut off 20 inches of my hair to donate it.

I’m quite excited about being a Seva Call intern for the summer and writing blogs for you! Stay tuned to check out some awesome upcoming content (especially from me).

Welp. I think that’s all folks! Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time.

Seva Call Interns Crash Exclusive 4th Of July Bash (Kinda)

Written by Rochelle Cecil.

Okay, technically we were invited; but for some of us, getting to enjoy free food and mingle with the startup industry’s heavy hitters at the 1776 Stars, Stripes, & Startups Party, was all thanks to some quick thinking by our founder MP.

It started a couple of weeks ago when Manpreet forwarded the interns an email that read “1776 Presents The Stars, Stripes & Startups Party.” Now, for those of you who don’t know, 1776 is a pretty legit organization that supports start-ups by connecting them to investors and entrepreneurial mentors. They hosted this party on the 12th floor of a building in downtown DC (literally 2 blocks from the White House), with free food, drinks, “carnival” games, DC startups, entrepreneurs, investors, and other awesome people.

And, the best part? We. Were. Invited. Little interns as we were: invited.

When July 2 came around, the office was buzzing. I’m pretty sure that less work got done Tuesday than any other day I’ve seen so far. And, that’s saying a lot with ping pong, football, and frisbee available daily.

However, tragedy suddenly struck when the reminder email popped up in our inboxes. Michael quickly brought to our attention the small white box at the bottom of the email that read, “Note that this event is 21+ and IDs will be checked by security at the door.” Now, Seva Call has 24 interns this summer and at least half of them are under 21. This threw a giant wrench in our plans.

The news quickly spread through the office; some threw up their hands in utter defeat, some joked about making fake IDs, some continued to work (as they were 21 and it made no difference to them), while one brave soul got to work saving the day.

Enter the hero: Manpreet Singh, Co-Founder, President, and Seva-Call-intern-party-saver!

With his superhero-like, master skills, MP was able to finagle his way to the top of the food chain and get special permission for Seva Call interns. Not only were we invited to a swag party in DC, we were VIP guests!

A few hours later, we were standing line to get in. After having our IDs checked (or black X’s placed on our hands) and being checked off the attendance list, we took the elevators to the 12th floor.

“Sweet Home Alabama” was being played by the live band and we were whirled into the mass of start-ups, entrepreneurs, and investors. We got some food, maybe a couple of drinks, played some Jenga, and got to work spreading the word about Seva Call.

We talked with everyone — other interns, entrepreneurs, and 1776 employees — and passed out buckets of business cards. Moral of the story: being a Seva Call intern is pretty awesome, and MP can work magic.

Thanks for reading, and I hope that your Fourth is as fantastic as our Stars, Stripes & Startups party was. Just…with fewer bumps.

Happy 4th of July from the Seva Call Team!

Written by Steven D’Adamo

So, it’s the Zombie Apocalypse that movie-goers and comic book readers everywhere have been predicting (hoping for?), and this is probably your last chance to use the Internet for…forever.

I write to you from the steam-punk-esque fortress that is now Seva Call Headquarters, where I and the remaining interns are holding out for a miracle. Good thing the Seva Call snack bar is stocked with twinkies and cup-o’-noodles. Unfortunately, some of the upper management were out on a Chipotle run, and are currently MIA, while Seva Man is lost somewhere in Kentucky. Hopefully he found a horse… and also learned how to ride a horse.

Our make-shift modifications to Fort Seva Call have protected us from the first wave of zombies, and somehow left our internet intact. Also, Zaneta somehow macgyvered a power strip, a ping pong paddle, and a blunted knife into an awesome zombie-killing weapon. Who knew? She always seemed so sweet.

So for anyone who can read this, I’ll be posting as many updates as I can, letting you know how we’re holding up. And since we haven’t been overrun by brain-eaters yet, I think I have some helpful advice for you to zombie-proof your home. Looks like we’re the pest control experts now! Okay, bad pun.

I think I should go now. Matteo is glaring at me. I should probably help with the fortifications.

Check back soon for some updates. Steve out.

Written by Jaime Fawcett

Written by Jaime Fawcett.

What’s up, Seva Callers? It’s Jaime with the Seva Interns, and I’m kicking back at headquarters where the thermostat is set at a frosty 30 degrees to combat the unbearable heat and humidity of the DC urban wilderness.

It’s July 1st. And I dig July. I do. I really do. It’s smack dab in the middle of the summer, which means I’ve finally recuperated from spring semester horrors, but haven’t yet started hyperventilating about starting my third year of college.

It’s… peaceful…and cathartic….and as sticky as the blue rivers of melted sno-cone staining your hand. Seriously, Seva Callers… it’s hot.

But no matter how hot it is I can never, ever, EVER quell my excitement about the 4th of July. The parades, the fireworks, playing with all the neighborhood tykes and toddlers at the neighborhood barbecue, and watching their faces light up as my dad scoops out Fawcett Famous Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream; it’s awesome.

This year will be one of the only 4th of July’s I haven’t spent in my small town, Catonsville. It’s sad to think that I won’t be walking with the parade down Frederick Rd, or watching the fireworks at my alma mater Catonsville High.

But hey, I’m going to Chicago this year! And I’m pretty stoked. Perhaps this is the start of a new tradition?

Anywho, I asked all the interns about some of their 4th of July traditions, past and present, and their most memorable 4th of July. Here are their answers.

 Rochelle: Last year was my first 4th in DC. We went to the parade. It was hot, and sweaty, and we got lost a bunch of times. But, it was awesome and so worth it. Oh my goodness, getting on the subway after the fireworks? I have never seen so many people on a subway car. It was crazy, and awesome, and I’m excited to do it again this year!

Saam: Somehow, I always end up out of the country. I went to Rome and France last year. This year will be my first time really celebrating the 4th in a while.

Josh: Well you know the 4th is a big deal in C-ville (Fun fact: We have the same hometown!). People set their chairs out to watch the parade a month in advance. They tie them to telephone poles and stuff. But, the best part is watching the Nathan’s Hotdog Eating contest on TV. Johnny Chestnut is my boy! Reigning record holder!

Andre: I go down to the National Harbor and watch the fireworks. And you know….other stuff.

 Duan: My 13-year-old brother’s birthday is the 4th of July. He likes that he gets fireworks and a lot of food on his birthday.

 Michael: Every year my family and I go to Hull, a small beach town in Massachusetts. The town goes all out for fireworks and you can watch them from the beach. The best fireworks I’ve ever seen.

 Katherine: I have a big family – we keep it pretty old school with a barbecue and fireworks back in New Jersey.

Sid: One of my most memorable 4th moments was watching the fireworks with my dad, sitting on the roof of the World Bank in DC. It was awesome seeing the fireworks 30 stories up.

 Nabeel: Best 4th of July? Outer Banks, VA and fireworks on the beach. Super Chill.

 Graham: I work. Time and a half pay, baby.

Zaneta: I go to my aunt’s house with all my family. She makes Caribbean food, which is not your typical 4th of July food, I know, but it’s sooooo good. But then my relatives start dancing. It’s super awkward and embarrassing…especially when they make me dance with them. Oh well, you gotta love ‘em.

 Lauren: One 4th my cousin got into a brawl with this guy. It was simultaneously terrifying and hilarious.

Chelsea: Well, I’m from New Jersey, so everybody goes to the Jersey Shore. It’s the best time to catch up with old friends from high school.

Madeline: I have family in Maine and New Hampshire, so I usually go up there. We all go to a park in North Conway. There’s food, weird cover bands, and fireworks. It’s really fun! I won’t be going this year though, which is totally sad. It’s the first summer I haven’t gone. I don’t know what I’m going to do! I have a friend here who usually throws a party every year. But she’s going away this year! Oh, man…I don’t know what I’m going to do…

We know Augie isn’t an intern but he wanted in.

 Augie: When I was younger I would buy hundreds of glowsticks, and I would sell them during the parade and at the fireworks. You know like you see people do? I’d make hundreds of dollars. But then the cops started asking for a license to sell them so I had to stop.

And that’s that! Sounds like there will be plenty of stories for the office when we get back from the holiday break.

So what are you doing for the 4th of July, Seva Callers? What do you do? Where do you go? Whose feet do you throw poppers at? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter!