Back in 2000, I accepted a position in Customer Service at MBNA, conveniently close to my university where I was finishing up my Bachelor's Degree. While I loved the job in the beginning, it became increasingly hard to deal with the disintegrating satisfaction of customers who were becoming wise to the company's ways of upping finance charges on the sly or consistently charging Over Limit fees on accounts that stayed under limit until finance charges pushed them into the red zone. MBNA has since closed its doors.
One summer, in an effort to refuel our sagging employee satisfaction, the Boca Raton office staged a big event at one of the local resorts and had every team in our department commit to a karaoke song and dance competition. The contest yielded a pizza party for the winning team, not exactly worth the effort, but my group was all about the competition. So, we looked over the songs to choose from and one stood out. "I Will Survive."
We were under the impression that many other teams would also gravitate to it since it is basically the flagship song of karaoke, but my team had already decided and they were hardheaded. Still, it bothered me. We would not stand out with just a play up of Gloria Gaynor. And the only way to win was to stand out. So, I rewrote it to fit our job titles. It took a little convincing to get the entire team on board, but we finally ascended the stage, sang our little hearts out, and stole the prize before the judges ever had a chance to vote. Long after I left the world of credit cards and disgruntled cardholders, this song has remained with me. So, pulled from memory, here's my rendition of "I Will Survive", or least the first stanza since it's all I can remember.
At first I was afraid, I was petrified,
The phones were ringing off the hook and they would not subside.
There were people calling in to complain about a fee,
On a statement due last year that they happened not to see.
So I sit here, call after call,
Whether complaints or compliments, you know I hear it all.
Either the APR is high or they need advice from me,
They may be paying finance charges but the therapy is free
Go on now, charge! Keep living large!
Rack up a bill, I know you will, because your wallet can't sit still.
You were the one to use your card excessively,
Just because you're yelling curses, it's not personal to me.
And oh oh, I, I will survive,
As long as you hold the plastic, then I know my job's alive.
You may be angry now and want to make me cry,
But I'll survive. I will survive.
"We appreciate your business. Have a great day!"
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A great group of Survival Spins this week! A big hello to the new Spinners and a warm hug for the veterans!
Pseudo over at Pseudonymous High School Teacher
Ginny Marie over at Lemon Drop Pie
Joanie over at Joanie's Random Ramblings -New to the Spin Cycle!
April over at Drawing Closer to Him -New to the Spin Cycle!
Nothing Fancy over at Nothing Fancy
Lori over at My Life Interrupted
Cristin over at Tiptoeing Through The Tulips
Wicked Step Mom over at Life and Times of a Wicked Step Mom
Camille over at Archives Of Our Lives
Wendy over at Among Mad People -New to the Spin Cycle!
HeatherPride over at Riding the Short Bus
Rachel over at The Ramblings of Rachel
Sandie over at Sandie Simply Says
Casey over at Half As Good As You -Updated today! Fresh Spin!
Thistle over at Thistles and Maple Leaves -Updated today! Fresh Spin!
Bessie Viola over at bessie viola -Updated today! Fresh Spin!
Jen over at Coconut Belly -Updated today! Fresh Spin!
Shangrila over at My Bella Figlia -Updated today! Fresh Spin!
Ginger over at When Ginger Snaps... -Updated today! Fresh Spin!
Jenboglass over at Steenky Bee -Updated today! Fresh Spin!
Rebekah over at Waffles Waffles All Day Long -Updated today! Fresh Spin!
Cyndi over at The Adventures of HarryJack -Updated today! Fresh Spin!
Carrie over at Cole Pack -Updated today! Fresh Spin!
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Next week's assignment: Creative Writing.
Once upon a time, there was a Spin Cycle. And on this Spin Cycle, the Spin Master, er, Spin Mistress, decreed that the Spinners would weave a tale of fancy, let their imaginations rule their pens, er,keyboards, to bring a story to the blogosphere.
Be it a fairy tale or horror story, a tale of woe or worry, a yarn of comedy or tragedy, short or long, the Spinners were called forth to unveil their Spins regardless of whether the ending was happy or sad.
In reality terms, ya'll, use those bloggin' noggins to get creative and Spin it up! Make it all up from nothing, or make up a story about reality. Envision life in the future or revisit the past. Or! Make the tv dramas better! Did anyone see Grey's Anatomy last night? What were the writers thinking making Christina Yang more sensitive? In the course of 4 shows, she's gone from bad ass to caressing another surgeon's cheek telling him she wouldn't give up on him. Um, ditch the teddy bear hugging and bring back the bitch! Damn! Uh, that last scenario was purely an example, an aggressive one, but an example.
See you next week on the Spin Cycle! Or, er, Will the hero rescue the maiden or the maiden rescue the hero? To be continued..
That is freaking hilarious! I hope you had fun signing it!
Posted by: WickedStepMom | March 13, 2009 at 07:21 AM
Love your version of the song....
And next week's assignment already has my head spinning! I don't know if I can do fiction!!!
Posted by: Cristin | March 13, 2009 at 07:32 AM
Thank you for your business!! If the rest didn't crack me up that put me over the top!!!
Did you happen to know another Jennifer there? Taller, skinny, long brown hair and glasses? She was in my Orientation but I'm pretty sure she transferred to Boca in 2000- and worked in Tacs.
Thanks for letting me know about your trip down memory lane. I miss you too. I'm hoping my escape from blogality ends soon... keep in touch, sweetie!
Posted by: DeeMarie | March 13, 2009 at 07:44 AM
That song was hilarious! Nice job.
I'm going try to do the spin cycle this week! I hope. I'm scared.
Could you old me and caress my check? Don't give up on me, SK!
Posted by: FoN | March 13, 2009 at 07:57 AM
DEEEE!!!! There were a lot of Jennifer's there, but one in particular in my Boca office who fit the description and was known for being bossy.
FoN- give me about 3 commercial breaks and a love interest and I'm sure I'll be able to caress your cheek!
Posted by: Sprite's Keeper | March 13, 2009 at 08:08 AM
I love how we remember things put to music. I have a few 'songs' like that too: words I remember because they were set to familiar music.
..and the irony of this song in todays economy...priceless.
:)
Posted by: Wendy | March 13, 2009 at 08:22 AM
OH you are so darn clever! Those words are PERFECT - I was singing along in my head!
Also, I have fallen off the spin wagon a bit with crazy work schedules, but I think this post fits survival - if you'd like to include it you can.
http://bessieviola.wordpress.com/2009/03/11/crazy-part-infinity-drafted/
I'm so up for next week's creative topic - awesome challenge!
Posted by: bessie.viola | March 13, 2009 at 08:53 AM
Great job of changing the lyrics to fit your job. Hilarious! And I bet it was a lot of fun performing it!
Posted by: Lori | March 13, 2009 at 08:55 AM
I love your remake! How much fun was that!
Fiction writing sounds fun! I'm looking forward to seeing what people write about!
Posted by: Ginny Marie | March 13, 2009 at 09:08 AM
Couldn't make waiting in line in the rain for an hour and a half for duck fries into a survival story, so I did not participate this week. I actually got one ready to go for next week though. Looking forward to my first "Spin".
Posted by: Christopher (AKA: CaJoh) | March 13, 2009 at 09:13 AM
You are a rhyming genius!!! You missed your calling, girl. You should write songs for a living! That song is pure brilliance!!!
Posted by: HeatherPride | March 13, 2009 at 09:19 AM
Damn you and your Grey's spoilers. I had the shield my eyes (and actually managed to do it).
Gloria Gaynor couldn't have said it better, your song rocked. I hope you enjoyed that pizza party. BTW, I probably called you with my over the limit sob story... MBNA got me bad back in the day. Whose idea is it to give college kids every credit card under the sun? It took years to pay them off!
Posted by: Casey | March 13, 2009 at 09:25 AM
funny song! i've so felt that way in customer service ... but i would never be able to put it into lyrics like that! hilarious ...
by the way ... i spun ... http://coconutbelly.blogspot.com/2009/03/knot.html ... which is intriguing considering that spins are just about the only posts i'm writing lately ... besides memes. so next week will be tough.
Posted by: jen | March 13, 2009 at 10:02 AM
LOL- you have some mad skillz when it comes to writing song lyrics! My mom likes to insist that I sing karoake when we're out, and then ALWAYS bitches about my song choices! I NEED you to rewrite a song for me-serve her right! :)
I'm up! http://mybellafiglia.blogspot.com/2009/03/spin-cycle-exit-stage-left.html
Posted by: Shangrila | March 13, 2009 at 10:11 AM
I've always kind of loved that song.
Now the new words. Sounds like a rough job to me.
Posted by: K | March 13, 2009 at 10:20 AM
Oh I love it! The lyrics are stupendous!!
Here is my Survival Story, Part One
http://gingereebs.wordpress.com/2009/03/13/the-ordeal-of-a-lifetime-part-one/
Posted by: Ginger | March 13, 2009 at 10:22 AM
How do you do it? You are one clever chickadee! I loved your post about Sprite's injury. You're so fun to read. Even if it is about your baby getting hurt :(
Hope she's feeling better!
Posted by: Amber | March 13, 2009 at 10:46 AM
That is the funniest thing I have read all day! I soo wanna sing that song now!! : )
Posted by: Sarah | March 13, 2009 at 11:06 AM
Oh, Jen. When Jeremy and I renew our vows, would you sing us a parody song to an old Elvis tune? We'll do it in Vegas don't you know? This Spin was awesome as usual.
Posted by: steenky bee | March 13, 2009 at 12:16 PM
Nice song! You are so creative!
Love the spin, I will have to sharpen up my creative writing pencil!
Posted by: Petra a.k.a. The Wise (Young) Mommy | March 13, 2009 at 12:44 PM
Late to the game: http://wafolhaus.blogspot.com/2009/03/spin-cycle-surviving.html
Posted by: rebekah | March 13, 2009 at 12:50 PM
you are so creative! i want to be just like you when i grow up! LOVE that song! it made me want to get a job at a credit card company... ok, maybe not in 2009 -times have changed.
Posted by: bex | March 13, 2009 at 01:50 PM
I love your rendition of I Will Survive, and will never view Credit Card customer service the same way again. Glad you won.
I'm SOO excited for Creative Spin next week! I'm going to work all weekend on it. Is there a word limit? (just kidding)
Posted by: CDB | March 13, 2009 at 02:07 PM
Getting rid of credit card debt is the best thing I ever did for myself. No offense. : )
I survived.
Posted by: Camille | March 13, 2009 at 02:46 PM
Love the song! You should really be writing for Britney Spears...
Posted by: Jenni Jiggety | March 13, 2009 at 07:18 PM