Pay Day Pizza
editPay Day Pizza, "PDP" or stylised "Pay-Day-Pizza" is the brainchild of Jesse Venables and Tracey Ruka. It is a membership-based lunch arrangement which occurs post Pay Day at the Independent Hardware Group, located in Heatherton, Melbourne Australia. Groups take turns in bringing in Pizza bases and toppings in order to prepare of the event, which is the envy of most co-workers in the office. Pepsi cola is the unofficial drink consumed at these gatherings.
Inception / History
editPay Day Pizza, "PDP" or stylised "Pay-Day-Pizza" is the brainchild of Jesse Venables and Tracey Ruka. Both former Home Timber and Hardware employees were assigned by the Independent Hardware Group with testing the new facilities at 19 Corporate Drive, Heatherton. This included but was not limited to testing IT Infrastructure, Bathroom facilities and other onsite amenities. As part of this process, whist not specified ‘to test’ the newly installed ovens, Venables and Ruka did so on January 12th 2018, which was known retrospectively as the inaugural ‘Pay Day Pizza”. Whilst the 1st Pay Day Pizza consisted of mainly frozen varieties prepared, it evolved to fresh product which has been the standard up until this day.
Early 2018 - Expansion (Maria Sulastri arrival and departure; New Members )
editMaria Sulastri joined the Pay Day Pizza group in May 2018 and she was the 1st member outside of the brainchildren. Maria's inclusion marked the commencement of ‘taking it in turns’ to fund the shopping for Pay Day Pizza, a process later shelfed in favour of the group system. Maria departed the Pay Day Pizza in October 2018 after an internal promotion made the commitment too minuscule for her at capacity schedule. To date, Maria is the only member to feature as apart of Pay Day Pizza from outside of Merchandising or The Hub.
September and October 2018 saw Crystal New and Meg Boswell join respectively, and later contracted Juanita Aguero joined the group. Juanita's contract expired on April 2019 in addition to her role in the Pay Day Pizza Group.
Late 2018 – Mass Expansion
editLate 2018 saw the group welcome 3 new members who were keen to join the fold: Rebecca Vigar, Deidre Fonceca and Caroline Lowe, all from within the Merchandising team.
Caroline Lowe – Dec 18 to Present
Deidre Fonceca – Dec 18 to Present
Rebecca Vigar – Dec 18 to Present
Forms of Communication - "Microsoft Teams"
editMicrosoft Teams has been the main form of contact between Pay Day Committee Members. This has been a vital tool since the August 2018 roll out of the program in the Independent Hardware Group.
Controversies
editInternal Conflicts - Pineapple Vs. Anchovies
editA raging internal, long withstanding debate among the members, past and present is the inclusion of Pineapple and Anchovies on the required list of items required for Pay Day Pizza. This debate started with the Brainchildren and to this day divides all members who participate in the Pay-Day-Pizza event.
The Great Fire that almost set off the Smoke Alarm in February 2019
editThe tradition of Pay Day Pizza almost came to an abrupt end after pre-heading the ovens the February 2019 event. A Birthday gathering from the Merchandising team left the ovens in poor condition. Opening the ovens caused the tea room to fill with smoke but luckily, the smoke alarms were not set off.
The Burden of Gluten Free requirements
editAt the moment, 2 of the 8 participating members require a “gluten free” Pizza base at all Pay Day Pizza events.
Member List
edit| Member Name | Joined Group | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Tracey Ruka | Jaunary 2018 | Present |
| Jesse Venables | January 2018 | Present |
| Maria Sulastri | May 2018 | October 2018 |
| Crystal New | August 2018 | Present |
| Meg Boswell | September 2108 | Present |
| Juanita Aguero | November 2018 | April 2019 |
| Caroline Lowe | December 2018 | Present |
| Deidre Fonceca | December 2018 | Present |
| Rebecca Vigar | December 2018 | Present |
| Mark Janecki | May 2019 | Present ^ |
^ = Yet to experience Meat produce at any Pay Day Pizza.
