You've probably picked up on how I get bored with normalcy. Sometimes I want to give up on life because I realize I have to do another 30-50 more New Year's eves before I get out of here.
As such, I'm motivated to find a different, better way of doing things. Take surprise parties as an example. Anyone can put together the standard "come home from dinner, have everyone yell 'surprise' when you walk in the door" version. If you're Mike Pacchione, though, you up the ante. Here's how:
The Catherine Bryan "A Few Months Late" Memorial:
Birthdays are a big deal at the workplace. Anything to get away from the office and regurgitate the same "so what are you doing for your big day?" type questions. In 2004, Catherine threw us all for a loop, scheduling a two week vacation for the time immediately surrounding her August birthday. Not to be deterred, I organized a celebration for her...in November. The best part? Her birthday was such a distant memory at this point that she started singing along to blend in, only to break into blush as we all moved from "dear" to "CATHERINE."
The Layered Surprise:
Came together this past September for my friend Amber. The idea here is to dull the birthdayer's senses to the point where they couldn't possibly expect a surprise. On Amber's birthday, her boyfriend Josh (my roommate) brought her back to our house. They open the door to find me watching TV with four of my friends, friends who are total strangers to her. No way there's a surprise party at this point, right? But just after she introduces herself to my friends, the back door to our house opens up and her friends run in yelling "surprise." It's a thing of beauty.
The "Is This a Dream":
My roommate Chris turned 30 this past November. Problem was, his birthday fell on the same weekend as all the Halloween parties. No way we can set something up for him at this point, right? Wrong. Simply invite 20 of his closest friends over for a 6:30 AM surprise party, make sure he's clothed as he comes down the stairs, and yell "YOU'RE 30" at him when he flips the lights on. I don't think the colloquial version of "surprised" can really explain the person's reaction.
More to come as I grow older and become more and more dissatisfied with the status quo...
2 comments:
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
Strange ring of familiarity, this blog. I whole heartedly agree, obviously. Darn good year for surprise parties, and you do seem to have a gift. My birthday is in August... just saying.
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