Pirattitude: Get Your Name On

Ahoy Thar, Me Hearties!  Only four days until National Talk Like a Pirate Day and our fun-filled night of Pirate Bingo.  Oh... to attend me party is one thing, but to host ye own party... now that would really be something!

Hosting a celebration can be as involved as inviting people over to your home or as simple - as showing up to your weekly meeting with a special treat.  This is one of those celebrations so unexpected and with so little expectation (if any), that you can't help but be a big hit.  Besides... Highlowaha is about slowing down long enough to celebrate life's simple pleasures - especially when the simple pleasure is as silly as talking like a pirate.  

So don't tune me out, thinking I'm talking to some veteran highlowaha reader or to a more involved reader.  I'm not.  I'm actually talking to you both.  Entertain the idea.  Hear me out and consider organizing some kind of celebrati

on... big or small.  All you have to do today is decide who you would like to invite/involve.

Take a second and think.  Who's someone simple you can invite over?  You know what I'm talking about... someone low maintenance, but who will appreciate your fun side.  The point isn't to create unnecessary work for yourself.  Instead, the point is to use National Talk Like a Pirate Day as excuse to connect with a friend(s), help raise money for Highlowaha's Helping Hand Christmas Project, or as an excuse to exercise your creativity.  

As for who I'll invite?  Nan Anderson, my neighbor.  She also has three kids and a husband who travels.  If I invite Nan and her kids, she'll understand that our gathering is meant to be casual and that anything I provide will be considered "over-delivering."  It'll be a simple chance for our kids to eat dinner together and they'll be gone before Pirate Bingo starts at 8:00 CST. Perfect.

How about you?

Invitations.  That's the only thing we need to do today in order to assure we have people at our gatherings.  If we have to choose between a no-frills invitation and no invitation, we'll go no-frills.  Sure, we could make some elaborate invitations on tea stained paper, with burned edges, and a gothic looking font.  But, we're into no-frills because that's what we have time for. Instead we'll opt for an email, an evite, a handwritten note, knocking on people's doors with a verbal invitation, or leave a simple voice mail message.  

The most creative invitation we can create in the least amount of time.  That's our goal.

Here's the good news...

So big is this underworld of pirate-lovers that there are websites you can visit to access a Pirate Dictionary AND websites you can visit to get your very own Pirate Name!  Imagine how much more fun your (written or verbal) invitation will be if done in Pirate-ese.

So, here's what we'll do to start building excitement for Friday's Pirate Bingo and hopefully to motivate you to do host your own gathering in celebration of National Talk Like a Pirate Day (with our Pirate Bingo game as part of your evening activity).

First, visit http://www.piratequiz.com/ to get your very own pirate name.  Next, visit http://www.io.com/~sj/Pirate Talk.html to brush up on your pirate lingo.  Use what you learn to make a post sharing your plans for Friday.  

Hosting a Pirate Bingo Party?  Delivering a pirate party favor?  Dressing in red and black? Signing all your memos in ye pirate name?  Whatever it is, make a post today using your best pirate lingo, signed in your new pirate name and your name will automatically go in the drawing for one of the SIX prizes that don't get claimed by Friday night's Virtual Bingo winners!  

Announcements:

• Virtual Pirate Bingo:  Come one, come all to highlowaha's Friday night fundraiser.  In an effort to raise money for the family we adopted this holiday season, highlowaha readers will play three rounds of Bingo.  And, in honor of National Talk Like A Pirate Day, we'll add a twist... Pirate Bingo.  In this exciting version, prizes get won and prizes get plundered.  Where the booty finally lands, nobody quite knows.  Check out yesterday's post (9/15) to get the details.  I need Bingo cards by Friday at 3:00.  
  
• Virtual Pirate Bingo Prizes:  Also outlined yesterday are the nine great gifts that can be won.  A few more details about Spa-in-a-Box.  It includes... Bath and Body Works gel; a candle; Oil of Olay Bath Products; the ever appropriate chocolate; and two books written by Nicholas Sparks.  Also, below is a picture of the Limited Edition Highlowaha t-shirt that can be yours.  
  

• Countdown to the Super Bowl:  This week's secret ingredient is garlic.  Tera and Stacie are facing off in the Half Time Snack Throw Down.  Hopefully their entries are in the making and will be shipped off in the next couple of days.  Friday we will make predictions about Sunday's score, so that the person who comes closest can win a gold star (just like Cheryl did last week!).
  
• Reading Raynbow:  I've been told there will be some sort of update on the Reading Raynbow blog today.  Click on the link in the top right hand side of my blog.  
  
• Helping Hand:  Speaking of updates, Brian sent an email today letting me know the Helping Hand blog has been updated.  Check it out.
  
• Paint the Town Red: Remember to save your Coke Reward Codes, so we can donate them to Heather's friend, Julie who is sick with a terminal disease.  We have Regional Director for all regions except, MAAHLA (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin) and GLAHLA (South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota).  If you live in any of the states listed and want to help with this initiative, please contact me (cbeeny@lslog.com) or post a comment.  The time commitment is minimal, but the impact BIG!   Once I have all Regional Directors in place, I will post contact information and the specific process we will use for collecting Coke Reward Numbers. 
  

This is Dirty Charity Flint signing off until tomorrow, me buckos...