Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Whack on the Side of the Head Wednesday: Surprise BirthRay

Important announcement at the end.

I was heading into this day with one idea about what we could we could whack, but then Cheryl made the fun suggestion of celebrating Ray's birthday.  Two good ideas, so we'll whack them both.

First surprise.  Actually, "Surprise" with a capital "S," as in Surprise, Arizona.  Julie, one of our fun and loyal readers, recently relocated to Surprise, Arizona, where she will be living for the next few months.  I have not been able to shake the name of the city that she now calls home.  Living in - or knowing someone who lives in - a town called, "Surprise" is way too irresistible for someone like me.  I suspect it might be for you too.  I feel like if you live in Surprise, Arizona fun and spontaneous things ought to be happening all the time.  Spontaneous random acts of kindness, funny ads in the local paper, helium balloons with the word "surprise" tied to parking meters or street signs, and so much more.  I figure we, Highlowaha, are just the people to do it.  So, I am proposing we create one "surprise" a week from now until Julie moves again (about three months, I think) to bestow upon the town of Surprise.  The acts can be executed by Julie, but on behalf of our fun community.  That's the first idea I want to whack.  Can we do it?  If so, what can we do?  And, any other brainstorms that come to mind.

Second.  BirthRay!  Cheryl's right.  Ray needs a birthday.  Cassie P. made some suggestions yesterday about how we might assign Ray a D.O.B. (first day he was "conceived," "first day he was sketched, or his first appearance on Highlowaha).  What are your ideas and can we whack them to make sure we have come up with the A-#1-best possible idea for assigning Ray his birthday.  Along the same lines... how old is he and does he have a back story?

These are the two ideas I hope you'll join me in "whacking" today.  For those new to the community... Whack on the Side of the Head Wednesday is the day of the week when we jar our thinking in order to be more creative.  We do this with a little help from our friend Roger von Oech.   I pull a card from von Oech's Creative Whack Pack and you use the prompt to see what new and improved idea you can come up with.

No idea what I'm talking about?  Jump right in and try.  You'll see it's not hard and you will be amazed at what our readers come up with.

Now for the whack...

Be Whacky.  One day a new product design team got into a really whacky mood and made fun of their product.  They were zany and off-the-wall.  The meeting was a great success and many new ideas were generated.  The next week, everybody was in a serious mood and no new ideas were generated.  Moral: there's a close relationship between the "aha" of discovery and the "haha" of humor, and being whacky stimulates your creative juices.  As the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu put it, "As soon as you have made a thought, laugh at it."  What whacky things can you do to your idea(s)?

So that's it.  Mill von Oech's idea around for a while and then check back later this afternoon to let me know what you've come up with.  How can our being whacky help us further develop our Surprise surprises or Ray's birthday?

Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Important Announcement:
  • Tomorrow Highlowaha goes Goal Fishing.  What's Goal Fishing?  Simple.  It is Highlowaha's attempt at helping readers stay motivated to achieve your New Year's resolution(s).  Each participant submits a resolution, along with name, address, and email.  Each person participating will draw someone's name and then serve as a his/her cheerleader for the year.  Send and encouraging note, cut a relevant article from a newspaper, make a positive affirmation, and anything else you can think to do.  In the meantime, someone else will be doing the same for you!  Sixteen of you are already signed up, but NONE of you will want to miss out.  To get in on the fun, simply send your name, mailing address, and new year's resolution to me at cbeeny@lslog.com.
Signing off until tomorrow...

26 comments:

Katie said...

Good morning! I'm headed off to practicum, but will mill it over all day. I'll check back in tonight.

Also, as for yesterday's discussion of Captain Crunch...the original is DEFINITELY the best! It was also my favorite as a kid.

Anonymous said...

HAHA lets surprise Surprise with the WACKIEST things we can think of!!!

Anonymous said...

KATIE! I cannot believe you would go against your little cassie-face about cereal! And PS, its weird that we posted almost exactly the same time!

Peggy said...

What about a disguise Surprise Party celebRAYtion. If it doesn't really matter when Ray was born... if he is the mascot of HLA, the he is part of 2/18.... gives us a month to discover him and high'light' who he was as a little 'idea' (night light) and how he came to shine!

We could work it like the peanut/shell game as the disguise to send those who particpate a Surprise gift in celebRAYtion of the event.

Thats my first thought!
Have a good day y'all!!

Anonymous said...

I agree with 2/18...makes sense to me.
As far as age...he has to be over 21 because he has had an alcoholic beverage or two.
February 18, 2008 (the date the blog was devised)
2+1+8+2+0+0+8 = 21 is that serendipity?

Julie said...

CKB - you just made my day :) I love that I'm not the only person thoroughly amused by the name of my new city!

I'll be milling over some ideas while working today. CKB, and the rest of HLA, typically I am in a location for about 3 months. BUT I am working in a pre-school, so I am here through the end of the school year - which is the end of May here.

Julie said...

Heather - nice work with the math! I love that idea!

AND - to everyone in cold weather, please stay warm and safe!

maureen said...

Just stopping by to say hi...... I will be in and out of sight for the next few weeks but I am always checking on you!

Claudia, I hope I am able to participate in the Super Bowl Snack Down! Its been crazy here and dads surgery is scheduled for tomorrow. I will try to call you.

Have a great day HLA!!!

Cheryl Houston said...

I'm whacking Surprise AZ right now... Here's just some information on Surprise:
The town is turning 50 in 2010.
They have a Spring Eggstravaganza on Aprill 11th.
They are home to the Surprise Sundancers, a baseball training team.
They promote being green: Solar and Artificial turf to name a couple.
WEst Valley Art Museum- free on the third Thursday with an online coupon.
Heard Museum is a Native American Museum and on Feb 7th & 8th they're having a Hoop Dance Contest.
What about interviews or Julie sending us on some kind of Virtual Scavenger Hunt.
There's some info. So now how to whack that...make fun of our product... Ray... Have Julie dress up as Ray standing on the corner handing out balloons that say, Highlowaha.com Loves Surprise, AZ.
Or sale Sugar Ray Cookies in her driveway. Julie jumps out of a cake at town meeting. She throws in a ball at one of the baseball games. Feel free to add your own.

I'll come back for Ray.

Cheryl Houston said...

Julie and friend run all over town writing Highlowaha.com in chalk on the sidewalks. First person to post from Surprise wins a prize.

Kristen Giger said...

OMG...Julie, did you sign up for this???

CHERYL...your ideas are hilarious!!! I especially like the sidewalk chalk ides since she is working with pre-schoolers...

hmmm... could we incorporate the kids somehow...I'll mull that over and be back later...

Claudia @ Highlowaha said...

Cheryl... Thanks for getting the ball rolling with some fun ideas for surprising residents of Surprise.

Is Julie up for this??!?!?! What kind of question is that? She might very well be one of our most spontaneous, fun-loving readers. Of course she'll be up for it. I am also particularly fond of the side walk chalk stunt.

Keep the ideas coming.

As for Ray's birthday... Let me explain. I love holidays. So much so, that I am hesitant about doubling up HLA's Anniversary with Ray's Birthday. These are two important days, worthy of their own celebration. Here's another thought...

Could we use some combination of birthdays. For instance, Peggy really helped develop the idea of Ray with the sketches she did early on and the ideas she shared with me via a phone conversation. Cheryl, of course, is the artist who brings Ray to life. Maybe we could take each of their birthdays, add the numbers together, and come up with an average. What do you think?

As for age? Maybe a similar approach? I agree he has to be more than 21. I would love it if there was a symbolic way to assign him an age. Or, to whack the idea... maybe he is ageless. Maybe all we know is that he is of legal drinking age, but otherwise it is left up to our imaginations.

Keep on whacking and help me bring closure to this before the day is out.

Anonymous said...

This is Julie, posting from work ... CHERYL ... you might just have to come to Surprise to help me with some of these ideas!!!!

Kristen - to answer your question, NO I didn't "sign up" for this ... oh geezum!

Cheryl Houston said...

Julie- just think of how much fun you are going to have!!! Hmmm... a trip to Surprise?

July 19th was the first day that Claudia asked for name suggestions.
July 21st we played tug-o-war.
July 24th the cookie cutter Ray made his first appearance and escaped from the Beeny's.
August 23rd Ray showed up at the Olympics.

I think he obviously HAS to over 21 but I like the idea of him being ageless... like no one knows. Forever Young... Maybe Forever 21.
(That's a clothing store.) He definetly needs his own date. But I don't think it can be after July 19th because we didn't celebrate his birthday in 2008. Is it July 18th in keeping with the importance of the number 218 and 18. But July 18th is also Claudia's dad's birthday... too many in one day or a good omen?

Anonymous said...

I think Ray should be age-less too. And what if we went with this whole "21" thing and go with July 21st? I mean, the day he actually got his name is like his birth. We dont actually get called our names until the day we are born...

Anonymous said...

Here's the maven in me:


Go to www.suavenomics.com and get a coupon for a free bottle of any Suave product under $3.00. It's today only so go now. :)

Anonymous said...

and the free product can be lotion, hairspray or gel, shampoo, conditioner, anything.

lindsaymarie said...

claudia, i just received my patches (i've been at home for break so i just got to check my campus mail today) and thank you so much! i am sorry for my absence from the hla community but i am back for good now. =)

as for today's post, i'll think on it and try to come up with some ideas later tonight.

Anonymous said...

oops, i was signed in with the wrong account. that last comment was me. =)

Peggy said...

Just a thought...

We can celbRAYte his HALF birthRAY ... along with HLA on 2-18, I think as Katie suggested (she celebrates 1/2sies to herself).... so that his 'real' birthRAY is August 18 ...another day we can celebRAYte!!!
...
Spread a RAY of sunshine
...
Surprise factor: a fundamental element in humor that puts a twist on a familiar subject.
...
Everybody Love RAY(mond)
...
That's so RAY(ven)
...
We could form some sort of SNIGLET (or that poem Claudia had where we fill in the blanks with the noun, verb, adj...) to develope RAY's background HIStory.

Anonymous said...

Surprise ideas:

A "Ray" of sunshine for Surprise, AZ...maybe sunshaped cookies handed out on the street corner.

A "Raynbow" where Julie could hand out rainbow (ROYGBIV) balloons to al her daycare kids

A "RAyCE" for ... (think Race for the Cure)

A "Rayny" Day Activity for stay at home Moms and their kids

All the "RAyGE" event (don't know what this would entail

Julie could do a RAK for someone named Ray

Oatmeal and "RAySIN" cookies handed out

"RAyKE in the Dough" fundraiser for ???

Leave RAK books at a coffee shop with a note that says that says "Surprise! Surprise, AR RAyTES #1 in our book" -Love HLA.com

Taht's all I've got.

Anonymous said...

sorry for all the typos...its been a long day of meetings.

Claudia @ Highlowaha said...

Lindsay Marie... if you're out there and you see this before tomorrow, then send me one of your New Year's resolutions.

Tomorrow we are going "Goal Fishing" and it's not too late to get in on it! See post from 1/2 (I think). It gives a little more detail.

All I need is your name, mailing address, and your resolution.

Julie said...

Julie's back ...


Boy do I have some big shoes to fill!

Who's coming out here to visit and help?!?!

REMINDER: AZLORI lives "nearby" ... think big city of Phoenix is the center of the face of a clock. The time would be 3:52. I'm at the end of the long hand pointing to the "52" and she's at the end-ish of the short hand pointing close to the "4"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

what an analogy julie...whew! i had to read that a couple times to get it! LOL

Katie said...

Welcome back, cousin!!! Glad to know you'll be joining us again.