Party Brilliance

Birthdays roll around once a year like clock work. Some of them are celebrated with full fan fair and others go softly into the wind.  Several years back my dear friend Nic was changing decades. For some this could be a very nervous and nerve wracking event.  Nic is a trooper and nothing phases, especially changing of decades. For my fearless friend,  I came up with the perfect Party Idea.  It is so perfect that I have tried this party idea several times and have had nothing but wonderful results.   I would recommend this party idea for anyone that is looking to surprise any one with a couple of years under their belt.

First think you would want to do is pick a victim, I mean friend, as to whose birthday you would like to celebrate.  I recommend picking a friend is changing of decades or  a random number that no one pays much attention to like 33 or 47.  Once you have your sites set on a person, the planning needs to begin right away. This sort of party needs to be planned ahead, but not in the time consuming way.  You would want to pick a place to have a party and a general idea of who you want to invite. Once you you get that out of the way, the real fun begins.

The fun is in the clues!

What ever age the person is turning is how many gifts that person is going to get. So if they were going to be turning thirty you would be getting them thirty gifts. Now I know that this sounds like it is going to cost you a bunch financially, but it doesn’t have to be that way. If you have your guest list, you can round up some volunteers to help with the shopping expenses.  My biggest suggestion for gift buying is not the cost of the gift but the wit behind the gift.

The is a really good reason that I recommend the wit of gift and not the cost. When you get the gifts gathered, you will want to start coming up with clues.  Each gift is to be numbered and then have a clue as to what the gift is attached or written on it. Coming up for clues is not as easy as it sounds. You want to give a clue with out giving it away.

Here are a couple of examples as to what I mean about clues.

Example #1

Clue: At Least it isn’t A Stripper

Guess: Wall paper remover

Gift: Couple of Steamy Romance Novels

Example # 2

Clue: Now containing Matcha

Guess: Sushi Roll or a Small South Amrican Primate

Gift: Box of Green Tea

Example # 3

Clue: Love should be fun!

Guess: Video Game

Gift: Heart Shaped box containing rubber duckies and bubble bath

Part of the fun of the party is listening to what the birthday person guess what they think is inside the box. By numbering the gifts and doing a random draw on numbers, it guarantees that the birthday person can not anticipate which gift they are going to open next and neither do the party guests.  If you have guests that bring gifts that exceed the number of pre-arranged gifts simply put a number on it and let them write their own clue. When the birthday person gets to that gift, tell them that it is one to grow on.

***If this post look familiar, it is because it is. I originally had posted this on my old blog, and I am finally moving some of my favorite pieces and reviews over.  I still think this is an excellent party plan, and have been involved in a total of 5 these style parties, and every time they have been a hit. ***

The One Minute Manger: A Review & Insight

I am in a mentor program, and part of the expectations upon being in the mentor program is that you have to read a book that has to deal with the goals that you are working towards. I read all the time. Reading is one of my hobbies, but despite this fact I found myself dragging my heals on the assignment.  I had plenty of excuses in my head.  I worked over time. I am tired. I am sick. I have a wedding to go to. I left the book at home. I left the book at work. It wasn’t until I was getting close to the dead line I had set for myself and a really rough week at work, did I actually sit down and do my assignment. 

One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson is not a horrible read. It is not a New York Times best seller and it most certainly not in the realm of Science Fiction/ Fantasy that I normally read. It is how ever a very insightful book about managing your life.  Below is my write up on what was gained from the book. 

The One Minute Manger: A Review & Insight

Being a manager is not as complicated as people would have you believe. Everyone is a potential winner. Some people are disguised as losers. You can’t let their appearance fool you.  The more I read the One Minute Manager, the more I realize what behaviors make an excellent manager and how to assist the people that are disguised as losers to shine as a winner. 

People are more than what they appear. In order to get the best out of any one you have to invest time in them.  A person is not just their behaviors; but the person managing their behaviors. Goals begin behaviors, consequences maintain behaviors.  If you want people to reach their full potential, they need to know what they are supposed to be working towards, they are supposed to be encouraged in good behaviors and understand the consequences of their actions. 

In the One Minute Manager, it emphasized that if person does not know what they are working towards, they will never actually reach their goal.  Nobody ever really works for anybody else, they work for themselves. They work to get a good review, to advance their career, to get a kid through college, for recognition, they work for the money and various other reasons.  They don’t work because someone tells them to go to work. A person works as a means to an end.

Once goals are agreed upon, it is much easier to see what good behavior looks like, because you know what you are working towards and what to look for.  Write down the goal in a simple language. A written word is more binding then a spoken word, and is more permanent and a lot less flexible.  A person should take a moment to reread from time to time their goal so that they can evaluate if their behavior matches actions it would take to reach the goal.  

Rewards for good behavior promote more good behavior. If you catch a person doing something right, you should let them know immediately and they will continue to do the right thing. Just telling a person “Good Job” or standard “We appreciate your contribution” isn’t enough.  You need to be specific in what they did right and why it was good, so that they are armed with that knowledge to make more positive choices in the future, and can recognize by themselves the impact of contributions.

Just as you want to catch a person doing something right, you want to let them know when they are doing something wrong right away. If a person doesn’t know they are doing something wrong, they will continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. If you let them know right away what they are doing is wrong, they will be less likely to make the same mistake and move on. When it comes to telling them they are doing something incorrectly, it is important to let them know what exactly is wrong about it and that even though it is wrong, that it does not change their value and that you think well of them as a person but not their performance in that situation.  Then you have to let go and move on. If you constantly remind a person that what they did was wrong, it pigeons holes them into a behavior pattern and doesn’t give them a chance to grow from that experience. 

I think that the most important thing that I learned from the One Minute Manager is not that a person should set goals, or praise their employees or even reprimand them when they stray, but that is all boils down to accountability.  If you ask brief important questions, speak a simple truth, recognize accomplishments and be accountable for your actions, you will exceed professionally and personally. 

"The essence of knowledge is, having it, to use it" - Confucius

Baltimore Comic Con

I love comics. That is that hard to believe considering I have a comic book themed wedding. Despite this love of mine, I have never been to a comic book convention until now. Joining my husband and a couple friends who are convention veterans, I ventured to the Baltimore Comic Con. 

It was overwhelming. If you have never been to a convention before, you don’t realize how much there is to see when you get there.  When you go through the double doors into the convention center, there are booths and displays immediately in front of you, screaming for attention, while the people swarm around you trying to get by. There is what feels like a million booths to try and look at. Some of the booths have the artist and writers of comic in them that will sign some of their work, or for a small fee draw your something. Other booths are full of merchandise that you can purchase, such as toys, tee shirts, comics, prints and posters. 

Falcon

Then there are the people. There is a large variety of people that come to comic book conventions. It is like a kaleidoscope of whimsy. If person isn’t in Cos-play, they are probably sporting an equally nerdy tee shirt. I saw everything from Transformers, to Disney Princesses, to X Men and Mario. There were probably a dozen Batman, Superman and Green Lantern tee shirts, and maybe twice that many Doctor Who players.  I felt like I could happily sit in a corner and play Cos-play Bingo if they had such a thing.  I personally think that it takes a special sort of bravery to dress up in Co-splay. Not every can do it, and those that do do it, show the love for a particular character to the world proudly.

Keith Giffen

One of my favorite things about the whole Baltimore Comic Con experience was talking with artists.  Not every one in a booth wants to talk to people and be their buddy, in fact several of them I suspect would be much happier locked in a room with a pad of paper and a bunch of pens with nothing to do but draw what ever they
wanted. However, there are quite a few writers and artists that are sociable and very kind and patient to the chaotic swirl of hot sweaty bodies.  Justin Jordan (writer of Luther Strode) and Tradd Moore (Artist of Luther Strode and Morning Glories #28 Variant) were incredibly nice to talk with while they both signed my husbands copies of Luther Strode.  Keith Giffen  charmed my husband and I with stories of Lobo that were unfit for print. It was nice that even artist and writers that were just finding feet, such as Christopher Clements were engaging about what their inspiration was. To me, it seems like every one that took the time to be there was a super hero to some one, even if they weren't in costume.

I loved the energy of all of it. Even the not so great parts weren't horrible. I don't like crowds. It was crowded. I don't like touching people. I was bumped into a million times and if I wanted to look at anything, I had to get elbow deep into a crowd. I ran out of hand-sanitizer. My feet hurt by the end of the day, and the hard cement floor was unforgiving with someone who had half a dozen graphic novels and equally that many bagged and boarded comics in a page bag.  It didn't matter. Everything was perfect, when you can look person in the eye and smile and they smile back, because you both love the same thing. With much anticipation and hopefully a much larger spending wallet, I look forward to going to next years convention.  

The Thrilling Adventure Hour! A Thrilling Review

The Thrilling Adventure Hour started out as a podcast for me.  It was something that my husband and I would listen to while we were at work, or at the gym and then chuckle over later. And then it grew into something much bigger then all of that. The new time comedy in old time radio took on a life of its own. It  became one of those things that I would share with friends, and chuckle over later with a private joke from something that I had heard.

I was on beyond thrilled when I saw the fruition of the comedic genius in a beautiful hard back graphic novel. Characters that I had only pictured in my head, were brought to life in stunning color and illustration.  Opening the graphic novel did not disappoint, because it featured all the thrilling exploits of:

• Sparks Nevada Marshal on Mars
• Cactoid Jim King of the Martian Frontier
  
• Down in Moonshine Holler
• Phillip Fathom
• Jefferson Reid: Ace American
• Amelia Earhart Fearless Flyer
• The Cross- Time Adventures of Colonel Tick-Tock
• Tales of the USSA United Solar System Alliance
• Beyond Belief
• Captain Laserbeam

Just like in the podcast that over flow with whimsey and wit; the commercial advertisements betweens each tale gives a person that chuckle. A person can't help but find mirth over the cigarettes and whiskey advertisement that tease the senses like and old school refreshment time girl. 

I would recommend this graphic novel to anyone twelve and up.  The concepts are not hard to grasp, the humor is appropriate for all age ranges, and the art is beautiful. It is not required to have  prior listening history of TAH to enjoy this graphic novel. Humor can stand alone, and requires no back story to enjoy.  If you are ever at odds and ends and need a read that has a little bit of everything, it is completely worth the one thousand nine hundred and ninety five pennies (plus tax) then Thrilling Adventure Hour is for you.