The Fourth Mission - #19:Surprise

In Plain Sight

This one should be pretty easy to accomplish.  Not needing to select a target at random, or a target at all I just needed to come up with a place that had high enough traffic where someone is BOUND to find it.

For this mission, I did think about these potential hiding spots:

The community bulletin board at my office.
(however, reading ahead when I first received my deck, there is one coming up that covers this...so that idea was out)

My usual Dunkin Donuts haunt...I wasn't sure if I should put it in with the sugar packets or tucked into the napkin dispenser.

I also thought about putting it on someone's desk at the office. There was a slight fear of it getting lost in some shuffle to never be seen or heard from again...meh...that is the risk with this game...right?

But it dawned on me as I was sitting down for lunch at Cava. They have these tri-fold standup cards that could work nicely. Hopefully someone bored of people watching, or trying to avoid eye contact altogether, or whatever reason they would look down into said advertisement (for the Cava app), would find this treasure and take off with it...

...no movement yet on this little gem, but still hoping for something.

I am really looking forward to see any of these little nuggets move beyond the boundaries of my home base here!

Keep watching everyone!  Something is bound to happen...and soon!

The Third Mission - Mission Objective #40: Growth

FOOOOOOD!

Of all the cards, I was rather apprehensive about this one...

Trying a new food!

For those of you who know me and my issues with food understand how tough this one could have been for me.

For the rest of you, suffice it to say I have a myriad of food allergies that trigger a condition I was diagnosed with a few years back.

NOOOOOO!!!

I used to like food...no...love food! A fervent Food Network fan and a love of cooking and entertaining, I had often thought of hanging up my camera and picking up my knives and starting a new career in the food industry.

But alas, my allergies have made it...interesting...

...maybe one day...

Onto the MISSION!

My boss, Rachael has on many occasions talked about one of her favorite new beverage finds: Bubble Tea!  After a long day fighting technical demons with the knights who say I.T. we took a break to Kim's Pho in Fairfax for refreshments!

BTW...the place is wicked cool, very nice decor, smelled delicious (unfortunately smell is as far as I can get as all asian food is pretty much off the menu - thank you allergy Gods!). But for those of you who can and are in the area...I recommend at least taking it in!

She ordered a Black Tea Bubble Tea and I myself went whole hog on the 'new food' mission and ordered a Lychee Bubble Tea (never having tried either)....

DAMN WAS THAT LYCHEE SWEET!

They weren't kidding everytime it comes up on one of my Food Network cooking shows.

Anyway, back to the office we went but not before handing the card off to Rachael for the next leg of this journey!

Card Updates

So far, these cards haven't moved yet...well...it's not even been a month, so we'll still give them some time!

Keep watching!

The Second Mission - Mission Objective #47: Creative

Now for more CREATIVITY!

So this week's mission: Create a collaborative doodle!

Man! another Create card.  I know it's not all about creating something (as I read through most of the cards in the deck), but I'd hate to blow through all of these before getting something else.

This not being a mandatory 'give this card to a stranger' I decided to give this to one of my artsy-friends.  

Before handing it off, I needed to come up with something that would give a fair amount of freedom to carry the doodle forward.  I had thought of a circle (you know...for kids), or the silhouette of a bird (I did just get back from Puerto Rico),  at one point I did have the idea of a palm tree, but that seemed too limiting (again, Puerto Rico).

So I decided on something that could be part of an island theme, or a dungeon theme, or a medieval theme, pretty much just about anything...well...maybe a little limiting!?


We will see what they come up with to go with my treasure chest:

Card Updates:

Unfortunately fellow tourists, neither this card, nor the previous week's mission card have exchanged hands (at least not that it's been tracked online).

Stay tuned for next week's mission, and see where these cards have travelled!

The First Mission - #49 Mission Objective: Creative

...aaannnd...we're off!

So the very first mission is about crafting...for those who know how much I love working in smaller mediums will know this is a relatively easy task for me...the difficulty is in finding an OBSCURE HOLIDAY!

In the first week of the year, how many holidays can there actually be?

Thank you nationaldaycalendar.com, I found a plethora of holidays to select from. And the lucky winner is:

National Argyle Day!

Deriving from the tartan of Clan Campbell, of Argyll in western Scotland, the argyle pattern used for kilts and plaids and from the patterned socks (known as “tartan hose”) worn by Scottish Highlanders since at least the 17th century, is recognized and honored each year on January 8th on National Argyle Day. 

So while I was away for my brother's wedding this past weekend, I brought along a very special card to present to an unsuspecting victim.

Other notably obscure holidays the first week of January include:

• January 2:
• Happy Mew Year Day for Cats, Buffet Day, 55 MPH Speed Limit Day, Weigh-In Day, Personal Trainer Awareness Day, Creampuff Day, Motivation and Inspiration Day

• January 3:
• Festival of Sleep Day, Chocolate-Covered Cherry Day, Drinking Straw Day
• January 4:
• Spaghetti Day, Hypnotism Day, Pop Music Chart Day, World Braille Day, Trivia Day
• January 5:
• Whipped Cream Day, National Bird Day
• January 6:
• Shortbread Day, Bean Day, Three Kings Day, Apple Tree Day, Cuddle Up Day
• January 7:
• I'm Not Going to Take it Anymore Day, Tempura Day, Harlem Globetrotters Day, Old Rock Day, Bobblehead Day, Fruitcake Toss Day
• January 8:
• Argyle Day, Bubble Bath Day, Joy Germ Day, National English Toffee Day

Make sure to check in next week and see what mission awaits me and see if this card has gone anywhere fun!

Card Update!

My unsuspecting victim (sister-in-law, Chelsea) and her Argyle Day card:

Can't wait to see where she strikes next!

The Start of a 'Very Sneaky 2017'

(The fact that the title is 'very sneaky' rather undermines the creation of a blog about being sneaky for an entire year...oh well!)

To start off, my wife's parents gave me an interesting gift for Christmas (2016) they found at a local thrift store:

They were most excited to find out "What's he going to do with it?"

(I am guessing the person who received it as a gift before my in-law's find didn't know what to make of it.)

When I opened the box and started reading the rules (and jumping ahead looking at some of the other cards in the box), I couldn't put it down. The rules and a box of 55 'mission' cards sparked an idea for a year-long mission.

The rules of the game are simple:

CHALLENGE YOURSELF TO AN ADVENTURE!

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: become a secret agent of joy, spreading art and intrigue to an unsuspecting public. Inside this box is an interactive scavenger hunt that inspires creativity and rewards audacity: Take a selfie with a stranger, give an anonymous gift, become a flash mob of one.

Complete each objective and then pass the card along to an unwitting accomplice, who now becomes part of the game! The fun is ever-expanding, but it all starts with you - Play it forward!

So...each week of 2017, I will draw a card.  I will have ONE WEEK to complete the task given to me.  As each mission is completed, the card is passed to the target of said mission for them to complete.  These cards can be tracked at: sneakycards.com.

Each Monday there will be a blog update with activities from the previous week's mission (can't give away too many secrets, as some of you may be targets for any of these challenges).  On each of these blogs, there will be updates as to where the cards have visited.

Additional Rules:

• A 'Mission Card'  will be drawn each Monday.
• I have 1 WEEK  to complete each task.
• There will be a blog detailing the completion of each mission and updates on where the cards have visited.
• The last blog for completed tasks will be on Christmas Day 2017
• There will be 4 BONUS ROUNDS 
• I realize that of 55 cards, I will be short 4 weeks (want to make sure to complete the deck of cards before 2018 begins).
• The requirements for these rounds are TBD. (so just stay tuned)

So join me in this vicarious tour [of the world] through the eyes of these Sneaky Cards!