Chad Ocho Cinco

If you could have chosen your own name, what would you want it to be?  Our first name tells people who we are and our last name tells the world where we came from.  The player formerly known as Chad Johnson legally changed his last name to “Ocho Cinco” during the 2008 preseason.  This move forced the league to change his jersey and properly honor the union of the number eight and the number five from which Chad was created.

Like most people, I wrote this stunt off as the usually humorous mixture of arrogance and stupidity.  However, I’m starting to think Chad might have been trying to help the world evolve.  Maybe we shouldn’t have to just walk around with the names we were given at birth.  Maybe we need to take his lead and go grab our little piece of individuality.  Too often we conform to norms just because that is the way things have always been.  Why not pick our own names?  We pick our own jobs, clothes, and cars – all designed to reflect something about who we are.  Is it really that crazy?

People like to pick out things for themselves and that is exactly why I’m NOT against giving gift cards.  They allow the person to get something that is perfectly customized to their preferences.  Gift cards get a bad rap for being thoughtless, but they can actually be sentimental or romantic.  Here are some suggestions on making a gift card more personal, but feel free to reach out to me offline if you need additional ideas.  You’re the quarterback; I’m just here to protect you.

 

IDEAS TO PERSONALIZE A GIFT CARD 

• Gift Card Hunt: Fill a big box with candy (M&Ms, Skittles, Tootsie Rolls, etc) and have her hunt for the gift card.
• Picture It: Put a romantic or sentimental picture directly on it.  Check out these Visa personalized gift cards.
• Quirky Stores: A $50 gift card to an ice-cream parlor still seems like a fun and unique gift, whereas $50 at Macy’s seems more generic.
• Entertain Me: Consider a Ticketmaster gift card.  This way you are giving the experience, but they get to pick which performance and/or dates work best for them.