Help me entertain my boyfriend while he's across the ocean.

May 31, 2009 4:21 PM

My boyfriend will be in Ireland for 3 weeks. He's taking my laptop, and I'd like to record some short videos for him. Help me think of some ideas!

Well, besides the obvious.

My darling boyfriend is going to Sligo, Ireland for a study tour with his college from June 5 to 26. He'll be studying Irish literature and history, especially Keats. He'll also be taking my laptop with him, and I'd recording 21 silly little videos for him - one to watch each day. But, I'm running out of ideas!

These are the ideas I've come up with so far:
- general "hi, welcome to ireland!"
- strip show (obvious)
- poem reading (not sure what poem yet, though)
- guest appearance by his little sister (who thinks the world of him)
- guest appearance by our cat and dog
- sock puppet show

A little background:
Craig and I have been together for 9 years. We started dating very young (16 and 18, I'm the older one) and we still each think the other is just the cat's pajamas. This is the longest time we'll have ever been apart, and it's his first time travelling by himself (we've travelled together and with our families/friends, though). He also has pretty bad social anxiety, so we're both a little bit nervous - but very excited. We're complete nerds (we play Dungeons and Dragons and World of Warcraft, religiously followed Battletar Galactica, and have 4 floor to ceiling bookshelves full of books in our 600sq ft apartment) although I'm somewhat nerdier than him. He's a total literature geek, an amazing writer, an obsessive Red Sox fan, a video game junkie, very much an introvert, and we both have the very dark/off-beat sense of humor common to people in their mid-20's (ie Arrested Development, early Simpsons...terribly wrong jokes are hilarious).

I apologize for the length, I probably didn't need to write a novel in order to ask for video ideas, but I wanted to include some extra info just in case. I'd really appreciate any other inspiration. Thank you mefites!

posted by DulcineaX to human relations (14 comments total)

Hide them in your computer and make it like a scavenger hunt. The first video will tell him which folder to look in to find the next video, and so forth. You can set up a lot of dummy folders with totally bland, innocuous sounding names to hide videos in.
posted by hermitosis at 4:26 PM on May 31 [3 favorites]

Make the files password protected with titles that are questions, inside jokes, important dates, etc.

So, for example...

ourfirstkiss.mpeg. Its password protected and the password is 05162000. Or something like that.
posted by ian1977 at 4:32 PM on May 31

Prehaps include a 21 day giftbox, and match them, with 21 different sweets or something random like that, at the end of the video, or as the main bulk if you've not much else content, tell him to open tiny package no.x and show him yours, then you can kind of be sharing them? (as I typing this it's sounding the stupidest thing ever....but it makes cute sense in my head)

You could have some nostalgia videos, not sure what you're recording them on (webcam would make it hard) but take the camera places you've been.

Also if you're recording them now while you're still spending time with him, if you have one day where things just seem really good. sneak off and just tell him everything you've just done, with the aim to take him back to that day if he's feeling a bit lonely etc. Wear the same clothes you were wearing, try and convey just how happy you felt right at that moment to transfer it. Sure he knows you think he's some form of feline nightware, but it never hurts to remind him just exactly how happy just spending that time with him was that day
posted by Tingle at 4:39 PM on May 31

"Things I like about you" mini-essays: a new subject for every letter of the alphabet.
posted by aquafortis at 4:44 PM on May 31

Give him a list of objects he has to bring back.
posted by amethysts at 4:46 PM on May 31

Act out a favorite episode of a show you guys watch. You play all the characters by wearing different costumes (just simple things like different hats, shirts, fake mustaches, etc.) and utilizing a lot of camera cuts. Maybe get your pets to make cameos as characters too. Make simple props out of cardboard or whatever you guys have around your place - this will probably be the most amusing if you keep it really low budget and silly.
posted by illenion at 4:47 PM on May 31

You could catch some pitches with his sister or the pets. End of the video, show him tickets for an upcoming game so he has something to look forward to after the highs of the trip abroad.
posted by arcticseal at 4:51 PM on May 31

Get your friends involved. Do some parodies of your favourite nerd stuff. Get his friends and family to tell stories about him. Film some of it at your favourite places.
posted by futureisunwritten at 8:03 PM on May 31

The socket puppet thing sounds hilarious. Maybe you could film two sock puppets having a night of D&D...I can already see them throw die with their mouths and arguing about loot.
posted by The ____ of Justice at 9:17 PM on May 31

Also, you're a freaking awesome girlfriend. He's a lucky guy.
posted by The ____ of Justice at 9:19 PM on May 31

First off, you rock for doing this! This guy sounds awesomely fun and so do you.

Poetry ideas: something quirky and silly. i wanna be yours by John Cooper Clarke kicks ass, or if you want something slightly less lovey-dovey, try Lewis Carroll, especially The Jabberwock if you want to do short, or The Hunting of the Snark if you want long.
posted by fearnothing at 12:03 AM on June 1

A couple minutes making goofy faces or transitioning pictures of same. Dorky yes, but if someone I knew well did that for me it would crack me up and tug on the ol' heart strings at the same time.

I was also thinking you could film yourself having breakfast, reading the newspaper, etc. and angle the camera so that if he positions the laptop right on a table it would look like you're sitting across from him. Home away from home and whatnots.

He's lucky to have you; very thoughtful!
posted by Gainesvillain at 12:23 PM on June 1

Sock Puppets playing D&D or acting out a favorite movie/tv/book scene: home run.

Also, *multiple* strip tease videos are always good... and more adventuresome naughty videos if you're up for it.
posted by whycurious at 4:42 PM on June 1

If there's a song that you (and he) really like, and you play an instrument (e.g. a guitar) could you try recording your own version of it? If you don't think you can sing and play at the same time, you could learn the chords, play the chords into a mic while listening to the original on headphones, and then sing into a mic into a separate track while listening to the original on headphones. Perfectly on-beat this way. SONAR Cakewalk is a really good program for this.

Also, nthing the posters saying that you kick total ass for doing this.
posted by Phire at 12:42 PM on June 2