Another Thursday, Another Rundown

Posted on August 6, 2015 by brent

It is time for the Thursday Rundown! Are you excited for the five topics that I am about to write about? Or are you just excited for me to finish so you can look forward to Sidney’s post on Sunday? Whatever the case, let’s get started.

Tax Free Weekend – The state of South Carolina stages a pretty cool event. Once a year, sales tax is suspended for a whole weekend. Shoppers can go nuts purchasing clothes, schools supplies, big screen televisions or whatever without paying tax. This is the weekend where those pesky cash register add-on charges are thrown out the window. When I lived in Montana, there was nothing I liked more about the state than not paying sales tax. Knowing that the $10 bill I had in my pocket was going to cover the $9.99 item I had in my hand was beautiful. I totally get the allure of Tax Free Weekend and I hope my South Carolina friends with a lot of purchasing to do take full advantage of it.

Sweet Digs – Today our Director of Housing here at Coastal Carolina University took a small group of us on a tour of the brand new residence halls recently built on our growing campus. With four new buildings in all, two of them will be ready for classes starting on August 17. The other two will open next year. As you can imagine, the two finished structures are amazing. The new era of residence halls nationally is all about technology, community spaces, and beefed up security. I assure you that Coastal has made a big splash in this “new era.”

This is what the “new era” of residence halls look like. I took this photo of Tradition Hall at Coastal Carolina University this morning.

Atlanta Bound – After a few weekends sticking around Myrtle Beach, I will be getting out of the state on Saturday. After working the Coastal Carolina summer commencement that morning, Sidney and I will make the five hour drive to Atlanta. We will meet her family who are spending a little more time in the city than we are and then attend the Braves vs. Marlins game that night. On Sunday we will visit the aquarium. I am really looking forward to this.

Sidney and I at Turner Field in Atlanta last year.

Television Choices – Tonight at 9 p.m. I will have a tough call on what to watch on TV. The crazy thing about my conundrum? Not one sporting event is involved. Sidney did what she set out to do and got me addicted to “Big Brother.” Sad, I know. This evening is an eviction episode! But competing with it for my viewership is that Republican debate. I really want to see Donald Trump’s performance while taking in the spectacle of ten different candidates up on stage at once. Of course if Sidney was around it would be a total non-issue as we would be watching “Big Brother.” But she is attending a teacher event tonight that stretches until 10 p.m. so I will have a little bit of freedom with the remote. There will definitely be some flipping back and forth. ***To those asking why I just don’t record one or the other you have to understand that I am a social media nut and must watch things live.***

Wedding Update #5 – This is a big development…Sidney has selected her dress! Actually, she has had it picked out for a few weeks now. But do you know what she is waiting on?! Tax Free Weekend!! The purchase, minus the sales tax, will be made this weekend.

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Have a fantastic weekend, everyone! Time to see if Shellie or Clay will go home and whether Donald Trump can live up to expectations. Don’t Blink.

Historic Moment on Sunday for My Blog

Posted on August 5, 2015 by brent

Something that has never occurred on Don’t Blink before will happen on Sunday. After over four years and close to 900 posts, someone other than myself will write in this space. All things considered, it doesn’t sound as preposterous when you realize that the person filling in will be the girl I will spend the rest of my life with.

At the end of the weekend I let go of my control issues and let my fiancé write a blog post. Calling it her “Blog Takeover,” Sidney’s writing will soon be published on this site. I know vaguely what the topic is and I think you will enjoy it. She is already hard at work writing the post and I am excited, nervous, and a little scared to see what she comes up with.

We will see how Sidney does in her blogging debut. If she maintains the ratings (Sunday is by far the biggest day for traffic on my site) there might be more blog posts in the future. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, we need to see how Sunday goes.

I just wanted to give you all fair warning so you don’t think Don’t Blink has been hacked. For those of you who know how closely I protect this silly blog, you might think I have lost my mind. But I have come around to the notion that sometimes you need a fresh voice every now and then. I also realize that my female readers might want a female opinion. Finally, I just really wanted a Sunday off. I hope you enjoy it. Don’t Blink.

Joining the Century Club

Posted on August 4, 2015 by brent

Although the news media has made these stories cliché, I still get fascinated by the people who live to be 100 and beyond. To me, reaching triple digits is an incredible achievement. Of course the ones who make it well past the century mark earn even more of my awe. To me, those humans who manage to live to be at least 110 are complete freaks of nature. My thinking is that when someone reaches 100 they must be jubilant but at the same time extremely exhausted. How can these folks realistically say to themselves, “Well, I made it to triple digits…time now to live for another whole decade.”

This is on my mind today because I saw another one of those typical stories about a person reaching an old age. This particular one, a New Jersey woman named Agnes, recently turned 110. The article stated that with over 7 billion people on the planet, you will find only 360-600 who have reached or exceeded 110. Agnes said in the article that her secret to living a long life is drinking three Miller High Life beers a day.

I have thrown my hands up in the air when it comes to what someone must do on a consistent basis in order to live for a century or more. Every article I read has few common denominators. Each person has a different routine, usually with weird quirks, that they followed to reach a very old age. In my opinion, there is no special formula. Rather, I think in order to live past 99 you must have insanely good genes and amazing luck.

But is it really considered “amazing luck” if you reach 100? I hear people all the time quip, “I would never want to live that long!” Personally I am not 100% sure on my exact stance but I think I would actually want to go the distance. The opportunity to live so long and see so much would outweigh the sadness of seeing loved ones pass on and the constant care I would eventually need.

I have had one relative live to 100. He actually passed away at the age of 101. My Great Great Uncle Tony lived an extremely long life that was characterized by a love for boxing and photography. I had the opportunity to attend his 100th birthday bash that was held in the basement of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Walla Walla, Washington. At the party he was healthy and happy. It is an event in my life that I will always remember.

I would turn 100 on October 8, 2086. That means I need to live 25,998 more days to reach the milestone. As with everyone on the planet, the odds are dramatically stacked against me. However, it is always good to have lofty goals and trying to reach this mark will definitely deter me from blinking. Would you want to live to be 100 years old? Don’t Blink.

Judging the 2015 #DoUsAFlavor Lay’s Potato Chips

Posted on August 3, 2015 by brent

I get excited about the nerdiest things and the #DoUsAFlavor Lay’s potato chips promotion is one of them. Haven’t heard about #DoUsAFlavor? For the third time in as many years, Lay’s has invited potato chip fanatics to come up with a flavor. The company then chooses three or four of them to actually make into a Lay’s branded chip for the general public to consume. America then votes on its favorite and that particular chip becomes a permanent flavor.

I took the challenge last year as well as two years ago. Let’s face it, you don’t need to pull my arm to get me to try potato chips. This year, the offering by Lay’s is strong. The fan submitted flavors chosen by the company includes New York Reuben, Kettle Cooked Greektown Gyro, Wavy West Coast Truffle Fries, and Southern Biscuits and Gravy.

Me holding the 2015 #DoUsAFlavor Lay’s potato chips.

As has been the case in the past, it took a lot of effort on my part to find all the flavors. I found two out of the four kinds at Target right off the bat only to have my luck slow down. I ventured to a few different stores in hopes of finding truffle fries and biscuits and gravy. With reality setting in that my search might be futile, a miraculous thing happened. While driving in my car listening to ESPN Radio one of the hosts went to read a Subway advertisement. At the conclusion of the ad, he mentioned “Subway, the only restaurant where you can try all four new #DoUsAFlavor potato chip varieties.” I immediately pulled into a Subway and sure enough all four flavors were neatly arranged in front of the counter. Overjoyed I picked up the two bags I needed and skipped to my car.

Okay, time now for my review of each flavored potato chip. As a bonus, I will also offer Sidney’s take on each chip as well because I couldn’t do something so fun without letting her participate.

New York Reuben – Leading off was the New York Reuben flavor. I sampled a chip and was underwhelmed with the lack of flavor. What I picked up from it was a faint tomato sauce taste. The appearance of the chip made it look like it might be packed with flavor but it was the complete opposite. The chips softly left a very mild impression in my mouth. I felt like I could sense a little bit of sweetness but nothing remotely powerful enough to register. Sidney stated that she thought they tasted like rye bread. We weren’t big fans.

The #DoUsAFlavor New York Reuben chips had a slight tomato sauce taste to me.

Kettle Cooked Greektown Gyro – After the disappointment of the reuben, I hoped that the gyro chips would turn things around. They didn’t. At first I thought the chips tasted extremely weird, almost like plastic. It was kind of like the experience I had with the Wasabi Ginger flavor last year. It just didn’t seem to work. Even though it was tough to do, I started to eat a couple more to really get a gauge of the taste. These additional samples started to bring out a taste that actually registered with my taste buds. It seemed like a flavor I had tried before and disliked. Luckily Sidney was right there to explain exactly what I was thinking. “It tastes like sour cream and onion,” she expressed. Yep! She nailed it. The chips could definitely pass for sour cream and onion. Sidney also added that the snack could claim a loose connection with what gyros actually do taste like. I know it seems contradictory that in describing this chip I went from “plastic” to “sour cream and onion” but the bottom line remains the same…I didn’t like it.

The #DoUsAFlavor Kettle Cooked Greektown Gyro chips had a sour cream and onion flavor.

Wavy West Coast Truffle Fries – The name and image on the bag made me think that perhaps these chips would taste like garlic fries, a savory yet massively unhealthy snack I loved to order in Seattle. But shame on me for thinking that truffle fries and garlic fries are the same thing. Despite my mix-up, these chips were still good! At first bite the flavor isn’t that pronounced but then the aftertaste kicks in. For me, that aftertaste could be described as a combination of well put together seasonings. Sidney said it tasted exactly like loaded fries and reminded her of bar food. After taking a few chips from each of the first two bags I tried, I ate the whole grab bag of the truffle chips. You won’t get a bold taste out of this flavor either but you will get a pleasant one.

The #DoUsAFlavor West Coast Truffle Fries chips had a pleasant, authentic flavor. They are good for snacking.

Southern Biscuits and Gravy – I remember two years ago when Lay’s introduced the Chicken & Waffles flavor. I was so excited to get my hands on a bag and try them. The flavor sounded spectacular but it was a complete letdown. The chips tasted like Top Ramen to me. Out of the four flavors introduced this go-around, I was by far most intrigued by Southern Biscuits and Gravy. However, I did keep in the back of my mind the disappointment I experienced the last time my adrenaline started pumping about a breakfast-inspired chip. What would be the verdict this time?

The #DoUsAFlavor Southern Biscuits and Gravy chips were my favorite! They taste exactly like biscuits and gravy.

I loved the biscuits and gravy flavor! I tried the chip and smiled inside, not wanting to sway Sidney’s opinion until she actually tried one herself. After she had, I exclaimed, “These taste exactly like biscuits and gravy!” I am not kidding you, they really do. That creamy, peppery taste is in each single chip. Out of all the #DoUsAFlavor varieties I have tried over the past couple years, Southern Biscuits and Gravy is my favorite. I couldn’t believe they had so convincingly captured the chip. I ate the remainder of the bag in no time.

Of course though, people have different tastes and I was reminded of that by a co-worker today when I was telling her how great the chips were because they tasted exactly like biscuits and gravy. “Well, that is of course if you like biscuits and gravy,’ she wisely reminded me.

Sidney does not. She dismissed the chip she tried with a disgusted look, almost spitting it out. I couldn’t believe it, they tasted so perfect to me.

After we had tried the four flavors, we ranked them. Check out the results:

Me
Southern Biscuits and Gravy
Wavy West Coast Truffle Fries
New York Reuben
Kettle Cooked Greektown Gyro

Sidney
Wavy West Coast Truffle Fries
Kettle Cooked Greektown Gyro
Southern Biscuits and Gravy
New York Reuben

So while we did rank them differently, Sidney and I agree on this: the truffle fries flavor is pretty good and the reuben flavor is pretty bad. This is such a fun blog post to do. I thank Lay’s for doing such a cool and interactive promotion. Please let me know your opinion on the #DoUsAFlavor chips. Now get to snacking. Don’t Blink.

A Pirate Adventure!

Posted on August 2, 2015 by brent

When I got my invitation a couple weeks prior to this particular event I started counting the days. I couldn’t stop talking about it with my fiancé and thinking about how fun it would be. Mind you this invite wasn’t for a wedding, a gala, or an end of summer bash. Rather, it was for a child’s birthday party.

Sidney’s nephew, Harrison, celebrates his third birthday today. However, he had his birthday party with all of his friends yesterday. You won’t find a bigger fan of pirates, especially the “Jake and The Never Land Pirates” franchise, than Harrison. Because of this, his mom (Sid’s sister) organized the most perfect birthday party imaginable. You ready to hear about this?…

Stephanie designed these really cool invitations.

Working through Pirate Adventures of Myrtle Beach, Stephanie and her husband, Jon, organized a pirate’s voyage for Harrison and all of his closest friends. Harrison, his first mates, and family members were invited to board a buccaneer ship called the Treasure Hunter and go treasure hunting with real pirates! Of course finding that treasure wouldn’t be a walk in the park. More on that in just a little bit.

This is the Sea Gypsy, the ship we sailed on yesterday/

This is the Treasure Hunter, the ship we sailed on yesterday.

As I mentioned, I was extremely excited to celebrate Harrison’s special day aboard the Treasure Hunter, probably more excited than any adult should be for a child’s birthday party. In fact, the party theme had me feeling such a way that I wanted to fully participate in it. Not too long after I received the invite, I started to plead with Sidney to dress up with me as a pirate. It took a lot of convincing and I didn’t think she was going to go along with it until the day before when we were at Target and she started looking for outfit items. After our Target trip we went to a couple more stores to pick up some props to compliment our costumes.

This photo is of Sidney and I before we left for the party.

When we arrived at the area where the ship was docked for the party, we were able to surprise Harrison and Russell (his sister) in our outfits. It quickly became apparent that we may have done too good of a job dressing up. Parents thought we were actual cast members of Pirate Adventures. One mom asked Sidney to tie a bandana on her child’s head, another mom who knew Sidney well didn’t recognize her and mistook us for the real deal. We passed out skull rings to the kids that we bought at a party store and waited for the professional pirates to arrive.

Sidney tying on the bandana of a soon-to-be pirate.

The program that Pirate Adventures put on was pretty legit. It started with a couple of the pirates coming ashore where everyone was gathered and providing face painting for the kids. Photos were then taken as the “pirates in training” boarded the ship.

A pirate doing a little bit of face and arm painting before we boarded.

Once everyone was on board, the story was presented. A particularly disgruntled pirate named Billy Bad Bones wanted to stage a mutiny with the hope of stealing the treasure. After a sword fight between the villain and a good pirate, Bad Bones was thrown off the ship. As the ship set sail, the captain explained that the goal of the voyage was to learn how to be a pirate and to possibly find some hidden treasure.

Sidney and the BIRTHDAY BOY on the left and myself with Sid on the right. (the photo of Sid and I is courtesy of Stephanie Yarborough).

For the first part of the voyage, the kids were taught many different pirate activities. They learned to read a treasure map, shoot a gun, clean the ship, sword fight, and to be trustworthy. The little bucs and Pirate Adventures crew stayed on the deck of the ship while most adults sat up top in the cabin with the captain. Of course “most adults” didn’t pertain to Sidney and I. We stayed on the deck and during the gun practice part of the voyage, the captain directed all the kids to run over our way and let us have it with their water guns. On a very hot Myrtle Beach day, it felt good.

These images show the kids cleaning the deck of the ship and practicing sword fighting.

The trip wasn’t without adversity though. Billy Bad Bones got wind of our location and tried to attack our ship from his personal boat. But Harrison and his friends saved us from certain death as they used the water cannons on the ship to overwhelm Billy and his overmatched water gun. The scallywag had to surrender! Our ship couldn’t celebrate for too long though because there was treasure to be found. Luckily soon after the demise of Billy Bad Bones we found the mark of the treasure under a bridge. We pulled up to the mark and the kids all helped to pull a rope that brought up a treasure chest from under the water.

Billy Bad Bones made one last attempt at his mutiny but the kids used water cannons to fight him off (photo on the right of the kids and adults shooting the water cannons is courtesy of Stephanie Yarborough).

The loot was brought on board and placed in the middle of the deck. Despite a last ditch effort by another one of the pirates to keep it all to herself, the chest was opened, revealing hundreds of “gold” coins. Each kid got to keep four of the souvenir tokens. All of the children on board were proclaimed real pirates by the captain and a couple victory songs were played. Before we knew it, the ship had arrived back at shore. The end of the voyage wasn’t a bummer though because cup cakes and ice cream followed up in the cabin. Yep, you had a lot of happy little pirates.

The treasure chest was open and each kid received some of its contents.

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This story ends with one final humorous note. When the party had ended, some of us adults not attached to the little raiders found ourselves a little hungry and thirsty. As we were right next to a major block of restaurants in Myrtle Beach, it made sense to just step off the boat and walk inside one of them. Sidney and I got over our mild embarrassment of walking into a crowded restaurant in full pirate gear and had a great time with her parents, her sister, and her sister’s boyfriend. I made sure to take off my eye patch though.

Thanks to Stephanie, Jon, Harrison, and Russell for inviting me on this special pirate trip. I had a wonderful time. Don’t Blink.

Not My Best Thursday Rundown

Posted on July 30, 2015 by brent

Thanks for coming back again my friends. I surely won’t give you the best Thursday Rundown I have delivered but I will do what I can. It truly must be the dog days of summer because I was reaching a little deep for topics tonight. Here we go…

#CCU Geofilter – The best news of the week for me definitely came on Tuesday when I received word from Snapchat that they had accepted our geofilter. For those who don’t know, a geofilter is an overlay (basically a cool frame) that Snapchat users can utilize only when they are in a specific area. The one I submitted on behalf of Coastal Carolina obviously covers the area of our campus. Thanks to the work of our graphics team, specifically the talented Dorothy, the filter was finally accepted and by Wednesday it was live on Snapchat. Our students greeted the development with the enthusiasm that is usually reserved for CINO Day or the cancellation of classes.

Our Coastal Carolina University Geofilter was accepted and it turned out great!

Hit the Showers, Tom Brady – I was delighted with the news that the NFL would uphold the entirety of Tom Brady’s suspension. The quarterback cheated, lied, and did all he could to sabotage the investigation. Those actions definitely warrant every game of his forced hiatus from the Patriots. I am so sick of Brady’s defiance and am dreading the fact that the circus will go on much longer due to his plans to take this matter to federal court. Tom Brady should just be thankful that he lives the life that he does, own up to his arrogance, and sit the games out quietly.

Restaurant News and Notes – T.G.I. Fridays is running commercials about endless appetizers for $10. Sidney and I went to our Myrtle Beach location on Saturday night to cash in on the deal only to be told at our table that the specific restaurant we were at had decided not to do the promotion. * I found my new favorite fast food ice cream spot. For the first time in my life last week, I tried a Sonic Blast. I can count the numbers of times on one hand that I have ate at a Sonic restaurant but give me a month or so and that will change. The ice cream was fresh and every bite I took of my peanut butter cookie dough blast was loaded with toppings. At this very moment, I think I can say that I would take a Sonic Blast over a Dairy Queen Blizzard. * I still need to try Pizza Hut’s hot dog pizza.

Disturbing – If my Thursday Rundown wasn’t so boring tonight, I wouldn’t share this horrendous story. Right out of South Carolina, news recently broke about an unfathomable method of child abuse. A mom left her 2-year-old son, who was unresponsive and bruised, inside her home away from medical care. Bad enough, right? It gets much worse. It turned out that the inside of this house was covered in garbage, feces, and dead animals. My stomach turns badly enough when I watch “Hoarders.” I couldn’t imagine the horror in this residence. Law enforcement said they discovered 48 dead rats, 10 dead pythons, and six dead tarantulas. This was in addition to multiple other animals that were actually still alive. Poor kid. How was I so lucky that I was born to good parents who lived in a nice, clean house?

Wedding Update #4 – Sidney and her mom have done such a great job wasting no time at all getting things squared away for our June 11 date. Our reception venue, caterer, and photographer are now all booked. As all of these developments became official late last week, it has allowed Sidney to relax a little bit more this week. She deserves it!

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There you have it. I wasn’t kidding when I said tonight’s Thursday Rundown would be a little watered down. I hope your weekend isn’t though! As always, thank you for your readership. Don’t Blink.

Welcome to Brent’s Kitchen

Posted on July 29, 2015 by brent

My fiancé is an amazing cook. Lucky for me, I will be eating well for years and years to come. But every now and then, I like to give Sidney a little break. If she isn’t cooking or we aren’t going out to eat, I test out my culinary skills. In tonight’s blog post, I would like to share with all of my hungry readers three different meals I whipped up in the “kitchen” recently.

Nachos With a Twist – On an evening where Sidney and I had enjoyed a late lunch, we wanted to do something a little lighter for dinner. I told her to relax while I made something up. In the Pacific Northwest there is a brand of kettle chips called Tim’s. They make a jalapeno flavor that is hands down my favorite chip in the world. The crunch, thickness, and heat of Tim’s jalapeno chips can’t be beat. Sidney thinks so too. I introduced them to her over Christmas and she fell in love. We enjoy them so much that we brought a bag back with us after our Christmas visit and after our visit in June. My mom sent Sidney a bag for her birthday.

Anyway, a huge light bulb went off in my head. Why not use Tim’s jalapeno chips instead of boring tortilla chips for nachos? I grabbed the Tim’s bag out of my pantry that I had brought back from my trip to Spokane and tossed a bunch of them on two plates. I then reached for my pre-grated cheese in the refrigerator and sprinkled a couple of handfuls over the chips. I then placed the plates (Sidney’s first) in the microwave and cooked them both perfectly so the cheese was just starting to ooze. The “heat nachos” tasted great.

These are my now famous jalapeno chip nachos. I do have a confession though…these are made without Tim’s chips. I didn’t take a photo of the original at the time so after work today I had to go to the store and buy an alternative brand of jalapeno chips. Believe me, these nachos are not the same without Tim’s.

Cheddar Meat Mac & Cheese – I decided to get gourmet for this one. Sidney wanted to relax and watch “Big Brother” with no distractions so I told her I would handle the cooking duties. Due to a trip to Wal-Mart earlier in the day, I was well prepared. I pulled out the Reser’s brand macaroni and cheese side dish package from the refrigerator (yes, there is a brand out there called Reser’s) and prepared it in the microwave oven. When that timer went off I quickly pulled the mac & cheese out because I needed to put the next item in. After spending a good 30 minutes looking at Wal-Mart’s hot dog section, I decided on these cheddar jalapeno links. I cooked three of those franks up until I was nearly salivating. Then, using my famous knife cutting skills, I chopped the dogs up and poured them on the pasta.

This was one of the more memorable dishes I cooked up.

A good chef always knows when it is right to introduce an extra ingredient to really make a dish memorable. Not skipping a beat, I opened my refrigerator and once again brought out that pre-grated cheese. I sprinkled several shreads on top of my masterpiece. It truly was the cherry on top of the sundae.

Sid tweeted out her appreciation for my labor in the kitchen.

Tortilla Dog – Those who know how to cook also know how to be resourceful. Driving home from work a couple days ago I came up with an amazing idea on how to enjoy the remaining cheddar jalapeno dogs. The concept literally popped into my head out of nowhere. After I got home and published my blog post for that day I might have made history. I put two dogs in the microwave and then wrapped each one in an oversized tortilla. It was a hot dog burrito so to speak. It was such a nice change from a bun or a piece of bread. I immediately thought that these could definitely be sold at minor league baseball games. Score another one for Chef Brent!

Yes sir! There is a hot dog in that tortilla. Who knew it would take someone so long to come up with this?!

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So yeah, Sidney will most likely continue to do most of the cooking. However, I have clearly demonstrated that if she doesn’t feel like preparing dinner, I am more than capable of utilizing my culinary talents…just as long as a microwave is available. Don’t Blink.

An Unexpected Visit and Gift

Posted on July 28, 2015 by brent

This morning I received a very nice surprise. A co-worker of mine who works in a different department on campus paid me a visit. The fact that she came to my office was a treat in and of itself. Since Singleton Hall is currently under renovation, I am now working in an area that is tucked away inside a building that isn’t very well known. But having someone other than my Media Services friends swing by my office wasn’t the only joy. My visitor brought with her a gift.

The person who visited me and brought me a gift today was April Betsch. This is the two of us at a social media meeting in December of 2014.

In a gesture of true thoughtfulness, April Betsch, our Associate Director of CHANT411*, presented me with something that every social media marketer should have. Handing me a box, I looked at the front to realize that she had gotten me a 13.5-inch tall HASHTAG LED sign. Not only did she purchase a perfect gift for someone like me, she also cared enough to stock it with batteries before handing it over. April had found the gem at Michael’s and immediately thought of Coastal’s goofy social media guy. Not only does the sign fit my personality and career choice like a glove, it also provides an aesthetic touch to the uninspired way I set up my office.

A look at my hashtag sign shining brightly in the dark.

April’s visit and gift did more than brighten my day, however. It got me thinking that I need to take her lead and do more nice things for others. I feel like I do a good job of showing my loved ones that I value and appreciate them but what about people outside of that circle? I surely would not live the life that I do if not for co-workers, service folks, students, and others. While I do try to go out of my way every now and then, it probably isn’t to the degree that April does it or the degree that countless other humanitarians do it.

Thanks for the great gift, April!

Some call it “random acts of kindness” and some call it “paying it forward,” but for me I can’t look at it that way. In my head, those terms are too strictly equated with one time deeds and Starbucks drive-thru gimmicks. I need to just do a better job of being kind and thoughtful 24 hours a day. I need to seize more opportunities and recognize more people.

I hope to take the inspiration I gained from April today and use it to be a more consistent and better person. As long as this means that I still don’t have to like Tom Brady I think I can do it. Don’t Blink.

* – CHANT411 is a very unique service at Coastal Carolina University staffed entirely on the ground level by students. The campus community can contact CHANT411 with a question through phone, text, e-mail, in-person visit, etc., and receive an answer promptly. In addition to providing information, the organization also undertakes numerous initiatives to make the campus a better place and to boost morale of the CCU family.

My Thoughts on Donald Trump

Posted on July 27, 2015 by brent

Very rarely you will see me mention politics in my blog. There is good reason for this. To be completely honest, I am just not a political person. I might lean a certain way but in no way am I informed enough to engage in a discussion centered on politics. This blog post will mention a person involved in that arena but will focus more on his own personal strategy as opposed to his political beliefs themselves.

So while I can’t speak on the issues, I feel I can speak on the way a person strategizes to obtain the position he wants.

Holy cow, Donald Trump.

Over the past few months, especially the last few weeks, I have watched “The Apprentice” host go absolutely nuts on Republican rivals, the Democrats, other countries, and everything else under the sun. Why would a billionaire with too many business ventures to count spend his time dishing out all of this negative energy? Well, that was both a stupid and rhetorical question. Donald Trump is fighting for the Republican nomination for the President of the United States and the man couldn’t care less about playing nice.

At first, I didn’t know what I really thought about his outspoken, shock-value approach. I mean he has said some really controversial and mean-spirited things. But then I stepped back and thought for a second about all he has said. I can count two instances where I think he completely crossed the line. The plethora of other barbs and attacks he has launched seem to be fair game to me. Unconventional, yes. Outlandish, maybe.

I laugh to myself when the media reports on his latest quote, which now just happens to be on a daily basis. He doesn’t hold anything back. He doesn’t mind bashing China or giving out a rival’s phone number. He will flat out say that politicians are doing “terrible, awful” while praising himself to no end. He will call people ugly. A reporter will ask a question and without giving his brain a second to think he will rattle off an answer that half the country will think is offensive. He will then do it again and again. By all accounts he is absolutely ridiculous.

But perhaps more remarkable than his ridiculousness has been his rise. I still find it very hard to believe that Donald Trump is now a frontrunner to serve as the nominee of a major party. Although hugely successful and a household name, hasn’t he been somewhat of a joke in American culture? His candidacy last Presidential election was pretty much written off as a publicity stunt. But this time around it has seemed like the more times he has issued brash statements, the more support he has generated. He is pulling Americans over to his side.

Count me as one of them.

It takes me some time to get past his entitled, airy-sounding voice (his hair actually doesn’t bother me), but when I do, I have started to actually kind of like the guy. He is just so different and so confrontational that I am semi-drawn to Trump. Believe me, I never thought I would be saying this, especially four years ago when I wrote this.

But in the same way that I respect Simon Cowell and Judge Judy for their brutal but honest take, I have started to revere The Donald a little bit at a time. It is humorous to watch the jaws drop of political rivals and analysts as they see Trump rise in the polls. What he is doing is quite remarkable.

Like I said, I don’t really talk about politics but give me just one minute to say this. While the guy has won me over to a degree and I do marvel at what he has done, I just don’t believe I could vote for him. I can’t see him constructively meeting with world leaders, I can’t see him sending our troops to war, and I can’t see him sitting in the White House with integrity. Just because I mildly admire him doesn’t mean I would vote for him.

With that said, the Presidential election is still well over a year away. Before I get serious, I still have a lot of time left to watch the “Trump Show” play out. So pull up some popcorn with me and get comfortable…I think there is still a lot left to see! Don’t Blink.

Top Ten Reasons I Should GIVE UP My Blog

Posted on July 26, 2015 by brent

Needing a dynamite topic for my Sunday night blog post, I asked two of the people closest to me, my fiancé and brother, for ideas. Since Sidney responded first, I have decided to go with her suggestion. So, in true David Letterman style, I give you my top ten list for reasons I should give up my blog.

I asked my fiancé and brother for blog post inspiration. They delivered!

The Top Ten Reasons I Should Give Up My Blog

10. About time to generate some legitimate Google hits when someone types in “Brent Reser” as opposed to 10 straight links that start with “www.brentreser.com.”
9. Blogs were so two years ago.
8. Would lose weight by not over-eating, attempting wacky challenges, or going on “Bar Rescue” tours.
7. No longer would I receive hate mail from crazy parents mad as hell that I defended my high school football coach.
6. Opportunity to devote the roughly 40 hours I spend on my blog a month toward something constructive.
5. Realization that I need to leave the writing up to people who actually have journalism degrees.
4. Haven’t I bragged enough already?
3. Free up my Facebook and Twitter accounts from awful blog topic teasers.
2. Money saved from promotional pens, cards, and bricks.
1. No one reads it anyway.

Even with these ten convincing reasons staring me right in the face, Don’t Blink will go on…for now. Do you have any input on why I should stick to my day job? Let me know! Have a great week, everyone. Don’t Blink.

Don't Blink

By Brent Reser

Author Archives: brent