Author Archives: brent

Being Thankful for my Health

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During the latter part of the work week last week, I developed my usual winter sickness: Violent cough, sore throat, clogged nose, overwhelming fatigue, and eyes that would never stop watering…you know, your basic nasty cold. The amount of times I wanted to scream because of the discomfort equaled about the number of times my co-workers told me that I looked like death. At the end of Signing Day on Wednesday, all day Thursday, all day Friday, and for the first half of the day on Saturday my miserableness hit a high and I did not enjoy being awake that much. However, I kept sane throughout the worst spells of my illness by doing my best to keep things in perspective.

You see, I too often take my health for granted, something that I think many of us young people do. As I sit here in my apartment on my comfortable couch with college basketball on I feel wonderful. I feel energetic, happy, and optimistic. I can see, smell, taste, and, for the most part, hear, perfectly. If I wanted to I could get up and go run a couple miles or I could go pump some iron. As of right now I have a spotless clean bill of health and I am feeling very fortunate.

However, I don’t always keep in mind how fortunate I am health wise. One week from now I could very well go the whole day without thinking about how lucky I am to not feel like Hell or totally neglect God by not offering so much as a thank you. But because I am coming off of a sickness and because I am writing this specific blog post, it is easier to think about this great gift that many of the people in my age group and younger enjoy.

When I was sick last week, a thought hit me that really made me forget about the minor discomfort I was in. I assessed my situation. I had a head cold. Out of all the terrible, life threatening, suffering illnesses out there, I had the most common and least severe ailment there is. I didn’t have a cell destroying painful disease like cancer, a crippling condition like Multiple Sclerosis, an unbearable chest pounding death sentence like heart disease, or any other of the millions of terrible health problems out there that plague the population. This thought made me realize two things: 1. What a complete wimp I was for even thinking I was experiencing discomfort at that particular moment. And 2. I got to really celebrate and appreciate what I have now because eventually we all die from something.

Those of us that enjoy good health MUST NOT take it for granted. We have to realize that we will not have limitless days where we don’t have something nagging us. Fast forward 40 years down the road. If we are lucky to be alive I can guarantee you that we will not feel as great as we do now. We will be stiffer, we will have conditions, we will have days where we feel like garbage. Heck, most likely in 20 years, no, not even 20 years…let’s say 10 years.. we will feel nowhere close to how we feel now. We got it way too good presently.

This post is not to lecture about keeping in shape, going to the doctor, or eating right. Rather, it is just a reminder to be appreciative of your health. We have a great quality of life right now and we need to recognize it and enjoy it. I promise to start doing a better job myself. Don’t Blink.

The Real Purpose of Lent

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Today is Ash Wednesday. For the next 40+ days, Christians will embark on a very holy journey called Lent. This is a very beautiful time for growing with God in preparation for the most sacred day on the calendar, Easter.

This post is going to be very brief. I just want to get across what Lent is rather than what many perceive it to be. Lent is not about “giving something up”. It is not some silly New Year’s resolution. Rather, Lent is about prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Of course, going without many gratifications is part of the fasting component of Lent. But there is so much more. In my opinion, what we decide to do during Lent is much more important than what we decide not to do considering prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are things you do, not things you “give up”.

Non-Catholics and Catholics alike sometimes confuse the purpose of Lent. It is NOT a time to get praise from others for what we do during the 40 days but a time to get closer to God. It is this reason why it is very important to never ask someone what they are doing for Lent or on the other hand to make public what we are doing for Lent. This is made very clear during today’s Ash Wednesday gospel reading (Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-21). Jesus taught us that hypocrites will let others know that they are fasting, praying, and giving alms. These people who let up their guard and let others know that they are not eating during a certain day or abstaining from meat or not partaking in a certain activity or practice have totally lost the purpose of doing so. Because they have confided in people and received their reward, they will not receive their reward from God. However, those who do deeds in private so that others don’t know will receive their reward from God.

But I am not here to give a scripture lesson. Not only am I 100% unqualified to do so, but I have way too many sins to ever attempt to preach the Good Word to anyone. I guess all that I want to do is just get the general message across, a message that everyone can easily understand: Lent is a private time for individuals. It is a time to get closer to God while forsaking any opportunity for attention and praise from others. 

To everyone who observes Lent, have the most blessed season ever. Don’t Blink.

Bad Dream or Reality?

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I am fascinated with dreams. I don’t necessarily buy into all the symbolism and interpretation that some do, but I really am intrigued by what the brain can conjure up when we enter into unconsciousness. Dreams interest me so much that I even have a dream journal. In fact, I wrote about this dream journal of mine in a blog post once. Dreams fascinate me enough that I constantly ask the ones that I love if they dreamed at night and then if they did, I question them about what they experienced.

However, old fashioned dreams are not the only part of the not-fully conscious state that grips my attention. I have discussed and written about near-death experiences. I enjoy looking into that weird state right before you fall asleep when many times you suddenly grip the bed as if you were falling. Sleep walking is a condition that I have also explored before. But probably the one phenomenon that really shakes me is what happened to me again last night.

Many of us have experienced that terrifying state where we are laying in our bed while seemingly conscious but unable to move a muscle. It is as if there is absolutely no flow between the brain and the body parts. It is a feeling of absolute helplessness. What makes these experiences even worse is that most times these paralyzing episodes are accompanied with the perceived presence of a threatening stimuli. Many times people will feel that someone is in the room with them, someone evil. I have experienced this more than once and as I said before, the darkness and helplessness are overwhelming. I also had one experience where I was paralyzed in my bed and everything was perfectly in order in my room but when I looked outside my window I saw a firestorm as if the world was coming to an end and I was powerless to move my head the other way. Now I don’t know if these paralyzing moments really occur while our minds are conscious while our bodies are not or whether the whole thing is just a dream and it happens to take place in the room we are sleeping in but nonetheless they are very interesting (that is the next morning of course after the terrifying part has faded away).

Last night I had another of what I perceived to be one of these experiences but fourteen hours after it happened I still don’t know if it was actually just a dream.

At 3 a.m. I opened my eyes in the bedroom of my apartment and heard what seemed to be the voices of two or three men right outside my window. At my apartment complex I can easily hear chatter that is going on outside as foot traffic passes by but this time it was different. The voices were much louder than what I usually hear but oddly I couldn’t make out one word that was being said. I only knew two things: 1. I couldn’t move a muscle and 2. I felt frightened. The loud voices went on for about twenty seconds and then all of a sudden the noise shifted from outside my window to the entrance door of my apartment, located just a few feet from my open bedroom door. All of a sudden a terrible noise of banging, scratching, and yells overtook the door. I laid in my bed, absolutely helpless, unable to move, scared. My mind was able to race during this experience, I cognitively recognized that my clock read 3:00 a.m. on the dot. The cacophony seemed to go on for about 30 seconds, a pretty long time to listen to such a noise. The assault on my door finally stopped and time seemed to pass. The next time I looked at the clock it was 3:15 a.m. I was able to move again. I got out of bed and made sure the door was locked. I lay in bed for about an hour before falling back asleep.

My bed in relation to the window where I could hear the loud chatter.

My bed in relation to the window where I could hear the loud chatter.

The entrance door to my apartment where I heard the banging, scratching, etc.

The entrance door to my apartment where I heard the banging, scratching, etc.

Bad dreams and experiences like the one I just recounted always seem scarier at night. When I got up this morning and thought about what had just happened a few hours ago I was able to think about it rationally without any thoughts of true terror. The number one thought on my mind was whether I did have maniacs banging on my door. I opened up my door to get the paper and looked at the outside frame. No evidence of any pounding or scratching. My doormat was in perfect placement, absolutely no trace of any disturbance. I mean in all reality, why would a few guys (probably drunk) hammering on my door scare me in the first place? I can defend myself, my door is safely locked, and I got neighbors who would probably respond to the commotion. Again, I think just the feeling of helplessness and lack of control frighten our souls the most.

So who knows what happened last night. Was it a dream or did I in fact have people at my door? Going with the norm for these types of experiences, my best guess is that I was in fact dreaming. However, I could always be wrong, so let me say this: if you came to my apartment door last night, how about you make a return visit again tonight? I promise I won’t hide under my covers this time. Don’t Blink.

The Need to Read

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In the latter half of my elementary school days, I had a teacher who took a vastly different approach toward the spelling portion of the curriculum. Instead of opting to just feed us with a standardized weekly list of words to study and memorize by the end of the week for testing, he decided to tie in spelling with the other disciplines.

My teacher would basically have us prepare our own spelling list via the required reading we did every single day. Each day in class and then again at home that night, we had to silently read. It was our job to choose a book that challenged us and made us better readers. One way that we knew a book was challenging centered on if we were not familiar with every single word. This condition for helping us choose silent reading books became the crux for our spelling program. You see, for every single word we came across in our reading that we did not know, we had to jot it down in our spelling notebook. At the end of our reading session we revisited the word, looked it up in the dictionary, wrote the definition down, wrote the sentence it was used in the book down, and then came up with our own unique sentence for the word. Every couple weeks we would transfer all of our new spelling words onto flash cards and we would turn in our spelling notebooks to the teacher. After a few days of studying, he would then give us all individual spelling tests on a sample of the words we turned in.

Of course there was a third component of this process: writing. Even though it was elementary school, I don’t know if I ever wrote more than in that class. Each week we had a writing assignment due and built into the grading rubric for each paper was how we incorporated past spelling words into our writing. It quite nicely tied together the two other disciplines that had already utilized the new words. Reading gave us the first glimpse of the words, spelling helped place them in our vocabulary, and writing enabled us to actually use them.

As I grew older, I had more than one voice tell me that our writing potential directly corresponds with our reading potential. This is one of the few statements in this world that I can agree 100% with. The best writers are those that spend hours each day reading. Book after book after book after book. A few newspapers each day. Several magazine subscriptions each week. Numerous online articles. The premium writers in society read billions and billions of words penned by other people to help influence their own few written words. Yes, as I learned early the vocabulary we use in our writing is shaped by our reading but much more comes out of this relationship besides a strong lexicon. Important writing concepts such as style, technique, and voice all become built through our reading experience. Ask any superstar writer from Stephen King to Dave Barry to J.K. Rowling what they prefer to do when they are not writing and I guarantee you they will say reading.

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I bring this point up today because I want to recommit to reading more. I have always considered myself an avid reader. However, over the past year or so, my time devoted to reading has shrunk. I can point to many reasons for this decrease including being too busy, focusing on other things, feeling too tired at night, dating my girlfriend, watching ESPN, blogging, texting, traveling, and wasting way too much time on my iPhone. But you know what? I HATE excuses. And even if I could settle for accepting one of the items I just listed I would be cutting myself way too short for this one major reason…

My writing is suffering.

It kills me to say this because in no way is this a good strategy to get you to continue to read my blog but I do feel like I owe you my honesty. Although I say my reading habits have declined over the past year, I can’t necessarily say my writing skills have directly gone downhill in that time span. Rather, I think I have gradually become aware of it over the last several months. I think it took a while for my dismissal of healthy reading habits to catch up to my writing but it has now happened. Shorter posts, run on sentences, less originality, too many dead verbs, lazy habits, and just general junk has seemed to creep into my writing on a more consistent basis.

It is time to change. I am going to start reading all the books my mom passes my way. I am once again going to make sure to start reading front to back the magazines I subscribe to. I am going to read more of the newspaper in the morning before work and listen to less of talk radio. I am going to make every best effort to read every piece of material that someone gives me.

Time to clean up my writing and start reading more. Not only will my readers enjoy the smoothness and freshness of my writing, but I will also have better topics to write about as what I read always generates some of my most interesting posts. Thanks for putting up with me through my writing slump. You can always send me your book suggestions! Don’t Blink.

Just Another Fun Week

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I know I am guilty of liking my job too much so I apologize to everyone who tires of my statements noting this obvious point. Unfortunately for the people who wish I would just shut up, right now is one of those times where I can’t help but exclaim my joy with what I do. Currently I am engaged in a very fun and busy week. The fun definitely overshadows any stress or anxiety that might creep up through the busyness as I navigate through these important days. Of course, this fun I speak of is just not enjoyed by me but by many of my fantastic co-workers as well, fun that is only afforded to us because of the awesome student-athletes we have at The University of Montana. Here is a glimpse into this exciting week:

Yesterday our men’s basketball team found out who they would play in ESPN’s BracketBusters series. BracketBusters is a slate of basketball games that pairs mid-major programs together who would normally not play each other. Although it can be a burden on coaches and players because it takes them out of the conference groove and gives them an extra game to prepare for which usually will do nothing for what the intended marketing purpose of the series states, it is exciting to see who we draw.

After much speculation on who the Griz would play, a curve ball of sorts was thrown. Instead of staying out west and taking on Long Beach State or Utah State or instead of traveling out to the middle of the nation for a date with Northern Iowa, Wayne Tinkle and his team received notification that they would be traveling to the opposite side of the country to face Davidson. So as I got word out via our social media outlets and as our athletic director quizzed me on the state and then the city of where Davidson is (I answered correctly…Davidson, North Carolina), I observed with interest the reaction of our fans. Overwhelmingly Griz Nation got pumped up for the match up. With the fact that Davidson made the Elite 8 in 2008 and made it to the NCAA Tournament last year combined with the west vs. east rare meeting mystique it was hard for most fans not to like. I definitely enjoyed the anticipation of the announcement followed by the surprise opponent and the television announcement (will be televised on ESPNU on February 23) and finally anchored by the positive reaction from our fan base.

Tomorrow is one of the biggest days of the year: Signing Day. As I made clear in my post from last year, National Signing Day is beyond exciting and nerve wracking for coaches, players, and fans. The amount of coverage, scrutiny, and importance placed on this day will not be surpassed by many others on the calendar. Once again, I get to have a hand in the coverage that our department will give the supporters of the Montana Grizzlies. Working with staff members more talented than me, starting at 7 a.m. tomorrow morning we will provide exclusive, instantaneous, and accurate information on the Griz Class of 2013. From 7 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. I will run the web and social media portions of our coverage, letting fans know right when a prospect becomes part of this year’s class. Combined with the brilliant highlight videos, the press conference, the live stream, the official release, the organizing of the culminating signing social event in Kalispell, and most importantly the countless hours put in by the football coaches to land these recruits, a lot of work has gone into Signing Day 2013. I definitely look forward to tomorrow.

Last but not least, our men’s basketball team returns home this week for two home games. Sitting at first place while holding a perfect 12-0 record in the Big Sky Conference, it is an understatement to say it has been fun watching the team play this year. As excitement, fan support, and importance grows with each game, it seems as if the game production does too. With lots planned over these next two games it is a good investment for all of my Missoula readers to get out to Dahlberg Arena this week. On Thursday evening, Montana will host Northern Colorado in our Go Red game. Make sure to wear red as we raise awareness for heart disease. Saturday night Montana will take on North Dakota, quite possibly the best opponent left on the home schedule. Saturday night’s game is a MAROON OUT so please wear your best maroon Griz gear to the game. Both contests start at 7 p.m. in Dahlberg Arena. I can’t emphasize how special this year’s team is…make it a priority to attend.

BracketBusters, Signing Day, and a Griz basketball homestand…not a bad week! So now that I took roughly 500 words to once again brag about my job, I think I should give it a rest for a couple hours. But please make sure to follow our Signing Day coverage tomorrow on www.gogriz.com and PLEASE, PLEASE make sure to attend the basketball games this week. Go Griz! Don’t Blink.

Adoption

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With two whole weeks from the conference championship games to the Super Bowl, the media has to stretch pretty far to fill that space with content in order to feed the NFL-obsessed general public. This particular year has seen many different stories come to the forefront but the one that has really grasped my attention centers on San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Various outlets have documented the fact that Kaepernick was adopted and to this day chooses not to meet his birth mom despite her desire to meet him. A local Fox station in Denver went as far as to interview Colin’s mom and air out her pleas to meet with him. Nothing like using someone else’s success to get on TV, huh? However, I became a little more intrigued when the most popular sports writer in America, Rick Reilly, took this issue and wrote a column on it.

Basic summary of Reilly’s column: Colin Kaepernick should get over whatever is holding him back from meeting with his birth mom and sit down with her for a few minutes in order to help heal the wounds that she lives with. Even though I disagree with Reilly’s opinion (more on this soon) he goes even a little further and speculates on why Kaepernick has decided to keep his distance, calls the reasoning Kaepernick actually gave him during Media Day as “odd”, and then shoots down a defense that he attributes to Kaepernick even though it is not fact that he even said it at all. Not what I expect out of one of my favorite writers. Basically, Rick Reilly crucified Colin Kaepernick in his column for a personal decision he has made.

I am not going to address the inferences and weak supporting details Reilly used in his story but rather I am just going to focus on his main point in that Colin Kaepernick should help his birth mom move on with her life by meeting with her. Let me say this first: I am not adopted and no one in my immediate family is adopted. Rick Reilly has an adopted daughter and he wrote a beautiful piece on the whole family going to Korea and meeting with the birth mom. Obviously, he is much closer to adoption than I am. There is probably even a bigger gap between him and I when it comes to adoption knowledge over writing knowledge. However, I just can’t seem to come around to his thinking.

Someone who was adopted had no control over being conceived. He/she had no control over being born. He/she had no control over who his/her birth parents were. He/she had no control over being put up for adoption. He/she had no control over who his/her adopted parents were.

An adopted person had absolute ZERO control over the events that the birth parents engaged in to bring about the circumstances that he/she would have to live with for the rest of his/her life. While many times it turns out for the best, that lack of control that an innocent baby/toddler had should rightfully be fully invested in that person once a cognitive age is reached.

I just don’t know how someone can’t respect the wishes of an adopted person who chooses not to meet the birth parents. For all of us who were not adopted we can’t begin to grasp all the emotions and thoughts that someone who was adopted must feel but we can kind of step back and put ourselves in the shoes of someone who was and think of a thousand reasons on why they would not want to meet their birth parents. Of course we can do the exact opposite as well and think up the same amount of reasons for wanting to meet them. But every situation is different and the decision to meet or not meet should rest solely with the person who was adopted…and no one else….not even a high profile sports writer.

Out of my friends who are adopted, I always keep a very open ear if they ever feel like sharing about it. I have definitely learned that everyone who I have talked to has had different experiences throughout their lifetime. I am fascinated by their journeys and feel lucky and humbled when they share. Listening to my friends has formulated the opinion I put forth in this post but I do fear offending anyone who has been adopted so please know that if I have I sincerely apologize. God Bless the parent (s) who give up their baby for a better life, God Bless the parents who adopt, and especially Gold Bless the babies/kids who are adopted. Don’t Blink.

Rascal Flatts/Band Perry Review

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A couple anomalies occurred this past week. First, a big name act came to Missoula. Second, that big name act played on a Friday night. Very rarely does this town see major acts come through and when they do, they usually stop by during midweek. So obviously when it was announced that Rascal Flatts would play a concert in Missoula on a Friday night, this town got very excited.

Strangely enough, Mr. Concert himself (me) originally made plans not to go to the show. Not that I don’t like Rascal Flatts but the tickets went on sale in December and with Vegas and Christmas commanding most of my bank flow for that month, I decided it best to pass on splurging on a couple of tickets. Plus, I got to see Rascal Flatts perform that month anyway down in Las Vegas at the American Country Awards. But when a call came from my friend “Money” Mike asking me if I would like to go to the show with him I couldn’t refuse.

Joining Rascal Flatts on their “Changed Tour 2013” was The Band Perry and Kristen Kelly. Sometime early Friday morning the tour’s entourage showed up in Missoula. By entourage I mean about 6 full length trucks and probably two dozen buses. Our whole Adams Center compound and half of the adjacent student parking lot was jammed packed with vehicles associated with the tour. It was nuts. But I wholeheartedly believe that the more “stuff” a tour brings, the better the show will be.

For this concert Mike and I sat up in the 210 section of the Adams Center to the side of the stage. Because we were to the side we could not look directly at the stage so we could not see the backdrop, the main video screen, and the other fancy stuff such as the lights. But one advantage to having our seats was that we could comfortably watch the show and we could see what was going on backstage. Definitely a couple of positives that I am not normally used to.

Kristen Kelly performed first. Before the show I knew nothing about her. After the show I still know really nothing about her. All I know is that she is a tall cute blonde, probably in her early thirties (can’t even find that info on the web) who likes to sing about men who crossed her. As with any first opening act of a concert she played to a less than full arena on a dark stage. She had attitude and personality which was good and the few songs she performed had a good beat to them but she didn’t blow me out of the water. But come on, that is pretty much impossible to do given what she had to work with. I will look for her down the road on country radio.

After Kelly finished and they got the stage set for the next act, that was when the show started. The Band Perry made a thunderous, energetic entrance onto the stage and the energy really never left. Let me back up and say that I am not a Band Perry fan. I frankly detest their most popular song (“If I Die Young”) and have always found them a little too slow for my liking. But they really did make me a fan after their set. Again, I can’t emphasize enough how upbeat and fun their performance was. The lead singer, Kimberly Perry, was a complete fireball out on the stage as she really performed her heart out. Even her band mates, who are her brothers, were fun too. They performed their hits singles with “You Lie,” “If I Die Young,” and “Better Dig Two” but they also sang their lesser known stuff. And of course, with any act that is relatively new to the mainstream scene, they sang plenty of covers. However, the way they performed their covers was kind of cool in that they threw a bunch of songs into one polka melody. Towards the end of the concert they sang one of these melodies with the opening song being “Some Nights.” It worked well and I rocked out to it. Sorry to say that word again but the ENERGY was with The Band Perry the whole time, and it was powerful enough for me to feel it up in the upperdeck.

Mike and I were not caught off guard when Rascal Flatts came on stage because from our seats we could see Gary LeVox (lead singer) getting ready to go on from backstage. Even though his entrance was not a surprise, I got a little bit of a jolt when I heard his voice call out to the Missoula crowd for the first time. His voice is just so distinctive and to hear it live in person was pretty cool. Rascal Flatts took over the stage and immediately started singing hits. After they finished singing their hits, they slowed down into the middle part of the concert and sang more hits. Then, to change things up a little, they finished their show with more hits. I love going to concerts where I know every single song. Sure it is cool to hear a song for the first time in concert and really latch onto it and always have a special place in your heart for it because you heard it first live but I go to concerts to hear the people I like sing their hits. RF delivered in this department. On stage the band was funny. Jay DeMarcus acted as the band comedian and talked numerous times during the show, a couple times doing mini type comedy acts. The band also sounded GREAT live. Gary’s voice sounded the exact same as it does on the radio and all the music produced by the band sounded awesome inside the Adams Center. From the little that I could see, all the lighting and special effects looked amazing.

Just a couple critiques I have of the show. I wish Rascal Flatts got a little more personal with Missoula. Gary never forgot the name of the city and he always made sure to mention Missoula and Montana in the obvious spots but I was looking for a little more. I like it when artists talk about an experience they had in the city that day or when they take pictures of themselves in front of town landmarks even if it is all complete BS or the photos are doctored. I also think the concert went just a little long. I know they have so many hits and I loved listening to them all but maybe they could get rid of the drum and guitar solos and maybe cut out one of the comedy acts by Jay.

When the show finally did end though, it was a great way to go out as both opening acts came out on the stage and performed “American Band” with Rascal Flatts. I love it when everyone on the tour performs a song. Sometimes this never happens and sometimes they do it in the middle of the headliner’s set so they can get bow out early but for them to all perform at the very end was pretty cool. It definitely put the cherry on top of a 4 hour concert.

Mike, thank you very much for the ticket to the show! I can now check off on my list a couple acts who I wanted to see perform live (for full length sets). Time to buy tickets to the next show! Don’t Blink.

My Favorite Fast Food Place

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This Christmas my wish list was pretty much fulfilled because I got the one gift I wanted the most! No, not a GoPro, not a kendama, not accessories for my iPhone, not even a pack of socks. What made me bursting with holiday joy was when on a couple of different gift opening extravaganzas I ripped open a gift box that had what I really wanted…Subway gift cards!

The Subway gift cards I got for Christmas.

The Subway gift cards I got for Christmas.

I am a mega Subway sandwich fan. By a large margin it is my favorite fast food restaurant (Taco Bell a distant second). If I pick up dinner before I go home, if I am traveling, or if I am working late and need food, Subway is my choice to fill up on. I love it and I get hungry just thinking about sinking my teeth in one of their sandwiches.

Rest assured everyone, I haven’t fallen for the Subway marketing BS that says their sandwiches probably equate to the healthiest meal on earth. I think the whole Jared diet plan is a complete scam. While I would say Subway can be a healthier option than McDonalds or Wendy’s, I do know that SW can push on the calories. Unless you are eating a flatbread veggie six inch sub each time you go, make no mistake about it, sandwiches in general are not the healthiest food choice. Especially if you get a foot long, choose a bread with cheese on it, add sauces, and then decide to order chips and a drink with it, you are looking at a pretty fattening meal. But come on, that is what makes it so good!

So I am definitely guilty of my first two ways of “fattening up” a Subway trip. Unless I am going in for lunch, I am always getting a foot long and my all-time favorite bread is the Monterey cheddar…YUM! Can anyone guess what my sub of choice is? What’s that you say? Oh, you don’t care?!?! Of course! But let me tell you anyway….COLD CUT COMBO…every single time! Subway’s cold cut combo never gets old for me and it is always $5 so it is also a complete bargain. Although I don’t get chips and a drink with my subs I must admit that I always am tempted to get the jalapeno variety while I am paying.

I like nothing more than a fresh cold cut combo from Subway

I like nothing more than a fresh cold cut combo from Subway

I think one of the reasons why I love Subway so much besides of it just tasting good is that it is so readily available. There are Subways everywhere! When it comes to the city of Missoula, I think it is an understatement! We have Subway sandwich shops all over the place. You can find various locations on the same streets, you can find them in shopping areas, you can find them in a few convenient stores, you can find one in our mall, and you can even find one in our Wal-Mart! It doesn’t really matter where I am at in Missoula, I am always walking distance from a Subway.

With so many different locations and with my tendency to never really just settle on a certain one, you tend to find out that not all Subways do things the exact same way. Depending on the place I go to the sandwich artist always seems to fold my meat onto my sandwich in a different way. Some lines go from left to right while some go from right to left. Some carry soup while others don’t. Some participate in certain national promotions while other locations act like they have never even heard of them before. Some locations will always bag your sub and put napkins in it while others will just wrap your sub and hand it to you. Some stores will use shredded cheddar cheese while most every other store will use sliced cheddar cheese. However, I like these little eccentricities of each Subway. It keeps things interesting and encourages me to explore the city.

A sneak picture I took at the east Broadway Subway in Missoula

A sneak picture I took at the east Broadway Subway in Missoula

With all the differences of each different Subway sandwich shop there is one thing that they all have in common: That oh so amazing smell! Besides ice cream shops, there is no other place that smells better than a Subway restaurant. That heavenly smell of fresh baked bread mixed with the fresh ingredients mixed with the marinara from the meatballs produces one of my all-time favorite smells. There needs to be an air freshener called “Subway Sandwich Restaurant”. I would definitely buy it.

Sadly, my gift cards from the holiday season are just about exhausted. Lately I have averaged around 2-3 trips to Subway a week. Definitely not the best of habits but I simply love the sandwiches and my stomach definitely feels way better after eating a sub rather than a taco or burger. So go ahead and call me “Jared” if you want but remember I am not doing the walking and I am not losing the weight. EAT FRESH. Don’t Blink.

My Time in Florida

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One nice thing about returning from travel to the east coast is that you gain time. I definitely enjoyed arriving in Missoula at 12:30 p.m. today with the ability to enjoy the whole Martin Luther King Jr. afternoon. I marvel at air travel. Call me nerdy but I think it is pretty neat that I was on the opposite side of the country in the most southeastern state this morning only to make it back to Montana by lunchtime.

But man what a digression! My time in Orlando concluded today after three full days in the Sunshine state. As I alluded to in my previous blog post, I was traveling on a business related matter. Although this time it was not to perform advance travel, attend a game, or to host a retreat. Rather, it was to allow the most visible icon at The University of Montana to take part in his own competition.

Our mascot, Monte, was selected to compete in the College Cheerleading and Dance National Championships. Yes, I understand the name of the competition excludes our furry friends but trust me, they are included. Presented by the Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA), the College Cheerleading and Dance National Championships bring together the best cheer, dance, and mascot programs from around the country to compete for three days at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex at Disneyworld. For me it is always a thrill to see the top schools in the nation gather in one place, especially representatives from the schools who I see performing every Saturday during the fall.

 

We competed at the ESPN Wide World of Sports.

We competed at the ESPN Wide World of Sports.

For the mascot competition, each performer had to perform a minute and a half skit. Among the mascots competing were Brutus Buckeye (Ohio State), Sparty (Michigan State), Goldy Gopher (Minnesota), Mike the Tiger (LSU), Aubie (Auburn), Smokey (Tennessee), Bucky the Badger (Wisconsin), and many more. It is pretty cool to see the students outside of the suits who play these high profile mascots and see the teams that they haul with them to the competition to help them out. On the night that the mascot competition took place, thousands of cheerleaders, dance members, and general spectators jammed the HP Field House to watch the mascots perform their skits. When you have a packed house of cheerleaders and dancers, you know the atmosphere is going to be pretty crazy and loud. Many of the skits performed were out of this world and I felt very fortunate to watch everything from the floor. Monte finished fourth in his division and took home a big trophy.

Monte performing his skit inside the HP Field House.

Monte performing his skit inside the HP Field House.

Monte and I after the competition.

Monte and I after the competition.

While in Orlando we also got to see the sights. A perk of making it to the championships is that there are many opportunities to enjoy the happiest place on earth. As part of the travel package for the championships, we got a three day park hopper pass that gained us admission into all the Disney parks. Because we stayed at the Disney All-Star Music Resort, we had bus access to all the parks, making transportation very easy. I got to experience Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Magic Kingdom, and, on the final night, Disney totally shut down Hollywood Studios and hosted a “block party” for all cheer and dance championship participants. All of the major rides were open for us to go on as many times as we pleased. By far, my favorite park was Epcot. For those of you who don’t know, Epcot is a park that pays homage to the various cultures of the world. In the park, 11 countries have space where you can experience their culture with everything from food to drink to music to entertainment to souvenirs. I also enjoyed the Coca-Cola shop at the park that allowed you to sample various different sodas from around the world free of charge. There was just something very harmonious and special about Epcot that made me especially enjoy it.

 

Myself at Epcot

Myself at Epcot

While touring the parks, swimming in the pools, soaking in the nice weather, and of course competing in a first class national competition was all a lot of fun, there was something that I enjoyed most of all. As many of you know, I am a people person and over the past few days in Orlando I got to interact with all kinds! Myself and the two students who play the role of Monte had such a good time chatting with all the other schools and squads that attended the championships. What made everything so intriguing and fun is that they came from all over the country. They all had their own accents, own personalities, and own little cultures. But you know what they all shared? A genuine sense of humbleness. It didn’t matter if we were talking to the LSU cheer squad or the Harvard dance team, they were all just really nice. The stuck up cheerleading stereotype is so inaccurate. I found this out by working with our own fabulous squad at UM that the stereotype holds no weight and this past weekend it was just confirmed even more. Besides fellow competitors we just met a bunch of other nice people who were happy to be on vacation and who wanted to know our story. I felt very blessed to meet so many cool people.

Myself at Animal Kingdom

Myself at Animal Kingdom

While Orlando was fun, I am glad to be back in Missoula. I got a huge week coming up and I think my stay on the other side of the country has got me rejuvenated and ready for a successful several days. Thank you so much to my Montes who do such a great job! I had a wonderful time with you in Florida. Don’t Blink.

Off to Orlando

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Today I will spend most of my time in the sky and at airports as I make the trek across the country to Orlando, Florida, for a work related trip. I look forward to mid-seventies weather and a break from this arctic cold.

If you live in Missoula, please make sure to attend the basketball games! The Griz play Southern Utah tonight at 7 p.m. in Dahlberg Arena. Then the big day is Saturday as Retro Griz-Cat basketball takes center stage. The Lady Griz take on MSU at 3 p.m. and the Griz face the Bobcats at 7 p.m. Both Montana squads will wear throwback uniforms.

While in Orlando I will be taking a break from Don’t Blink, Facebook, and Twitter (except for my Quote of the Day). However, I will be back on Monday. Enjoy the long weekend everyone, be safe, and most importantly, GO GRIZ! Don’t Blink.