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Big Brother 25 Final Thoughts

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It was a 100-day marathon “Big Brother” season and you better believe that Sidney and I were dialed in for the entire thing. The 25th season of the storied reality show brought with it some decent gameplay and interesting storylines so let me just highlight a couple of my thoughts.

It was another fun season watching “Big Brother” with Sid. The final three was a pretty loyal group.

First, unfortunately for me, I didn’t really have a dog in the fight after Cameron was evicted. Although he wasn’t one of my favorites to begin with (in fact, I didn’t really care for him too much), the dude grew on me. By the time my initial fav houseguests were evicted, Cameron was my guy. After he was booted, I went through the last several weeks of the season without someone I was passionately rooting for.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I didn’t find myself strongly disliking anyone either. I wasn’t a Hisam fan but he was evicted early so his personality wasn’t able to test m patience over the course of three-plus months.

I think something that stands out about this season was the many floaters who lasted until the final weeks of the game. It seemed to me that this season lacked strong, savvy competitors…at least those that made it deep. To those houseguests who I think floated their way through their time in the Big Brother house, perhaps it was all strategy but I feel I can tell a difference between strategic gameplay and general weakness.

Speaking of gameplay, let me address the winner and runner up. Congrats to Jag! I really admired his loyalty to Matt and the fact that he played the game with integrity. He was a solid and likeable player. However, I had a tough time rationalizing how he could be voted the champ based on the fact that he had already been unanimously evicted. But credit Jag for taking the second opportunity and absolutely making the most of it.

Before finale night, there was no doubt in my mind that Matt deserved to win. As the guy who was a competition beast with a superb social game even though he was at a distinct disadvantage because of his disability, I thought he overwhelmingly deserved the $750,000. But I had no choice but to agree with the jury’s final decision because Matt didn’t show up when it came time to defend his game. He couldn’t satisfactorily answer the questions the jury asked and his final statement fell well short. It was tough to watch the Big Brother 25 title slip through his grasp.

As for the intangibles: I never really understood nor appreciated the Multiverse theme. The twist with Cirie and Jared was a lot of fun and I loved the reactions of the houseguests when Julie told them the secret. I didn’t mind the fact that this season was a little longer nor that it started later in the calendar year than usual. I sincerely hope that next season there isn’t another instance of someone saying something stupid that causes a big controversy.

Thanks to my wife for watching another season with me while putting up with my unsolicited commentary 😂. It looks like “Big Brother” has some type of holiday spinoff coming up in December that I imagine we will give a chance. Until then, expect the unexpected. Don’t Blink.

In Chicago For AMA Speaking Opportunity

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As I write this, I am about to depart on the first leg of a flight itinerary that will take me to a familiar conference in a new place where I will do something that never gets old.

I am on my way to Chicago where I will present at the American Marketing Association’s Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education. This will be my second consecutive speaking opportunity at AMA as I presented at the 2022 conference in National Harbor and my third overall as I also presented at the 2019 conference in Las Vegas.

I am thrilled and honored to speak at the 2023 AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Ed.

However, this won’t be a rinse and repeat exercise. After presenting with colleagues from two other Pac-12 schools and TikTok in 2022, I will share the stage on Monday with my very own co-worker and friend, Cara Hoag. The two of us will present about how our WSU University Marketing and Communications team transformed our YouTube channel from a communications platform into a Gen Z-first marketing tool. It has been a lot of fun working with Cara the past few months on this presentation and we are looking forward to delivering it to the brightest minds in our industry.

Can’t wait to present with Cara Hoag on Monday.

The conference is taking place at the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk as I am psyched to visit one of our country’s largest and most famous cities. It is in this heart of downtown Chicago where I will have the opportunity to learn about the latest trends in higher ed marketing, catch up with friends in the industry, meet new university marketing professionals, and of course leave it all on the stage when Cara and I present on Monday afternoon. I also plan to at least get a peek of what Chicago looks like outside the walls of the Sheraton Grand.

Looking forward to learning and presenting at the Chicago Sheraton.

If you are attending this conference, make sure to check out “Not Your Parents’ YouTube” by Cara Hoag and Brent Reser at 3:45 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 13. If you are a regular Don’t Blink reader and couldn’t care less about higher ed marketing, you can still send good vibes our way 😉. Thanks to Washington State University for this opportunity! Don’t Blink.

Jonas Brothers Thursday Rundown

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Hopefully by now you have adjusted to the time change and your internal clock isn’t too messed up to comprehend a Thursday Rundown. It should help that I write at about a second grade level 😊 Okay, here we go with tonight’s five topics…

Taylor Swift Book – Okay, how was this book even available at the library? I figured it would have been on like a 34-week hold or something. Also, I thought the Little Golden Book series was just reserved for Disney stories and other wholesome content. Nonetheless, you better believe Sloan wanted us to check this Taylor Swift book out. It actually wasn’t that bad, it covered a lot of Swift’s upbringing and had some good messages in it (but nothing about her relationship with Travis Kelce).

We checked out this Taylor Swift book and read it on Tuesday night.

Jonas Brothers – From one massive entertainer to the next, Sidney had the opportunity to attend the Jonas Brothers concert in the Spokane Arena on Tuesday night. She was literally counting down the days until the show and had been playing Jonas Brothers music for months. My sister along with our friend, Fidela, jammed out with Sid throughout the four-hour concert. Upon her arrival home, I didn’t even mind when Sidney woke me up at 12:30 a.m. to tell me she had an incredible time at the concert because I was so happy she had such a memorable experience.

Fidela, Sidney, and Miranda at the Jonas Brother’s concert.

Pre K-3 Artwork – When I dropped Beau off at school the other day, I noticed this turkey on the bulletin board. Each 3-year-old has a feather with what they are thankful for on it. Beau’s entry? Mommy, daddy, sister, grandma, and Papa’s cat. Sorry dad, hope you don’t take it too personal that Muffin was mentioned before you.

A look at the “thankful turkey” that Beau’s class did.

Netflix Weekly Pick – The movie I caught this week was “No Hard Feelings.” To reduce the plot to its very basics, a mom and dad hire an older woman to “date” their son before he goes off to college. I was pretty surprised that Jennifer Lawrence, who played the “older woman,” took the role. With that said, my takeaway from the film is how versatile Lawrence is as an actress. Whether it be “Hunger Games,” “Serena,” or a cringy movie like this one, she can embrace any role with complete commitment.

“No Hard Feelings” wasn’t a very good film but Jennifer Lawrence once again proves her acting chops.

Feeling Symmetrical – Today marks the three-year anniversary of when Beau finished his helmet therapy. Beau wore the helmet for four months to correct a slightly misshapen head. When the headgear came off for good, our son’s head was perfectly symmetrical, a tribute to modern day medical technology and a stringent “helmet on” schedule we adhered to. The video I made about Beau’s helmet is still my most-viewed TikTok video.

This was Beau’s last day in his helmet.

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That will conclude things for tonight. I have a very busy next several days but that is for another blog post. Have a great weekend, everyone. Don’t Blink.

Work Smarter, Not Harder

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One way I have evolved over time in both my personal and professional capacities is my approach to projects and output. In my late teens and probably for most of my 20s, I was someone who tried to bulldoze through assignments and projects by completing them in a long, continuous fashion. I would devote hours to the task at hand by pulling all-nighters, slugging energy drinks, and not pulling myself away until I was done.

Mind you, I never was a last-minute person. I would tackle these projects way before deadlines but once I got started I wouldn’t let myself stop. I took the old Ben Franklin adage of “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today” to an extreme. It was a combination of my Type A personality and stubbornness but it wasn’t conducive to producing my best effort.

Sorry to throw out a cliche but I have learned to work smarter and not necessarily harder.

As I worked more in a professional setting and saw the proper way to manage projects I started to see the light. Quality work shines brighter when it is produced in a sustained, logical way rather than through a 10-hour marathon of non-stop work. I started applying this model, which I learned in the context of team projects, to my pursuits both in and out of the office.

I am convinced that the brain works best focusing on tasks for short bursts of time rather than extended cram sessions. Also, work must be reviewed constantly. If you are doing a little bit each day it becomes more manageable and realistic to evaluate your output rather than if you plow through something in a single night. A fresh mind can simply produce and review work at a much more advanced level than a fatigued one.

The work smarter, not harder cliché definitely has merit. Over time I have turned away from working on something for hours on end and embraced a more strategic and less-taxing approach. In fact, the way that I now tackle projects is something that I would consider a strength of mine. Don’t Blink.

Nacho Bar!

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As we enter the season of get-togethers, potlucks, office parties, and Christmas cheer gatherings, I would like to offer a suggestion for the portion of these shindigs that is ultra important: the food.

If you are hosting something over the next couple months, consider a nacho bar. This idea isn’t exactly novel in the catering world as I am sure we have all enjoyed a nacho bar at a conference or work seminar, but perhaps you might be inclined to take a chance and bring it into your own kitchen.

Nachos are so good!

To make it work, I think you would need to start by having shredded cheese already melted onto the chips and placed into paper boats. But from there, the creativity of your guests can take hold. Toppings such as nacho cheese, meat, beans, and veggies would then be offered. You could then have a section devoted to salsas, hot sauces, and other condiments. To complete the spread you could then offer some more obscure options such as blue cheese crumbles, garlic seasoning, bacon bits, etc.

Of course this is on my mind because today is National Nachos Day. If you have followed Don’t Blink for at least a half decade, you know my love for this very American fare. In 2018 I wrote about how Sid and I love to make homemade nachos. They work great for Friday nights or to throw together while watching a game. However, until this point, I haven’t been bold enough to suggest an actual nacho bar.

Sidney and I love to make nachos together.

But whether you go to that extreme or not, perhaps tonight is the best time to get with your significant other and cook up your own nacho creation. Hopefully you don’t that that idea is too cheesy. Don’t Blink.

Saints Alive!

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A few days after dressing up for Halloween, Sloan and Beau put on different costumes. They ditched the witch and Spider-Man garb for something a little bit holier. Our children had the honor of dressing up as saints for the latest St. Mary Family Faith Night this past Saturday. Titled “Saints Alive,” the theme came on the heels of All Saints Day on November 1.

Sloan and a friend make a craft at the St. Mary Family Faith Night on Nov. 4. The theme was “Saints Alive.”

Sloan dressed up as the greatest saint of them all—St. Mary. Sid put the costume together and Sloan proudly carried her baby Jesus throughout the event.

Sloan poses for a photo before we went to Family Faith Night. Sid put together her St. Mary costume.

While Sloan depicted perhaps the most well-known saint, Beau portrayed one of the soon-to-be newest saints. He dressed up as Blessed Carlo, the patron saint of the internet.

Beau dressed up as Blessed Carlo Acutis. The favorite video game of Carlo was Mario Kart and he liked to play soccer. The paper Beau is holding contains a QR code linking to Carlo’s Eucharistic miracles website.

I was in charge of Beau’s costume and was so humbled to put it together. You see, the case of Carlo Acutis is a little different than what most people might think of when they hear the word “saint.” Carlo didn’t live 1,500 years ago, he wasn’t a clergy member, and he wasn’t a martyr. Rather, he was born in 1991, played video games, and liked to kick around the soccer ball.

Blessed Carlo…I mean Beau…throws a stuffed animal at the baskets that are situated in front of St. Francis of Assisi (patron saint of animals) at the St. Mary Family Faith Night.

In other words, he was relatable.

Blessed Carlo is sometimes referred to as “the first millennial saint.”

But just because he is a modern day individual who shared probably many similarities with us doesn’t mean he wasn’t holy to the bone. Carlo converted non-believers and non-practicing people to the faith (including his parents), he stuck up for the meek/vulnerable, and he had an incredible devotion to the Eucharistic among so many other things.

St. Carlo is the patron saint of the internet.

Carlo’s devotion to the Eucharistic spurned a huge part of his legacy. The computer genius documented the many Eucharistic miracles that exist and categorized them into a website. He then helped create panel presentations of these miracles that now travel around the world. Sidney and I have been blessed to see one of Carlo’s displays before.

Carlo Actuis during his beatification mass in 2020.

Like so many other beatified people and saints, Carlo would die young. The grace and bravery with which he handled his bout with leukemia is nothing short of inspiring and holy. When asked about the pain, he simply said “There are people who suffer much more than me.” Carlo died at 15.

Beau reels in a catch at St. Peter’s Fishing Hole.

To have a slated saint like Carlo is so beneficial to my children. When we watched a story on Carlo the other night, tears filled the eyes of Sloan. He not only resonates with my kids, he inspires them to be saints as well. And you know what? He does the same for me, too.

Sloan holds the doll she convinced to play Baby Jesus at the St. Mary Family Faith Night.

Thank you to Marie Bricher and St. Mary Catholic Church for offering such an awesome evening. May all the saints pray for us. Don’t Blink.

Post-Halloween Thursday Rundown

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You can’t resist the suspense, huh? What five random topics will Brent write about tonight? Okay, enough of that. This blogger is at least grounded enough to realize that you most likely accidentally tapped on the link to my latest Thursday Rundown 😉. So let’s get right to it…

Trick-Or-Treater Count – It was another lively Halloween night at my parents’ house. They passed out candy to 292 trick-or-treaters who came to their door on Tuesday night. The tally could have easily surpassed 300 but the candy supply was exhausted. Congratulations to my wife who won the annual Reser family poll on how many trick-or-treaters would stop by (she guessed 304). The 292 trick-or-treaters eclipsed last year’s total of 275.

Here is the tally sheet for the trick-or-treaters at my parents’ house on Oct. 31, 2023. You can see our predictions at the top of the sheet.

2023 Pumpkins – Because I wrote about grocery store pumpkin patches earlier this fall, I felt obligated to follow up with a photo of the jack-o-lanterns we carved. Our pumpkins came from our local Safeway as Sloan went for the biggest gourd she could find while Beau prioritized symmetry. Both opted for the happy jack-o-lantern approach this year.

This photo is terrible but I am entitled to a blurry image every now an d then.

National Cash Back Day – Today is National Cash Back Day which I semi-celebrate because there is nothing like bypassing ATM fees by walking into a supermarket to buy a .99 cent soda only to request $60 in cash back. With that said, I do recognize that some places now charge a $1 fee for cash back which will promptly persuade me NOT to request cash back. Also, I will admit that cash back can be a bad thing when tempted to blindly request it with every purchase you make. My advice is to use cash back when you need actual physical dollars for a cash-only event or a birthday gift and there is no fee for doing so.

It is a pretty cool option to use your debit card to get cash back.

Saintly Rhymes Through The Year – Our dear friends Tim and Kathy McCormick, who also happen to be our marriage mentor couple and the godparents to Beau, recently sent us a special gift. Sloan and Beau received Saintly Rhymes Through The Year just in time for All Saints Day. The book was written by their daughter, Meghan Bausch, who also authored Saintly Rhymes For Modern Times. This latest children’s book uses rhymes to tell the stories of saints on their respective feast days. All of the rhyming biographies are informative and creative while the illustrations are beautiful. You can order the book here.

Beau holds “Saintly Rhymes Through the Years” by Meghan Bausch

Pain Hustlers – Over the weekend I watched “Pain Hustlers” on Netflix. The film centers on a desperate and broke woman, Liza, who gets an opportunity as a sales agent for a pharmaceutical company. The movie follows the character as she teams up with some other driven people at the company to persuade doctors to prescribe the drug they are pushing. Once Liza tastes success there is no going back as she does whatever she can to gain influence and push a drug that isn’t safe. The movie kept my interest and portrayed the shenanigans and corruptness of some pharmaceutical companies while offering subtle commentary on the opioid crisis. “Pain Hustlers” gave off “Wolf of Wall Street” vibes in a less effective manner but if you are looking for a movie this weekend it might not be a bad choice.

“Pain Hustlers” reminded me of “Wolf of Wall Street.”

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I hope your November is off to a solid start. Thanks for reading and I will catch up with everyone next week. Don’t Blink.

Gratitude and Mortality

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As I reflect on this beautiful autumn, September seemed to stick around for a bit but October flew by. November, it’s your turn.

I have high expectations for this second to last month of the year. November will take me away from the Inland Northwest for a good portion of it as I rack up the frequent flier miles for both professional and family reasons. A business trip to present at the American Marketing Association’s Symposium for Higher Ed in Chicago is in the cards. Likewise, a well overdue trip to see Sid’s family in Myrtle Beach is also on the docket. Surrounding those two trips will be many other activities that will pack the next 30 days to the brink.

Oh yeah, isn’t there a turkey-related holiday this month too?

It is the month of Thanksgiving. But there is another theme of November that is just as important as gratitude.

With so much to look forward to and the tendency to plow through the days with a reckless tenacity, it is also important to remember what this month is about (besides the gratitude part…which is very important in its own right). In the Catholic Church, we journey through November remembering the dead. Sometimes November is called the “Month of Remembrance.” We pray for those who have passed and reflect on our own mortality.

The first two days of November truly kick off the “Month of Remembrance” in earnest. Today is All Saints Day, which celebrates the men and women who answered the call to universal holiness and now enjoy their reward in Heaven. Tomorrow is All Souls Day when we commemorate the faithful departed who are in Purgatory. Although we always pray for those in Purgatory, especially during November, tomorrow is the feast dedicated to all the souls who await full communion with Christ and the saints.

Whether Catholic or not, there never is a bad time to reflect on our short earthly existence and what awaits after it. During this month let’s keep that in mind while also being forever thankful. Don’t Blink.

Halloween Costumes 2023

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Happy Halloween, friends! I hope today’s holiday finds you well and hopefully you have something to be excited about. Whether that be passing out candy to trick-or-treaters, watching a horror movie marathon, or, in my case, enjoying Halloween through your children, my wish is that you have some optimism fueling that fire inside of your jack-o-lantern.

Sloan and Beau in their 2023 Halloween costumes with the Black Panther (aka Aminah 😉) – Photo courtesy of Shauna.

This Halloween marks the fourth time Sidney and I have had the opportunity to dress two kids in costumes. However, I think this year was the easiest in terms of deciding who was going to wear what. Let’s end the suspense…

Beau…I mean Spiderman…walks away from a trunk at the St. Mary Halloween Extravaganza.

For the second year in a row, Sloan is a witch. The familiar costume beat out Mary Poppins and the decision was entirely our daughter’s. But this year’s version is slightly refreshed from Halloween 2022. She now has a fancy jack-o-lantern t-shirt to wear over her black garb and an accessory has been added…a black and orange broom! Sloan LOVES the prop we bought at Target as it was hard to find her without it between her legs at this past weekend’s Halloween festivities as she used it to “fly” from trunk to trunk.

Beau and Sloan pose for a photo at the Spokane County Library Halloween craft event this past Friday.

When it comes to Beau, he naturally went with the most appropriate costume for this stage in his life…SPIDERMAN! I personally would have been disappointed if he didn’t opt for the character he watches on Disney+ every single day. Watching hours and hours of “Spidey And His Amazing Friends” prepared Beau very well for how to act while in costume. At the library Halloween craft event on Friday and at all the trunk-or-treats on Saturday, Beau used his hand to sling imaginary webs at everyone he encountered. There is something so endearing about watching a mini 3-year-old Spiderman strut around in his costume.

Horrible blurry photo but it does show Beau shooting his web.

I don’t have any “a witch and a Spiderman walk into a bar…” jokes so I will end with this: Be safe tonight! Happy Halloween to all. Don’t Blink.

Our Halloween Candy Moderation Strategy

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We made the rounds on the trunk-or-treat circuit this past weekend. In addition to Saturday’s St. Mary Halloween Extravaganza that had a trunk-or-treat component to it, we took the kids to a couple public trunk-or-treats later that evening. As you could imagine, Sloan and Beau accumulated some candy.

As we were driving home from that final trunk-or-treat, Sidney did something that caught us all by surprise. She asked Sloan and Beau for their treat bags. Once they were passed up to the front seat Sidney took Sloan’s treat bag and dumped it all into Beau’s treat bag. No, little brother wasn’t getting all of big sister’s loot, Sidney was establishing a single source of candy for all…parents included 😂. Consolidation at its best!

This is our single Halloween treat bag for the whole family.

Sidney is taking this new approach to Halloween candy for a couple reasons (and it makes sense). First, she doesn’t want the kids fighting over who got what. Nothing is more annoying than the jealousy and whining that comes from one kid when they see that their sibling scored more Nerd Clusters than they did.

Also, the single stream of candy will make monitoring so much easier. With us controlling all the candy from the beginning, our children won’t be able to hoard their sweets, stash pieces away, or accidentally spill Pop Rocks all over the carpet.

Perhaps most important of all, we can control moderation. Sloan and Beau are extremely impressive when it comes to eating a lot of candy in a very short period of time. But until an Olympic sport is created for that, it isn’t something that we encourage. With the one container of candy kept high in our pantry, we can distribute a couple pieces of candy to the kids at times we deem appropriate.

And, of course, as I alluded to above, this new approach will also increase the window of opportunity we have to…how shall I put it…test for quality control? With “Sloan’s candy” and “Beau’s candy” now merged to form “family’s candy” we are much more obliged to sample the stash every now and then.

With the main event tomorrow, we plan to continue with this strategy. Look for a future update. Don’t Blink.