Help! My Livelihood (phone) is Useless

Posted on November 4, 2014 by brent

The past four evenings were a little tough for me. On Halloween night, right as I left work my iPhone 5S inexplicitly stopped working. In the top left hand corner of my phone the usually trusty AT&T logo was swapped out with the word “searching.” It was impossible to make a call. Sending any type of text was out of the question. If I wasn’t in a wifi supported area, I couldn’t do a darn thing on my phone. What was going on?

On my way home from work I did all the little tricks I could think of to get my phone functioning. When I arrived to my apartment and I still had a malfunctioning phone I busted out my laptop and started looking at Apple pages and internet forums for possible answers to resurrecting my device. Nothing worked. Of all nights for my phone to take a nosedive, did it really have to be Halloween? So much for receiving photos of my niece dressed in her costume, tough luck on getting trick-or-treater updates from my mom (I now know they had 259 total children come to their door), and forget about sending out any photos of Sidney and I in our costumes. But the bitterest pill to swallow was not sending out my holiday message. A streak was broken and that hurt.

The next few days sent me on a wild goose chase to fix my phone. No need to list all the places I stopped at and the numerous people I spoke with because the list is long. While everyone tried their absolute best, no one had an answer except that I had a faulty phone. In perhaps the lowest moment, an attempt last night to completely wipe out and restore my device completely backfired when we went to activate my phone it just wouldn’t do it. I couldn’t get past the activation screen, thus making my phone 100% useless in every way, shape, and form.

This morning I was given a loaner phone until Apple sends me a brand new device. After 84 hours of not being able to connect on a social, voice, and text level, it was so nice to be up and running.

The story ends happily! i now have a phone.

I know many of you might consider me a materialistic phone-dependent jerk, but take into consideration what I do. As a guy who works in social media, my iPhone is my livelihood. Think about a chef for a second. If you took away his oven, he could still manage to get the job done and serve food using alternative means but it would severely cripple him. The same goes for me with my iPhone. It depleted a lot of the tools I have at my disposal but because of some creativity and my great intern we made it through.

Of course there is the personal aspect of it as well. Not having the option to communicate with others sucks. The thought of getting in an accident or experiencing an emergency while phoneless also plays with your brain a bit. It was because of this reason combined with not having phone navigation that I made the easy decision not to venture anywhere unnecessary over the last several days.

However, I can now put my professional concerns and personal fears behind me. I presently have a functioning phone and soon I will have a brand new device. I want to thank Samantha Cherry from HTC for providing me with some great help and customer service over the past couple days. My dear friends, please never take your phones for granted, you never know when the power it gives you could be suddenly shut off. Don’t Blink.

My Ode to Sportscenter

Posted on November 3, 2014 by brent

CLICK TO WATCH MY LATEST “SOCIAL CIRCLE WITH BRENT RESER” SEGMENT

I have watched Sportscenter my whole life. It is by far my favorite television show, a program that I have watched thousands of times. I have always looked up to the lucky men and women who have had the privilege of anchoring the world’s most popular sports program. Recently I gave a little nod to the show I love and the people who sit behind the desk.

I now have the great opportunity to write my own scripts for my social media segment on our University news program, “Coastal Now.” For the first two shows, legendary Myrtle Beach anchor and current CCU Director of News and Public Affairs Martha Hunn helped me compose my scripts. However, after I showed a tiny bit of promise in drafting those early scripts, Martha has given me the green light to write them entirely by myself. With this new freedom, I knew exactly what I wanted to do for the third installment of the Social Circle with Brent Reser.

My third segment came out today for “Coastal Now.”

The best part of Sportscenter is the Top Ten Plays. Not only are the athletic feats you see incredible, but the way the ESPN anchors deliver it provides so much entertainment and enthusiasm. When you watch some of those guys go through the countdown you can just tell they are having a lot of fun. I wanted to try to create some of that fun for myself by writing my own top ten countdown for my segment.

I wanted to do a countdown revolving around our Instagram account.

Last Monday I went to our studio and shot shows three and four. For show three of my segment, I counted down the top ten @CCUchanticleers Instagram images. The countdown was formed using the top performing Instagram posts based on the total amount of likes the images received. With my script inserted into the teleprompter I let loose, doing my best Neil Everett imitation. Well, actually I didn’t try to do Neil Everett at all but while I was running down the top images I did feel like a Sportscenter anchor delivering the top plays. Perhaps the suits in Bristol would see me and offer a contract.

Chauncey holding Maddox was #3 on our countdown.

Of course I am totally kidding about ESPN liking anything done by an awkward social media coordinator. I saw my segment for the first time today and it became plainly obvious that I failed to capture even a quarter of the energy that Sportscenter anchors utilize during the show’s trademark two minutes. I made no sound effects, used no catch phrases, and most damning, I forgot to bring the passion.

So while I didn’t grade out too well in this particular installment of the Social Circle with Brent Reser I am going to learn a great deal from it. Next filming session I am going to bring it. I am going to take Martha’s advice and really “love the camera” while really packing the energy. Although not too pleased with how I delivered the content, I do think the script flowed well so at least I know I can write okay for news.

Even if I think I sounded like an idiot at least I had fun doing it. I can cross off “presenting a top ten list” from my bucket list. Stay tuned to see what I did with my fourth segment. Don’t Blink.

Halloween Weekend

Posted on November 2, 2014 by brent

It was Halloween Weekend but by all accounts it was pretty chill for me. You see, when you don’t have a working phone it makes you pump the brakes a little bit. On Friday afternoon my phone stopped sending/receiving text messages and my capability to make/receive calls was shut down. On the top left hand corner of my device it just says “searching.” Visits to the store of my service provider and an Apple specializing store proved fruitless. Not wanting to put myself in a situation where I would need to make a call/text if I got in an accident or became stranded, I laid low.

Even though I wasn’t as active as usual for a typical “Brent Weekend” I did have some fun. On Friday night I dressed up as an evil clown and Sidney dressed up as a witch. After we ate pizza at Sidney’s place we went to an area in Myrtle Beach called Broadway at the Beach. This popular Grand Strand attraction consists of a big circle of establishments that runs around a manmade body of water. Half of the circle is totally devoted to theme bars and clubs. For Halloween, this area is the place to be. We had a good time celebrating the holiday and seeing the outrageous costumes that others were wearing.

Before we hit Broadway at the Beach we posed for a photo. I was an evil clown and Sidney was a witch.

Saturday was spent just watching football. I walked down to my local neighborhood sports bar and watched some great FCS football. First I watched the Montana Grizzlies crush Sacramento State, 31-13. It was the first time I watched a game inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium from a television after working so many of them from up in the press box. I then watched Coastal Carolina improve to 9-0 with an easy 38-14 victory over Gardner-Webb. In my opinion, Coastal just needs one more win to clinch a bye in the FCS playoffs.

Today I went to 7:30 a.m. mass at St. Andrew. Sidney and I then went out to breakfast. In Myrtle Beach they have pancake houses that line the streets, much in the same way that espresso stands do back home. Because of my love of pancakes, I had wanted to hit one up for a long time. We chose a restaurant called Plantation Pancake House. I ordered chocolate chip pancakes and they were great! It also came with eggs and sausage and I had a hot chocolate to wash it down. Every now and then I feel it is important to treat yourself to a nice breakfast.

Had a very nice breakfast today at Plantation Pancake House. You bet I got whipped cream added onto my pancakes.

A couple hours later we went to a Sunday matinee movie. For just $5 each, we got tickets to watch Jake Gyllenhaal’s new movie, “Nightcrawler.” While some might find it a little creepy/dark, it was a movie right down my alley. Gyllenhaal plays the role of an awkward unemployed guy who turns to a rather slimy profession. He invests in a video camera and a police scanner and he starts going to crime/accident scenes where he shoots footage and then sells it to a local news station. The film illustrated what local news stations will do to break news first and the shady type of work that people engage in to fuel the ratings quest of news organizations.

This morning I ate at Plantation Pancake House.

My movie ticket for “Nightcrawler.” Can’t beat the price!

Hope everyone had a great Halloween. For the time being, if you need to get a hold of me, please reach out via social media. Have a wonderful week! Don’t Blink.

Recap, Flashback, Update

Posted on October 30, 2014 by brent

Happy Halloween Eve my friends! I hope you have all had great weeks so far and that you are looking forward to the big day tomorrow. You know the drill, it is Thursday so I will quickly run through five topics. Trick-or-Treat!

#CCU Yik Yak Takeover Recap: Today we held our Yik Yak Takeover at Coastal Carolina University. We experienced some good results but I wouldn’t say it was a complete success. When it came to the positives, our table that we staffed for four hours was always very busy. Students came to our table to send out positive yaks in our presence in exchange for a gift. According to how many yaks they composed and sent out in front of us corresponded to the prize they received (i.e. chapstick was just one yak, a pair of sunglasses was two yaks, and a t-shirt was five yaks). These yaks really started to build up and positivity definitely beat out negativity.

However, we battled angry and sarcastic yaks all day long. Although they were outnumbered, I would have liked to see fewer of them. Also, some yaks got really personal and mean to some individuals on campus. I hated to see that as a result of something that I created. So even though we successfully took over our Yik Yak feed today I don’t know if I would ever do this again.

Our Yik Yak table was busy most of the day and packed at times.

World Series: I loved the fact that the World Series went seven games. I enjoyed watching quality baseball and witnessing the incredible pitching of Madison Bumgarner. But my favorite part was the television production. The replays, angles, and technology of this Fall Classic blew my mind. I only wish I would have watched the games on a large high definition set. Fox did an excellent job this year and I enjoyed listening to Harold Reynolds. While I usually pull for the American League, I am not too upset that the Royals pulled it off. However, I do hope that next year whoever wins it will do it on their own home field.

Update on Car: On Tuesday night I told the bizarre tale of how a mechanic I visited told me to put Everclear in my gas tank to turn the engine light off in my car. I took his advice but as of Tuesday night my light was still on. Here we are on Thursday night and I am disappointed to report that it has still not shut off. Although frustrated with the problem not getting resolved, I am very thankful for the help I received from friends, co-workers, and social media contacts. I am going to let my current tank of gas expire before I put new chemicals into my car but now I have a lot more product options and mechanic options than ever before.

Weekly Mikayla Update: My niece is now eight weeks old. On Saturday she wore the Chanticleer outfit I sent to my sister right before she was born. She looked so cute in it as she sent good luck to the Chant football team as they improved to 8-0. The next day I shared her photo on the CCU Facebook page and our audience loved it! I am now only 26 days away from seeing Mikayla for the first time.

Mikayla at the eight-week mark.

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I want to wish my readers a very Happy Halloween. Be safe and have some fun. I am stoked for my first Halloween in South Carolina. I have definitely never enjoyed 70 degree temperatures for it before but I can definitely live with it. Photos of me in my costume to come soon. Don’t Blink.

Fractured Prune Doughnuts

Posted on October 29, 2014 by brent

The best way to take your mind off car troubles? Go get doughnuts of course! Last night after the Everclear failed to turn my engine light off, Sidney and I went to the nearby Fractured Prune doughnut shop for a unique experience you don’t get at normal pastry joints.

For those of you who don’t know, Fractured Prune is a fast expanding doughnut chain that takes Krispy Kreme’s fresh out of the oven reputation, combines it with Which Witch’s ordering style, and grabs inspiration from Chipotle’s cafeteria-style set up.

A look inside Fractured Prune.

That description might sound a little complicated but Fractured Prune really is as simple as it gets. In line you receive a card that lists on one side the signature doughnuts (called “Favorites”) that are offered. If you want one (or a dozen) you simply mark in the appropriate place. On the reverse side is the option to create your own doughnut. You have the freedom to choose from a bunch of pretty wild glazes and an intriguing list of toppings. You mark what you want and hand the card over to the employee.

Our menu card that we ordered off of.

Once the handoff is made, you watch as your doughnut is prepared. The employee grabs a fresh doughnut out of the machine and then dips it in your preferred glaze. From there the delicacy is then dipped in the toppings of your choice. The doughnut is then wrapped in parchment paper and placed on a tray. You pay and then go to a table to enjoy.

The fresh doughnut machine. Doughnuts are taken right from this machine and garnished in front of you.

These doughnuts are the real deal. Then again, it is hard to go wrong with a fresh baked, hot doughnut. I devoured mine and ate most of Sidney’s. Ordering off the Favorites portion of the card, Sidney got the Morning Buzz, a doughnut that contained a mocha glaze with cookie crumbs. I opted for creating my own doughnut as I chose a banana glaze with carnival sprinkles and cookie crumbs. Other glazes included key lime, maple, mocha, blackberry, and many more. Interesting toppings include bacon, sea salt, and vanilla wafers.

The toppings/glazes that the doughnuts are dipped in.

For me, the pricing isn’t that bad. It will run you about a $1.70 per doughnut. You see, I am someone who would just go inside the shop and purchase one or two doughnuts to eat for dessert. When you factor that out, that is less than what you would spend at an ice cream shop. However, if you were to purchase a dozen so you could bring in a box of doughnuts to work, that would be a little on the expensive side.

Me with the delicious doughnuts.

You aren’t going to miss out too much if you don’t get out to Fractured Prune soon. But if you want a unique doughnut experience, I suggest it. While I don’t believe these are really the type of sweet treats you buy by the dozen (just stick to your local grocery store or Dunkin if you want to surprise your office with doughnuts), it is a fun dine-in stop. If you do go, try the bacon…I really want to know how it is! Don’t Blink.

You Want Me to Put WHAT in My Car?!

Posted on October 28, 2014 by brent

Last night I was driving without a care in the world when something happened that made me groan and worry just a bit: My engine light went on. Knowing that I really couldn’t do anything about it at the moment I just crossed my fingers that my car wouldn’t break down. My car made it back to my apartment without any major catastrophe and it got me to work this morning (with the light still on).

After my workout I drove a little off of campus to find a mechanic that I could hopefully take my car to. Because I needed a place that wouldn’t be too far for me to walk back to campus once I dropped it off and when I went to pick it up, my options were limited. My little search yielded only one real possible place. Called Conway Wrecker, it was a junkyard for wrecked cars. However, underneath the main business sign was an added on wooden plank with the words “Mechanic on Duty.” This was going to be the only feasible option.

This is the sign at Conway Wreckers. Notice the “Mechanic on Duty” sign.

As Conway Wrecker didn’t open up until 8:30 a.m., I had a nice little trip to look forward to later that day. Right at the start of the lunch hour I drove back to the place, parked my car among all the chaos, and approached the guy hard at work. Picture your typical mechanic with a wireless phone device attached to his head. I explained my problem and he said he could help me. I walked off the premises and made the stroll back to campus I kept thinking about how bad my car could be potentially messed up.

Welcome to Conway Wreckers.

At 2 p.m. I noticed my phone ringing with an unfamiliar incoming number. Knowing it would be the mechanic I held my breath, took the call, and waited for the bad news. Well, I ended up not hearing any bad news…but that was because I didn’t really hear any news at all. Between the noise in my building, the noise at his shop, and the mechanic’s deep southern accent I had a lot of trouble deciphering the conversation. All I heard him kept saying was “water in the gas tank” and “Everclear.” Giving up on understanding what he was saying I told him I would just see him soon.

I made the walk back to the Conway Wrecker. It was a short delay because the mechanic was on his wireless headset. When he concluded his call he was able to tell me face-to-face the issue with my car. He explained that the o2 sensor was messed up because my gas tank had water in it. He said that this commonly occurs in the South because of the humidity mixed with the heavy spurts of rain. He then told me what I needed to do to fix it:

“You are going to think I am crazy but you need to put Everclear in your gas tank. I have been in this business a long time and I know that will work.”

Hmmmmmm. Okay. After a walk to the ATM of the nearby convenient store to withdraw cash since the mechanic wouldn’t accept my debit card I hopped in my car and went back to work. At a traffic light I had Googled putting Everclear in your gas tank. Only a few results came up and the people posting in these forums all said it was a wasteful idea. However, when I arrived in the parking lot at work I quizzed a co-worker on the advice I had been given. He backed the advice of the mechanic and also said Conway Wreckers had a solid team working there. I reasoned that I since I had paid the man basically for his advice, I was going to heed it.

After work I went and picked out my Halloween costume and then went to a liquor store. The mechanic told me to only put a pint in. Unfortunately, the store only had liters. Before you start thinking that I should think positive because it would mean that I would have leftover alcohol for myself, think again…I don’t touch that stuff.

The lady behind the register tried to make small talk with me on how I planned to consume the Everclear. After a couple questions I just looked her straight in the eye and told her I was using it to put into my car. She had definitely never heard that one before.

Me getting ready to put Everclear in my car.

Sidney and I went back out into the parking lot, I opened up the bottle, and I poured half of it into my gas tank. It seemed so wrong. I turned on my car and the engine light was still on (to be expected). However, after driving my car around a little bit the light is still as bright as ever. A complete waste of time, money, and alcohol.

Yep. I put Everclear in my car. Complete waste of money and time.

Who knows though, maybe the light will go off when I drive home from my girlfriend’s place tonight. It is several miles back to my apartment complex and maybe that will give the Everclear more time to work its magic. I sure hope so, a story like this is too good to not end with a happy outcome. Don’t Blink.

#CCU Yik Yak Takeover

Posted on October 27, 2014 by brent

One month ago I questioned aloud on this blog how I could utilize Yik Yak effectively in our Coastal Carolina University social media strategy. At the time I didn’t have a concrete game plan. Well, after thinking about it a lot and reading about how other universities are handling this hot social media app, I realized two things: 1. I wanted to do something about Yik Yak. 2. I didn’t want to do what the other universities were doing.

This Thursday, October 30, #CCUSocialMedia will host a #CCU Yik Yak Takeover. From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the whole campus community within the 1.5 mile set radius is encouraged to send out positive yaks throughout the day. While many universities are attempting to block it, Coastal Carolina University is taking a big step to embrace it. This is a completely original idea, one that will catapult Coastal Carolina into the discussion of universities who came up with a plan to maximize the possibilities of Yik Yak as opposed to those who wanted nothing to do with it.

The #CCU Yik Yak Takeover will take place this Thursday, October 30.

The #CCU Yik Tak Takeover is the brainchild of our “Social Media Dream Team” on campus. I have the privilege of working with a group of six other fellow staff members* who in addition to their university jobs are also social media leaders on campus. We have meetings and we talk often. At last week’s meeting we all committed to taking this on. Come Thursday, we will do what we can to generate positive yaks. Students will have the opportunity to find us on Prince Lawn (our campus gathering place) and send out an inspirational yak in our presence. If they do, they will receive a Coastal prize.

But make no mistake about it, the #CCU Yik Yak Takeover is not about, nor dependent on, the seven of us staffers. It is entirely a deal that will be driven and executed by our students. We could “Yak” until our thumbs turn blue but we would still be outnumbered 10,000 to 7. If our students buy-in, this will be one of the most successful social media feats seen on a college campus. So will they?

The #CCU Yik Yak Takeover caused a lot of buzz on Yik Yak today. As you can see, some of it was positive and some of it was in a mocking nature. The portions of text that are blocked out contained bad language.

I bet they will.

When we announced our Takeover at 4 p.m. today, we had a lot of excited students. Many voiced on social media how much they love their school for doing something like this. Don’t get me wrong though, we also have some students who are going to oppose it as well. Just minutes after the announcement, the Coastal Yik Yak stream was buzzing about October 30. Lots of users voiced support, while other completely mocked the idea. Going in we knew that we would have people who would fight what we are trying to do. However, our plan come Thursday is simple…overwhelm the negative with the positive.

Some of the positive response we received on our #CCU Yik Yak Takeover.

Wait one second though and throw strategy out the window. Sure we plan to outnumber bad yaks with good yaks. However, one thing is forever on our side: Pride. The students here at Coastal Carolina University are passionate and protective of their school. They know a big opportunity exists on Thursday to let that passion shine through for the social media world to see. The majority of students that make this campus great will show up on the day before Halloween and make the #CCU Yik Yak Takeover an epic success. Trust me, those of you outside of the CCU radius will want to “peak” on our community beacause we are about to do something pretty cool. Don’t Blink.

* Thanks to the Social Media Dream Team of April Betsch, Erika Pomerantz, Jeff Stone, Jennifer Sellers, Kevin Olivett, and Travis Overton for making the #CCU Yik Yak Takeover possible. Thanks to the #CCU student body in advance for making it successful.

Best Sports Marketing Promotion

Posted on October 26, 2014 by brent

Having once been in the business myself, I love sports marketing. I still follow trends and I especially love watching how it plays out on gamedays in stadiums and arenas worldwide. However, for the recent cool promo I really like, I had to look no further than the athletic department at the school I work for.

Chanticleer Athletics has partnered with a local Bojangles restaurant on a very engaging and interactive halftime promotion. Once the halftime presentations and acts are through the public address announcer directs the attention of the crowd to the video screen. A message then comes up and fans are told to tweet it as fast as they can. The PA guy notifies the crowd that the first person to tweet out the text will win a $100 gift card while the second place person will receive a $50 gift card. Of course the message is a Bojangles advertisement that includes the local Bojangles Twitter handle (@GSBojangles).

This was the message that you had to tweet out at yesterday’s game.

Once that message appears, you can pretty much hear the entire stadium deep in thought tapping on their phones. I participate and put myself under great pressure to tweet it out as soon as possible. Any little type of error while I type that impedes my progress causes me great frustration. When the message disappears from the video board, you can hear a collective groan from the crowd.

You bet I participate in the promotion! Sadly, even having a great vantage point on the sidelines didn’t help me to win. (Thanks to Kevin Olivett for taking the sneaky photo).

The winners are announced over the public address system…both real name and Twitter handle, a big deal for people who are obsessed over building their followers. At the first game where this promotion was ran, the winners were even recognized in an on-field presentation with the Bojangles mascot. The social media leverage for Bojangles increased even more as the winners sent out Tweets and photos saying how cool the experience was.

At the Chant football game on September 27, the Bojangles promotion had its debut. This is the winner of the $100 gift card.

If I was a business owner, what the Grand Strand Bojangles is doing right now is exactly how I would be spending my money. I would partner with a sports team or another entity that draws big crowds and do whatever I could to promote my social media networks. The fact that Bojangles is getting word out on their #1 social channel in such a creative and high profile way makes their investment even more impactful.

Seth Horton (left), Bojangles representative (center), and the Bojangles chicken (right) look on as tweets start to pour in at the September 27 game.

I tip my hat to Seth Horton and Kevin Olivett of Chanticleer Athletics and the Grand Strand Bojangles team for thinking up and executing such a great promotion. I love seeing this type of stuff. By the way, the Chanticleer football team won again yesterday and now boast a record of 8-0. When the polls come out tomorrow, the Chants will be the #2 team in the country (FCS). Purchase your tickets now for the next home game (11/15 vs. Monmouth) and not only watch some great football but also participate in the @GSBojangles Tweet-Off. Don’t Blink.

Dr. Screams Haunted House in Myrtle Beach

Posted on October 24, 2014 by brent

You know how much I love haunted houses? Enough to go through one by myself! Last night I satisfied my craving to tour a South Carolina haunted house attraction by driving to Dr. Screams, one of the major players in the haunted house biz here in Myrtle Beach. Let me tell you a little bit about it.

This year the location for Dr. Screams was in a closed down retail store. For me, the structure that a haunted house takes place in is almost as intriguing as the content of the attraction itself. I walked up to the entrance of the haunted house by my lonesome and paid the $15 admission price. This marked the first time I had never had to wait in line for a haunted house. After I received my ticket I was ushered to the side of the building with 10 other people.

My ticket for Dr. Screams.

After about two minutes of standing outside the side door, we were invited inside. We huddled into a dark, small room where a haunted house worker gave us the ground rules. We were then able to proceed. Because I was unattached to the other 10 people and because I was standing near the entrance of the maze, I was appointed the leader. I walked in as everyone else followed behind me.

It became apparent the moment I started walking that the dude behind me was a “funny man.” He was commentating throughout the duration of the tour and using expletives when actors would jump out. It didn’t really bother me, it did seem like he was having a good time. Anyway, the funny guy had some buddies with him and then there were a few girls and a few additional guys in the group. The girls had already started freaking out from the moment they had purchased tickets.

I liked the layout of the haunted house. I didn’t feel too much pressure leading the group because it flowed in a way in that you knew where you needed to go yet you had no idea where you were at physically in the structure. There was one time where I led us into a dead end dark corner and I had to whip my phone out for some light so I could backtrack just a bit. I actually liked that brief feeling of not knowing where I was going.

The front portion of Dr. Screams Haunted House in Myrtle Beach.

In the haunted house the actors were pretty plentiful and seemed motivated to give a good scare. Unfortunately, because I was the lead in the group, the actors tended to wait to jump out at the people more in the middle. The one costume that really jumped out at me was an evil clown. Yes, I am definitely on one of those kicks.

As for the scenes depicted in the haunted house and the other decorations, I thought they were about average. Here is a stupid moment of mine: I totally missed the boat on the Dr. Screams name.

When Sidney asked me about what I saw in the haunted house I replied, “A lot of scenes depicting surgery gone wrong.”

“Well yeah, that’s why they call it Dr. Screams.”

I didn’t put the twisted medical doctor theme together. I thought “Dr. Screams” was just the general name of the haunted house, much in the same that Dr. Pepper is a general name for soda with no ties to an actual medical doctor. So with that said, it makes sense that the attraction was filled with graphic failed operations and mutilated corpses on gurneys. I understand the theme and appreciate it, but I was hoping for maybe a little more variety. I would have like to seen cemeteries, murder scenes, and vampire lairs.

When we exited the building we were ushered onto an ambulance (another “Dr.” theme that I didn’t realize until Sidney brought it to my attention). I thought this was awesome and unique! The 11 of us piled in and we were driven around to a few different scenes. For example, at one stop the doors opened and there was a fire burning with actors around it with chainsaws ready to scare us. Of course they made the ride anything but smooth and creepy music/hospital sounds played inside. I appreciated this component to a haunted attraction that I had never experienced before.

When they told us to get out of the ambulance, one of the girls in our group had had enough. Scared to tears and disturbed, she said she couldn’t go on. We left her behind as workers showed her out.

The conclusion of the attraction had us walking down this wooded trail. Actors lurked in the trees and it was a guessing game of what side they were going to jump out from. A girl in my group clutched the back of my pullover the entire time we were on the trail. Apologizing profusely, I laughingly told her not to worry about it. At the conclusion of the trail, the attraction was over.

I really enjoyed the different components of Dr. Screams in that you got to go through a traditional haunted house, ride in an ambulance, and then walk through an outside haunt. I also thought the actors did a good job and were professional. My critiques would probably be the admission price being a bit steep ($15) and the mediocre scene creations. But overall it got me into the Halloween spirit and it was so nice not freezing my butt off waiting in line. I am happy to say that I have gone through a haunted house attraction in the South. Don’t Blink.

Pumpkins and Etiquette Lesson

Posted on October 23, 2014 by brent

I have a confession to make: This might be the most lame Thursday Rundown ever. I don’t have any significant developments to write about but if you know me, you know I am good for carrying on about the most uninteresting and pointless topics. As per Thursday usual, I got five of them for you tonight! So how about we get this disaster of a blog post started?

Today’s Dining Experience – It took me all of six months to do so, but I finally ate in Coastal Carolina University’s main dining hall today. This following bit of information will puzzle all of you even more on why I hadn’t dined at Hicks Dining Hall sooner…for staff members, the admission price is just $5 for the delicious all-you-care-to-eat spread. Today was the Mongolian grill lunch and even though I stood in line for 25 minutes, it was great to get a bowl of the stuff. Interestingly, Mongolian grills aren’t big in the south so I made sure to get it while I could. I also had a slice of pizza and a brownie.

Pumpkins – I talk a lot about how I love Halloween. However, if there is one part of the holiday that I don’t care too much for it is pumpkins. I don’t really like carving them, I hate cleaning them out, and I don’t care for eating the seeds. Nothing is worse than when pumpkins start to rot. However, there are two aspects I do like about pumpkins. I love pumpkin pie and I also enjoy taking a couple seeds from a carving session and then depositing them in the ground. The seeds sprout really quickly and even if you have no intention of letting/watching them grow, it is funny to plant seeds in random spots and see them poke through the earth in just a couple days.

#CCUfamily Update – A quick update on the #CCUfamily campaign I launched at the beginning of the semester: As of the end of today I have featured 48 students. That is 48 interviews, 48 write ups, 48 videos, and 48 web editing jobs. It has all been so worth it. In just the past couple months I have had the opportunity to connect with almost 50 students here on the CCU campus and develop small relationships. The “hellos” I get from them on campus and the e-mail notes of gratitude I receive have made me become that much more invested in Coastal Carolina. To check out the #CCUfamily website, click here.

Coastal Carolina University Student Body President Eliana Padron was today’s #CCUfamily featured student.

Etiquette Lesson – I feel this issue should be reserved for a Dear Abby column but I do want to briefly address it. If someone gives you an item for you to personally use such as tickets or a pass, use it for yourself or kindly give it back. I have recently seen people I am close to get burned by this. They will make a very nice gesture and give someone something and that person will in turn just hand it off to someone else to use. If you are the recipient of someone’s nice act, let them perform the nice act again (give back the item) if you don’t plan to use it for yourself.

Mikayla At Lucky #7 – Put another tally mark next to the amount of weeks that my niece has been on this planet. Can you believe she is seven weeks already? That is 49 days! I am now at the point where I am getting antsy to see her in the Coastal Carolina little dress I got her when she was born. She is almost to the age where she should be big enough to wear it.

Here is this week’s montage of Mikayla photos.

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Last Friday was the busiest day of the month for Don’t Blink by a significant margin. Thank you readers for all your support! I enjoy writing for you. Don’t Blink.

Don't Blink

By Brent Reser