How I Used Instagram to Choose My Home

Posted on April 4, 2014 by brent

Moving across the country to start a new job will give any person a mile long checklist of things to do before the official start date. When I accepted a position at Coastal Carolina University last week I put one of the most important and stressful components of relocation at the top of that list: housing. For the past several days I have poured a lot of energy into finding a nice place in the beautiful Myrtle Beach area. I am happy to say that with about three weeks to spare I have found my new home.

I did not take this decision lightly. Knowing only that I would definitely be renting I looked at houses, condos, and apartments. Not enjoying the luxury of looking at properties in person definitely adds an additional component of mystery and stress to the search but luckily I was not alone. The head of University Communication at CCU put me in contact with one of his real estate friends to give me advice and guidance throughout the process.

As the smoke started to clear I settled on an area where I wanted to live and I had my eyes set on two apartment communities. I left no stone unturned as I researched both of them through every means at my disposal as I scrutinized websites, read every review ever published, interrogated the leasing agents, and of course consulted my real estate contact. With me still going back and forth on what community I wanted to live at I decided to institute a tiebreaker by going to one final source…social media!

As I looked through the photos on the Facebook page of one of the two complexes I was looking at I saw a flyer for an Instagram contest they conducted (that creativity won them extra points from me right on the spot). Tenants could enter the contest and possibly receive money off rent by taking a picture at the complex and using a certain hashtag. Of course right when I read it I opened up Instagram and searched the hashtag.

Several beautiful photos showing the complex’s pool, pristine landscaping, and apartment layout popped up. Here I was looking at photos actually taken by tenants living there! No doctored or enhanced professional photos taken by the complex to possibly fool me. Although the photos looked nice these Instagram users were obviously submitting the images because they wanted to win a contest. Of course they were going to try really hard to post pictures that looked aesthetically pleasing. Because the promotion ended months ago I knew I could reach out to these people and get an honest opinion on what they thought about living at their location.

I targeted four of the people who entered the contest, two males and two females, and I commented on the pictures that they submitted. Well, technically I didn’t “comment”….it was more like asking them to tell me everything they liked and disliked about living there. Within a couple hours I had long, detailed responses from all four, with one of them transitioning into a very helpful e-mail conversation. The reviews they gave me were glowing. Besides the e-mail conversation I entered in with one of the people, I also asked follow up questions on Instagram to the others. I got the information I needed and of course it made my decision a no-brainer.

I received some great reaction from Instagram users who took the time to answer my questions. Here are the initial responses I received.

By April 28 (pending an accepted application of course) I will be living at Alexan Withers Preserve, an apartment community in Myrtle Beach that is absolutely gorgeous, only five minutes from the beach, and just a mile from the vibrant city center. Although those are just facts that you can get from the website, it was the reaction I received via Instagram that won me over. When legit people who I contacted out of the blue described the complex as “the best I have ever lived in,” “luxurious,” “overall I would recommend Alexan ten times out of ten,” “brand new,”and “the crowd is great” it eased a lot of my fears and uncertainty.

An image of the apartment complex I will be living in. Thanks to the Alexan Withers Preserve Instagram account for the photo. (@alexanwithers)

Social media helps me in my life every single day in multiple ways. I find it fascinating that even a service such as Instagram that is more designed to showcase photos rather than serve as a way for people to talk and ask questions can yield fantastic results. Congrats to Alexan Withers Preserve. They designed a contest intended to engage and reward current tenants but it also brought them a new one. I can’t wait to live there. Don’t Blink.

The Best TV Production in Sports

Posted on April 3, 2014 by brent

When it was announced this week that Tiger Woods would not play in the Masters of course I was disappointed. He brings so much talent, skill, drama, and tension to golf’s biggest stage that it turns into must-watch TV. However, his absence won’t make me ignore the action at Augusta this next weekend.

I will still watch to see the other best golfers in the world battle it out for the green jacket. I will still watch because of the tradition of the tournament. I will still watch because even though Tiger won’t be there storylines will still develop. I will still watch to see spectacular shots and putts that make me shake my head and look up to the sky while simultaneously muttering “are you kidding me?” But even if none of these above things didn’t exist there is still something about the tournament that would still glue me to a television screen.

I love watching the Masters most of all because of the television production. In my opinion there is no other sports broadcast as beautiful as the Masters. Wait, mind if I take it one step further? In my opinion there is no television production period as beautiful as the Masters. This is the one time where I make sure to find a TV with high definition and just enjoy the breathtaking views and angles provided by CBS.

Although the spectacular images delivered right to our television screens constitute my favorite part of the Masters production I truly like it all. CBS does an incredible job of shifting from hole to hole. They got it down to a complete science. The team also knows how to tell a story and will do whatever needed to adjust to cover emerging leaders and changing plots. Then of course you have Jim Nantz. His voice is synonymous with the tournament and you can’t help but admire his knowledge and respect for the history of Augusta. I personally never tire of listening to David Feherty. His colorful analysis and sharp Irish accent always manages to put a smile on my face. To cap it all off you have a sporting event pretty much devoid of all commercialism, a very pure and rare thing.

But again I keep coming back to the imagery. Nothing beats the mixed dark and vibrant greens contrasting with the polos and visors of the golfers combined with the random outfits from the gallery. On a big screen television under high definition you literally feel like you are on the course with golf’s best. Because of the simplicity of golf, the absence of equipment covering the body up, the beautiful Augusta course, and the manpower and effort that CBS pours into covering the event anyone who takes time to watch is in for a magnificent treat.

So sure it sucks that Tiger Woods is not playing. Is it a deal breaker for me? Definitely not. I can’t wait to watch the 2014 Masters and take in the best television production of the year. Don’t Blink.

Career Move: Coastal Carolina University

Posted on April 2, 2014 by brent

Last week I made a major career decision as I accepted a position at Coastal Carolina University. On May 1 I will officially start my duties as the Social Media and Online Marketing Coordinator at the school. With such a life changing adventure ahead of me I definitely have many emotions inside of me and a lot of words I want to say to numerous different people. But I still have four weeks to get all that out. Tonight I will just offer the basics.

At my new position at Coastal Carolina I will no longer work directly in athletics. Rather I will have the task of developing and overseeing the social media program at the university as a whole. Working in the University Communication office I will get firsthand experience working with marketing, licensing, and public relations folks on a day-to-basis. It is an amazing opportunity.

But the job opportunity itself, although the primary reason, is not the sole factor on why I am moving across the country. First off, I can’t wait to work for the people who hired me. During the search process I was treated like a king and made to feel extremely valued by a couple vice presidents and a very well established public affairs director. To have people of that stature spend time on me made me feel extremely honored and wanted. Then there is the whole Myrtle Beach thing too. People I am close to know my strong preference for a warm climate. The fact that the area is right on the ocean helped as well. Finally, earning a higher salary, although not what I base my existence on, definitely factored in.

When I visited Coastal Carolina in March for my on-site interview I had a hotel room with a balcony that overlooked the ocean.

Of course distance from my family will be the toughest obstacle to overcome. But we do live in a world where thousands of miles can be reduced to a few inches with Skype and FaceTime. I will manage. I also am sad to leave Grizzly Athletics. Although I am so ready to leave the state of Montana I love the people I work with and the job I get to perform here.

Just a quick timeline for my dedicated readers: My last day working for Grizzly Athletics is Wednesday, April 16. I will then spend a few days including the Easter weekend with my family in Spokane. From there I will make the trek across the country on my new adventure. My official start date at Coastal Carolina is May 1.

Early in March I got to visit South Carolina for my on-site interview and while in the area and on the campus I knew the place was right for me. Although I know the nerves will probably hit me in the coming weeks I am 100% confident in my decision and I am excited for the things to come. The outpouring of support that has greeted my announcement has already exceeded anything I imagined and I am incredibly thankful. You are all welcome to join me via Don’t Blink as I go on this ride. Don’t Blink.

Singing “Happy Birthday” at Restaurants

Posted on April 1, 2014 by brent

I have never worked in the restaurant industry as a server. Because of this I don’t personally know the hardships of serving ten tables at once, putting up with entitled and snotty customers, or dealing with the aftermath of a table party that decided to get up and leave without paying. However I feel that if I ever did find myself as a waiter I would jump at doing those things ten times over instead of something I see all servers painstakingly doing at every single restaurant I go to:

Singing “Happy Birthday.”

About 95% of the time when I witness restaurant wait staffs serenading a customer with the song (or whatever variation they choose to sing) I watch them perform it with as much enthusiasm as if they were about to watch paint dry and with as much authenticity as a WWE wresting match. The whole experience is painful and miserable to watch.

When I would go out for birthday dinner with my family back in the day I made it clear that the ultimate birthday gift of all would be for them NOT to tip off the restaurant staff that it was my birthday. While it is painful and miserable to watch such a dog and pony show it is those two things plus embarrassing and mortifying to have it directed at you. Last thing I want is to minimize the enjoyment of my special meal because I am dreading the half-hearted singing and clapping cacophony that is about to come.

But enough about my disdain for such a train wreck. While I have to avoid it just once a year I genuinely feel bad for the servers across the nation who must perform silly songs multiple times a day. The nightmare varies from restaurant to restaurant. Some restaurants just opt for a mildly embarrassing rendition of the birthday song and that is it. Other establishments such as a Texas Roadhouse perform full out choreographed routines. Some restaurants use props, others use actual instruments.

Let’s face it, there is a reason why “funny people” like to go to a restaurant and slyly tell the server that it is their friend’s birthday when it really isn’t. No, it is not for the free ice cream or piece of pie. It is to bring upon as much embarrassment and humiliation as possible. Right from the start these things are jokes.

But then again, what do I know? As I mentioned above I have never as much brought out water glasses to a table before. I don’t know the first thing about serving. So let me open this discussion up to my friends in the industry and ask for their opinions on recognizing the birthdays of customers. What does your restaurant do for birthdays? Do you verify birthday claims with an I.D.? Must the whole restaurant wait staff participate in the birthday recognition? Do you feel like a complete fool?

If you take the time to answer any of these questions on my Facebook page I will send you one of my Don’t Blink pens so you have something really cool to write with when taking orders. Silly birthday songs aside I really do appreciate the work of restaurant servers. It is definitely a skill with extreme patience and multi-tasking involved. With so much already on the “plates” of servers I don’t think they should be required to add “serenader” to their list of duties. Don’t Blink.

Off to Iowa

Posted on March 28, 2014 by brent

Besides a very quick trip to the east coast earlier this month I have remained stationed in Missoula since late December. Now I love the town I live in but after a certain amount of time any reasonable person needs to “get out” for a little bit. Thankfully for me I will have a little weekend respite.

I busted out of work a little early today and made the 200+ mile drive to Spokane. As I sit in my parents’ recently remodeled kitchen I am passing the time until we go to our favorite Italian restaurant to celebrate my sister’s 30th birthday. For a milestone occasion such as this it definitely required that I make the trip back west to join in on the festivities. After tonight’s celebration I will be traveling back in the eastward direction tomorrow, although it will be well past Missoula.

My sister turns 30 today. Happy Birthday, Miranda!

Tomorrow early morning I will hop on a plane and go to Iowa City, Iowa. I am going to the Hawkeye State to visit my friend, Carissa. As she visited me in Missoula this past February I now have the opportunity to make the return trip to her territory. I am excited as I have never been to Iowa before. I look forward to seeing a new place and making memories.

Carissa when she came and visited me in Missoula….I swear I will never use a Snap Chat photo in my blog ever again.

Although I hear the internet works perfectly fine in Iowa City I will not be posting to Don’t Blink during my mini vacation. Please feel free to check my Twitter account for “important updates.” If you know my sister, make sure to wish her a happy birthday. Have a great weekend everyone. Don’t Blink.

Rubbing Elbows With Five Country Music Stars

Posted on March 27, 2014 by brent

While posting my baby photos as my #ThrowbackThursday images are always fun I very seldom get blog post ideas from them. Although I get to prove to people that at one time I was semi-cute I have started to prefer posting throwbacks that aren’t over two weeks old. Why? Because I can follow it up with a post! When I featured a photo of myself with gnarly long hair in high school I received such a strong reaction that I decided to write about it. In turn, that blog post received numerous views and many more jokes at my expense.

Today I posted an even more recent photo of myself with country music star Dierks Bentley. Taken two years ago (yes, I think that qualifies as a throwback) it showed the both of us during a meet-and-greet session prior to his show in Missoula. As that photo garnered more than normal comments and likes an idea came to mind.

I am a huge country music fan. Because of my love of this genre I have attended a great deal of concerts over the past several years. At some of these shows I have even had the opportunity to meet some of the performers I listen to on the radio every single day. For tonight’s blog post I want to feature the five country entertainers I have recently met and rank them according to how genuine and nice they were. Let’s go!

5. Sunny Sweeney – The first question I can already hear all of you asking: “Who is Sunny Sweeney?” Well back in 2011 she looked to be a promising country female singer on the rise. So promising that Reba Mcentire made her an opening act on her tour. In August of 2011 my brother and I attended Reba’s show at Northern Quest, a large resort in Airway Heights, Washington. The concert venue is outside in a large grassy area. Sunny completed her set and then went to her own private tent roped off from everything. When Reba started to play my brother noticed that Sunny had emerged from her tent, crossed over the ropes, and was standing by a souvenir tent. My brother and I immediately went over to where she stood.

By the time we got to the tent a group of about five people had already surrounded her. She started to get visibly nervous. As more people approached she became more distraught and said a couple times that she couldn’t be visible when Reba was on stage. Finally someone from her team came and got her and they walked back to her private tent. Although I have no idea why she strolled over to the souvenir tent in the first place I will always remember her last words before she left: “Thanks hun.” She directed them at me when I told her nice show.

Because the situation was awkward, I only managed to get this blurry photo of Summer Sweeney (in the black with blonde hair).

4. Justin Moore – I met Justin Moore in 2011 in Missoula where he opened for Miranda Lambert. My friend Fawn and I had “meet and greet” passes that enabled us to talk with Mr. Moore himself. If you don’t already know, meet and greet sessions can be about as impersonal and artificial as anything you can imagine. With that said, I compliment Justin Moore for at least putting a smile on his face for us. He talked about the elk he shot in Montana that day and how he was going to convince his wife to move to Missoula with him. The thick southern accent and his incredibly short stature are the things I remember most about him. Apparently though he remembers nothing about me! I saw him from the front row at a Blake Shelton concert about four months later and when I yelled at him he looked at me like I was crazy.

Fawn and I with Justin Moore where he opened for Miranda Lambert.

3. Dierks Bentley – Now we arrive at the man who inspired this post. After seeing him twice in concert beforehand, I finally got to actually meet Dierks Bentley in April of 2012. Like with Justin Moore it was another meet and greet situation. Even though Justin Moore was nice and gracious I felt that Dierks was just a little more genuine. He introduced himself to me and talked about taking a jeep up the Rattlesnake area in town. He complimented the beauty of Missoula and thanked me for coming out.

I met Dierks Bentley in April of 2012.

2. Toby Keith – I had the pleasure of seeing Toby Keith in concert at the same venue I saw Reba at. He totally rocked the show. At Northern Quest they have a large casino. My boss at the time, my brother, and myself were strolling through it a few hours after the show. At that time, the casino wasn’t too busy as some tables were occupied and others were totally empty. At one of the Three Card Poker tables with players at it I noticed something a little out of place. Two very big men were standing behind another decent sized guy sitting at the center of the table. Yep, you guessed it…Toby Keith.

The three of us went over the table trying to play it cool. My brother bought in and sat down at the table right next to Toby. I watched the action for a little bit before piping up the same way I did with Summer Sweeney by dishing out the “nice show” compliment. When Toby heard the voice he slowly looked around his shoulder, identified me as the person who had called out, and gave me a pound! He also gave my boss a pound too. We enjoyed small talk with Toby as he gambled away and drank Michelobs with his body guards and a couple band members who were also gambling. For someone of that superstar status not to mind getting bothered while gambling after a long show earned him tremendous respect from me.

1. Phil Vassar – Our former athletic director has a couple of big connections in the country music business and those connections led him to develop a friendship with country music star Phil Vassar. The friendship proved strong enough that sometimes Vassar would just randomly appear in the athletic department. I had the chance to meet him once in 2010. The guy was humble as could be. He asked my name, inquired about how I liked working for Grizzly Athletics (I was new), and talked to me about my duties. He didn’t blink an eye when I asked for a picture. He was just so relaxed and kind that it seemed like the fame had never once gotten to him.

When it comes to personality, Phil Vassar is my favorite country music star.

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Even though I don’t mind posing for a picture with a celebrity I do keep one thing in mind: they are regular people like you and me. Just some of them are better at embracing that reality than others. Don’t Blink

Road Rage, Lady Griz, Pen Update

Posted on March 26, 2014 by brent

It is that time of the week where I elaborate briefly on a few totally unrelated topics. Tonight I got three different items for you. For the sake of organization I will place them in chronological order.

1. Road Rage: Late last Saturday afternoon I entered the freeway via the Missoula Reserve entrance going east. Another car followed behind me. I managed to get on the freeway just fine as I occupied the right lane. However, for whatever reason when the other car reached the freeway from the on-ramp she decided to merge immediately into the left lane. Problem with this being there was another vehicle in that exact same spot. I watched through my rear-view mirror in a petrified state fearing a nasty collision. Luckily both drivers turned slightly away from each other and the car originally entering the freeway behind me swerved back in the right lane. Disaster averted but tempers ignited.

I watched as both cars exchanged honks and middle fingers. The car originally behind me cut off the other car in the left lane and blew past me and back into the right lane. The driver who almost got ran off the road would not be denied. He too blew past me and settled right behind the other car. Three miles down the road there is the Orange Street exit. The car that made the ill-advised mistake took it…the other car followed right behind. Because I needed to actually take the exit to reach my destination I followed as well and prepared to watch a confrontation.

At the end of the exit ramp there is a stop sign. As soon as the first vehicle reached the stop sign she put her car in park, flew open her door, and marched right to the driver’s side of the car that pulled up behind her. I watched the yelling match from inside my car for about one minute before deciding enough was enough (I was almost late for church). I got out and told the woman to just get back in her car. For whatever reason I guess I looked somewhat authoritative because the girl, who looked about my age, marched back to her car. The guy in the other car said nothing. We all took right turns and lived happily ever after.

2. Lady Griz Season Comes to an End: On Monday night our women’s basketball team hosted San Diego in the second round of the WNIT. Aided by a large and loud crowd the Lady Griz did all they could to defeat a Toreros team despite playing without a few key players. When our lone healthy senior got in foul trouble early in the first half things looked bleak. However, as they did all season long, the Lady Griz continued to compete and staged an admirable comeback that erased a ten point lead for San Diego, tying the game with a minute to play. Although Montana ended up falling 60-57 everyone knew the 2013-14 season didn’t go down in vain.

With 23 wins and a big victory over Washington State in the first round of the WNIT the Lady Griz have nothing to be ashamed about. Personally, I am thankful to the team for providing me with a couple memories. The first was witnessing Robin Selvig pick up his 800th win. I will never forget the joy on the faces of the players and on Robin himself as they huddled and celebrated at the conclusion of the milestone game. Then, to put the icing on the cake, the image of Robin Selvig addressing the crowd will always stay with me. He moved everyone in the arena to both laughter and tears as he gave credit to the players he had coached over the past three plus decades. It was a special night.

The second memory I will take with me was just the atmosphere for those two postseason games. Our fans came out to truly support the Lady Griz as they took on a couple big programs. Both nights you could feel the special energy inside the arena. No question, the most fun I had all season came during the WNIT and I am thankful to the Lady Griz for affording me the opportunity to work those bonus games.

This picture I took really captures that joy I was talking about. I love seeing Robin like this.

3. Pen Update: Last night I wrote about the sweet custom made pens I purchased to promote my self-serving personal brand. I think because most people found my desperate attempt to look important and sophisticated so ridiculous they actually took pity on me and told me what I did was pretty cool. This morning I sent out 9 envelopes to people who texted me last night asking for a pen. Heck, even the person who always comments underneath my Facebook posts that my blog is worthless asked for one.

However, you can’t please everyone, even if it is your own mother. My mom was left scratching her head on why I would spend my money on so many pens. Even after you read our text message exchange I can assure you that she still claims to be proud of me….even though I have no idea why.

My mom usually tells me what’s on her mind.

I am hoping for a quick next couple days. I got a fun weekend planned and life is getting good. Thanks again to all my readers for your support. Don’t Blink.

My Personal Brand: Nerdiness to a New Level

Posted on March 25, 2014 by brent

This morning I read a blog post advocating that young professionals take care to present a consistent personal brand throughout all of their social media accounts. Despite my numerous faults in life I can say that this is something that I do a decent job at. I take pride in making sure that I utilize all of my personal social media channels to give my audience different content through each one while still promoting my brand and blog.

But I don’t stop pushing my consistent personal brand at a social media level. Rather I like to take it to a different, much nerdier level. I won’t sit here and lie by saying that I don’t try to acquaint people with my brand through promotional items. Before today I had premium stationary and a clothing line (okay, one t-shirt) dedicated to my blog and social media channels. Those items helped me reach an audience that doesn’t check Twitter 24/7 or own an iPhone but it wasn’t nearly enough. With my cargo that came in today via UPS I stepped everything up a notch.

Self-promotion at a totally shameful level.

Just a quick backstory before I get right to my newest item: A quirk about me that others like to make fun of is that I always carry pens with me in my pocket. Since about the age of 13 if you ever needed a writing utensil and you happened to be around me you didn’t need to scramble. You just asked me. To this day I am constantly whipping out pens for friends, co-workers, and random people to use. But I pack them more for me than for the convenience of others. I am a compulsive writer. Even though I mentioned last night that I use my iPhone notepad a lot I also jot down ideas and notes the old traditional way as well. Also, as I am a huge journaler I use ballpoint pens to write long passages every single day. Do you get it?…I use pens a lot.

When in discussion with our promotional provider rep at Grizzly Athletics, Pete, I noticed he had an interesting proposition on his e-mail signature. Advertising the special of the month it presented a very intriguing deal. For just $94.95 a customer could receive 250 custom made pens. Of course a light bulb immediately went off in my head that screamed Personal Brand + Practical Use Item + Great Deal = No Brainer. I immediately told Pete that I wanted to work with him as an individual customer for once as opposed to purchasing on behalf of my work. Within a short window of probably just 12 hours I had provided Pete with my color scheme and art work and he submitted the order.

Look how nice these turned out!

Fast forward to today and I was grinning from ear to ear when I picked up a cardboard box full of my newest personal marketing item. With 262 total pens (yep, the manufacturer threw in a few extra) I knew I had to start spreading the wealth. Upon getting back to the office I distributed the blue trimmed writing utensils to my co-workers throughout the athletic department. That managed to clean me out of about 5% of my stash. With still a plethora of high quality, personal branded pens left that would take me 15 lifetimes to draw all the ink out of I know I need to find another way to get these in the hands of more people.

Read below and I will tell you how you can get one of these pens I am holding.

With that said, I would love to give my loyal readers a Don’t Blink pen. To make the request process legitimate and to protect against randos spamming this blog in island countries you must text me if you want a pen. If you don’t know my number and are not a spammer, reach out to me over social media and I will hook you up by mailing a pen off to you.

These pens work great!

Thank you to Exact Image and Pete Aklestad for doing an awesome job on my order and providing me with a great product. You won’t believe how beautiful these things write. Don’t Blink.

The Five Best Built-In Apps

Posted on March 24, 2014 by brent

With over a million apps available to download via the App Store a person can download enough material to make his or her iPhone a gold mine of information, constant entertainment, and never ending communication. While my iPhone only goes three pages deep I do admit that I rely pretty heavily on several apps. However, if I didn’t have a job that centers on social media and if someone gave me $50 to delete all of my downloaded applications I could easily make do with the built-in tools that come installed on the iPhone.

Apple doesn’t drop its customers off in the middle of the desert and make them scavenge for resources. Quite the opposite actually. Luckily for us iPhone users we are pretty much set up right from the start when we activate our devices for the first time. Apple includes many valuable built-in apps that really give us all we need. Without ever visiting the App Store an iPhone without any downloaded apps will already make the user more technically advanced than 98% of the world’s population.

As I alluded to in a tweet last week I use several built-in iPhone apps religiously to get me through everyday life. In tonight’s blog post I would like to identify my top five:

1. Camera – The fact that the camera on my iPhone is my #1 most used built-in app probably comes as no surprise. With my obsession with taking photos combined with the high quality photos attainable with an iPhone most people won’t blink an eye when I tell them I have over 2,000 pictures saved on my device. I remember back in the day when a “camera phone” that could capture grainy photos if you managed to hold it completely still was a big deal. What a long ways we have come. Nowadays everyone is a photographer thanks to the powerful cameras on iphones.

Who doesn’t like a camera that makes it so easy to take selfies?

2. Alarm Clock – Thank goodness for the alarm clock feature on all iPhones! Not only is it always dependable and not only can you choose between 30 different tones to wake you up each morning but you can also add like six different alarms at once. The iPhone makes it so you never have an excuse to oversleep again. Did I mention the snooze option is great too? Not only do I use my iPhone alarm clock every single morning but I also use it throughout the day to remind me of certain events or appointments. Although I use the built-in “Night Owl” sound for most of my alarm tones I do every now and then use a song on my phone as my wake-up call (yes, I have been known to utilize Katy Perry’s “I’m Wide Awake” for this purpose).

I wake up at 6 a.m. each morning.

3. Navigation – This tool is an absolute lifesaver (I have actually devoted a whole blog post to Navigation). If I was in a position where I was traveling all the time the Navigation feature most definitely would have earned the #1 spot on my list. I can’t begin to quantify the countless times I have driven around random cities for the first time with complete confidence because I knew my iPhone navigation would not lead me astray. Even here in Missoula I use it a lot when visiting residences or holes in the wall I have never frequented before. The fact that the tool will always lead you to Point A to Point B no questions asked makes it very valuable in my book.

In case I ever forget how to get home I can always just plug my address in and my phone will work its magic.

4. Notepad – Dang I use my notepad like crazy. If you opened my phone and opened the feature you would see about ten different notes a mile long each. I jot down passwords, addresses, combinations, measurements, reminders, and even my Christmas list. Although sometimes I will go the route of just sending a text message to myself more often than not I utilize the notepad. Earning extra points from me is the option to e-mail your notes and print them off.

The notepad feature on my iPhone always keeps me on task.

5. Calendar- Lastly, I use my calendar on my iPhone more than any other calendar. Whenever someone presents me with a date way in advance I always use my calendar on my phone to scope it out and see what day it is on. I also love going back several years as well to see when certain dates fell, a very informative and quick way to look at the past. The convenience of also adding notes to certain dates, setting reminders, and writing out schedules also adds to my love of the calendar app.

I can easily trace back to the day I was born!

While all the million other apps out there are a lot of fun I appreciate that Apple hooks us up with the essentials. I would most likely choose the built-in apps over the flashy apps available in the store any day. I am just glad it will never have to come to that. Don’t Blink.

A Big Change at St. Francis Xavier

Posted on March 23, 2014 by brent

A couple times over the course of this blog I have mentioned that I attend mass at St. Francis Xavier in downtown Missoula. It is one of the all-star parishes in the Helena Diocese as the church itself is over 100 years old and breathtakingly beautiful. It is also one of the largest in the diocese. With the tradition, location, and demographics of the parish it definitely takes a special person to be in charge.

Ever since I started attending St. Francis Xavier over five years ago the pastor has not changed. Father Richard Perry, a man distinguished by his deep voice and impactful preaching style, has served as the top priest at the church. But where even five years is a long time for a priest to stay in one spot, Fr. Perry’s tenure goes back much longer. Currently in his 13th year at St. Francis you can definitely say that Father Rich has enjoyed an unusually long but very blessed stint at Missoula’s oldest parish.

Fr. Perry has served as the pastor at St. Francis Xavier for 13 years (photo courtesy of www.sfxmissoula.com)

So you can imagine the gasps of shock that escaped us parishioners in attendance at last night’s Saturday vigil mass when pastoral associate Fr. Kunkle announced that Fr. Perry would leave his current post as pastor of St. Francis in August. The vocal expressions of surprise quickly turned to joy and applause when Fr. Kunkle then announced the new pastor… (drumroll please)….Fr. Joseph Carver. Just very recently at St. Francis as associate pastor, Fr. Carver will make a very quick full circle and return from Seattle to take over as the head guy at the end of the summer.

Fr. Carver will take over as pastor at St. Francis Xavier.

To add just a bit of mystery to the reshuffling it was revealed that Fr. Perry would go on sabbatical at the conclusion of his pastoral assignment, a very normal thing for Catholic priests. But what caught me off guard was the announcement of where he would land after his sabbatical concluded. Ready for this? Fr. Perry will return to St. Francis Xavier as the assistant pastor! Never in my 27 years as a Catholic follower have I ever seen a priest leave a pastor post, go on sabbatical, and then return to that same parish in an assistant position (keep in mind all assignments are handed down by the diocese, priests have very little to no say in the matter).

I am thinking (although speculating) that this is something that Fr. Perry wants. Leading such a large parish for so long definitely has to take its toll on someone. The lesser role that an assistant pastor plays in day-to-day operations of a parish is probably exactly what he needs after serving so admirably over the past 13 years. The fact that he will be serving this assignment at St. Francis Xavier? Although I find it a little unusual I think it speaks to his love of the parish and the devotion he has from the parishioners here.

To say that Fr. Perry went through his 13 years as pastor at St. Francis without a hitch would not be entirely accurate. Last year he was put on leave for allegations that turned out to be completely untrue. When he returned to the church by way of a standing ovation my already top notch respect for the guy blossomed even more. To have his solid career of serving God and others almost ruined by lies and to see him return stronger than ever made me realize how amazing this man is.

I will make sure to take in every homily Fr. Perry gives for the next five months before he goes on his sabbatical. I will also look forward to the return of Fr. Carver. Change is something you can count on at any Catholic church in America, although very rarely does it take 13 years to happen. Good luck to both Fr. Perry and Fr. Carver. Don’t Blink.

Don't Blink

By Brent Reser