T.G.I.T. Thursday Rundown

Posted on October 19, 2017 by brent

Buenos Noches mis amigos! It is time for my weekly Don’t Blink tradition…the Thursday Rundown. Here we go with my latest five topics…

Same Shirt, Same Pose – A couple months back in a previous Thursday Rundown, I wrote about wearing the exact same shirt on the same date. I had worn the same black polo on July 6, 2017, that I had worn on July 6, 2016. However, that fashion faux pas was put to complete shame this past Sunday. I wore a multi-colored polo that, thanks to Timehop, I had worn exactly five years prior. Yes, I have clothes in my closet that date back five years that I still wear.

Taste of the Town – On Tuesday night, Sidney and I left Sloan in the loving care of my in-laws and the two of us went out on a date night that has become a tradition for us. For the fourth consecutive year, we attended Taste of the Town, an event where you can sample appetizers, entrees, and desserts from restaurants in the area. This year’s Taste of the Town was the best one yet! We enjoyed delicious food, saw lots of people we knew, and chatted with both of our priests. Ah yes, I forgot to mention, the event is put on by St. Andrew. The major fundraiser for the grade school, I am always so proud to be part of the St. Andrew Catholic community when we go to Taste of the Town just because it is such a well-done event that practically all of Myrtle Beach attends. This year was once again no exception.

Sidney and I at the 2017 Taste of the Town.

The Dethroning of a Jeopardy Champion – Last week, I boldly declared that I would continue to incorporate Jeopardy phenom Austin Rogers into my Thursday Rundowns until he was knocked off. Apparently my declaration was his kiss of death. Just an hour after I published last week’s Rundown, Austin lost to a contestant named Scarlett. I was jumping around the living room with joy as he came up short in Final Jeopardy. Although he grew on me a little bit, I fiercly cheered against him throughout his entire run. Austin, you are incredibly smart and a great Jeopardy player but I am glad I no longer have to see you at 7:30 p.m. each night.

T.G.I.F…what? – Another testament to my advancing age is that apparently college students have no idea what T.G.I.F. is/was. Our Homecoming theme this year plays off of the epic 2-hour block of programming that I looked forward to each Friday during my childhood. However, Monica, my student intern, and her friend, Ethan, had absolutely no idea what T.G.I.F. was other than an acronym for the end of the work week. Other students have admitted to not knowing about ABC’s late 1990s/early 2000s ratings bonanza as well. If T.G.I.F. has indeed completely swept by this generation, perhaps I should just get a walker and retire.

Although Ethan and Monica modeled the TGIF-inspired CCU Homecoming t-shirts, they had no idea what T.G.I.F. was.

Growing, Growing, Growing – Sloan turned 7 months on Tuesday! How did she celebrate? Well, before we dropped her off with Sidney’s parents, she got four shots (poor girl) at the pediatrician’s office. However, she took them like a champ, and was back to grabbing things and clapping her hands in no time. The comment we received the most this week has been she is getting so big! It is true, she is now almost 17 pounds and she seems to be growing right in front of us. She turns 31 weeks tomorrow.

Here is this week’s photo collage of Sloan.

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I hope everyone has a great autumn weekend. Sloan has a photo shoot on Saturday so hopefully I will be sharing some professional photos of our little girl soon. As always, thanks for your support and readership. Don’t Blink.

Reading the Rundown for the Sloan Photos

Posted on October 12, 2017 by brent

Good evening, my friends. I hope everyone has had a great day so far. Thanks for returning to Don’t Blink. Here we go with the Thursday Rundown…

Birthday Cookie – How do you ship a cookie from one side of the country to the other and still have it taste like it just came out of the oven? Put it in a miniature pizza box of course! My mom sent me one of her homemade chocolate chip cookies this past week to mark my birthday. Sidney and I devoured it, well, I mostly devoured it, and I couldn’t have been more impressed with its quality. It tasted just like home. Thanks mom!

Thank you to my mom for sending me a delicious birthday cookie.

Brent “Trump” Reser – Out of all the birthday messages I received on Facebook (and I replied to each one), the most creative one came from Rob Wyeth, our director of creative services at Coastal. If you remember Rob from previous blog posts, he is the man behind our Festivus t-shirt exchange and our office birthday cards. Anyway, he celebrated my day of birth by “Trumping” me. I don’t really know if it is a good look for me or not. DISCLAIMER: Someone putting my face on a politician does not necessarily mean I support or endorse that person.

Rob Wyeth put this graphic together.

Deal Alert – I have written before about how good Walmart’s Great Value brand is, especially its ice cream. Heck, it beat out Ben & Jerry’s in a taste test I conducted. So when ice cream that good is on sale for a low price, I have to let my readers know about it. At our local Walmart Market this past Sunday, a tub ran just $1.84. This includes all flavors. A pint of Ben & Jerry’s runs close to $6 at some places. I had never seen the price of ice cream of this quality and quantity ever dip so low. Take advantage of it, you won’t regret it (unless you are trying to lose weight).

All those cartons of ice cream for just $1.84!!

Austin – Because I wrote an entire blog post on Jeopardy champion Austin Rogers, I feel obligated to follow up with an update on my Thursday Rundown (I will do this every Thursday until he is dethroned). The past two nights have been runaways for the champ as he continues to use the Daily Doubles to pull away. Last evening a woman from Surf Side, S.C., was a contestant and it would have been a storybook tale if she defeated Austin. Obviously, it didn’t happen. I am still punching the pillows and gritting my teeth as he sweeps categories and aces Final Jeopardy. At least I learned a cool fact last night…Austin buys all of his suits and ties at thrift shops…much respect to him!

Sloan at 30 Weeks – Sloan is well over 200 days old now! She reaches for everything and she feels that a box of baby wipes is more fun to play with than any of her toys. Her newest trick is clapping her hands. She loves to show off by doing it, bringing a big smile to her mommy and daddy. She keeps getting sweeter and prettier by the day.

Our baby girl is now 30 weeks old. Here is the latest collage with photos from this past week.

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Please remember the victims and families impacted by awful events such as the shooting, the hurricanes, and the fires. We all need to realize our own good fortune. Have a nice weekend. Don’t Blink.

My Opinion on Jeopardy Champion Austin Rogers

Posted on October 10, 2017 by brent

Now that Austin Rogers is a 10-day Jeopardy champion, I feel I can chime in with my thoughts on the way he plays the game and conducts himself. Let me start off by saying that I have watched every episode that Austin has appeared in thus far. I have joked about it before, but Sidney and I watch Jeopardy pretty religiously. In fact, with a 6-month-old and a high fatigue level at the end of the day, watching the show is usually the highlight of our night. But I get off track. All I am really trying to say is that I have become well-acquainted with Austin.

With that said, I hope he loses. You see, I fear that if he continues to win I might actually start to like him.

I am not a big fan of current Jeopardy champion Austin Rogers.

I have cheered against Austin since he was a challenger. Call me a party pooper, but I prefer old school Jeopardy players. Specifically, I root for players who don’t try to make the show all about them. I pull for the players who don’t feel the need to act goofy, crack jokes, offer commentary, and make gestures at the camera. I support the players who don’t try to stand out with what they choose to wear and how they style (or don’t style) their hair. Austin is the quintessential “look at me” Jeopardy contestant. He is the poster boy for the millennial fans of the show.

However, I will say this: Although he tries to act as eccentric as possible, he does have an underlying respect for the game. He treats Alex Trebek and his opponents with decency, a trait that was missing from the last Jeopardy champion I despised.

Besides his wild Daily Double wagering, Austin employs a Jeopardy strategy that is pretty much by the book. He doesn’t jump around the board and isn’t reckless during Final Jeopardy. He capitalizes off his opponents’ mistakes and can comeback from thousands of dollars down in a flash. Too many times I have found myself pounding the pillow after an opponent has opened up a sizeable lead only to see Austin go on a roll and turn the game into a runaway.

I would appreciate his game strategy and talent so much more if it wasn’t for his shenanigans. It is just too much. Or, should I say, for the time being it is too much?…

As I hinted at above, Austin might be growing on me a bit. Perhaps his act is starting to make me smile once or twice per episode. Maybe I am starting to look forward to his mime act during player introductions. There is a chance that lately I haven’t cringed as much during his mid-round interview with Alex.

No! This can’t be happening. Austin, please LOSE. I think tonight is the perfect time to do so. Don’t Blink.