Sara Keller | Don't Blink

After a well-deserved break last week because of Thanksgiving, the traditional Thursday rundown is back tonight. As usual the topics are random and somewhat boring so let’s get it over with.

Bar Rescue Shutdown: In past tweets I have expressed my desire to contact people that have appeared on my favorite show, “Bar Rescue.” I discussed my hope that I would be able to interview them on how scripted the program actually is and then follow it up with a blog post. Well, I have since used Facebook to creepily contact one Colorado bartender who I watched on a re-run this past Sunday. Unfortunately, my nice Facebook message and friend request wasn’t enough to get this particular person to spill the beans. She is not able to discuss the show. I might or might not contact others to see if they will give me my coveted inside information but I don’t think they will budge either. If only they were as open to discussing “Bar Rescue” as my friend Bryden was about discussing “The Bachelorrete.”

Sara Keller from “Bar Rescue” shut me down for an interview.

Holiday Messages: I fear that my new South Carolina friends might think I am really weird. On Thanksgiving I sent out my traditional holiday phone message. For those of you not in my contact list, I embarrass myself during the major holidays and send out an over the top, cheesy photo message (click here for full details). While old friends and family expect and love my holiday exploits, my friends down South might think I am totally off my rocker. I want to use this portion of my blog post to tell my valued east coast associates to not think I am insane, this is just something I do during special dates on the calendar to make the holidays a little brighter.

FCS Playoffs: The round of 16 in the FCS Playoffs is this Saturday. I will be on the sidelines as Coastal Carolina hosts Richmond at 1 p.m. in Brooks Stadium. If the Chants defend their home field, it is likely (barring an upset) that the team will travel back to Fargo the following week for a quarterfinal matchup against North Dakota State. Out west the Montana Grizzlies will head to Cheney once again to play Eastern Washington. I am hoping that the Griz avenge the loss in November and eliminate the Eagles. It would be really cool to have both the Chants and the Griz in the “Elite 8” of the FCS Playoffs.

That Weather Though: I feel obligated to gloat about the incredible weather here in Myrtle Beach. So far this month it feels like I am living in a Joe Nichols song as it has been “Sunny and 75.” I have never seen the sun nor temperatures above 40 degrees in December before so it has been a very welcome change for me. Especially after going back home over Thanksgiving and experiencing the cold again I am so impressed and thankful for the climate here in South Carolina.

I took this photo yesterday. It has been absolutely gorgeous out this month.

Tweeted at by Major Company: Last night I wrote about my experience at the checkout register at Books-A-Million. I slightly criticized the major bookstore for a solicitation onslaught. This morning the Books-A-Million Twitter account responded to my tweet I sent out last night promoting my blog post. In a couple tweets, the company’s account thanked me for writing the post and noted that they would take my critique into consideration. I found this correspondence impressive for three reasons.

1. I never tagged them in my initial tweet.
2. They replied to me in two thoughtful and personal tweets.
3. They took the time to actually read my blog post.

By Books-A-Million reaching out to me in this way, my customer service viewpoint on the company has improved greatly. Well done, BAM.