MrAndrewBradley

A Moment to Remember

2009-11-11T07:28:00.000-08:00

Please take a moment to remember our Veterans today. They are the ones who fought, the ones who died and the ones whose lives were transformed so that we could have our freedom, our rights, our lives. They are the ones who made the lives we know possible.

Thank you to all who serve, to all who served and especially to the families who have had loved ones pay the ultimate price.

A New Resume

2009-11-09T15:41:00.001-08:00

I have now been unemployed for about eight weeks. I have gone to interviews, informational meetings and attended conferences for professional development, like Social Media Weekend. Although being unemployed can be demoralizing at times, it is also an amazing opportunity to learn, not only about social media and PR trends, but also about searching for the right job and building a better resume. Today I took the opportunity to learn more about "Guerrilla Resumes."

With California’s unemployment at over 12% and a nationwide unemployment hovering above 10% for the first time in decades, this new resume format adds logos, quotes, embedded links and more, striving to make your resume stand out from the crowd and get you the interview over someone just using a plain text resume.

Here's a video and link to how you can spice up your resume and a JPEG of my new resume (still in progress, blacked out portion is address/phone number).

As always, if you want a copy of my resume or have any job leads, please contact me ... mrandrewbradley@gmail.com.

Social Media Weekend

2009-11-07T21:34:00.001-08:00

Over the past two days I was fortunate enough to attend Sacramento's first Social Media Weekend to learn not just about Facebook and Twitter, but about blogging, selling online, building a brand, marketing and so much more. Speakers ranged from one of the best known "Mommy Bloggers" (Christine Young, founder and writer for FromDatesToDiapers.com) to Jessica Knows (a mom that just so happens to blog and is active in the PR community), to Bayside's Director of Communications and Technology, CJ Alvarado, to the brains behind the event, SacTweetUps and so much more, Sacramento Marketing Labs’ Alejandro Reyes.

What did I learn?
- I learned that a lot of us really have no clue what we're doing, but we love what we're doing and will keep learning more and always try to do it better.
- "Social Media," blogs, Twitter, Facebook and so many other applications are still new and everyone is working to figure out how to use them to benefit themselves, their brands and their companies.
- Companies are learning that they no longer have the luxury of 24+ hours to respond to a critic, but instead must do so within minutes to avoid a crisis spinning out of control. Individuals can be connected to long lost friends or be connected to new friends that live next door or half way around the world. Both must figure out what to do with their connections, friends and fans in order to continue to help each other, provide the information needed to make wise decisions about everything from a major purchase to where the best place is the eat dinner in Midtown.
- For more insights on Social Media Weekend click here to search Twitter and the event's hash tag #socialmediaweekend.

Coming from a background of news and PR it is also very interesting to me how the news is changing. Within minutes of this week's massacre at Fort Hood, news agencies and individuals were disseminating information in 140 characters or less, even putting “Twitter Lists” to their first real test. How did I find out about the unfolding events? Through Twitter on my Blackberry while walking around Downtown Sacramento. How did I find out about Balloon Boy while painting my brother's house in Mountain View, through Twitter on my Blackberry. Why was I quoted in the Sacramento Bee for buying my house in Roseville ... because the writer saw my Facebook posts. Yes, although I try to read the newspaper online and watch the news at least once a day, I do get a lot of my news through Twitter as it is happening or minutes later, I no longer have to wait hours between newscasts or until the next morning to read it in the newspaper.

Where is our world headed? Do we all have social A.D.D.? Is Facebook a fad, like the pet rock? Will we all be looking down at our phones or the screens on our laptops 24/7 in the coming years? Maybe, but if the SacTweetUps and other events I have attended by searching subjects on MeetUp.com are any indication, I think we will be using social media to connect with new friends that share common interests to meet in person, develop businesses and follow our passions. What are you thoughts? The next Social Media Weekend will be in the Spring of 2010, as dates are announced I will keep you informed. Also, Alejandro Reyes (aka Successfool) will be launching a new Web site/blog on Monday, November 16, 2009, so remember to go to http://www.getinternetfamous.com/ and support him and see what "Getting Internet Famous" is really all about.

PS ... I still need a job, blogging and mountain biking are fun, but jobs pay for the fun (and the mortgage), if you know of any opportunities in PR, marketing, event planning, using social media or similar please contact me at mrandrewbradley@gmail.com or @mrandrewbradley on Twitter.

Halloween 2009

2009-10-31T23:04:00.000-07:00

Fort Bradley had its first “trick or treaters” and was even called "the cool house" by a few young creatures, which is always a good sign. Before the kids came in costume we headed out to Dave's Pumpkin Patch in West Sacramento (which if you could swim across the Sacramento River, is directly across from my parent's house) for some Corn Maze fun and I went on a few Mountain Bike Rides with a new group I found through Facebook and Meetup around Folsom Lake and Lake Natoma.

In other news Royal Caribbean's newest ship set sail this week, the Oasis of the Seas is heading from its ship yard in Finland to Florida this week and will be on Good Morning America on November 20th, so set your DVRs (or wake up early), because this ship (floating metropolitan city is probably a better term) is truly amazing.

Also a reminder that Social Media Weekend is this coming Friday and Saturday, if you want to learn about Twitter and everything else, this is the place to be.

Where Have I Been ....

2009-10-26T00:01:00.001-07:00

Well as many throughout Roseville (and especially my roommates) know, I have not been at Fort Bradley much over the past few weeks. About two weeks ago my brother called my mom and me saying he needed some help as they were moving out of their Mountain View house and into their Redwood City house. My mom and I helped paint over beautiful wall colors with a very ugly white in every room of the house and shampooed the carpets over the next two days.

That Friday we headed back from Redwood City, picked my Dad up in Livermore, traded cars in Sacramento, went back to Lodi and headed to the Bradley Lodge for the weekend. We stopped at the world famous Murphys Hotel (Mark Twain did a lot of work there) for my Dad's birthday and then enjoyed a great weekend at the Lodge. I was then in Roseville for a few hours before heading back to Redwood City to help unpack, organize, shop and build (O, how I loathe IKEA) furniture. While shopping with everyone, including Luke, I realized that not only does buying Luke a new toy from the movie Cars make him happy, so does my BlackBerry when it plays Cars clips on YouTube, he was fascinated for a few hours until the BlackBerry ran out of battery.

So that's where I have been lately ... still looking for a job though, so if you know of any PR, Marketing, Social Media type jobs, let me know. While I'm at it I will be attending Sacramento's 1st Annual "Social Media Weekend" November 6th and 7th, so if you're free and want to learn about Social Media, it will be a great opportunity.

Happy Halloween! (pictures: Fort Bradley's Front Porch and a stack of soda boxes at Wal-Mart in West Sacramento)

Capitola

2009-10-04T21:41:00.000-07:00

While attending The Shore's fall retreat, "Rumors," in the Santa Cruz Mountains this weekend, I not only got to hang out with friends, I got to go to some of my favorite places, Santa Cruz and Capitola. The retreat was a great opportunity to listen to Glenn Packiam speak about his book Secondhand Jesus: Trading Rumors of God for a Firsthand Faith and meet people, while also getting me close to the coast. On Friday we spent some time walking around Santa Cruz, taking pictures of a very empty (and closed on weekdays) Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, while also getting a picture of the house my family used to rent every summer near Seabright Beach. Saturday afternoon a large group of us decided that we should check out the world famous "Mystery Spot" and then headed to Capitola's "Pizza My Heart" for some great pizza. After a late night camp fire and s’more making session we went back to Capitola on Sunday to spend more time walking around Capitola Village, speaking with my brother's good friend Harleen (In The Raw, owner), cleaned the brick my brother purchased years ago and ate at Zelda's on the Beach before heading back home.

Happy 38th Anniversary!

2009-10-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

In a day and age when only 20% of couples make it past their 35th anniversary (not sure how accurate that is, but I'm going to go with it), my parents have been married for 38 years today! They were married on this date in 1971, since then they have been through a lot (see last year's post) of good times and I'm sure many bad times, but they are still together and are amazing parents to my brother and me and great grandparents to my nephew, Luke.

There is not much to say, other than thank you for everything mom and dad. Thank you for staying together and thank you for being so supportive. Thank you for helping with my new house, thank you for raising me the way you did. Thank you.

A Week of Ups and Downs

2009-09-27T16:47:00.000-07:00

As many of you know my week started out with expected news, but none-the-less sad news. I and two other employees were the latest laid off from Perry Communications Group. Once I got the official notice, I mobilized my network of contacts and began to do outreach asking everyone to keep their eyes open for jobs that I would be a good fit for through personal e-mails, Twitter and Facebook. On Tuesday I got a phone call to schedule a third round interview (round 1 was an interview, round two was writing an op-ed) for Monday (tomorrow), went to a small career fair at William Jessup, got my Blackberry working and contacts synced with my Google contacts, and calendar and continued my job search. Wednesday I was fortunate to attend an informational event on stem cells and current research at UC Davis Medical Center as part of Stem Cell Awareness Day sponsored by the Northern California chapter of the Huntington’s Disease Society of America. Not only did I get some great food and learn lots, I got to see what will be a very impressive, state of the art research center. Thursday, as I continued my search there was an opportunity to go to the Casting Crowns concert, sponsored by World Vision. It was a great concert and a good opportunity to escape from my job search world for a few hours at least. Friday, I attended the Jesuit High School Alumni Summit to reconnect with alumni and learn about some of the outreach efforts the Alumni Association will be taking in the next few weeks and months to make Jesuit an even better institution. That afternoon I went to an informational meeting on “how to get a state job,” which was very informative.

Over the weekend my mom, dad and I all went down to my grandma’s house in Lodi for a busy weekend. My mom and grandma put on another very successful garage sale, while my dad and I installed a new kitchen floor. Once the garage sale and kitchen floor were done, my dad and I demolished an old shed at my grandma’s neighbor’s house and took a large load of debris and garbage to the Lodi dump/transfer station.

Camp Bradley

2009-09-07T18:49:00.000-07:00

It was an amazing Labor Day Weekend at Camp Bradley. With over 20 people coming to camp, we had plenty of time to catch up on one another lives, watch slides from yester-year (and a few from a little closer to current times), take "nature hikes" along the Sacramento River, go swimming in Lake Bradley, play in the new sand pile at Bradley Beach with Tonka trucks, look at the giant "ice chest" (a fridge), post a lot of "Twitpics" and eat lots of amazing BBQ. We even took a field trip to the Old Sugar Mill and Bogle Vineyards for some wine tasting in Clarksburg before sitting around the camp fire to have s'mores and port.

Sorry for all of the pictures, but it was a busy weekend :-).

An Invitation to Lake Bradley

2009-09-04T23:42:00.000-07:00

As Camp Bradley/Lake Bradley continues to get prepared for a Labor Day staycation "tradition" (last one occurred in 1997), I wanted to share with the rest of you the "evite" and remind you to follow me on Twitter for constant updates and pictures.

No Stress Camping Weekend

Gather around the Weber to roast your marshmallows, swim in Lake Bradley, sleep under the stars and street lights, and view the ranger show with vintage slides of yesteryear. We will be continuing the backyard tradition of camping without the fuss and expense of campgrounds. Three bathrooms with showers and flush toilets!

We even have extra tents and air beds. Special feature: indoor real beds for the pregnant and/or over 80 years old.

So pack up your guitar, sleeping bag and your sense of semi-adventure and head to Sacramento for one or two nights...holding the best campsites for your reservation!

21 reservations so far … including one requesting a lake front site for two.

Other amenities include: limited cell phone coverage, free secured wi-fi access, wildlife sightings (a "lazy" domesticated cat), HD satellite television, indoor cooking facilities, a dishwasher, running water and so much more.

Slide Show

2009-08-30T17:50:00.001-07:00

In preparation for a "Staycation" at Lake Bradley (aka my parent's house) next weekend with family, we headed to the Bradley Lodge this weekend to preview thousands of slides from the 60s. 70s and early 80s all to make a shorter slide show to watch as we sit by the "lake" next weekend and remember the "good ol' days." While at the Lodge my dad also installed a new light fixture in one of the bathrooms and we had lunch at Bristol's in Arnold, where I had to have a sandwich called "The Bradley." We asked the waiter about the name, his response … the crab sandwich was named for a person that frequented the restaurant named Brad who was always "crabby." Back at the Lodge, there is also a new crib (an upgrade from the previous porta-crib) for what will be a new "niec-phew" (aka Luke's "bro-sis") in the coming months.

Did You Know?

2009-08-22T11:36:00.000-07:00

Every so often I get sent links to videos on YouTube that are pretty interesting. So watch, think and then realize that there is so much that we will never know.

You might also want to consider reading 50 Facts that Should Change the World.

Another good video ... Is social media a fad? Or is it the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution?

"With Malice Toward None"

2009-08-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

I had a great weekend. First on Friday I saw the crew taping an episode of "The Mentalist" near my office and went to a meeting at the Mexican Consulate. Then on Saturday I went with a few friends on what was supposed to be a relaxing bike ride to Folsom Lake ... it was relaxing, but on the five bikes that went, we had four flat tires … my bike had two of them :-)... the important part was that we all had a great time. After our bike ride we headed to Bayside for the Saturday night service before walking around The Fountains and having dinner at The Counter.

Sunday I went with my parent's to see the "With Malice Toward None" exhibit on Abraham Lincoln at the California Museum which although not for kids (like the rest of the museum is), was very interesting and had lots of original letters, drawings and photographs of Lincoln. Some of the highlights for me included an original draft of the Gettysburg Address, drafts of the Emancipation Proclamation and even the autopsy report written after he was assassinated (it had his blood stains on it). If you want to go to the exhibit which ends on August 23rd, I recommend getting there first thing in the morning (9 am), by the time we left around 11 the line stretched out the door and we heard that some of the people who came on Saturday were turned away and came back on Sunday.

After my history lesson, we had lunch, overlooking historical Old Sacramento at a Mexican restaurant, which was pretty good. Then I headed back to Bayside for a leadership meeting (I will be starting a small group on Secondhand Jesus soon) and I stopped by The Hub to buy some stuff to make sure I never get a flat tire again (hopefully).

exhibit picture of "With Malice Toward None" is from the Contra Costa Times.

Road Trip

2009-08-08T12:45:00.001-07:00

My 11-day road trip ended this morning and on final count, I stopped in at least 24 cities across two states and drove 2,000 miles (about the same as driving from Sacramento, CA to Chicago, IL) in my Hertz Prius. In addition to the 19 cities I knew I was visiting or had already visited (see last post), I ended up making stops in Clearlake's Lucerne (Fosters Freeze, yummy), Arcata for some gas, Grants Pass and Ashland in Oregon (who knew it would be quicker to drive 100+ miles out of my way into Oregon to get back to Roseville), walked across the Sundial Bridge in Redding and finally slept in Corning (although only 130 or so miles from home, I was way too tired to keep driving).

It was a great trip through some beautiful parts of California and although I didn't make a lot of stops, I saw the entrances for lots of state parks, the Trees of Mystery, saw some of the most beautiful redwood forests while driving along Highway 101, the "Redwood Highway," and Highway 199 and drove by Mt. Shasta, all before coming home to Roseville.

19 cities, 11 days

2009-08-05T10:45:00.000-07:00

Although not quite the same as visiting 11 countries in 17 days like I did while in Europe a few years ago, I am currently in the middle of visiting 19 California cities in 11 days. I started out by driving to Bakersfield last week with a brief stop in Turlock, since then I have been to Hanford, Tulare, Visalia, Fresno, Modesto, San Jose, Arnold, Dorrington, Camp Connell, Murphy's, Roseville and Sacramento; soon I will head out for the last leg of the trip: Ukiah, Willits, Laytonville, Eureka and Crescent City.

It has been a whirl wind of long, but fun (and hot), days with the "Help is Here Express" team and with family at the Bradley Lodge, where I went to Mercer Cavern's with my cousin and aunt, wine tasting around Murphy's and I finally made it to the Big Tree's Village pool/recreation center (it only took 23 months of my parents owning the Lodge for me to get there).

While in Roseville/Sacramento for the last 36 hours "Fort Bradley" also played host to its first (non-family) dinner party :-).

Old Sac RR & Family Progressive Dinner

2009-07-26T20:38:00.000-07:00

It was a fun weekend of family time in Sacramento and Roseville. First my family (brother's family - aka parent's of my nephew, our parents and our grandma) met at my parent’s house for a beautiful dinner in their backyard under the pergola. Then on Saturday I met everyone in Old Sacramento, where I was a “home town tourist” and we climbed aboard the Sacramento Southern Railroad for a ride down the Sacramento River, with views of the State Capitol, Tower Bridge, the river, the Delta King, Miller Park and of course, I-5. As a parent on the train told their child, we were riding on “Thomas the Tank Engine’s” cousin, I might say it is more distant than that, but it seemed to work for almost every kid, including my nephew, Luke, who loves the Thomas DVDs and playing with his Thomas’ train set.

After a ride down the river and some time walking around Old Sacramento we all headed to my house in Roseville for lunch and to hang out before starting the family progressive dinner at my cousin’s house a few miles away from my house. She and her husband prepared a great taco bar and got the party started for our 14 person gathering. After dinner we headed to my house for brownies and ice cream. We were able to use almost every main room in my house too, I served everything from the kitchen island, people ate in the kitchen and family room, then we moved out onto the front porch for a little while before heading to the backyard and sitting under the recently constructed pergola, which now has decorative fabric (to increase the amount of shade it provides) and lighting.

Sunday my brother’s family and I went to Bayside for some amazing worship and a great message on Esther, while Luke enjoyed a ride on one of the Bayside Shuttle Busses, playing with toy cars and going on the slide at the Boardwalk (Bayside’s “Nursery”). For lunch we went to Islands and then looked at some properties in Granite Bay, just incase they decide to move from the Bay Area at some point in future. After a busy day, we made one more stop at my parent’s house so Luke could jump in the pool before heading back to his house in the Bay Area.

Next week, I’m off to Bakersfield, Hanford, Visalia, Fresno, Modesto, San Jose and the Bradley Lodge. Then Monday I’m back in Sacramento for a few days before heading out to Ukiah, Willits, Laytonville, Eureka and Crescent City. It will be a lot of driving for my Hertz rental car, but should be fun and I get to stay at my favorite hotel chain, Best Western (free wi-fi and Southwest Rapid Rewards credits, it’s a good deal).

A Busy Weekend

2009-07-19T21:08:00.000-07:00

Well, after being "featured" in the Sacramento Bee on Friday for purchasing "Fort Bradley" it was time to "finish" the backyard. My parent's and I spent Saturday and Sunday putting up the pergola that has been mentioned so many times on my blog as one of the last projects to be done and now it is done!! After the pergola went up (and we took pictures) we added drawer pulls and knobs to the kitchen and laundry room cabinets and drawers, so now I can say, not only is the inside done, but so is the backyard (done meaning, there is still more to do, but no more "major" projects are left).

As if putting up a pergola and finishing things up around my house were not enough to make it a great weekend, my parent's and I also went to a family friend's wedding. It is kind of a cool story, the mom of the girl who got married was my mom's college neighbor and was in my parent's wedding, so now, my family has been to two of her three daughter's weddings and both families are still good friends. The wedding was very nice and was my first "bilingual wedding" (Carly was in the Peace Corp in Nicaragua, where she met Rigo. They both currently live in Boston, where Carly will be starting her second year of med school).

My house now awaits its first official family gathering, a progressive dinner, next weekend. Dinner at my cousin's house and dessert at mine ... Luke your toys and gift await your arrival.

In the Bee!

2009-07-17T21:05:00.000-07:00

Well, if you follow me on Twitter or are my friend on Facebook you remember all of the "painting party" and "working on my new house" updates over the last month and a half, well it just so happens that a reporter from the Sacramento Bee, Jim Wasserman, was also paying attention. He called me on Wednesday to see if he could use me and my new home purchase in a story that came out today, showing how the Roseville, in particular WestPark/West Roseville, housing market is doing better than the rest of the Sacramento region when it comes to home sales. Although I have always heard of "social media" (in fact it is a part of my job) and how it could help in situations like this one (a reporter needing a lead for a story), but I never thought I would actually be that lead, it was really cool and Jim was great to work with.

Relaxing at the Lodge

2009-07-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

My family and I actually did some relaxing this weekend, there was no moving, no yard work and no painting, it was just a time to relax at the Bradley Lodge. It was a great opportunity to hang out with my parent's neighbors, Steve and Sandy, and my grandma, while going to Bear Valley Village, eating lunch at the Lake Alpine Lodge and of course go shopping around Arnold and Murphy's. While shopping at the Outhouse Collection and ACE Hardware in Arnold, Steve even decided that he wanted to look like his cooking idol, Guy Fieri (take a look at the pictures and I personally like the kid's train bench for my nephew, but I didn't get that, he will get another gift soon). We also got a little bit of rain (well okay a sprinkle) that made for a beautiful rainbow.

Backyard "Finished"

2009-07-05T21:38:00.000-07:00

Well with the help of my parents and a three day weekend, the backyard at "Fort Bradley" is nearly finished, all we are waiting on is the concrete for cure enough for us to put up the pergola, which should happen in about two weeks (we are headed to the Bradley Lodge next weekend). Since my last post, we have worked non-stop to plant about 50 plants (not an easy task when digging in Roseville's rock/dirt), installed a drip irrigation system, put bark, rock and decomposed granite all around, laid stepping stones, built garden beds (and planted a basil and a tomato plant). Below are pictures, the last few are a "time lapse" from beginning to now.

Backyard Day 1

2009-07-03T19:08:00.000-07:00

After one very long, hot day, my backyard is slowing looking more and more like my design plans. We started off the morning at The Home Depot, then went to Hastie's Capitol Sand and Gravel to get a few yards of rock and bark, then worked throughout the day to install a retaining wall, get the sprinklers controls ready for a drip system, spread out the bark and rock and my design consultants, Steve and Sandy, stopped by for a consultation too. It is looking pretty good, tomorrow we hope to start planting things and getting it looking even better.

Backyard Beginnings

2009-06-30T20:03:00.000-07:00

Well, it's far from done, but my backyard has gone from dirt to dirt with concrete (thanks to Integrity Landscaping). The pergola arrives tomorrow (Wednesday) via UPS and I am hoping to start building the retaining wall, put in rock, decomposed granite, plants, bark and a drip system this weekend. In a week or so I will then put the pergola together and then backyard will (hopefully) be done.

Backyard Design

2009-06-15T20:57:00.000-07:00

Well, with the inside "done" and waiting for roommates to move in at the end of June and early July, I have finalized the plans for the backyard. Now, I just have to hope they get approved so that I can get to work and replace the current dirt and weeds with a backyard fit to entertain and relax. Once approved the yard will have a great variety of plants, trees and shrubs, a few different ground covers, a stamped concrete patio and a pergola from my favorite store (Costco).
Current backyard (not much):
"Blue print" that my parents neighbor helped me with:

Inside Finished?

2009-06-07T16:52:00.000-07:00

I know that I'm saying this a little too soon, but I think the inside of Fort Bradley is now (pretty much) complete. Yes things will still get moved around and new stuff will have to be added (including roommates), but everything has taken shape and now each room looks like it should, a "sophisticated bachelor pad." Thank you to everyone who has made this possible from friends to family to neighbors, it has been great so far and I look forward to everyone enjoying many gatherings here in the coming months and years. The backyard will be the next project, hopefully starting that in the next month or so.

Pictures taken today are below.

More House Pictures

2009-05-27T21:27:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law came up to see my house this week and brought a good camera. Here are a few of the pictures she took. Hopefully all of the painting and most of the decorating will get done this weekend. Internet and cable get installed on Tuesday!