MrAndrewBradley

After being in PR for a few years, I was accustomed to making my clients be a part of the story, but not actually being a part of the story myself. On Wednesday as I was driving with my family to Redwood City for Thanksgiving I was reading " Tweets " when I noticed that the Sacramento Bee was seeking to talk to people receiving a subsidy that helps pay for health insurance coverage for the unemployed (see graphic). Since I currently benefit from the subsidy, I figured I would e-mail the writer to see if I could help. I quickly got a phone call back and on Sunday, my story and those of others were featured in an article on the COBRA subsidy expiring for people who signed up when it was first implemented. After the story was published and remembering when I was contacted through Facebook a few months ago to be part of a story on new home ownership , I began to think about how reporters are now able to reach a much broader audience when seeking people to interview. In the p...

It might not have been at the Bradley Lodge , but it was at the Bradley home in Redwood City . We headed to my brother's house to enjoy a family Thanksgiving celebration that included eating, going to the park, working on a few projects around their house (curtains, finished the swing set, built a sandbox, …) and we headed to Santa's Tree Farm in Half Moon Bay for what might have been my first "cut your own Christmas tree" experience ... after hanging out in the rain for an hour I decided that I prefer the pre-lit version I got at Sam's Club , besides it has a perfect tree shape. (note: a friend made the "Cupcake Turkey," I thought it was pretty cool)

After a fun filled week of bowling with friends , winning Esquire IMAX tickets and watching " A Christmas Carol " in 3D (while eating the biggest bag of popcorn ever - with free refills) and so much more it was time to decorate Fort Bradley for Christmas (I won't be here to decorate the day after Thanksgiving, so I had to do it early). The outside lights are up (thanks to my roommate, Tim, who will be adding a few more lights in the coming days/week to finish it up), the tree is up and decorated and the banister has some beautiful garland. Now I just need some presents under the tree and maybe some fresh pine scent. As an FYI and early invitation I will most likely be having an open house for family and friends on Sunday, December 6th from 12:30 to 3:30, check for the official invite on a Facebook Status Update or e-mail me at mrandrewbradley@gmail.com if you are interested in attending and need my address.

Last week was a week to remember our veterans , visit with family, celebrate birthday's and of course, mountain bike and look for jobs. I started out the week by meeting my aunt from Texas and grandma at the Waterloo near Stockton for dinner, then updated my resume and requested a few more references from previous co-workers and managers, which was cool (always good to see how great other people say I am). On Wednesday I went with my new mountain biking group on a 17.5 mile ride that included about 7,000 feet of vertical climbing at Salmon Falls (near El Dorado Hills/Folsom Lake), which was grueling, but amazing at the same time. I followed that ride with a much easier ride with a friend and took Thursday to relax and clean my house. Friday I was back on the bike at Lake Natomas and then had my parent's and dad's brother over to see my house and we enjoyed my birthday dinner at Tres Agaves . On Saturday I headed down to my brother 's house for my nephew's birth...

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.

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 ...

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,...