Hope - #HelpJapan

Two weeks ago today, a devastating earthquake struck off the coast of Japan causing a massive tsunami wreaking havoc on property, displaced many and killed thousands. In the wake of tragedy there is one thing that is always certain. Americans and many others from around the world will come to the aid of those hurting and in need.  We sent teams of searchers to look for survivors. Our military brought in emergency aid and water.  Nonprofit groups mobilized to provide food, water, shelter and safe zones for children.

Over the last two weeks my church has also been active and helping to support the relief efforts.  Just after the earthquake Bayside Church took a second offering in each of its seven weekend services to raise $85,000.  When churchgoer and restauranteur Taro Arai (Mikuni) approached Bayside about hosting a fundraiser they launched the beginning of a miracle.  In ten or so days, they reached out to other restaurants, lined up entertainment, secured an amazing artist to paint on stage during the event, and got other businesses to donate auction items.  Last night, 900 attendees and 100 volunteers helped raise an additional $85,000.

I never like to say it's all about the money, it's not.  There are many other churches, groups and individuals that have raised smaller (and larger) amounts of money to help those impacted by recent events in Japan and other disasters around the world.  The important lesson here is that one group or one individual can make a huge difference.  If Bayside would have just taken a second offering, it would have been an amazing gift to the people of Japan.  However, there was more in-store and with the help of an entire community even more was raised to support two amazing charities, World Vision and Covenant World Relief.

We can all make a difference. How are you living your life to make a difference? What partnerships can you develop to help double your impact?

Below are some pictures and a video taken at last night's event (I did not attend, but followed along on Twitter). Pictures courtesy of BaysidePictures.com. Full recap from BaysideOnline.com and KFBK.com.

MrAndrewBradley on The Sacramento Bee's "Sacramento Connect"

Last week I was contacted by Sacramento Connect, a service of The Sacramento Bee, that brings together more than one hundred local blogs. I never thought that my blog would qualify because it doesn't really focus on a single topic. I'm not a food blogger, but I blog about food. I am not a travel blogger, but I blog about travel. I am not a family blogger, but I blog about family. However, for all the things I am not, I am a lot of other things. I write about my life and the events that I find interesting or thought provoking.

For those of you who are new to the blog, welcome. I hope that you find my posts to be relevant to whatever it is you are looking for. Feel free to post comments (moderated), ask questions and most of all realize that all of the thoughts and ideas on the blog are my own. I will often write about my clients and the things I get to do because of my job, but all reflections are truthful and honest. I love my job and I love my clients and often times my blog will reflect that.

Safelite AutoGlass Repair

As I mentioned in my last post, my windshield got a crack in it on my way to Napa Monday afternoon.  The crack started out small (about the size of a dollar bill), so I was hopefully that it could be repaired, but by Tuesday when I arrived back in Roseville it had grown another few inches and today it was about 16 inches long. Safelite sent a technician to my office yesterday to verify if it could be repaired and once we determined it could not be, scheduled me to have my windshield replaced today.  The new technician came to my office around noon, but since it was still raining was willing to meet me at my house about two hours later.

Once at my house (right on time), he filled out all the paperwork on his BlackBerry, printed out a work order and worked to replace the windshield on my Ford Escape.  One hour later, he was done, I was $200 poorer and my windshield looks like new (which is good, since it is).

As proof that I have a wide variety of clients and because it fits with the automotive theme of this post, I was at Specalized Parts Planet earlier this morning for a client meeting.

A Chamber Event with Friends

One of the things I really enjoy about my line of work in public relations is the variety of clients that I work with and the fact that many clients become friends over time.  Monday afternoon through Tuesday morning a co-worker and I got to hang out at The Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa to meet people at the Napa Chamber of Commerce Business Expo and at an afterglow that was hosted by The Meritage in their underground Estate Cave.

After an hour and twenty minute drive from Roseville we arrived at The Meritage where we were greeted by a front desk person (Evan) that remembered my name (I've only been there two other times) and we were checked into our pool and vineyard view rooms. Once in my room I worked for a few minutes, while also taking a few pictures of the room (and the view).  Some of the perks of staying at The Meritage ... a bottle of wine from Trinitas Cellars is included in the cost of the room, I got an Old Vine Zinfandel, soaps and lotions that have fancy names, gorgeous views and a beautiful, comfortable room.

Next we headed down to the trade show in what is the largest ball room north of San Francisco and west of Sacramento. We loved meeting many of the vendors, eating some of the food offered by the restaurants and getting in touch with the editor of Napa Patch (an online news site) and the people who are planning the Napa Valley Film Festival.  As the event was wrapping up it was off to the one and only Estate Cave.  The cave is home to Spa Terra, the Trinitas Cellars Tasting Room and the Entertainment Cave.  Every guest was treated to fantastic Trinitas wines, cheese and antipasto platters.

To top off our evening we ate a few pizzas at The Meritage Bar, while finishing off a few bottles of wine that were left over from the event, just one of the perks of being able to dine with the Director of Operations for Trinitas.

This morning we met with our main contact at The Meritage to discuss the event and some upcoming projects, including their expansion project, and then headed to Downtown Napa.  It was my first time seeing some of the ART ON F1RST exhibits, which are all really cool. On our way out of town we made one last stop at the Napa Valley Destination Council so I could drop off a DVD and then it was back to Roseville.

All in all, a great trip, except for the massive crack in my windshield.  I'm hoping that gets fixed on Wednesday. Also on Wednesday, just to prove that I have a "variety" of clients, I'll be at Specialized Parts Planet in Rancho Cordova.

Snow and Power

I spent a relaxing weekend at the Bradley Lodge with my parent's and grandma.  We played pinochle, watched TV, looked at excursions for our upcoming cruise and hung out with my two adopted nieces, Emmy and Elsie.  The good news, we had power for the entire time we were there, the not so good news ... Highway 4 was closed for a few hours on Friday night, which delayed our arrival.  Luckily, for us we have friends in Arnold that let us spend some time with them while waiting for the road to re-open.  Next piece of good news, we were told the road would re-open around midnight, but I was paying attention to Twitter and Cal Trans tweeted that the road was open around 10:30 and we continued our trek up the hill.  Over the course of our weekend we got about four feet of snow, which gave my dad and me plenty of opportunities to play with the snow blower and watch the professionals come by and work their magic on our driveway a few times.  When we headed down the mountain on Sunday, we were snowed on all the way down to Murphy's at 2100 feet.  It was beautiful to drive down Main Street and see all of the historic buildings covered in a fresh layer of snow.

St. Patrick's Day 2011

For all intents and purposes I think that for most St. Patrick's Day is the "Hallmark Holiday" for bars, but I'm okay with that. This year, my St. Patrick's Day was quite eventful.  I actually cooked up my corned beef on Sunday (after reading that you have to cook it for one hour per pound, I wasn't willing to cook it after work and have dinner around 9 or 10).

On Thursday, I woke up early, went to the gym and then headed off to meet some co-workers at Brew it Up! (potential client) in Sacramento.  We enjoyed some great Irish beers (including a green one); hung out with Mark S. Allen from Good Day Sacramento (see all clips from "Kegs & Eggs") and the people from Now 100.5; and of course ate a great breakfast.  The breakfast consisted of eggs, an Irish (English) muffin and corned beef hash. A co-worker and I also had a great desert ... an Irish Car Bomb.

After getting back to the office and working for a few hours we were treated to a fabulous lunch with all the "traditional" fixings.  Corned beef, cabbage, carrots and potatoes, potato soup and Irish break (aka French bread from Costco).  We then had what I will call the Irish version of a root beer float, it was very tasty.  After our successful pumpkin decorating contest in October we had a potato decorating contest. "Luckily" everyone was a winner - just one of the many perks of working at AugustineIdeas.

Beer Wednesday

Well it was not your typical "Ash Wednesday," but it was a lot of fun.  A few members of the AugustineIdeas team and I headed out to Brew It Up for a meeting with the owner, who will (hopefully) be a future client.  During the course of the four hour meeting we discussed outreach tactics, strategy, some really cool upcoming events and brewed two kettles of beer.  Despite the owner knowing my dad, who has brewed numerous kettles of beer, this was my first time going through the process.  I always enjoy a good meal and beverage when at Brew It Up and today I got to experience the first few steps of how the beer is made.

Step 1: Beer Selection - we choose the following: 
Northern Mild “Nutty Brown” Ale - An English style ale with a gentle sweetness, low on hops and
bitterness with a unique toasted malt & nutty flavor
Wit Dream - a refreshing and fun unfiltered Belgian White style... brewed with varietal Orange
Blossom honey, coriander and dried orange peel

Step 2: Measure the ingredients
Surprisingly this was very educational.  We got to taste the barley and weigh it.

Step 3: Grinding the barley
Although some of the barely was pre-ground we still have to grind a few of them.

Step 4: Put all the barley in giant tea bags and stir with giant wooden spoon in the kettle
We all got a pretty good workout during this step

Step 5: Eat and drink (well continue eating and drinking)
We had the famous kettle chips, a cheese/brie plate and a soon to be on the menu roasted Watsonville globe artichoke.

Step 6: Take out the giant tea bags and push all the liquid (future beer) out of the bag and back into the kettle.
Another great workout.

Step 7: Measure the hops, yeast and spices
Had to use a much smaller scale for this one and be more precise.  Good thing we have a detail oriented team.

 Step 8: Add "Brewers Gold"
Tastes like carmel.

 Step 9: Add hops, yeast and spices
You have to release everything into the kettle pretty quickly ... the water is hot and you could get burned.

Step 10: Fancy machine takes the beer out of the kettle, cools it from 160+ degrees to colder in a few seconds and puts it into a plastic drum. Then we checked the density of the beer.

 Step 11: Beer goes to the cold room for a few weeks to ferment, we continue to eat.  
The pretzels are also very good.

Step 12: We will be having our amazing graphic design team make some labels and bottle our beer in about a month.

Here's a few more pictures:

Sacramento's Gourmet Food Truck - Mini Burger

After watching the Food Network's "The Great Food Truck Race" last summer I was intrigued. The food trucks of today were not the "roach coaches" of yesterday, these offered the gourmet food one would expect at other fast casual restaurants,  but they were on wheels.  Sacramento got its own food truck a few weeks ago and today I got to experience it firsthand during their stop at the Roseville Automall.  I read the tweet, direct messaged a friend to see if she was up for trying a new "restaurant" and then it was off to find the truck.

I had the "3 Pack" with Sweet Potato Tots. All the food was truly amazing and reminded me a little bit restaurants like SmashBurger, but it had its own unique taste that set it apart.  Each burger was well cooked, the toppings made them spectacular. The bun was delicious and the Sweet Potato Tots were something I have never seen on a menu before.  I would definitely recommend heading to the Mini Burger Truck when it pulls into your neighborhood.  Head to their website to find out their schedule (although pay attention to Facebook and Twitter, because their schedule still changes day by day depending on weather and other factors).

Morning Workouts - A New Routine

Since starting work with AugustineIdeas in mid-2010 I have found it difficult to get back into my regular workout routine. With a cruise booked for mid-April I knew I needed to restart my workouts and get to the gym on a regular basis. Knowing that I often stay at work late or have events to attend in the evenings I decided it would be best to head to the gym before work. So far the choice has been great and last night my roommate said he might start joining me in the mornings. I wake up every morning, check my e-mail (which means Facebook and Twitter) and head to the gym for an hour long workout.  It helps me wake up and relax, while also giving me time to catch up on the day's news (thank you TODAY Show and Fox News/CNN). Although it's only been three weeks I know that this is becoming my new routine and it will continue even after the cruise.

A side benefit of going to the gym every morning, I became Mayor of the Roseville 24 Hour Fitness yesterday on Foursquare. I don't really care about "Mayorships" on Foursquare too much, but being a mayor of a gym (in my opinion) is one of the most difficult to get since so many people go on a regular basis.

(graphic updated on 3/25/2011)