MrAndrewBradley

The rise of the internet and social networking has given everyone the opportunity to have access to more information and meet more people than perhaps we have ever had in the past.  For 95 percent of the world this is an amazing thing. I have met people that just five or ten years ago I may never have been able to meet.  I have learned things that I may never have known.  It has helped me in my career , it has helped me develop friendships, it has given me a platform that I would have never had. That said, five percent of the people on the internet decide to use their online anonymity to spread hate in a way they would have never done in the past and still would never consider saying to a person's face. Why do I say this? Because I've spent the last few years reading hateful and harmful comments on The Sacramento Bee website (and many others) about nonprofits, churches and companies who are doing great things, but for some reason people, seeking anonymity, continue ...

Normally I don't enjoy getting forwarded e-mails, but when I looked at the pictures and noticed that this was a real plane complete with hilarious captions, I had to read on and share it with everyone.  Kulula Airlines is the Southwest of South Africa from what I can tell, but in lieu of the "Shamu planes" or Horizon's "Oregon Duck's plane," they went for comedy.  Below are some quotes from the flight crew. On a flight with a very "senior" flight attendant crew, the pilot said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance   the appearance of your flight attendants." On landing, the stewardess said, "Please be sure to take all of your belongings. If you're going to leave anything, please make sure it's something we'd like to have." "Thank you for flying Kulula. We hope you enjoyed giving us the busin...

The Meritage Resort and Spa - Photo Credit | Rex Gelert Last Friday I got an e-mail from a television host asking if they could film a pilot episode for a new show at The Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa (client). Throughout the week I worked with the show's producer and staff members at The Meritage to set everything up and make sure we would all be ready to film on Friday.  Thursday evening Trish and I met with the producer of the show to be called "Behind the Vine" to take her on a tour of the majestic property. The tour gave us the opportunity to show her where they would be filming, the opportunity to meet key Meritage staff members and of course do some wine tasting. Friday morning came and we started the day off in Spa Terra , North America's only full service spa in an underground cave, it really is amazing.  After a couple hours of filming in the Spa, we headed to Siena to film the cooking segment and sample some great food.  Chef Thomas Hartwell showe...

My dad and I might have set a personal record while skiing at Bear Valley on Saturday, 25 runs in less than four hours.  Evidently we have a need for speed when going down the mountain and we both had a great time during our first visit to the slopes for the season.  After our skiing adventure we headed back to the Bradley Lodge where we spent time with my mom, grandma, Jim, Shirley, Erin, Eric, Emmy and Elsie.

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter , you know that my company, Augustine Ideas , has been in the process of moving over the last few weeks.  We started out by packing up hundreds of blue tubs at our old office and they magically reappeared at our new office this week.  I was able to go into the new office a few days this week to unpack my office, connect about 20 staff computers and dust (in the move we seemed to have brought a lot of that with us), while of course decorating my office and getting everything ready for work on Monday (we had the week off technically).  After many trips to World Market , Target , Walmart and of course IKEA , my office is decorated.  The centerpiece is a huge picture of London's Piccadilly Circus with not only a few double-decker buses , but GAP in the foreground.

It's been a busy week, but it was packed with lots of fun and of course family.  The family (minus me) started off together on the eve of Christmas Eve at my grandma's house for some home made noodles (they're amazing, I had some of the leftovers), then we all met at Bayside to experience one of their 15 Christmas Eve candlelight services .  Not only was the lighting and music (led by Lincoln Brewster ) spectacular as always, but the message and stories shared were uplifting and truly explained the "reason for the season" in a way that perhaps only Ray Johnston can do. We then headed to Fort Bradley (aka my house) for some Crab Cioppino , our traditional Christmas Eve dinner and then drove to Camp Bradley (aka my parents house) for dessert and Catch Phrase . Christmas Day was spent at my parents house, where my two nephews got lots of great gifts, including Luke and Levi's favorites, a snow train and remote control boat.  After a prime rib dinner (another ...

What happens when one company and a group of individuals are willing to make a difference? Families are helped. People are served. The hungry are fed. Children smile. My company, Augustine Ideas , decided to make a difference for our community this year. Instead of sending each of our clients and vendors an expensive holiday gift, we sent them a treasure chest with a simple letter that a child had written to Santa .  Simply put, we gave our clients gifts to children who otherwise wouldn't have been able to experience Christmas. This year we adopted 10 families with nearly 40 children and wrapped hundreds of gifts for all of them. Putting gifts under the tree is just one way we were able to help.  Augustine Ideas also took an afternoon and evening to cook two meals each for 25 families .  Luckily for us, one of our staff members also runs a catering business , so we were able to make some great, tasty meals (lasagna, caesar salad w/ homemade croutons, rice pilaf, chick...