Andy Borgmann's Blog

Yes, I know I know, I am doing another "Why I Am Single" post. You are probably getting sick of it. But instead of blaming women, or my dad (which actually were both blaming me, just using the others as examples as to what is wrong with me), this one I am blaming myself directly.

I was recently reading on Newsvine the 10 Reasons Why Smart Guys Are Not Successful With Women. And before Sarah or someone else pipes in and calls me a conceited bastard for thinking I am smart, I was in the top 90th percentile on my SATs, so at least I am a documented conceited bastard. But I digress.

Nine of the ten reasons I thought were crap, but one hit a little too close to home.

Reason #4: They Psych Themselves Out

Smart guys do something that fascinates the hell out of me They come up with all the reasons why everything wont work when it comes to women and dating. They actually figure out why what it is that they would like to do will probably fail

BINGO! I totally sympathize with this. Now I commented on this on Newsvine and someone suggested that I ask 30 girls on dates in 30 days. But I thought, this isn't good advice at all. I don't have a confidence issue (remember, I am a conceited bastard), and I have no problem conversing with "new girls." I don't even really have a problem asking girls out (and being rejected). But even if that were the problem, how does going on 30 dates help that problem. It just postpones the inevitable. Sooner or later I'll figure out why this relationship just can't work and then leave it.

I think one of the reasons I am single relates to why I have a hard time with religion sometimes: I suck at faith and lack of control. There is a certain degree of faith involved in starting a dating relationship. You have to be able to say, hey, I don't have all the answers but I am going to have faith that it will work out.

Jesus said that the best faith is a childlike (not childish) faith, and I think that is true with love. The best example of childlike love is found in 1Corinthians 13:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

In the end I think I need to step out in faith and learn to love unconditionally like 1Corinthians 13 says, or I just might be single the rest of my life.

I am sorry I haven't been posting very much, it has been some crazy days here in Georgia. I won't go into all the boring details, but last night I directed a Michael W. Smith concert and it was awesome.

Now I know what you are thinking: Michael W. Smith, that guy is so lame. And to some degree I would agree with you. He is a little dated (heck, his songs remind me of Freshman year of high school). And frankly, as far as concerts go, it was pretty "lackluster." But from a video director perspective, it was one of the best events I have ever done - and that made it rockin' for me.

Now I have been quoted as saying that one thing I love about worship is that it goes beyond music. And frankly, there are few times I feel closer to God than when I am working (probably only behind playing with Jadyn and traveling). But what I usually mean by that, is that there are moments where I look at something and I realize something fits just so unbelievably perfect, and it was so accidental, but still so perfect, that it had to be the hand of God. It are these moments where I truly feel a part of a father/son relationship with God. Just as a father and son might build something together, there are many times where I feel I am "building" something together with God.

Last night was by far an event that had the most amount of these moments. Athletes refer to these moments as being in the "Zone". I never describe it like that. I describe it more as a partnership. These times are just some "zone" I happen to have stepped into by accident or luck, it is a partnership with the Creator of the Universe, working together, and having a blast doing it.

I needed this too. April/May has been an awful month for me. As my friend Kyle puts it, it was coming at all sides: family, work, personal. It isn't that things are awful, it's just one of those times where you need some good alone time with your Heavenly Father, and working more hours sure as heck doesn't give you that. But this event did, and for that I am grateful.

I have had other "major" events in my short career (Mel Gibson & Lee Strobel Passion of the Christ, etc... ), but this by far was the best. It was a close to perfect as possible, I just wish it was with someone who could have really "rocked the house" (like the Jeremy Camp concert I get to direct in October).

Last week marked the launch of (to my understanding) the first "anti-Allen Hunt Show Website" (aka AllenHuntShowSucks.com). Some might be worried. Some might be offended (can you imagine creating a "Your-Pastors-Name-Sucks.com"). But not me, I love it!

The guy who put this site together is named Erik, and he lives in Athens (for those of you outside of Georgia, Athens is like Bloomington, IN or well I don't have a good California reference for it). He first contacted us with the email address allenhuntsucks@"a-certain-domain-that-I-won't-mention".com - Since then, I have probably shared about 30 or so e-mails with the guy, and I even gave his name to a reporter who asked me if we have had any critics. He is quoted alongside myself and Allen in an upcoming article to (hopefully) be published in Talkers Magazine. He is to some sorts a nemesis. But he's not a nemesis like that bratty girl in high school was because she stole your boyfriend. No, this nemesis is more like Dr Xavier and Magneto in X-Men (yeah I know I am a nerd). It's a nemesis I at least respect. A nemesis I enjoy conversation with. A nemesis that I think in the end could have big impact on both of our lives. So again, I love this stuff.

Why? A few reasons. First, as always, I like to assume faith doesn't exist (which it does). But even with out a faith perspective this is great because it is great press. Someone once said there is no such thing as bad press. And the more I work in the media, the more I think that is true.

Second, I love the fact that Erik hates our show, yet he listens all the time. I know he listens because he e-mails me all the time to tell me what we are doing wrong. There is something amusing to me about a guy who hates us, yet is either a.) entertained enough to listen, b.) intellectually stimulated enough to listen, c.) both, or d.) bored enough to make it his life goal to dispute us.

Third, and this is where faith comes back in, I think it is sad that Christians usually disengage from those they disagree with (when was the last time you saw Pat Robertson engage in a meaningful conversation with Planned Parenthood, or Jerry Falwell engage in a conversation with Nancy Pelosi). How truly sad. What message does that send. It basically says that as Christians, we claim to believe in "the Truth," but we are so insecure about it we won't engage with anyone who might point out "it is a lie."

My fourth reason is that people like Erik are exactly the type of people we want listening. We are not James Dobson. We do not have a radio show simply so we can pow-wow together as Christians and talk about how great we are and how politically powerful we must be in order to keep marriage intact and baby's popping out. Life change does not come from arguing. It comes from respect. It comes from honor. It comes from discussion. And it comes from the Holy Spirit. None of which are a simple, 10-minute, do you want to accept Jesus as your personal Savior type of interaction. Patience is key. And even if Erik "never comes around," the discussion will be a lot of fun, and there is no way that sucks at all.

Most of you know that I recently bought a new car. While the first post on this focused on my sadness of leaving the old car, this post is hopefully going to be more helpful for those of you out there, like me, who have never bought your own car. I am calling this, lessons learned. This post is long, but I hope it helps.

If you are like me, the idea of haggling for the cost of something is not your cup of tea. When I lived in Jerusalem, you were always suppose to haggle for prices when you went to the market. I just paid full price. You would think someone who likes to argue as much as I do would love this, but I don't. Needless to say, I was not looking forward to this process.

The first two things I suggest anybody do when they are buying a new car are pretty simple 1.) do tons of research (more later on this point), and 2.) I don't care if you like the car and the price, no matter what leave the dealer the first time you talk to them. Do not take the car for the evening if they offer (which mine did). Make sure you make it clear that you will be buying a car soon (within the week) but leave the dealership. You want to send the message to them that you have absolutely no reason to come back. Trust me, this one step right here could save you $1,000s of dollars.

Now back to step one: do your research. Most people say this, but they confuse which research you should do. Most people say you should consult Consumer Reports to figure out which car you want. I don't care much about that. Most people know which car they want before they even start looking. The research I am talking about is price. And this is what I mean.

Two prices are usually thrown at you: MSRP and Invoice. MSRP is a joke. Unless your car is so unbelievably hot right now (like the PT Cruiser was when first released, or the current CRV is), you will never pay this price. Invoice is more tricky however. Car dealers will lead you to believe this is what the car costs them, it isn't true.

The best website I found regarding this was Fightingchance.com. They give you tons of free information and tips, and if you are willing to pay $35, they will send you the actual invoice cost of your car (exactly what the dealer pays). This is a huge help. Also, go to CarBuyingTips.com and download the Buyer's Offer Spreadsheet. This document is phenomenal and will walk you through what you need to do to submit and offer (they also have some examples).

Also, don't take Kelly Blue Book or Edmunds advice: it isn't worth anything and is frankly a better friend to the auto dealers than it is to the consumer. When concering your trade in value, do what the insurance companies know to do which is to consult NADA. This will give you a much more accurate representation of what your Used Car is worth - especially if it is in good condition (which mine wasn't).

Now when all done, you can do one of two things: 1.) FaxAttack offer a bunch of dealers (explained at Fightingchance.com) or 2.) if you are lazy like me, submit an offer to one dealership. You will get the better deal if you do FaxAttack, but frankly, I wanted a new car now and I thought I had a pretty good deal lined up. Click this link to view my PDF offer sheet.

Now I think I did pretty well my first time doing this, but I did get suckered in one area and it wasn't until I got home that I realized it. So I am going to explain this trick so you don't get suckered like I did. We agreed on the price of the car ($17,100) and we agreed on the trade-in value ($3,000). Taxes and fees are mandatory, which came to about $2,200. This amounted to about $16,200 waking out the door. Pretty good considering their first offer was $21,500 walking out the door - I talked them down $5,300! But then they got me. We switched the conversation over from price to car payment - and this is where I was stupid. I just assumed their numbers were correct. He told me the car payment would be $499 a month for 36 months and I believed him. What I didn't notice is that he slipped an extra $1000 bucks in there. The car, which I thought was $17,100, in the end was $18,100. Man I felt like an idiot. But lesson learned, never, never, never let your guard down. My mistake was assuming the negotiations were done and I could put my guard down. No siree.

When I e-mailed the sales person about this discrepancy (and supplied him the numbers in question), he told me he'd look into it, and then got back to me and told me the bottom line is my car payment is $499. I am assuming he wasn't disputing the fact he slipped and extra $1000 bucks in there. But he as right, the bottom line is my car payment is $499 and the other bottom line is that I am quite angry at this particular car dealership and salesmen.

One last thing. Your sales person will try and convince you to give him all "5s" on the phone survey that will certainly be coming your way. I am not saying don't do this, but it is important to be 100% honest. I gave some 5s on my survey (even though I am not a big fan of the dealership after this), but I also gave some 2s and some 3s as well. Be honest. It is more than just a survey. They use this to determine dealer compensation levels and other things. If you are unhappy, send the message that you like the car, but you hate the dealership - that's what I did.

All in all, I still feel ok. I walked out the door paying $4,300 less than they wanted me to originally, I learned a lesson, I got a new car, and I am happy. I won't go back to Honda Carland in Roswell, GA ever again (for service or sales), but I will always return to Honda.

I have been producing a radio show for two years now. It has been a lot of fun and it has been an eye-opening experience. But up until the past two weeks, I never felt as if I were part of the "media" per se - or maybe better put, the traditional media. I consider myself more of a Newsvine media type - you know, a citizen journalist. That has changed because of three events the past two weeks.

I had another photo I took published a couple of weeks ago in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution. Sure it was nothing spectacular, but this bring my total of photos published in various newspapers and magazines to four this year (all unfortunately with out accurate attribution, but that's beside the point, I am not trying to be a photojournalist, I don't care).

The second event came this week when Delta exited bankruptcy. I was reading a Press Release because I am an aviation nerd and I get interested in anything that has to do with aviation. But the strangest thing happened. For the first time ever (and I have read a lot of aviation press releases), at the bottom it said only employees and the press are invited to this event and I thought to myself, well I am the press, I wonder if I can go to that. It was too late of notice, but I think for the next Delta event, I will see if I can do that.

The third event is how I know my "Press Membership" has really kicked in. I used to get about one e-mail a week from a publicist of an author trying to get me to get Allen to plug a book on the air. I would then also get about one book a month in the mail sent to me to review. Just this week, I have had six books sent to me directly from the publishers. And not crappy stuff either (which the old stuff was pretty crappy).

I am currently reading a book called My Single Mom Life by Angela Thomas (it came with a new book by John MacArthur on truth that I am also quite excited to read). Yeah it feels a little weird reading a book written by a single mom, for a single mom, but it is actually quite interesting. And for the first time I think I have actually found a book that I will recommend to Allen to get for an interview when we talk about mothers.

I am not really sure what my point is to this blog, but it is nice to feel apart of the media and it really shows you that God knows what He is doing. Even as an "award winning high school journalist", I never thought I would actually be in the media. It goes to show God knows what He is doing if you just trust him (to think, I was going to be a doctor).