HomeAviationTravelPhotosMinistryResourcesBlogFunFilesXtraFilesResumeEmailTemp
Andy Borgmann's Blog
Where The Producer Gets the Mic
Category: Children
Pages: 1 2
Two Things I Can't Believe Are Here
Jadyn Turns 4 Today

This week marked two things I can't believe are here already.

It seems like only yesterday tiny Jadyn was asleep on my chest 9 days after being born (lower left hand photo above). We spent her 1st birthday at the Lake (photo 2). Her 2nd birthday was more low key and spent it at the house (photo 3). I didn't make it for her 3rd birthday due to Asher's premature delivery in Hilton Head (picture 4) and the craziness that ensued in June and July. And I didn't make it today because of our M-F launch.

I was however very humored to see the following Facebook Status update from Andrea this morning.

ANDREA: it's your birthday sweetie!
JADE: it is?
ANDREA: yes, you are four now
JADE: I don't want to be four, I want to be three

Typical woman always lying about her age and wishing she were younger :)

As much as I love Jadyn and as important as she is in my life, her turning 4 wasn't the biggest thing that happened this week.

At 9:00:00 PM on Monday we launched our Monday-Friday presence into the talk radio universe. If I can't believe Jadyn is turning 4 because time has flown by, the M-F radio presence is the exact opposite. I can't believe this is finally here because sometimes it felt like it was never going to happen.

But ohh has it happened. The week has been incredibly busy and I am still trying to find my routine (and get the new website done). For the most part there have been few errors - actually surprisingly few to be honest. And I think once things settle down, this is going to be a lot of fun.

Opening night was a blast. We opened for sure with Charlottsville, VA, Saginaw, MI, and Warner Robbins, GA. The remaining of our 30 launch affiliates will come online within the next week or so.

Afterwards we (myself, Allen, Anita, and Phil) went out (at 12:15 am) and celebrated at Taco Mac. Got some drinks. Had some queso dip. And even though there were times I never thought that day would come, it finally did, and it was great!

Check out the photos from the first night and leave some comments if you'd like. Be sure to invite Allen and I to be your friends on Facebook as well. We'll be using that a lot more in the coming months.


Our First M-F Night Launch


Losing Intimacy For The Sake of Persuasion
First Language - Eugene Peterson and Dick Pritchard

Tonight I met up with a professor of mine from college who was in town for a conference. Dick wasn't just a professor to me though, he was a mentor, and most importantly: a friend.

At one particular point in my life, when I was at a cross road on who I was to become, I looked around at all the people I respected and came to the conclusion that 20 years down the road my life would be the most fruitful and fulfilled if it looked like Dick Pritchard's. Needless to say I have an extreme respect for the man.

So amidst Shrimp Purloo, Peacan Pie, and a waiter that probably wished we hadn't taken a seat in a small, Midtown restaurant for 2.5 hours: tonight we discussed everything under the sun.

As the meal was wrapping up - but still an hour before we would leave - we began to discuss communication and relationships.

When I was in Dick's class, he assigned a book called "The Contemplative Pastor" by Eugene Peterson.

I didn't read it.

Dick knew I didn't read it (as with pretty much most of my assigned reading).

But I very much remember it's content and the discussion that came from it.

In the book, Peterson makes the point that we learn three languages in order:
intimacy, naming, and persuasion.

From our first moments in life we learn words of love - which in reality have little to do with actual words. We then proceed on to "naming" - it is here we get an understanding of possession. With possession understood, we finally complete our verbal development with "persuasion" - or the language needed to persuade in order to attain that which we want to posses.

It should be noted that this isn't just in romantic relationships. It translates to all relationships: parents, friends, co-workers, mentors, mentees, customer service agents, the homeless man on the street. Everyone.

The irony I pointed out is that I have essentially fallen into a profession that is hyper-focused on persuasion, opinions, belief systems, and world-views. And I think it is precisely because of this that for a while now I have felt a heightened struggle with most of human language in contemporary society being focused on persuasion. Something that if I would have read Peterson's book, I would have probably dealt with 4 years ago.

Unfortunately though, the causality of this sad state of affairs is intimacy.

I blogged about this before, but it bears repeating. I think one of the most powerful movie trailers I have ever seen was for the movie Crash. The line that hit me was, "...nobody touches you...I think we miss that touch so much that we crash into each other just so we can feel something."

When we remain stuck with persuasion in our relatinoships, intimacy gets thrown aside. But our desire to fulfill our lives with persuasion and attaining that which we have named, unfortunately only leaves us emptier for it.

Intimacy Regained - Eugene Peterson & Dick Pritchard First Languages

The Season Tickets Have Arrived
2009 Braves Season Tickets - Baseball Card Theme

My 2009 Atlanta Braves season tickets came on Friday!!! And to say I was excited would be a huge understatement. And the best part about it, they are baseball card themed! Every ticket looks like a baseball card from a past or current baseball player. They...are...AWE-some!

This is my first year with a full season ticket package. But getting my first season ticket package got me thinking about the first baseball ticket I ever held.

I was in 2nd grade. My dad took me up to Chicago for the day. I remember the excitement of just the two of us, riding in his little 3-series BMW for 3 hours or so.

StubHub wasn't around at the time so purchasing tickets to a sold out game meant finding a scalper. "Teddy the Ticket" was infamous around Wrigleyville, so we found the bar he hung out in before games and dad bought two tickets. This was also my first time in a bar (it was legal).

I don't remember where we sat, I don't remember who we played, and I don't remember if we won. I guess through the years all those details have proved to be relatively pointless. I remember feeling loved though. And I remember how special and important it made me feel to go to Wrigley for the day with dad.

After the game, dad bought me a my first Cubs hat. It was bright pink - and even though I know I am going to get laughed at hardcore for this, I freely admit I liked the color pink as a boy.

But to leave out this detail of the day would leave out the beauty of the day, and the beauty of who Dad was and is. He always gave me the freedom and independence to make my own decision. I am sure internally he rolled his eyes when his oldest boy picked a pink Cubs hat. But he bought it for me anyways and I wore that for years until it was lost while riding a horse on a Dude Ranch trip.

Now I am 26 years old and wearing more gender appropriate hats. I am old enough to take myself to baseball games and pay for my own tickets. And just like at that first baseball game, I still rarely care where I sit or who we are playing. And even though it is Turner Field and not Wrigley, and it is the Braves not the Cubs, there is still something special about stepping through the turnstiles and watching America's pastime.

I look forward to the day when I can take my own boy to the park - just the two of us. But for now, I just appreciate the company of a good friend and a couple of hours at the park.

Scrubs Awesomeness & Paris Hilton Ruins Another One Of My Desires and My Subsequent Revenge
Scrubs: My Last WordsWell I have had some serious posts recently so I figured I would lighten it up a bit.

First of all, who saw Scrubs last night? Seriously! I am so glad it is back on the air. The first episode of the evening wasn't all that great, but the second was phenomenal. And mad props to my brother for catching the coincidence of the episode subject and my previous blog on death. Crazy. I think someone at Scrubs is reading my blogs and coming up with shows really quickly afterward. If you are out there...I know you are there!

If you missed this show, you can catch the full episode here. Great job capturing the universal fear of death. Hmm...it was good.

Paris Hilton Wants to Name Her Daughter LondonSecond bit of light-heartedness. I am going to kill Paris Hilton. Now I know that isn't particularity light-hearted nor am I the first one who has said this. But I bet I am the only with my reason.

I was listening to WSB-sister-station 95.5 The Beat this morning on the 5-minute drive to the office and they were talking about some ground breaking piece of important news: Paris Hilton thinks she will be ready to have children in 2 years or so.

But here's the worst part: she is going to name her first girl London.

Ever since watching the Seinfeld episode where George wants to name his daughter Seven - I decided I was going to name my daughters Paris and Sydney - after my two favorite cities. Mind you this was circa 2000.

But then in 2003, Paris Hilton becomes famous because she doinked some genius from New Jersey that somehow let the tape get on the internet. Lesson to all you young ladies out there: if you are going to make a sex tape, make sure you keep it.

Thus my plan of naming my daughter Paris is completely thwarted. And even though I am sure Paris will die of syphilis before I have a daughter, I still won't be able to name my daughter Paris.

But now this! She is going to name her kid London. That is like one step away from Sydney. Who is to say she won't name her second daughter Sydney - thus one woman will have essentially ruined both the names I wanted for my kids.

I guess I am going to have to marry Nicky Hilton (she's the cuter one anyway) and then we'll pop out a kid before Paris can and thus I will get my revenge! Yeah...that's the plan...I'll work on that one for a bit.

Women We Love - Andy's Trip Edition: Jadyn (2 of 4)
Andy Borgmann with Jadyn and Asher Mills in December 2008

The second in the Women We Love - Andy's Trip Edition isn't a woman at all, but a beautiful young girl: Jadyn.

Since Jadyn graced our lives over three years ago she has changed my outlook on life so much - and she isn't even my kid.

For the past 8 days Jadyn has been my alarm clock. And if waking up to a beautiful woman who I get to sleep with is the best way to wake up, waking up with a beautiful young girl saying, "come on Uncle Andy, let's get up and play" has got to be an extremely close second.

The usual morning routine involves playing a quick game of hide and go seek, which transitions into a game of tag, and then ends with some version of dolls in her bright pink room.

The other day after tag, she was getting out her dolls and I decided to try and steal a quick moment to check the iPhone for email - which is usually literally the first thing I do in the morning (before even getting out of bed).

But as she sits down by me with dolls in hand, she looks up and sees me checking the iPhone.

She responds, in the sweetest little girl voice, "Uncle Andy, can you not check your email right now and just watch me play."

I respond, "Of course."

As I sat and watched her play, I thought to myself how important - regardless of age - it is to have people who are there just to watch us play. And sure, as we get older, "play" becomes a bit different. Play becomes work. Play becomes being a husband or wife. Play becomes raising a family. Play becomes serving our community. Play becomes a whole slue of things.

But we all need support in the things we do. We need people in our lives that essentially "watch" what we do and give us the encouragement and support that we are valuable and what we are doing is valuable.

Jadyn will grow from a young girl I love, to a young woman I love, and finally to a woman I love. And I will always be there to watch her play - no matter what that play entails. And I am grateful for those who have and continue to watch me.

Now back to playing dolls...

What I Have Been Up To
I know I have been awful at blogging recently, but I took a break. I have had a wonderful time up in Indiana and still have another 5 days or so.

Hanging out with CJ & Andrea is always a blast. I am the only person I know who wakes up at 11 am for work most days, but on vacation gets up at 9 and is generally exhausted all day. But I love it. Nothing like being woken up by a beautiful girl, even if she is only three.

Some of the cutest things Jadyn has said this trip:
  • Uncle Andy, can you wear your hat? You look cool.
  • Can we play hide and go seek? ... (1 minute later before she counts to 10) ... ok you go hide in the closet ... (don't think she quite gets the concept of hide and go seek)
  • Can you not check your email and just watch me play?

And not to leave the Ash-man out of things. I figured I'd post of video of Asher and I. He can't rollover yet, but I swear I am going to see him walking before I leave on Saturday. His legs are crazy strong - as you can tell by the video. Be sure to wait for the end.


Between being spit up on all week and the fumes from the midget racing inside the Memorial Coliseum, I pretty much have smelled this entire week.

Well that's some fun stuff for now. I am going to blog later on this week about four of my favorite women of the trip - which include one of the Stolen girls, an exgirlfriend I haven't talked to since senior year of high school, and of course, Andrea and Jadyn. Think of it my own version of Esquire's "Women We Love."

The Great Santa Debate
The Great Santa Debate - Returning to the True Meaning of ChristmasI was the Editor-in-Chief of my high school yearbook. I know, über-nerdy right? I wasn't very good at it to be honest. The yearbook was a finalist for a prestigous national award, so it was designed well and the final product was nice (and late), but my overall ability to lead the staff was an utter failure. I made many, many mistakes.

But one thing we were good at: debating. Didn't matter the topic. I had a staff full of women - including one exgirlfriend and a few other very close friends of another exgirlfriend - and one very quiet man. Needless to say, many times it was me versus them all (with the man abstaining).

As Christmas approached, one day the topic of Santa Claus came up. I made the statement that I was not going to tell my kids there was a Santa Claus.

Ohhh....my....gosh! You would have thought I said I will let my kids spend the night with Michael Jackson and Christopher Walken.

I got accused of not fostering a creative environment for my kids.

I got accused of ruining Christmas for all my friends kids.

I got accused of not letting my kids enjoy being kids.

I know how the pictured Santa felt a bit.

But no, just a simple desire not to ever set a precedent of lying to my kids was my motive.

Now I will freely admit that this was right at the height of my extreme "conservative" stage - one many of my current friends won't believe I ever went through. But even with the loosening of my perspective on many things, I still feel I won't tell them there is a Santa.

I think there is already so much pressure from culture to redefine what Christmas is all about. It becomes about the presents, or about family, or about giving, or about joyfulness. And while none of those are per se bad, it isn't really what the season is about at its core.

Post-Secret: Not Lying to Kids About SantaBut it goes beyond this. I know one of my greatest strengths, but also greatest weakness, is that I try to live be a mantra of honesty above all. And while that sometimes means I am not as compassionate and caring as I should be, I do believe that you can rarely go wrong with telling the truth.

I think this becomes all the more important with children. There is already such an innate skepticism with kids as they grow up towards their parents. Why feed into that? Not just with Santa, but in all areas of life.

Apparently I am not the only one. Carl Honoré wrote an article titled "Well, Virginia, It's a Longer Story..." about the "Great-Santa Debate" in a recent article in the Washington Post. But then of course, you have all those wonderful Macy's commercials with the comforting confirmation of Santa's existence from the likes of Martha Stewart and Donald Trump.

So what do you think? How were you raised? How are you raising (or planning on raising) your kids?

Post-Secret Week #6 - Church Forgiveness
Post-Secret Week #6 - Church Forgiveness


I often feel like the least forgiving place in this world is the place that should be the most. As the saying goes, "the church seems to shoot their wounded."

This saddens me how few people recognize how imperfect we all are, and how all sin is equal in the eyes of God. When will we try to be as forgiving as God.

I know I can't post them all, but if you follow Post Secret, you will be astonished how many of them are about carrying around guilt and shame years - sometimes even decades - after something happened.

...Women who are vegans because egg yolks remind them of their abortions

...Men who feel bad about the way they treated people in high school

...First time sexual experiences that were not what they expected

...Mothers missing their daughters because they don't speak after and event

...Fathers knowing they should never have left their kids

...Business deals that fell through

...Friends mistreating and taking advantage of other friends

Stop carrying the guilt around with you. God forgives - even if we don't.

Be sure to visit Post Secret for more interesting looks into the human condition.

Who Knew Slipping One Past The Goalie Would Change Everything


The Moon & A Moose: The Only Witness To Bristol Palin & Levi Johnston's Evening

It's a surprisingly cold March evening in a city much further north than Atlanta. Two teenagers find themselves in a cheap, Pontiac Grand Am - that is at least a decade old - after a high school sporting event. She had been there to cheer the team on to victory; he was suppose to take her home afterward. But neither of them really wanted to go home and - since there was no school the next day - they went for a drive. The two had been dating for sometime, and as teenagers often to do, they thought they were in love.

It was one of those drives that as they get older they will have less and less. Drives that really have no purpose - just an excuse for spending more time together until curfew. A drive that always ends too soon, but a drive that lasts forever in the memories reserved for the "good times."

On this particular drive, one thing lead to another on the starless night, and the two made love. It was the kind of love that those older and more experienced wouldn't call great, but it was all that they knew, and it was great for them. And just because the greatness might have been lacking, the mechanics worked the same, and against all odds, one of the million sperm released found its way to its destiny. It was a sperm that would change everything. And the only witness to this unexpected world changing moment was a moose...

Admit it, until you got to the moose part, you thought I was writing about my own experience? But there are no moose in Indiana and this isn't my story. It is the story of Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston - with some creative liberties I am sure.

Bristol Palin is the 17-year old daughter of Sarah Palin - John McCain's running mate. And in a move that caused everyone to rollover in their grave, Bristol Palin is 5-months pregnant, and John McCain knew this and still selected Sarah Palin as his running mate.

My first thought is if you would have told those teens whenever/wherever they were doing it that this event would have national implications, I bet they would think you are crazy. But then I realized what I really should be thinking about is how glad I am the mistakes I made in high school (and beyond) weren't under the national spotlight.

But here is where I am going to make everybody, no matter where you stand on this story, angry. This story both highlights the hypocrisy of Republicans/Christians, as well as the illogic of the Democrats/Secularists.

I am not for politicians, pastors, and leaders stepping down in their roles when they make stupid personal morality decisions. I have been saying so for years. Whether we want to admit it or not, the mindset behind those who think leaders need to be perfect come from those who subconsciously think they are perfect...and that there families are perfect.

But Republicans & Christians a like (not saying they are the same) need to recognize that most of us are hypocrites, but that is ok. That's the point of grace. Life is messy. Families are messier. And we all do stupid things from time to time. The idea that "Sarah Palin can't run her household" or that "Bill Clinton shouldn't have been leading a country" is absolutely ridiculous. Some of the greatest leaders of all time have had huge moral failures in their life, but with out them, this world would be drastically different.

Two Examples (I could list more): The Apostle Peter & Martin Luther King, Jr.

Liberals on the other hand need to stop using this as an example of a woman's and/or family's "right-to-choice." Just because a family chose to keep the baby, does not change the moral question of when life begins, and therefore, the value of not taking that life, one bit.

Those who read this know that I am open to the discussion on when life begins. But the idea that Bristol's situation indicates that we shouldn't defend life is absurd at best, and deplorable at worst.

I will say one more thing that will infuriate everyone even more. Levi & Bristol should not be getting married. A shotgun wedding is taking a bad situation and making it a permanent, worse situation. If the kids are in love and would have gotten married anyways, then fine. But a baby is never a reason to marry. It doesn't make the conception anymore "holy," and it shouldn't make everyone else feel better with the situation.

My sympathies go out to Bristol and Levi. To use a hockey term: who knew two teens slipping one past the goalie would have such large implications on the election of the most powerful man in the world.

The Car Bristol & Levi Made Love

On a side note, I have been asked by a few to comment on my feelings about Sarah Palin as VP. I will do so in a blog that will be release on Monday. Enjoy the weekend.

Fun Vacation Post #3 - Hanging With Asher
This is how I spent the entire week. Actually, check that, I am awake in this self-taken photo.1 If you really want to know how I spent the week, I would be sleeping as well.

Andy Borgmann & Asher Mills - Chilling on Vacation


It's been a great and relaxing week! Now back to Atlanta tomorrow.

And for all of you who think I have become soft and now all parent-ey, I leave you with this. The Guide to Determine How Andy Likes Kids:

0-2 = Andy LOVES them - can't get enough of the babies
2-13 = Andy doesn't know what to do
13+ = Andy LOVES them again.

I am sure it won't apply to my own kids (at least I am hoping), and for now, since I have no kids, CJ and Andrea's are my default kids. I just don't want you to start thinking that I will like your kid just because I like CJ and Andrea's.

But if you still want a good laugh, watch this bit. It is hilarious for all my single friends out there. Best line in there (at the 1:46 mark): "I wanted to have kids really bad, then I had kids, turns out, I wanted to be an Uncle."
And for now, I love being Uncle Andy.



P.S. I did not check work e-mail once while on this trip.

Pages: 1 2
What's Andy Up To?
Andy Borgmann - TwitterAdd Notre Dame, Alabama, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts, and Pittsburgh Steelers to the iPhone calender: check!
Andy Borgmann - Twitter"Ice Is Back With A Brand New Invention... Ok Just A YouTube Video" - http://is.gd/eRLS0 - I am back on the blog baby! More to come.
Andy Borgmann - TwitterI opened up my to-do list pad and what did I find? Drawings by Jadyn. It made me smile. Thanks Jadyn I needed that http://twitpic.com/2ka5uo
Andy Borgmann - TwitterLet it be known: the first official act of my 2022 IN Senate campaign was today when Lisa Blosser officially changed her name to Borgmann.
Andy Borgmann - Twitter@and_elf Greedy Capitalist :)
Andy Borgmann - TwitterForgot my phone at home today: saved by GMail phone - love that feature of GMail. Another reason that @EricaKJustice should drop hotmail.
Andy Borgmann - TwitterJust bought 2 things I have never bought ever. Advil and rubbing alcohol. If my ear is still there in the morning it may be time 2 see a Dr
Andy Borgmann - TwitterI find this to be a fascinating read of the human condition: http://is.gd/eM26J - even though it sad, I agree the findings are accurate
Andy Borgmann - TwitterHot damn the Broncos are playing the Steelers on Fox. Change final destination from home to Jenny's. Her Steelers are going down!
Andy Borgmann - TwitterLeaving the Fort. You guys are the best. Thank you so much!

Description
Andy's blog aims to be like a Scrubs episode, mixed with a Chuck Klosterman column, centered around the topic of faith. It is open, honest, raw, and a little embarrassing. It is a place to discuss religion, politics, ministry, pop culture, and well, just life - especially focused on the time of life we call our 20s!

Andy is the Executive Producer of The Allen Hunt Show; a progressive (in the literal sense), talk radio show based in Atlanta, GA aimed at bringing faith back into the public discussion. Andy enjoys travel, aviation, web design, politics, friends, and faith. He holds that the secret to a full life is loving God and loving people - which he fails at constantly.

Andy grew up in Fort Wayne, IN. He now lives in Alpharetta, GA.

More information about Andy can be found at www.2timothy42.org or Andy's Facebook.

P.S. As has been mentioned on air, Andy is horrible at grammar and spelling. Please excuse any mistakes, trust me, he's sorry.



Email Subscribe

Powered by FeedBurner


Calendar
<<    <    Sep 2010    >    >>
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
   1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
2010-09-30 00:00:00
2010-09-30 23:59:59
30