Newcott Blog

I've finally said goodbye to my 32 inch waist.  I'm 34×34 — 34 inch waist, 34 inch length.  A square, if you were to split my pants and lay them on the ground in front of you.  For as long as I can remember i had a 32 inch waist (since high school).  Bye bye 32.  You were good.

I turned 29 yesterday.  I am in my 30th year.  Yikes.  Why do I feel the need to take stock of my life after every birthday?  Bronwen helped me decide not to do that any more.  I'm not going to be age-concious or worry about getting old and slowing down.  I'm just going to flow into the next year of living. 

It was a perfect birthday.  When I woke up, Bronwen had a fun stack of presents waiting for me.  Highlights include: new batteries for my Ryobi tool set, a new black suit, some new dress slacks, a baby back carrier, and a wrinkle-free blue blazer.  I'm not big on clothes, so I usually get one batch of new stuff per year.  My work wardrobe needed a slight overhaul.  My assistant put a sign on my office door to let everyone know it was my birthday, so I got plenty of congrats from my work chums — we celebrate tomorrow at lunch.  When I got home, Bronwen made me a hamburger and steamed veggie dinner and baked chocolate chip cookies (the way I like with half the chocolate chips and using mini morsels).  Washed it down with some Hornsby cider and season finale of Project Runway.

I know I've been pretty slack at the pictures lately.  Here's a bunch:

 - Kirsten and James' Wedding in Narraganset plus Bronwen and Silas in DC.

-  Silas' 6 Months Birthday and some pics with our friends the Powells.

-  Trip to the Pumkin Patch with uncle Zack.

I have to share this customer satisfaction story:

15 minutes ago, Bronwen called me from a small town north of San Francisco to tell me she had locked the keys AND SILAS in the car. She started crying. I told her I'd call AAA and get someone to open the car. I called my SoCal AAA number, told them the situation. The operator took my information, transfered me to the San Francisco operator, who immediately sent the request to dispatch with a priority and told me a truck was on the way. I called Bronwen back and told her the truck was on the way. As she hung up with me, the truck pulled up, and the driver shimmed-open the door in less than 30 seconds. The whole process took 10 minutes. Silas didn't even notice.

That's how a business earns a customer for life.