Blog Post about My Blog

This is a short and sweet blog post about a recent change to my blog name. For the longest time, my blog has been called “My Stories.” Today I started thinking about my blog, and realized that a better name for it is “Me” because my blog really gives you a flavor for who Trenton Bradford Ostler really is. There are the philosopohical posts on life, the business-y posts, the spirtual posts, the stories of adventure, the posts on love and family, and the opinions on random topics. I would rename my blog to “Me,” but that's not too terribly creative so I decided to translate the word "Me" into Russian giving as an end result "Ya." I hope you continue to enjoy the posts.

My Business Advice for Customer Service Departments

I heard on the radio not too long ago that companies save huge amounts of money by not talking directly to the customer. It’s true. A company can save upwards of $6 per call. That is why automated directories are now widespread. But people still just want to talk to real live people to resolve their issues. I, for one, have gotten quite good at pressing the right keys to get to a person the fastest. The number 0 usually does the trick.

Today was different. I decided to try the website approach. You know those "email a representative" links on websites that nobody ever uses? Yep, I clicked on that and asked my credit card company a total of two questions, which were in turn promptly answered. This experience restored my faith in alternatives to calling humans. Indeed, using websites gives you access to more helpful and better organized information than is possible by talking to someone over the phone.

But here’s the problem: people are going to need an incentive to switch to addressing their problems online because it takes time to search the website, figure out their organization and wait for a response (which could take upwards of a couple days). The only reason I tried the email approach today is I was curious. Notwithstanding this problem, I think I know of a way that companies can incentivize customers to email them: pay them cash to resolve their complaints online. I know, you’re thinking that there’s no way to prevent abusers from gaming the system to get money. But the solution lies in making the price low enough that people won’t want to ask questions, but high enough that will attract people to go online.

I will be the first to say that I hate waiting for answers. When I have an issue, I want it resolved right then and there. But in reality, in a lot of instances, the problem is not immediate and going online can be much more efficient. I would be willing to jump through some hoops and be patient if the price is right. I think a lot of others out there are too.

That was scary

I nervously stalled in the stairwell. I knew the gist of what I wanted to say, but as I came to the second floor, I started getting nervous. I went over some thoughts that I wanted to say in my mind again. Then I started walking to his office. The door was locked--he wasn't there. Shoot, I'll try back later. After about 20 minutes, I got a text from him. "Come on over for a visit before 10." It was 8:50. I immediately started walking back over to the Benson building. This time I was not as nervous; after all, he was basically beckoning me to come over. I also had been thinking about things to say for the past half-hour. I made it to the second floor of the Benson. He was with what looked like a colleague and a girl who was talking about her engagement or something. I retreated out of sight. I was sure that he didn't see me because his back was turned on me. Then I waited until the conversation ended and I made my move. He was in his office, but was on the phone with what sounded to be his wife. He motioned for me to come in, and I sat down on the couch and waited for the conversation to end. Then it was me and him. We small-talked around for a little bit, but we both knew what we were there to really talk about. In essence, I told him I wanted his permission to marry his daughter. Then I waited for his response. And waited. It seemed like an eternity. I am exaggerating, but at the same time I'm not exaggerating because he seriously paused for about 15 seconds. Then he started talking about how I would be so good for Amy and that he is really impressed with my appreciation for his daughter. A wave of relief spread throughout my body. What a nerve-wracking experience! And even for someone that I thought had shoe-in support for me. It was at that moment that my desire to have girls began as I would have the opportunity to have lots of fun with their potential suitors!

Christmas 2010

Every once in a while, I get genuinely complimented on my blog. I'll have to admit that such compliments are my favorites. They make me want to blog more frequently.

Christmas this year was amazing. I would like to share with you why it was so good.

1) Time to unwind. I consider myself a pretty intense individual. I work hard and get a lot done. But I have noticed that when I am intense for too long of a stretch of time, I tend to go a little crazy. So starting Christmas Eve, it was so nice to just relax and not worry about stressful things.

2) Carrying on good traditions. We spent Christmas Eve at Amy's place, which involved fun and interesting activities. From reading the Polar Express, to reading the scriptures, to seeing the lights around Orem/Provo, I was introduced to some pretty great traditions that I would love to continue in the future.

3) Spending quality time with family. Amy and I were able to spend lots of time with each of our families. When you have families as cool as ours, this translates into a lot of happiness. It was funny how back and forth we were on Christmas, but it wasn't that funny considering our two homes are literally a half-mile away from each other. I felt very at home at the Burton residence and at least in my mind, Amy felt very at home at the Ostler's.

4) Meeting new family members. I have talked to Amy's sister Eli on the phone a couple times before, but never face-to-face. Christmas day changed that. I got to meet Eli and her boyfriend Jimmy. These were very intriguing people and I only wish I had more time to interact with them. Thanks to them, I was introduced to some vegan dishes that were not bad at all.

5) Getting good presents. Christmas should obviously not focus on getting presents, but good presents is definitely not a bad thing. This Christmas I got great presents that were well-needed and from the heart. Haley gave me socks, Graden gave me a Nordstrom rack Groupon, Ben Bernanke gave me an interesting mountain man book, and Amy gave me some rockin' shoes. I also got hooked up with cash from both parents. I. Am. So. Grateful. (I usually hate doing the sentence split up by periods, but it does add a little dramatic effect.)

6) Going on a run. I don't know about you, but I have been eating far too much garbage food lately. Obviously it's unrealistic to completely bypass such delicious food (especially when it is abundantly available everywhere you go). But it is realistic to burn away some of these calories on a nice jog to Will's pit stop. It was pretty cool going on this run also because a fog was setting in and I could see the fog-like wave formations coming down.

7) Watching LOTR. At first glance, Lord of the Rings may not seem very appropriate for Christmas. But with the context of Race calling me up late to see if I wanted to watch the Fellowship of the Ring with Scott, it was a perfectly appropriate way to end Christmas.

8) Amy. Amy and I will officially be family in just a few short days. This truth kind of blows me away. At least in the back of my mind, I have been waiting to find the girl that I would marry for quite some time. This year, I realized that I had found this girl and it was only a matter of time of waiting for the wedding date to arrive. But this date seemed so distant. Now it is not distant at all. Christmas was such a great day for us, me especially. When you are a thinker, such as I am, you sometimes let the gravity of marriage overwhelm you. But as with all seemingly-overwhelming aspects of life, you just kind of take things one step at a time. Christmas was great in that regard. It was an excellent illustration of how fun life is with Amy when we just enjoy things in the moment. I am so in love with this girl. We had plenty of funny moments today, inside joke moments, serious moments, and even moments where I beat her consistently at Othello. Best of all, as I've gotten to know Amy better, my love for her has grown. For me, that is the most impressive thing because love has historically been such a fickle thing. With love, things can fizzle, things can come to a screeching halt, or things can just not progress, for little or no reason, and on either end of the relationship. But this has not been the case with Amy, where my love for her has matured and grown. Ironically, it has become more difficult to express my love but as I better understand her personality, complement her, and get complemented by her, we climb higher and higher. I know I have a long ways to go in truly becoming unified with my sweetheart, but I am going to take things one step at a time. I feel very optimistic about this.

A technology that should already be implemented

The world is full of so much innovation it makes a budding patent attorney like myself salivate. While I am almost always pleasantly surprised with the innovation that technology presents us, there is one idea that I have had for a while that has not been implemented and I don't know why. The problem is this. You go into an unfamiliar and massive store to find predefined items. You have no idea where these items are, so you wander around like a nomad. If you get lucky, you find an employee to ask for directions. But in stores like Walmart? Good luck. There are aisle markers for general items, and I've even seen more detailed lists at the end of aisles in select stores. But even these approaches don't give you precise results and further waste your time. The idea I am thinking of would allow me to query the store's database for specific items using my cell phone or the internet. By so improving the efficiency, I won't have to be a zombie lost in a foreign realm.

If I was a grocery store, I would invest in item-finding technology. But being an outsider, I will have to wait for the technology. Most of the time, innovation involves significant expertise and hard-work, but every once in a while, a new product or service comes out and you think to yourself, "Whoa, why didn't I think of that?" In other words, it seemed easy enough to implement that it was just a matter of thinking about the idea. I think that this idea is involves both approaches. Hopefully, a store can spearhead this project and I will be their most loyal customer.

Kindness

Today is World Kindness day. I never know for sure how these world-recognized days start, but apparently this one started in Tokyo, Japan, at a World Kindness Movement conference, so I know it's legit. I think my thoughts on kindness can be summed up by this quote:
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people. ~Abraham Joshua Heschel

Unlike Heschel, I am not old yet, but I am getting there it seems. Now I would not characterize myself as a kind person. But I know kindness is an ideal that I want to shoot for. I have found that external factors can change my disposition so that I naturally and almost automatically am more kind. Some factors include seeing the positive examples of others, hearing others' inspiring words and stories, following the example of the Savior, and watching youtube videos that have Enya playing in the background displaying good quotes. With these things, I have more of a desire to be kind, rather than just forcing an unkind me to do kind acts. Big difference.

Here is the video about kindness that I referenced above. My favorite is from Plato, "Always be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle."

A real poem

Once upon a time, there lived a man by the name of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In the year 1839, while living in Cambridge at the Craigie house, he published "A Psalm Of Life." I hope it does not disappoint.

What the heart of the young man said to the psalmist
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!--
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,--act in the living present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.