Thank you Chase

This is my new Apple Watch 7 Series. I don't actually have it on hand otherwise I would have snapped a photo of this handsome devil wrapped around my overly thick and hirsute forearm. Why am I growing so much hair in unwanted places? 

Sometimes, being 44 years old sucks.

I will have this watch in 6-8 weeks, assuming the boats off Long Beach harbor make their way to land and unload their cargo. 

The funny thing is I never wear a watch. Never. Nor do I ever need one given I'm never far from my iPhone. But the price was irresistible so I caved in.

The astute among you might remember that my oldest daughter works in production at Media Arts Lab, a division of TBWA Chiat/Day. And you might assume she got me in on some kind of family and friends special pricing program. It would have been nice to shave a few hundred bucks off this expensive accessory.

But I did better than that. 

I got the Apple Watch, with the built in barometer, the dynamic Dow Jones Index meter, the calorie counter, the DNA analyzer, and the mini Hadron Collider for FREE!

How you say? I'm almost ashamed to admit but as my wife always points out I do not have the gene for embarrassment so here goes...

Yesterday, amongst the daily stack of highly ignorable emails in my inbox, I came across one from Chase. I've been using one of their credit cards since we signed up for a family plan years ago. Something about security or travel rewards, when my daughters were studying abroad in Kenya and Prague. In any case, we've been racking up the points on the plastic taskmaster.

The email notified me that I had close to 400,000 points on the card and that they could be redeemed for valuable prizes. So, in between a heated argument with my kids about dirty dishes and addressing the 17th round of revisions on some copy I had written, I indulged my curiosity.

After all, 400,000 is a huge number. And unless we're talking about Lira or some overly inflated currency in South America or Africa, surely it must be worth something, right? Well after signing up for a Chase online account to see what goodies awaited, I was in shock.

I'm still not over it. 

Clearly.

In fact, after splurging for the top of the line Apple Watch with my newfound points, I still had a considerable amount left. Enough for new Scuba gear. Or a Minibike. Or a circus sized trampoline. Or, all three!!!

Just don't tell my wife or she'll want to get in this action and get new bed linens. Or something stupid like that.