What is lust?
It's been said that an individual acting on the whim of lust will take action based solely on what they see or react to physically... To internalize, think deeply and react with the same passion as before means one is acting on the strength of love.
As some of you know, I own a LOT of wristwatches. Due to the fact that I lack proper storage for any of them, I had before me this evening (01/25/2010, some days ahead of me actually PUBLISHING this post) a HUGE stack of them right here in front of me on my desk, I was forced to internalize my collection, including my thinking on why I own so many of these things.
[Phlip note - that and I need to get batteries for most of these motherfuckers]
What I was also forced to look at was the fact that EVERY one of my watches has a story that comes with it.
I know that it is the right of both of you to not give a mad assfuck, but my blog is my blog, so damned if I won't post what the hell I will...
First Fossil... I saw someone wearing one and I liked the color of the face, band design and all that. I was in high school and therefore scared off of the 1996 $65.00 pricing. 1997, I was not on minimum wage and I made it happen. My dipshit brother shattered the face and has been admonished for wearing my watches to work since.
Yes, I still have it, and wear it when it has a working battery, which it does not right now.
1998, Dillards in High Point, visiting my (now) ex at work elsewhere in the mall, had a couple bucks on my person, liked it and copped... This one reminds me of what an epic phail my time with her wound up being.
2000, bought the two at the same time in Dillards like 3 months after starting my first non-shit job.
Fall 2003, the covers of Talib Kweli and Bubba Sparxxx albums saw them wearing watches with wide bands and large, but not AS wide faces... I wanted one.
I got one.
Then...
... Sterlin saw the brown watch above, and liked it, wanted one of his own. When I bought his for christmas, I bought mine for me. Mine still looks like that, his is kinda borked, but what can I say?
Apparently, Fossil was commissioned to make Adidas watches as well, because I happened upon this normally-$230 gem on a clearance table in/near St. Augustine Florida on my way home from Miami December 2007 for only $19.99
March 2006, went to Jacksonville to get something with my brother and on the way home, decided to I-95 it to Smithfield it on the way home, came home with this one.
See above, no other stories for this one other than the repeated attempts of people I know to take it from me. This was a 'watch bar' watch, where I selected the individual band and face and assembled myself.
In this space, I would have a watch that I loaned to my brother for him to wear during his wedding April 2008... Working for a landscaper at the time, I TOLD him not to wear my shit to work, but listen he did not By the time I saw my watch again, one of the pins was broken. I advised that I would not accept my watch back until that pin was fixed.
As of last week, after 20 months, that pin was replaced, as well as the battery that died in the meantime, just in time for the pin on the other side to break... The lack of an image here at this point is evidence that the SECOND pin has not been replaced. I will edit the image into this post whenever the fuck I get my damned watch back. Fact remains that I got the watch because I was in the Fossil store and copped alongside the prior 2 watches in this post, paying less than 105 after tax for all 3.
Another 'watch bar' watch, I bought this one when I was putting Katie's together Christmas 2008.
Got this one at a Fossil Outlet on the way home from Atlanta 2009... Apparently Fossil was commissioned to make Callaway watches.
The flaw? There's no 'Y' on this one.
Cost? $19.99... I don't even miss that Y.
Story goes that a friend of mine once worked for a company that might have presented him with opportunity for some nice electronics... Rumor also has it that the company in question might have had a major hand in the development of a technology that most of us use every day.
That technology is Bluetooth, for the record...
Combine that technology with a contract with my favorite watchmaking company, Fossil, and a very large and heavy watch packed to the gills with features I find cool enough to desire... He leaves company, but has a couple on his hands and after months of badgering, relinquishes possession...
I won an auction for a watch IDENTICAL to the one on the right at the end of December, and it arrived broken, presumably due to poor packaging, so I had to send it back for what was SUPPOSED to be a warranty exchange. These motherfuckers gave me my money back without TRYING to entertain sending me another or perhaps charging me for repairs.
Anyway, I happened upon another one on ebay, same model except where it is blue was black and bid on it. Auction closing time came and I got sniped at the end, I was downloading some enormous files and my computer didn't refresh fast enough and I lost the auction.
[Phlip note - that computer is chillin' in the hallway closet for now to become Network-Attached Storage sooner than later, and that is not to be an issue with the new one]
I happened upon ANOTHER from the same seller that I liked at the time, that would be the black one on the left there... Since I had lost out on one before and might have been away, I set the max bid a bit higher, THEN I happened upon the silver one pictured above, putting in a bid for it as well. Both from the same seller, both with free shipping, both ending within 50 minutes of one another.
Come down to the wire, I won the black one for a considerable amount less than my max, so I upped the max bid on the silver one and lo and behold, I won it too for only like 3 bucks more than my original max bid. Being smart, I waited to paypal for anything to make sure I got them both, to streamline the process... Smart move, that, as ebay allowed the one payment to the one seller and he naturally saved himself the money by shipping them together -- lightning fast too!
They came in on Wednesday and, while both will be the first watches I will have EVER had to take a link (2-3 each, actually) out of (mainly due to their considerable weight/size), these are now my favorite watches of the moment. I also love that I won't have that whole battery replacement problem anymore, all I gotta do is put it on and move a couple times and she comes alive, if it hasn't maintained the last previous winding.
Did you know a bath towel could be re-purposed to store a dozen or so large wristwatches in a pinch?
How funny is that that my most recent acquisitions for the collection come with the longest story? I guess it has a lot to do with the fact that they're freshest on my mind, and I was actually excited about getting them throughout the whole process, which included 2 failed attempts.
The fact that I can have so many wristwatches, and still have a reason named for having each one should speak to whether my collecting them is an act of love or lust. It is noteworthy that while only 5 have working batteries at current (not counting the two that do not require batteries), added to the fact that I do not have proper casing/storage for them that I do take care of my shit. Evidence to this is in the fact that I still have the ones from 10+ years ago in working and non-damaged condition. Through it all, I've only had to replace one watch crystal that I was not the one who broke and 2 pins again, not on my shift. Let us just say that my brother will NEVER borrow those last two.
One other watch in this post is one that my grandmother gave me Christmas of 2006. Very nice watch, I left it in the case, then she passed away March 1, 2007, and I cannot bring myself to wear it at all now, I would prefer it remain virgin. It is not pictured because it is in the storage unit chillin in my driveway right now until i get the rest of my shit off of it and send it on to wherever my mama will be living next.
Yes, I am subject to addict behaviors, and one MIGHT think of this as evidence of such, but the fact of the matter, though, is that I really do love a nice watch. It is among the first things I notice when I meet anyone, so long as they're wearing one. Not to mention the warm and fuzzies born from someone saying "wow, nice watch," kind of as a self-confirming kinda thing.
As some of you know, I own a LOT of wristwatches. Due to the fact that I lack proper storage for any of them, I had before me this evening (01/25/2010, some days ahead of me actually PUBLISHING this post) a HUGE stack of them right here in front of me on my desk, I was forced to internalize my collection, including my thinking on why I own so many of these things.
[Phlip note - that and I need to get batteries for most of these motherfuckers]
What I was also forced to look at was the fact that EVERY one of my watches has a story that comes with it.
I know that it is the right of both of you to not give a mad assfuck, but my blog is my blog, so damned if I won't post what the hell I will...
First Fossil... I saw someone wearing one and I liked the color of the face, band design and all that. I was in high school and therefore scared off of the 1996 $65.00 pricing. 1997, I was not on minimum wage and I made it happen. My dipshit brother shattered the face and has been admonished for wearing my watches to work since.
Yes, I still have it, and wear it when it has a working battery, which it does not right now.
1998, Dillards in High Point, visiting my (now) ex at work elsewhere in the mall, had a couple bucks on my person, liked it and copped... This one reminds me of what an epic phail my time with her wound up being.
2000, bought the two at the same time in Dillards like 3 months after starting my first non-shit job.
Fall 2003, the covers of Talib Kweli and Bubba Sparxxx albums saw them wearing watches with wide bands and large, but not AS wide faces... I wanted one.
I got one.
Then...
... Sterlin saw the brown watch above, and liked it, wanted one of his own. When I bought his for christmas, I bought mine for me. Mine still looks like that, his is kinda borked, but what can I say?
Apparently, Fossil was commissioned to make Adidas watches as well, because I happened upon this normally-$230 gem on a clearance table in/near St. Augustine Florida on my way home from Miami December 2007 for only $19.99
March 2006, went to Jacksonville to get something with my brother and on the way home, decided to I-95 it to Smithfield it on the way home, came home with this one.
See above, no other stories for this one other than the repeated attempts of people I know to take it from me. This was a 'watch bar' watch, where I selected the individual band and face and assembled myself.
In this space, I would have a watch that I loaned to my brother for him to wear during his wedding April 2008... Working for a landscaper at the time, I TOLD him not to wear my shit to work, but listen he did not By the time I saw my watch again, one of the pins was broken. I advised that I would not accept my watch back until that pin was fixed.
As of last week, after 20 months, that pin was replaced, as well as the battery that died in the meantime, just in time for the pin on the other side to break... The lack of an image here at this point is evidence that the SECOND pin has not been replaced. I will edit the image into this post whenever the fuck I get my damned watch back. Fact remains that I got the watch because I was in the Fossil store and copped alongside the prior 2 watches in this post, paying less than 105 after tax for all 3.
Another 'watch bar' watch, I bought this one when I was putting Katie's together Christmas 2008.
Got this one at a Fossil Outlet on the way home from Atlanta 2009... Apparently Fossil was commissioned to make Callaway watches.
The flaw? There's no 'Y' on this one.
Cost? $19.99... I don't even miss that Y.
Story goes that a friend of mine once worked for a company that might have presented him with opportunity for some nice electronics... Rumor also has it that the company in question might have had a major hand in the development of a technology that most of us use every day.
That technology is Bluetooth, for the record...
Combine that technology with a contract with my favorite watchmaking company, Fossil, and a very large and heavy watch packed to the gills with features I find cool enough to desire... He leaves company, but has a couple on his hands and after months of badgering, relinquishes possession...
I won an auction for a watch IDENTICAL to the one on the right at the end of December, and it arrived broken, presumably due to poor packaging, so I had to send it back for what was SUPPOSED to be a warranty exchange. These motherfuckers gave me my money back without TRYING to entertain sending me another or perhaps charging me for repairs.
Anyway, I happened upon another one on ebay, same model except where it is blue was black and bid on it. Auction closing time came and I got sniped at the end, I was downloading some enormous files and my computer didn't refresh fast enough and I lost the auction.
[Phlip note - that computer is chillin' in the hallway closet for now to become Network-Attached Storage sooner than later, and that is not to be an issue with the new one]
I happened upon ANOTHER from the same seller that I liked at the time, that would be the black one on the left there... Since I had lost out on one before and might have been away, I set the max bid a bit higher, THEN I happened upon the silver one pictured above, putting in a bid for it as well. Both from the same seller, both with free shipping, both ending within 50 minutes of one another.
Come down to the wire, I won the black one for a considerable amount less than my max, so I upped the max bid on the silver one and lo and behold, I won it too for only like 3 bucks more than my original max bid. Being smart, I waited to paypal for anything to make sure I got them both, to streamline the process... Smart move, that, as ebay allowed the one payment to the one seller and he naturally saved himself the money by shipping them together -- lightning fast too!
They came in on Wednesday and, while both will be the first watches I will have EVER had to take a link (2-3 each, actually) out of (mainly due to their considerable weight/size), these are now my favorite watches of the moment. I also love that I won't have that whole battery replacement problem anymore, all I gotta do is put it on and move a couple times and she comes alive, if it hasn't maintained the last previous winding.
Did you know a bath towel could be re-purposed to store a dozen or so large wristwatches in a pinch?
How funny is that that my most recent acquisitions for the collection come with the longest story? I guess it has a lot to do with the fact that they're freshest on my mind, and I was actually excited about getting them throughout the whole process, which included 2 failed attempts.
The fact that I can have so many wristwatches, and still have a reason named for having each one should speak to whether my collecting them is an act of love or lust. It is noteworthy that while only 5 have working batteries at current (not counting the two that do not require batteries), added to the fact that I do not have proper casing/storage for them that I do take care of my shit. Evidence to this is in the fact that I still have the ones from 10+ years ago in working and non-damaged condition. Through it all, I've only had to replace one watch crystal that I was not the one who broke and 2 pins again, not on my shift. Let us just say that my brother will NEVER borrow those last two.
One other watch in this post is one that my grandmother gave me Christmas of 2006. Very nice watch, I left it in the case, then she passed away March 1, 2007, and I cannot bring myself to wear it at all now, I would prefer it remain virgin. It is not pictured because it is in the storage unit chillin in my driveway right now until i get the rest of my shit off of it and send it on to wherever my mama will be living next.
Yes, I am subject to addict behaviors, and one MIGHT think of this as evidence of such, but the fact of the matter, though, is that I really do love a nice watch. It is among the first things I notice when I meet anyone, so long as they're wearing one. Not to mention the warm and fuzzies born from someone saying "wow, nice watch," kind of as a self-confirming kinda thing.
Comments
^^Awesome word play. I tell people never buy me watches, for that exact reason.