I lost my watch. This is big news for me. Even though my day starts in a house filled with clocks, followed by a drive to work in a vehicle equipped with a clock, where I will sit at a desk and work on a computer with a clock, *and* I have my cell phone which, yep, has a clock, I still feel naked without my trusty Timex on my wrist. It's a comfort thing, really.
I've got other watches, mostly fancy ones folks have given me over the years. There's a dress watch my parents gave me when I defended my Master's Thesis that is most assuredly For Special Occasions; there's a less-fancy but still much nicer analog watch that I rarely wear because of the steel band that rips out arm hair; there's the whimsical Mickey Mouse watch the Mrs. and I got a matching pair our first trip to Disney.
All of these watches, mind you, are completely dead. Battery kaput, bereft of power, they tick no more. They live on top of my bureau in their protective boxes, to be taken out For Special Occasions and then put right back - I'm too rough on watches to wear a For Special Occasion watch on regular days. I'd settled on the Timex Expedition series because they're durable yet inexpensive, so if I bash one to bits against a doorframe while moving a couch (it has happened) or lost one when I gave it to my curious toddler to placate their curiosity (ditto), I'm not out much.
Why, then, do I feel naked without a watch? If I were more poetic with my prose, like some people, I might mention the passing of time and how fleeting our lives our, and the wearing of a watch is some small effort to maintain and channel the precious seconds that we are alotted. Or if I were smarter, like my #1 blogson, I might draw a parallel between the sweeping hands of the clock and the sword of Damocles, how the sands of time loom large over our lives like the allegorical sword.
But I'm just a chimp banging away on an old IBM Selectric, so I'll just bitch about losing my damn watch...
That is all.
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14 comments:
I'm sorry about your loss. I offer you the sweetest of condolences.
I was going to make a topical and interesting comment but the blogger captcha made me so mad that you get this instead.
!*#&@%!(#*@
There's this thing out now called a "Smartphone", and when you look at it, it has the Time Built Right in! Neat, huh?
RE Alan and Blogger: + 1,000!
Get one of the Casio G shock solar watches. Never worry about battery again, allmost indistructable.
Dave
I know exactly how you feel. I can't go out of the house unless I'm properly instrumented. I feel like Spock without his tricorder. I can do without a phone or even money, but I've got to have my watch, wallet, and pocketknife.
I know how you feel Jay. I always feel naked without a watch too. I'm also of the mindset of using cheap watches for everyday wear. I don't think I've spent more than $20 on one in more than 10 years.
The Ipod Nano doubles as a wrist-watch.
I recently broke my nice watch; Target had a Timex 1440 watch for $8 on the discount rack that I'm wearing now. Looked a little cheap in the store next to the nicer watches, but it looks fine out of context (ie on my wrist).
When I worked as an auto mechanic I got out of the habit of wearing a watch (or a belt, for that matter) while I worked. Stuff like that can damage a customer's car. Initially I used to take my watch off at work, and hang it on my rearview mirror. After someone broke into my car (1970 Challenger, for the record) and stole the watch, I pretty much just quit wearing them altogether. I've found in the (many) years since that without relying on the watch I've actually got pretty good at just knowing what time it is. If I really feel the need to double check, there is always my phone.
Jay,
I'm something of an oddball when it comes to a wrist watch. Like me being an oddball is any surprise . . . not only do I have to have my watch, I also do a quick pat-down to make sure I have all of the following:
1) watch
2) wallet
3) money clip
-- no cash in the wallet
4) keys
5) pen
6) chap-stick
You'd be surprised at how many folks notice I use my own pen for signing charge slips and such.
Brad
Wear a bracelet:
http://northwest1524.blogspot.com/2011/08/knotty-boy.html
Then laugh at yourself every time that you check the paracord for the time...
Jay, if the batteries are dead, have them replaced or at least removed.
I left a dead battery in the watch my mom gave me for HS graduation. It eventually leaked and the result was not pretty. The watch shop can't fix it. I'm going to try sending it back to the factory in Japan to see if they can completely replace the guts.
On the analog jobs you don't wear often, pulling the stem out usually stops them. Your battery life will increase greatly. YMMV
Challenge accepted.
;-)
Jay - I'll see your opening paragraph and raise you this:
All of my watches are "atomic" - radio synchronized to the NBS. The clock in the car uses GPS time. The smartphone is set to AT&T network, which is also set to the NBS. Almost every clock in the house is "atomic".
You can watch second hands move in time with each other.
First thing I put on in the morning and the last thing I take off is my watch.
So I understand.
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