tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13735085919844049782024-03-10T20:23:32.727-07:00THE TEERITZ AGENDAteeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.comBlogger435125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-79663849488190198312024-01-07T00:31:00.000-08:002024-01-07T01:26:24.130-08:00My Most-Worn Watches of 2023<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>wenty/twenty-three was an interesting year in terms of my watch wearing habits. I was busy in my job, I spent most of the year recovering from the bunion surgery that I underwent in September of 2022, and I suffered a set-back in March when I fractured a metatarsal in my left foot, which has left me with daily pain when I walk. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">As such, I didn't cycle through my watches last year as often as I did in previous years. This was perhaps due to laziness more than anything else. It was sometimes easier to leave a watch on my wrist for several days at a time rather than swap them out daily. Which was fine by me, as I got a chance to spend more time with a certain watch. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">As a result, I settled into a preference for certain sizes and certain watches. This is something that I've been contemplating over recent years, as I began to see patterns in the sizes of watches that I tended to like. My collection comprises numerous watches of various types, but I tend to make a bee-line for certain pieces. I had a few new arrivals in 2023 and one departure. Some watches were well overdue for servicing and had therefore not gotten much time on the wrist, some watches needed other attention, and some watches were overshadowed by others.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have found these yearly round-ups to be quite useful in showing how and where my tastes may have evolved or changed, and which pieces found their way onto my wrist more often than others. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, time to get this post underway. I will admit that some of the results were quite surprising to me. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And so...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRAseRh6IhyG5raGYu0pT04Hzruv0QUhQp-Eue3r7o3m4AY01lv0zKNLwnvu-Scqd7MjbXmFdr0oeCP5fdfru4hoLuMf_79bfDn44_c9uiGlOHDKfn8438f5nwLPYA5PuHq6JlI1FoAcn-Eg98dnuxMrOnac6-orsojg_Iadt6txvLVsi0rpiPXJJEeLlx/s4800/3%20typecast.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4800" data-original-width="3434" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRAseRh6IhyG5raGYu0pT04Hzruv0QUhQp-Eue3r7o3m4AY01lv0zKNLwnvu-Scqd7MjbXmFdr0oeCP5fdfru4hoLuMf_79bfDn44_c9uiGlOHDKfn8438f5nwLPYA5PuHq6JlI1FoAcn-Eg98dnuxMrOnac6-orsojg_Iadt6txvLVsi0rpiPXJJEeLlx/w286-h400/3%20typecast.JPG" width="286" /></a></div>There's no shortage of Pilot's style watches out there. Just about every brand has produced one or two at some point throughout its history. The beauty of this type of watch lies in the clarity of the dial. They tend to offer at-a-glance readability with wonderful contrast between dial and hands. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Similar to Military and Field watches, the dials comprise of Arabic numerals all the way around, with plain picket-fence hands. Usually, the numerals and hands have a luminous coating for legibility in the dark or low-light conditions. A seconds hand ensures that the wearer knows that the watch is running, and these types of watches often had a hacking function, allowing one to synchronise the seconds hand, so that a squadron of pilots, for example, could set their watches to the exact time down to the second. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi5KPg-TmL9nwH_d0pOUS0ENew-VTl1iuYgylFBumoTCuDB2dQQ867ou_OBLw_VQRlZt_HgVsKTeWjJxp8b0dpfDHSfrCxQxmeDQKGXX9dkHJgrrm8MRv7xIgXdBEGSdEZjsqX1fba5G67xcSB5YCLI34pajp4nwQbPsjiMfs-GBTHQCEF_FA8a0cntxnp/s5184/2.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2916" data-original-width="5184" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi5KPg-TmL9nwH_d0pOUS0ENew-VTl1iuYgylFBumoTCuDB2dQQ867ou_OBLw_VQRlZt_HgVsKTeWjJxp8b0dpfDHSfrCxQxmeDQKGXX9dkHJgrrm8MRv7xIgXdBEGSdEZjsqX1fba5G67xcSB5YCLI34pajp4nwQbPsjiMfs-GBTHQCEF_FA8a0cntxnp/w400-h225/2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>I love the dial of this watch! So much detail and thought has gone into it. Each numeral is applied, as in attached rather than printed or painted on, and then filled in with a generous dollop of SuperLuminova. The glossy sunburst blue dial has a beautiful sheen to it and the numerals appear to gently sit on its surface. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The red diamond-tipped seconds hand ticks along and passes over a white diamond marker that's recessed slightly in the chapter ring and positioned behind each numeral on the dial. The five stars on the dial has nothing to do with a Google Review. These stars were a symbol of Longines accuracy back in the days of their Admiral series of watches in the 1960s.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This Spirit model is COSC-rated and contains a silicon balance-spring, which means it is highly corrosion resistant and not affected by magnetic interference or extreme changes in temperature. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">For me, though, the niftiest aspect of this movement is the 72 hour power reserve. Take it off on Friday evening when you get home from work and this thing will still be ticking along when you pick it up again on Monday morning. I never used to think a long power reserve was a selling point for me. I always felt a 38 or 42 hour power reserve was sufficient, but these modern watches with an approximate 3-day power reserve is quite handy. Especially when alternated with other watches. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnPrP__s1Ezn6OU-K2gf_wK99FHgwQFGhcGX3OtxQVhlvPxWcP-iQWixKZBgfwFop54pJ47IkeVPBFHnntQARw5dxE_iI9BO6VqxhoCvoFX6bnjYwpuGj5m8OeizMWqjoiADWpfP6d76dXvjqFx1huv-cK7iDWSogvjWqGP1vFp2Se4qfSPWGVGQYW0DZ_/s5184/1.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3741" data-original-width="5184" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnPrP__s1Ezn6OU-K2gf_wK99FHgwQFGhcGX3OtxQVhlvPxWcP-iQWixKZBgfwFop54pJ47IkeVPBFHnntQARw5dxE_iI9BO6VqxhoCvoFX6bnjYwpuGj5m8OeizMWqjoiADWpfP6d76dXvjqFx1huv-cK7iDWSogvjWqGP1vFp2Se4qfSPWGVGQYW0DZ_/w400-h289/1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Oh, and this watch has 100m water-resistance. Not the first watch I'd think of for a dip in a pool or ocean, but still handy if you ever get thrown into a pool or ocean. Although, if you ever do find yourself in either of these scenarios, you may have a bigger problem than your watch's water- resistance. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And, of course, as with most modern watches, it has a sapphire crystal. Not impossible, to scratch but it'll handle day-to-day scuffs. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The sun was shining and it was a warm day, so I whipped up a Daiquiri for this last photo;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>The Daiquiri</u> #</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">60ml White Rum</div><div style="text-align: justify;">30ml Lime juice </div><div style="text-align: justify;">20ml Simple Syrup*</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Put all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake it up till it's ice-cold. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Strain it into a cocktail glass. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Garnish with a slice of lime. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">*Simple Syrup - two or three teaspoons of fine sugar. Castor Sugar is probably best, but I was out of it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Into a small glass and add a little bit of boiled water to create a thickish consistency, somewhere between that of water and honey, leaning more towards honey. If you make it and it looks too runny, just add more sugar till you get it right. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"># Recipe taken from <i>The Essential Cocktail Book / </i>Edited by Megan Krigbaum / Ten Speed Press, 2017 / 341p. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">******************************************************* </span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ6EKVOq92vUuGZ5pO-B0kCGONTdKLdw_Bvfn3HXV1Tlie30zk14KHugSsq4iLAwT3312LoLYgTwpkSsrmtNDOCG2YJVcbc1UH0zaj3LDvdBULxyuRFzwScnSsSsN-AXevTZKozJmgysembL5VfwXUYzi3y45ejOnu4Yq4MvLgQgZRwxeOK34hgnrx7pyw/s3763/2%20typecast.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3524" data-original-width="3763" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ6EKVOq92vUuGZ5pO-B0kCGONTdKLdw_Bvfn3HXV1Tlie30zk14KHugSsq4iLAwT3312LoLYgTwpkSsrmtNDOCG2YJVcbc1UH0zaj3LDvdBULxyuRFzwScnSsSsN-AXevTZKozJmgysembL5VfwXUYzi3y45ejOnu4Yq4MvLgQgZRwxeOK34hgnrx7pyw/s320/2%20typecast.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As far as Expedition watches go, the Rolex Explorer and Omega Railmaster are my favourites, but I'll readily admit that I'm not a fan of every iteration of these two watches. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">With this version of the Explorer, Rolex returned to the classic 36mm case size and provided an upgrade to the dial by filling the 3, 6, 9 numerals with a thin layer of their proprietary Chromalight lume, which glows a pleasant shade of ice-blue. As much as I like the older models, my one pet-peeve was the lack of lume on the numerals at the cardinal points of the dial. This is why I love my Railmaster. The numerals glow in the dark. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Either way, this current Explorer redresses this by providing markers and numerals that glow in the dark. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This watch also has a long power reserve, similar to the Longines Spirit. The Rolex Calibre 3230 will run around 70 hours when fully wound. Again, this is something that I've come to like in a wristwatch in recent years. I don't consciously seek out watches with long power reserves, but it is a nice bonus when I find one. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTlpczn80kJTNq92HewGudInk95umf_6gdQ-QTgN5TTSNbb7R67H0Gy2EU1p4YsCB-vL6hp9_VQCU1SMBMyOsN62g1-v8x9ngBD5UAWK6VvJZcohxvWYvMt2-O3nZbotay0cZdIgZxq2C_un1Yd7sxkxE76SK1cjNxBvuDJb-t69J7f2kOTaPAI0WN0sfW/s5184/2.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3249" data-original-width="5184" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTlpczn80kJTNq92HewGudInk95umf_6gdQ-QTgN5TTSNbb7R67H0Gy2EU1p4YsCB-vL6hp9_VQCU1SMBMyOsN62g1-v8x9ngBD5UAWK6VvJZcohxvWYvMt2-O3nZbotay0cZdIgZxq2C_un1Yd7sxkxE76SK1cjNxBvuDJb-t69J7f2kOTaPAI0WN0sfW/w400-h251/2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'll start off here by saying; <i>My God, those lenses are filthy!</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, that's out of my system. Moving on.<i> <br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In <i>Live And Let Die </i>(Jonathan Cape, 1954)<i>, </i>Ian Fleming equipped Bond with a <i>"Rolex Oyster Perpetual, with large phosphorous numerals, fitted on an expanding bracelet."</i><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fleming didn't add much to his description of OO7's wristwatch beyond that, despite the fact that he was a stickler for details. Something tells me that if the watch had said 'EXPLORER' on the dial, Fleming would have stated it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This watch was worn through 64 days of 2023. Beaten by the Longines Spirit by one day! Still, sixty-four days is a pretty good run, considering that I got this watch in mid-May. I knew I was going to get a lot of wear out of it. It's understated, clear, and it exudes a real 'urban guy's watch' vibe. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Even just lying on its side in the photo above, it looks terribly masculine. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And, like the Longines Spirit, this Explorer is also rated to 100m water-resistance. Again, not a first choice for a day at the beach, but nice to know that it'll handle any day-to-day immersion in water, whether you're reaching into a bucket of water while washing your car, or you get thrown into a swimming pool at a slightly out of control Christmas party. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've, uh, done both of those things. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">************************************************ <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXOj4swSj0URqHswM-7mcvNSeQLGCqPC4yAJk1sPNWQHEfdjdLfEV1xvgpBekVMgg40wOw7864v1-9tBmqNorHjYbLckoBWY4VQyeSrcaOxtfUjpWzhE_L1dBFjE3SQ_6xHlSyu1rV9LEKBwMxOdFqn9IUydeT33Z4YZCH-2qoA0vvmLInKo4gwoRDpYUL/s5184/3%20-%201.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3803" data-original-width="5184" height="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXOj4swSj0URqHswM-7mcvNSeQLGCqPC4yAJk1sPNWQHEfdjdLfEV1xvgpBekVMgg40wOw7864v1-9tBmqNorHjYbLckoBWY4VQyeSrcaOxtfUjpWzhE_L1dBFjE3SQ_6xHlSyu1rV9LEKBwMxOdFqn9IUydeT33Z4YZCH-2qoA0vvmLInKo4gwoRDpYUL/w640-h470/3%20-%201.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Apparently, there's a wristwatch in the photo above. Yes, I can't see it either. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">A slight digression - I had some Pommery Brut Royal Champagne left over from New Year's Eve so, time for a...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>French 75#</u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><br /></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;">30ml Gin</div><div style="text-align: justify;">15ml Lemon juice</div><div style="text-align: justify;">10ml Rich Simple syrup (see recipe up above and add more sugar so that it turns out syrupy)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Place these three ingredients into a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice and shake it for about ten seconds.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Strain into a Champagne flute and top up with Champagne. Garnish with a strip of lemon peel on the edge of the glass.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"># Recipe taken from <i>How To Make Better Cocktails / </i>By Sebastian Hamilton-Mudge, Natalia Garcia Bourke and Andy Shannon / Mitchell Beazley, 2023 / 224p. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, the info relevant to this watch is lost in that first photo, so let me aim for a close-up;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeycweVlUJ3lkBU1il0fwaO_x62z9GyaGj9F430epk36kYtX83Po3DIrSjEddkLBB1q_VROBYi_j3HTe_IZJgW_LmUNXgGChyrc9ilKTX_OPnZNgaynYDi8qClgADrLJ1eNc8h94YGzeCt2nKrbKXvbDtEhgLU8Evk0bco_XU3cn8KEzD81tTqis1jWfUp/s5184/3%20typecast.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeycweVlUJ3lkBU1il0fwaO_x62z9GyaGj9F430epk36kYtX83Po3DIrSjEddkLBB1q_VROBYi_j3HTe_IZJgW_LmUNXgGChyrc9ilKTX_OPnZNgaynYDi8qClgADrLJ1eNc8h94YGzeCt2nKrbKXvbDtEhgLU8Evk0bco_XU3cn8KEzD81tTqis1jWfUp/s320/3%20typecast.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yeah, that's better. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I knew I was gonna love this watch when I first clipped it to my wrist back in mid-2018. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I put my name down on one of those dreaded 'expressions of interest' lists and waited 18 months to hear back from the Assistant Manager of a store I'd previously never dealt with. I never did hear back from him and I strongly suspected that he never had any intention of contacting me, since I wasn't an already established customer of his with a purchase history from his store. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">By the middle of 2020, I decided to cast my net out wider. I went to see the Manager of a store that was a Tudor stockist. This fellow was the brother of a co-worker of mine and I told him to put my name down on 'the list' and I'd be happy to wait. Six months later, I was informed that he'd received a BB58 on a leather strap. <i> </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Was I interested?</i>, he asked. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yes. Yes I was, I replied. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He placed it on hold for me and I asked him to order the steel bracelet for it. My plan was to sell the strap, since I knew I'd never wear it. Once I got the watch (on Boxing Day, 2020), I put it on a leather strap of my own while I waited a couple of weeks for the bracelet to arrive. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once it did, I fitted it to the watch, removed some links to fit my wrist and...just one problem;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1SbisnE9i0EOFGIMkZykexwjpKASjWJB2rs1LXbYH3OMXg21AglLj88lZOWxGQ7J3Fti-FlfBzkeYH4K2EmobnHHwPKor8-_X805Y_NGxjBeSFjLPwkAkqV8IpW3ssHsAApLYT7QbSBJrIHmXMhjWFZa7vGdxgNxMe6GhhISrheTyjjSyZXbFc-LzZdM-/s2048/IMG_0066~photo.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1SbisnE9i0EOFGIMkZykexwjpKASjWJB2rs1LXbYH3OMXg21AglLj88lZOWxGQ7J3Fti-FlfBzkeYH4K2EmobnHHwPKor8-_X805Y_NGxjBeSFjLPwkAkqV8IpW3ssHsAApLYT7QbSBJrIHmXMhjWFZa7vGdxgNxMe6GhhISrheTyjjSyZXbFc-LzZdM-/w640-h480/IMG_0066~photo.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A near-perfect fit, dammit. That clasp bridge section doesn't follow the curve of my school-girly 6.5 inch wrist. I could still wear the watch without any problem, but this clasp arrangement provided a 90% perfect fit. I wanted 100%.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Eventually, a few companies came up with varying solutions. I doubt they had me in mind, but there were a couple of intriguing options. One brand, called Steel Reef, had a foldable link solution that could be attached to the underside of the clasp. Not sure if this would work for me, and I didn't want to shell out 100GBP to find out if it would work. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, when Uncle Straps came up with a half-link, designed for the Black Bay 58, priced at around fifty AUD, I figured I should give it a try. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">End result was;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6FqEHvkF3qmQ1Dof7tE3YilsBH7zle6Pox4fZvhlrHChB3VdKKC9lQfJElijoStKAWunWeC9_Y5iXE-OBZImdU6n8FKx1SJvmCsNVqdMTvHW__2JQ_6mYP1YvHgT4LhOT88LJ9p9gxI7YCT5dYjZ-6_9Q-RaJOmhL_DMCQvEiHQJOOKnqZBmc7TRC83-l/s4182/P1030118.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3377" data-original-width="4182" height="517" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6FqEHvkF3qmQ1Dof7tE3YilsBH7zle6Pox4fZvhlrHChB3VdKKC9lQfJElijoStKAWunWeC9_Y5iXE-OBZImdU6n8FKx1SJvmCsNVqdMTvHW__2JQ_6mYP1YvHgT4LhOT88LJ9p9gxI7YCT5dYjZ-6_9Q-RaJOmhL_DMCQvEiHQJOOKnqZBmc7TRC83-l/w640-h517/P1030118.JPG" width="640" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Okay, still not 100%, but pretty damn close. The clasp bridge now sits more in line with the second link on the right-hand side of the clasp, virtually eradicating that gap that's seen in the previous photo. Close enough, and it sits a little better on my wrist. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimOueyzXDjZJal0ZRp1aUeAuQOcskpI_jXhCOE855nYXFgnFZAkCd5cPB8iH-5SyBqE5a6sU5wV202pBpaw5S9fzOul4U6QIIv6iZValsidbRNR9Eeh-7_i8G_trd-D-XJ6OfHhf-S_lhV9D3FDcS3zbxWAj3G57skAvRRq8QwbixKukelSKD0mza4gbw0/s2048/IMG_0301~photo.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2017" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimOueyzXDjZJal0ZRp1aUeAuQOcskpI_jXhCOE855nYXFgnFZAkCd5cPB8iH-5SyBqE5a6sU5wV202pBpaw5S9fzOul4U6QIIv6iZValsidbRNR9Eeh-7_i8G_trd-D-XJ6OfHhf-S_lhV9D3FDcS3zbxWAj3G57skAvRRq8QwbixKukelSKD0mza4gbw0/w394-h400/IMG_0301~photo.JPG" width="394" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, finally, a half-decent photo. Taken a couple of years ago. This BB58 was worn throughout 54 days of last year. I probably would have worn it more, but the Longines and Rolex were new arrivals and they got their fair share of time in the spotlight in 2023. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Having said that, this watch has nudged the almighty Submariner 5513 to a much lower spot on the totem pole of my collection. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Don't get me wrong. I love the Submariner, but while it has old-school charm and cred that's through the roof, it also has old-school technology. The crystal is Plexiglas for one thing, and it doesn't suit my clumsy lifestyle. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I knocked the watch against a door frame a few years ago and the bezel fell off. A year before that, I was removing the bracelet from the watch and when I tilted the watch to the side, the bezel and crystal fell away from the case. It's a beautiful watch, steeped in wristwatch history and photogenic as all hell. But I can't afford to get it repaired every time it gets knocked around. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The BB58 is everything that a vintage Submariner isn't. There. I said it. Collectabillity, investment value/potential, social media flex. Pfft! These mean nothing to me. I just like wristwatches, which is why my 5513 shares room with a $38.00 Casio MRW-200H. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Purists and snobs be damned. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Danny Milton, my favourite writer at Hodinkee, owns both a Sub 5513 and this Tudor and he summed the BB58 up perfectly in ten short words; <i>In many ways, Tudor is now what Rolex once was. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i> </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's a great article, with fantastic photos taken by his wife. Here's the link;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i> <br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i></i><a href="https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/the-tudor-black-bay-fifty-eight-is-not-a-submariner-alternative">Hodinkee.com | Second Opinions: The Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight Is Not A Submariner Alternative</a><i> </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i> </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My collection will surely change as the years roll by. The Submariner may go, to be replaced by a more modern iteration.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Tudor Black Bay 58, however, ain't going nowhere. <i></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>**************************************************<br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOMwATub6EpLNxlnIdIDMAMI8b8T4foAIX9E9IApoZnPbgl5Wg0FyszA7GN8cKTYxXFYqYDLlbGDXa1s8hIjqOUSZHa-SUPgN42tw8PpaKCikuQ4XdDgGfucDmKW6Lau08jeTNgwPydzSMcP9XQ0rNuwrtCSsTO9cRc7oPre-NrF-LQA_BBeVsQeua7RCq/s1920/4%20typecast.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1104" data-original-width="1920" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOMwATub6EpLNxlnIdIDMAMI8b8T4foAIX9E9IApoZnPbgl5Wg0FyszA7GN8cKTYxXFYqYDLlbGDXa1s8hIjqOUSZHa-SUPgN42tw8PpaKCikuQ4XdDgGfucDmKW6Lau08jeTNgwPydzSMcP9XQ0rNuwrtCSsTO9cRc7oPre-NrF-LQA_BBeVsQeua7RCq/w400-h230/4%20typecast.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Seiko is often considered a gateway brand into mechanical watches and the SKX series was often a starting point for a lot of collectors. I have no shred of evidence or proof to support that statement, but I have read of a few watch collectors who have stated that this watch was their introduction to mechanical wristwatches.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some collectors move on from this watch to Swiss-made, while others hold on to their SKXs as a reminder of where their watch collecting journey began. As for myself, I arrived at this watch around mid-2021. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I always knew of its existence, but my collection was a little top-heavy with dive watches, so I kept putting this watch off, thinking that it would be around forever and I'd get around to getting one some day. It was inexpensive, considering. Around four hundred bucks AUD. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The SKX series was discontinued in 2019 (I think) and prices of these models soon began to climb as supplies began to dwindle. I snapped one up in September 2021, while they were still able to be found brand new. By then the price had increased to $650.oo. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rather than go for a black dial, I opted for the blue because A) it breaks up my dive watch collection a little, and B) I liked the 20-minute red bezel insert, as it is such a part of Seiko dive watch design language. Also, the arrow-shaped minute hand - which was <i>almost </i>a deal-breaker - and the crown-at-4-position of the crown are quintessentially Seiko. Put these three elements together and you have a watch that cannot be mistaken for a Rolex Submariner or Omega Seamaster and, given the popularity of this watch since its inception in 1996, it deserves a place at the same table as the Submariner and Seamaster. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This watch was worn over 22 days in 2023, a sharp drop compared to the Black Bay 58's 54-day dominance, but still, this Seiko came in very handy due to its day and date function. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This model, with the 'K' designation in the model number, was assembled at Seiko's subsidiary factory in Malaysia. The Japanese-built model, the SKX009J, tended to sell for a higher price and the quickest way to tell the difference between the Japanese and Malaysian model is the dial text. The models made in Japan have '21 JEWELS' printed underneath the 'DIVERS 200m' text at the 6 o'clock edge of the dial. Also, the shade of blue on the Malaysian dial is slightly darker than the Japanese-built model. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I like the heft of the case when the watch is on my wrist. I like how the hands and hour markers glow all night long, and I like the smooth click of the bezel when it's turned. It has an effortless feel to it, something that quite a few high-end Swiss brands don't seem to emulate. And despite its 42.5mm diameter, it sits quite nicely on my wrist, thanks to its short lug length. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This watch originally came with a rubber strap, but I already had a steel bracelet from another Seiko diver that I had and I quickly attached it to this watch. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Calibre 7S26 in this watch has been used throughout numerous Seiko Automatic watches over the years. It is a dependable movement. Timekeeping-wise, it's meant to lose or gain anywhere between 15 to 30 seconds a day, but I must say that I've had two or three Seiko watches with this movement in it and the timekeeping was more reliable than that figure. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The other thing with this movement is that it is automatic only, meaning that you can't wind it by hand. Still, a couple of quick flicks of the watch while it's in your hand and off it goes. Put it on your wrist and get your day underway and the internal rotor will do the rest, keeping the watch wound while you wear it. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitxaT-3285XN5CiDpePHJcwX7B0NIPzGubmJvOSWjFCaXC0JilfhfU5ZsOBaMGDeNkuXqkm5oICXz6rx9RydVlEWER7HSEnW_tUWjV9ZBTonsG83PQRFQH9YXFr_MzhJaVifInEqndYWfU7a5h7PjJs8E79uCZS3S0cetkWJC6PAYbWRWzUKIyzt_Jxcqk/s1920/4.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1325" data-original-width="1920" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitxaT-3285XN5CiDpePHJcwX7B0NIPzGubmJvOSWjFCaXC0JilfhfU5ZsOBaMGDeNkuXqkm5oICXz6rx9RydVlEWER7HSEnW_tUWjV9ZBTonsG83PQRFQH9YXFr_MzhJaVifInEqndYWfU7a5h7PjJs8E79uCZS3S0cetkWJC6PAYbWRWzUKIyzt_Jxcqk/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The SKX range has since been replaced by the Seiko 5 Sport series, which shares probably 90% of the design elements of the SKX series, so if any of you missed out on the SKX when it was in production, you have a chance to get something very similar in the 5 Sport collection. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some watch collectors/enthusiasts don't look twice at the Seiko brand. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Their loss. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I cannot fault Seiko at all. One of the best bang-for-buck brands out there. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">**********************************************************<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPONdYd5l2O5tn5gVTlkm5dw8V_bGY-BxQWfxzLrbio8jwju9lbBe3fpdvNg4N6dWY2xoQv96XjtP8D6el8FnwSawR_hpG4E2DkyxyB5PK4QTgfzHyLJShVDdu9w_a1i9hi6_T4gaDguruQyYwizElRLOHlV9sN3S5Mvb52JRsuGhRr8Trg_GD5Dc3wcbN/s4646/5%20typecast%202.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3834" data-original-width="4646" height="528" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPONdYd5l2O5tn5gVTlkm5dw8V_bGY-BxQWfxzLrbio8jwju9lbBe3fpdvNg4N6dWY2xoQv96XjtP8D6el8FnwSawR_hpG4E2DkyxyB5PK4QTgfzHyLJShVDdu9w_a1i9hi6_T4gaDguruQyYwizElRLOHlV9sN3S5Mvb52JRsuGhRr8Trg_GD5Dc3wcbN/w640-h528/5%20typecast%202.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This watch can sometimes wear a little large on my wrist, but it's a small price to pay. It sits pretty low and this tends to balance out the diameter. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This one was a Grail piece for me. I spent around five years looking at water-damaged originals and Vietnam War-era fakes before deciding to pay a visit to WatchCo to have this watch assembled. WatchCo was an Omega parts distributor and they made a run of these watches, put together from period-correct movements from the 1960s and all new case parts. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Purists will scoff.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Like I care.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWrYrWZi8b6PUQmoP2DLdcJ6Lt-5xF5iTTvAlqxKkJOKn1ljakS69-MGGPt7A6Jhjt48wyKiYM-QWuWIXGEnLFUq3DNxJhLK4ab13sl88Dxy1OIg12oRQM97_cXjNw-npYNnVmJqruEgAND1KteIIoSCJOovBYpC_uAHaOhftLXgNuQBS2oeXCphZSQLR1/s5184/P1060112.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3059" data-original-width="5184" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWrYrWZi8b6PUQmoP2DLdcJ6Lt-5xF5iTTvAlqxKkJOKn1ljakS69-MGGPt7A6Jhjt48wyKiYM-QWuWIXGEnLFUq3DNxJhLK4ab13sl88Dxy1OIg12oRQM97_cXjNw-npYNnVmJqruEgAND1KteIIoSCJOovBYpC_uAHaOhftLXgNuQBS2oeXCphZSQLR1/w400-h236/P1060112.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At the time of writing this entry (Jan 6th), it was a sweltering day here in Melbourne, Australia. I did some light exercise in the morning, ran a couple of errands, and then my wife and I spent an hour or so trimming some bamboo trees along the side path and, by the time we were done, I figured it was time for a drink. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>Mojito#</u><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">45ml White Rum</div><div style="text-align: justify;">15ml Lime juice (freshly squeezed)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1/2 to 1 tsp fine sugar</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mint leaves</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Soda Water</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Take a Collins glass and add the lemon juice and sugar. Mix it up. Add a few leaves of mint and press them against the sides of the glass with a bar spoon or muddler. This will break the leaves slightly to release their flavour. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fill the glass two-thirds with cracked ice.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Add the Rum.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Top up with soda water.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"># Recipe taken from <i>Esquire: Drink Like A Man / </i>Edited by Ross McCammon and David Wondrich / Chronicle Books, 2016 / 208p. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">************************************************************** <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMS4xtHRCwYBUuSpmJ2BOVyBGERDxSJ1mEP-_z0Pwuv3jeP7jbpdtcC_qC7EI7KQuAuyvXbL81BMkTjA13-rJRNVvhnXKR9_AA8_kYP9e2FDoADTvpY3K4J7b804Yu8jsD9RJTGpe2ucfHTX3QAWmxp6WnBst1jS98jZQYvCt_CS_uE4llkSINA0vtd41r/s5184/P1070109.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMS4xtHRCwYBUuSpmJ2BOVyBGERDxSJ1mEP-_z0Pwuv3jeP7jbpdtcC_qC7EI7KQuAuyvXbL81BMkTjA13-rJRNVvhnXKR9_AA8_kYP9e2FDoADTvpY3K4J7b804Yu8jsD9RJTGpe2ucfHTX3QAWmxp6WnBst1jS98jZQYvCt_CS_uE4llkSINA0vtd41r/w640-h480/P1070109.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I didn't miss the Nighthawk once it was gone. Sure, it's a cool looking watch, but it didn't really suit my tastes. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And so, a month or so later, I began to think about getting some other solar-powered watch, something that I could use for travel, even though I don't travel all that much. I wanted a watch that would be dependable but not something that I would cry over if it got lost or extensively damaged. It needed to be water-resistant, it needed to be easy to read, and this time around, I'd go for something a little smaller in size. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Enter the Seiko SNP585P. I went for the blue dial and bezel model, again this was done to break up the black dive watch collection a little. I saw this model at a chain-store jewellers at my nearby shopping centre and it was on sale. Seiko fans have humbly nicknamed this watch "The Sunmariner" due to its similar design elements to the Rolex Sub, and sure, the similarities are there, but it has plenty of Seiko DNA in it too. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I actually stumbled across the black dial version in a wonderful article by Thomas Calara over on Worn & Wound;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://wornandwound.com/a-winter-surf-session-with-the-seiko-sne573-solar-diver/">Worn and Wound.com | A Winter Surf Session With The Seiko SNE573 Solar Diver</a><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Most likely, it was the great photography in that article that helped sway my decision towards this watch, and the blue version (SNE585P) doesn't disappoint. If I have one gripe about this watch, it would be the wideness of the lugs, but this is indeed a minor, minor quibble. The rest of the watch overshadows this. The bezel action has that smooth and effortless Seiko feel to it, the dial is wonderfully legible and glows nicely in the dark, 200 metres of water-resistance is way, way more than I'll ever need, and the watch has a nice sleek profile on the wrist. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNoYrZIpCfiTtDLiDHLI6DaAaZMQcvZjVRl5BzO9dLOn5hoftLc6-9llWObqbe96e6LanlLjG0-l40YQipoLtbFfwZqiC3SLaiKuztn_Q5xoxADB1-p3F9GMddhioWVYvYAO1Dob9mvTztQP9LrsAmnJb3FfotUlt8vjZZbWugMaSmtGGmXUEGI803hqFW/s3024/6%20-%202.HEIC" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNoYrZIpCfiTtDLiDHLI6DaAaZMQcvZjVRl5BzO9dLOn5hoftLc6-9llWObqbe96e6LanlLjG0-l40YQipoLtbFfwZqiC3SLaiKuztn_Q5xoxADB1-p3F9GMddhioWVYvYAO1Dob9mvTztQP9LrsAmnJb3FfotUlt8vjZZbWugMaSmtGGmXUEGI803hqFW/s320/6%20-%202.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>As a result, this watch got worn over 18 days of the year. It would make for a great travel watch and indeed it did when I took it to Vietnam in October for a quick week away in Ho Chi Minh City. I swapped out the steel bracelet for a rubber strap and the watch performed like a champion during the trip. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The entire dial of the watch is a solar panel, which soaks up UV light and stores power. I've had the watch since around May last year and so far, it hasn't stopped ticking, so I think there's plenty in the tank on this thing. I'd probably have to leave it in a drawer for about a year for it to stop. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My wife and I have booked to go back to Ho Chi Minh City in a few months and I'll again be taking this watch with me. Most likely, the bracelet will be replaced with the rubber strap and I'll maybe bring along a spare NATO or two-piece nylon strap to switch things up if I find the rubber strap too hot against the skin. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">All in all, it's a great watch. If somebody were to ask me to recommend them a dive watch without the care and feeding that's required with a mechanical watch, this would be what I'd recommend. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">**********************************************</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And that's my Top Six Most Worn Watches of 2023 wrap-up.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But wait, there's more! </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have two watches that hadn't gotten much wear in 2023. One of them is one of my earliest purchases, but I've come to find it difficult to read the time on it in recent years due to its skeleton hand-set. The other one is another favourite of mine, but I've never been a fan of the flimsy clasp on the bracelet. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, here's what I did to get these watches to my liking again.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>The Omega Seamaster Professional 300m (Reference No. 2531.80.00 / 1999)</u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6CdvjGzs7E6QhAKPtkZAK6o1S1ItKfSQZyKDH2Se6WfFXVmw95ImAG8bheKYXabczcA9NIN2JTgZmlBnGzfmL6BgYQ9Ow_dUQkdyYp0wgJy4ZZl5vjZTdWUlh_KqQd03qBXgQv0F_v08Z1qM-0Rr7lCyu5vdqV63urjcC9G8cVEe4_RM07omS138Gc8io/s800/SMP300m%20b4.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="800" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6CdvjGzs7E6QhAKPtkZAK6o1S1ItKfSQZyKDH2Se6WfFXVmw95ImAG8bheKYXabczcA9NIN2JTgZmlBnGzfmL6BgYQ9Ow_dUQkdyYp0wgJy4ZZl5vjZTdWUlh_KqQd03qBXgQv0F_v08Z1qM-0Rr7lCyu5vdqV63urjcC9G8cVEe4_RM07omS138Gc8io/s320/SMP300m%20b4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This watch was first released in 1993 and it did respectable sales. However, once it was chosen as James Bond's wristwatch for Pierce Brosnan's first OO7 flick, <i>Goldeneye</i>, in 1995, sales started going skyward.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, for the sake of accuracy, he actually wore the quartz version (Reference No. 2541.80.00) in that film and Omega soon realised that it could cash in on the more expensive automatic model, so the switch was made over to the mechanical version in 1997, for his next Bond film <i>Tomorrow Never Dies, </i>and Bond has since worn an automatic Omega Seamaster in every movie after that. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I wore this watch solid for the first six years that I had it, before my collection began to expand. I wore it when both of my kids were born. It's going nowhere. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">My main gripe about this watch, though, was the skeleton hands. They are part of its design and still used in the current version, but as my eyesight got older, along with the rest of me, I found these hands tricky to read when I'd wake up, for whatever reason, in the wee small hours.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hence, this watch got a little less time on the wrist. Also, my collection had expanded over the years and I had other watches jostling for position, so to speak. But, I've always liked this watch. Its slim profile sits nicely on my wrist, the dial is a wonderful inky-blue shade, and this watch and I had a lot of history together. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">But those hands!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sometime last year, I read on the Watchuseek Omega forums of a member who swapped out the skeleton hands on his Seamaster Pro for sword hands from the vintage Seamaster 300, like my WatchCo Edition up above. Interesting. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And, as luck would have it, I mentioned this to the watchmaker I work with and he said he just may have a pair of these vintage sword hands lying around somewhere at home. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sho' nuff, he brought the hands in to work a couple of days later and the transformation was done. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWmKBwHCaCzTOoZQn7XGzwQx_von9hjEGjuUnNDyPikJZFl2gMwH5nMqNedfXPEfbl7XKVXHiPF0G9JJWSjII6JYrUn1x_Y74rYrK0IFQqABipk4JHMBGomSqFNRLP_4hdOjLtKR_wiK40VkpLa6z1NWS5Pu1IHDzBlDkbbWm0Vex1f87RO_bH2xMeXgi/s3462/DSCF7695.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="3462" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWmKBwHCaCzTOoZQn7XGzwQx_von9hjEGjuUnNDyPikJZFl2gMwH5nMqNedfXPEfbl7XKVXHiPF0G9JJWSjII6JYrUn1x_Y74rYrK0IFQqABipk4JHMBGomSqFNRLP_4hdOjLtKR_wiK40VkpLa6z1NWS5Pu1IHDzBlDkbbWm0Vex1f87RO_bH2xMeXgi/s320/DSCF7695.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The watch now bears a closer resemblance to those cool military-issue Submariners and Seamasters of the 1960s and '70s. AND it's a damn sight easier to read in the dark, too!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Again, the purists are gonna hate on this kind of modification, but I've never purchased <i>any </i>watch<i> </i>in order to make other people happy. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Life is too short. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">One other change I might make is with the bracelet. The non-tapered chain-link style bracelet is so strongly associated with this model, but for me, that is the problem. It's a great bracelet and suits the watch nicely, but I figured I'd just change it up a little. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhprm9y7SwXVjyJ_B1IN3z3AkkcU-CFPagcpzBFDn7nrGU6VN4-DxbXtnOZ2qyiYsXuRZJ75z42yUNyDogGx7x1h8LMiNajliqzUnaKaqsdLf7dZtgFxg8-LPgfCyne-ssucaBbHB_fcwcl73J2UoYuYd4JkdXTNrAXoxz_iBc8F6pWnCbbU0i3pj8C7568/s5184/11th.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhprm9y7SwXVjyJ_B1IN3z3AkkcU-CFPagcpzBFDn7nrGU6VN4-DxbXtnOZ2qyiYsXuRZJ75z42yUNyDogGx7x1h8LMiNajliqzUnaKaqsdLf7dZtgFxg8-LPgfCyne-ssucaBbHB_fcwcl73J2UoYuYd4JkdXTNrAXoxz_iBc8F6pWnCbbU0i3pj8C7568/s320/11th.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I'll most likely get something from Uncle Straps at some point, but for now, I have the watch on a single-pass Regimental blue nylon strap and it's very comfy during these Summer months here in Australia. Not that it's been a great Summer so far, but that would probably be another post. Although, I have no plans whatsoever to write a post about the weather. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And, the other watch that didn't get much wear in 2023 was the...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>Omega Railmaster Co-Axial 36.2mm (Reference No. 2504.52.00 / 2009)</u><br /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJOPuXd-Om1sr223FRbQ-yPgBunbp5Xju_mLP90px21Yrfi_RvKoNUVTBQ0QdZnEibOgk0QzIdfslt2EIBIfjRWuFA1WqYrHKLfbHWN00a7cdBuXwYmjaHOOG_YZwQgmrfoh2V3WvRGthCNOq7aMJUslc2Y6H1MMdVhXF5d2Lq07gpJaal9aXHdYudOyW/s5184/18th%20-Raily.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJOPuXd-Om1sr223FRbQ-yPgBunbp5Xju_mLP90px21Yrfi_RvKoNUVTBQ0QdZnEibOgk0QzIdfslt2EIBIfjRWuFA1WqYrHKLfbHWN00a7cdBuXwYmjaHOOG_YZwQgmrfoh2V3WvRGthCNOq7aMJUslc2Y6H1MMdVhXF5d2Lq07gpJaal9aXHdYudOyW/w400-h300/18th%20-Raily.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>I. LOVE. THIS. WATCH! </div><div>Read my review from 2013!<br /></div><div> </div><div><a href="https://teeritz.blogspot.com/2013/05/omega-railmaster-co-axial-automatic.html">The Teeritz Agenda | Omega Railmaster Co-Axial Automatic (36.2mm) - REVIEW </a><br /></div><div> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If the day ever comes where I whittle the collection down to a literal handful of watches, this one will be a stayer. Simple as that. The one pet-peeve I have had with this watch is the clasp. It harkens back to the 1990s bracelet designs and I consider it a little too flimsy for my liking. I don't like the hidden clasp design of it and the fact that the bridge section of the clasp operates in a sliding motion and is held together by one very tiny screw. I have attempted to solve this issue by replacing the band entirely. First attempt was the Flat-link bracelet by Forstner. Very well made and it fit the watch like a glove, but I just felt that the links were a little too thin to suit the case of the watch. Fickle, aren't I?</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Back to the drawing board. Here's my problem with the Omega clasp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP94_P4ZE8L8mqXPUdbNJ_OkyHX1EhbpHuhHHq70ab2wd0ZkN9ioDNqvT-ZdGcA4k9QF52XeoM36lzBo9Evd1-qLvBEbBa7QkuzOHha6dzrArn8Z61jTUFWRqV9Gs1z8TTpZ4sqt2-ydnq1xd6cily4dRbTp_UceC7eQC56fkAmCWVtsDwqzrygFeNNkTM/s1920/8th%20-%20clasp.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="1920" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP94_P4ZE8L8mqXPUdbNJ_OkyHX1EhbpHuhHHq70ab2wd0ZkN9ioDNqvT-ZdGcA4k9QF52XeoM36lzBo9Evd1-qLvBEbBa7QkuzOHha6dzrArn8Z61jTUFWRqV9Gs1z8TTpZ4sqt2-ydnq1xd6cily4dRbTp_UceC7eQC56fkAmCWVtsDwqzrygFeNNkTM/w640-h218/8th%20-%20clasp.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Aside from the tiny screw, the clasp section is thin and works in a sliding motion along that cut-out section in the other part of the clasp bridge. The only thing preventing the clasp from coming apart altogether is the small screw. I would prefer a more robust clasp on a watch. Tricky thing is that the Railmaster has a 19mm lug spacing, rather than the more common 18mm or 20mm space that you tend to find on a wider range of watches. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">So, my next attempt was a long-shot. The FOIS bracelet from Uncle Straps.com. This one has a standard and solid-looking push-button folding clasp and was designed for the Omega Speedmaster commemorative model called 'The First Omega in Space', hence the FOIS designation. That watch was only ever released on a leather strap, so it would seem that there was a market for a steel bracelet that would fit that watch. This bracelet would have 19mm end-links, which I thought would fit the 19mm lug space of the Railmaster.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">So I bought this bracelet.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Once it arrived, I attempted to fit it to the watch and it seemed to fit correctly. Or rather, about 90% correctly. I quickly realised where my error lay; my Railmaster has a case diameter of 36.2mm. The Omega FOIS Speedmaster has a case diameter of 39.7mm. Therefore, the curvature of both cases will differ. <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Despite both watches having a 19mm lug width, it was the curvature the end-link on the Uncle FOIS bracelet that didn't follow the curvature of the Railmaster's case. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i>Okay, think, teeritz, think, dammit!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i>Alright, let's try something, </i>I thought to myself. I got the Forstner Flat-link bracelet, took off the end-link and swapped it over to the Uncle FOIS bracelet. It fit, with a gap of a fraction of a millimetre visible. Fine by me. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i> </i><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYJssFFm2ZBKzIGbaY0KN-AWNeTfDdE1wlRJYLm3oQu2DOHv5iMTVoUrR7eI5Y3D9UmDGjWh3rOrRGST3zBJ4gTZGnY_14MApjIRQ8pN9GjwbGSlUKWHx3-zga4S7ZtSzNzMKMNU6tkzT5nadnz-Ptjk3XImgDfalVYim0gTYvhKE0w4ShMsRC_LWs8ijh/s1920/8th%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1920" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYJssFFm2ZBKzIGbaY0KN-AWNeTfDdE1wlRJYLm3oQu2DOHv5iMTVoUrR7eI5Y3D9UmDGjWh3rOrRGST3zBJ4gTZGnY_14MApjIRQ8pN9GjwbGSlUKWHx3-zga4S7ZtSzNzMKMNU6tkzT5nadnz-Ptjk3XImgDfalVYim0gTYvhKE0w4ShMsRC_LWs8ijh/w400-h300/8th%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">And better yet, the clasp is made of milled steel and has two push-buttons. It also has that old-school row of holes in the clasp to allow for quick adjustment. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvQ4uiLUjqHVlIGKraI8igsZt813nRE4rip1zL4z2loBxSLrR1P2PtkkhUq0Y0vb-KeumoM2ZrcbDRGjYrGOCsFTkctlv1kGpYYAZMV3KNZ3B2NKpF03dxK4BPlo5URjCWw4XTeX6U_bl8pSFOa9VASDsAjHZZ30d3svID9GVvqJLDFLmyMd4fQXAFabpQ/s1920/8th%203.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1920" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvQ4uiLUjqHVlIGKraI8igsZt813nRE4rip1zL4z2loBxSLrR1P2PtkkhUq0Y0vb-KeumoM2ZrcbDRGjYrGOCsFTkctlv1kGpYYAZMV3KNZ3B2NKpF03dxK4BPlo5URjCWw4XTeX6U_bl8pSFOa9VASDsAjHZZ30d3svID9GVvqJLDFLmyMd4fQXAFabpQ/w640-h480/8th%203.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">It works nicely. Now, the only thing I have to do is get the watch serviced at some point, as it's long overdue, which is perhaps the main reason why I didn't wear the watch much over the last couple of years. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">And there you have it, folks. Some scrappy watch photos, some links to other articles, and a couple of drink recipes thrown in for good measure. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Like I said early on, these yearly posts are a good indicator of my changing tastes and preferences. If I'm gonna thin the collection down at some point, these posts will be a barometer to help me determine which watches get a lot of wear, which ones don't which ones will stay and which ones won't. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">That's the plan anyway. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">It'll be interesting to see what kind of results 2024 will yield. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">But that's about a year away. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Thanks for reading!<br /><i> </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">************************************************<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAiAYjRsfCgHzeeAn7GnIl5i4JWOA96HQg7frs5YY2cEzDcYkqqKFW4j9K0-TFuSIvV6fcKm0YzCg6mHc0wP9Gy_iox0iBFl8QTDCmrDDazaPdof3yJdk4rnkdG5BvNITArE8RAwDQcLzLRf4EkmA6DTeWWQAHYcCtZK0n3wDhTBpnSBajwWXV_-xjdZC2/s5184/P1060114.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAiAYjRsfCgHzeeAn7GnIl5i4JWOA96HQg7frs5YY2cEzDcYkqqKFW4j9K0-TFuSIvV6fcKm0YzCg6mHc0wP9Gy_iox0iBFl8QTDCmrDDazaPdof3yJdk4rnkdG5BvNITArE8RAwDQcLzLRf4EkmA6DTeWWQAHYcCtZK0n3wDhTBpnSBajwWXV_-xjdZC2/s320/P1060114.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;">NOTES: The typecasts throughout this post were written on a late 1950s Blue Bird, made in Western Germany and marketed through the United States as the Torpedo 18B. It has a wonderfully snappy action. The rubber feet have hardened over the decades and this can make the typewriter slide to the left slightly when being used, but it's no great disaster. I may get around to gluing some rubber sheeting to the feet at some point to prevent this from happening. And by the way, all typos are my own. </span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">And please excuse the quality of the photos. I ran out of steam early on, methinks.</span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Thanks again!<br /></div></div>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-47468485510471096762023-11-29T03:00:00.000-08:002023-12-03T00:01:26.158-08:00October 2023 - The Eventful Month - Part 1| Short Trip to Saigon & The Watches I Wore<div style="text-align: justify;">Alright, in an effort to reduce the spaces between posts, I've just posted the previous one and jumped right in to beginning this next one. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I started this post on Tuesday, November 7th. Melbourne Cup Day. I didn't place any bets. I gave up on it a few years ago when a horse was being led back to the stables after the race and some idiot in the crowd waved a flag as it went by. This spooked the horse and it reared up and caught a leg on the railings between the track and the crowd. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">It injured itself so badly that it had to be put down later that afternoon. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So no, I don't consider it 'the sport of kings' anymore.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>The Trip</u><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I mentioned in my last post that my wife and I were feeling a little burnt-out and maybe a short trip might be a good idea. Last holiday we had was back in March 2019, when things were simpler. Nobody was hand-sanitising or wearing masks on public transport. There were no 8:00pm curfews or lock-downs of the entire state. The elderly were not being admitted to hospital with persistent coughs, never to return home again. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Travel bans had eased up back to pre-Covid levels. And we needed a short break from our hectic work schedules. <br />We decided a six-night stay in Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon would be a good idea. No major plans for sight-seeing. This would be a cruisy holiday where we would take things easy, get massages every day, and get around at a gentler pace. I arranged it through a travel agent in the city and the trip was booked for the first week of October. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And, me being me, I spent some time deciding on which wristwatch I would be taking with me. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWOEA_pqpKkotRKXda1QiQjC9FUSdbWL-MjYMyvPcr8aMeWfjsONc71BKHNII_6JJ3dF150Vh4V4-4JQkfqsPF-HI37q3mB-Gg37Oqj2matyfI03zRbozPcrHtREghnGeGK5kf09S1lSqWTxJPkRCv27uLGGtZDNNcUQUMaeEKrNGCY0x38dFe342qB4VM/s2352/IMG_1321~photo-full.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2164" data-original-width="2352" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWOEA_pqpKkotRKXda1QiQjC9FUSdbWL-MjYMyvPcr8aMeWfjsONc71BKHNII_6JJ3dF150Vh4V4-4JQkfqsPF-HI37q3mB-Gg37Oqj2matyfI03zRbozPcrHtREghnGeGK5kf09S1lSqWTxJPkRCv27uLGGtZDNNcUQUMaeEKrNGCY0x38dFe342qB4VM/w400-h368/IMG_1321~photo-full.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've had this solar-powered Citizen Eco-Drive Nighthawk for about five years and I've usually worn it for those occasions or purposes where it might risk getting knocked around a little. Handyman stuff around the house, bike rides, etc. This watch was what collectors refer to as a 'beater'. A watch that you'd wear when you don't want to risk damaging something more expensive or treasured. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Because I hadn't worn this watch much in recent years, I decided to move it along and promptly sold it on eBay for about $35 dollars more than what I paid for it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">A few months earlier, I had purchased a Seiko Prospex Solar Diver 200m (Ref. SNE585P) from a local jewellery chain because I liked the idea of a solar-powered set-and-forget quartz wristwatch, which would take over the beater duties of the Citizen Nighthawk. This would be the watch that I'd take with me, along with the Longines Expedition watch that I got back in 2011. I figured I might as well take something that was a little more dressy, for dinners out while we were away. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAsiGnQig59gkcDwIB3zdwIh3OlQghQWvhTRU6Ej8LVuWVoXJlVGT9GjWtek6BhngTEDwTxZsPEOZNIvb8TFnggqoAROp50sLnNfjtJ6px4RQFNQGuJMMNS3nihqrWtXSIu0zau5BP7AdNvdlorFUcv2g2EEOO4y-Ehd357G3XO6c_1EkQLEfPdnahzRXb/s1920/24th%20-2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1440" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAsiGnQig59gkcDwIB3zdwIh3OlQghQWvhTRU6Ej8LVuWVoXJlVGT9GjWtek6BhngTEDwTxZsPEOZNIvb8TFnggqoAROp50sLnNfjtJ6px4RQFNQGuJMMNS3nihqrWtXSIu0zau5BP7AdNvdlorFUcv2g2EEOO4y-Ehd357G3XO6c_1EkQLEfPdnahzRXb/w300-h400/24th%20-2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>Excuse the crappy photo. I adjusted the bracelet on the Seiko watch, but I wasn't entirely happy with how secure the links would be, so I switched it over to a rubber strap. That way, I could also adjust the fit of the watch throughout the day if my wrist swelled up a little in the heat during the trip. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, wristwatch(es) sorted. Next up, some reading material. I brought along a copy of a Mick Herron stand-alone novel titled <i>Nobody Walks.</i> This book is not part of his Slough House series (see previous post), but it does contain some characters from that series. In the end, I didn't end up getting any reading done. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I had also brought along a notebook, with the view to writing a bit of a travel journal while I was away. I did do <i>some</i> writing - with mixed results - but I found that whenever I had the time to sit and write, I didn't really feel in the mood for it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">My wife, meanwhile, had brought along some study notes that she planned to read and collate for an assignment, as part of her Master's Degree, which is in its final stages. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">All set. So here below is the transcription of my half-assed travel journal. For the sake of giving it a jaded ex-pat washed-up journalist vibe, I'll switch to Courier font. In Italics. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And, with the benefit of hindsight, I'll probably add a little more than what I wrote at the time. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yes, I'm sure it's cheating. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>Monday October 2nd </i></b></span></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i> The drive out to Melbourne Airport was calm and quiet. Our flight was booked for 11:30am departure. Our driver arrived on our doorstep at 8:00am. We used a limousine service rather than a cab. This costs about forty bucks more than a SilverTop, but you get a spacious car and the driver helps with your bags. We were travelling in a late model Mercedes-Benz and it was a very smooth ride. Looking back, I think next trip we'll probably just take a train into the city and then catch the SkyBus to the airport from there. It'll be way cheaper. And we can manage our bags ourselves. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>Got to the Departures Terminal with plenty of time to spare. We'd already done the online check-in the night before, so we proceeded to the shorter queue and checked our suitcases in, once again thinking that we may have over-packed. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>Mrs. Teeritz and I discussed ways of being slightly more savvy travellers while we sat in the airport's Brunetti Cafe with a couple of lattés. We haven't travelled enough to get good at it. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i> </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPqAAJYYePNcJZEE7XsXURSnOzL72JvDEIROdoq3ibv1eDCmcsvO4Ige-mkvAEj3YYtjKidE0H6zJ6yciBJZIZz-i4okK9_1UdsQEMpyfniKxc3DIVnQGikQjD2TbZvyh0PIriuE8eJDji-cXmbw7tnedzd0gSujQJxXBsuTlAZpKJ4bQUPAHsyAvbRk14/s4000/DSCF7615.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPqAAJYYePNcJZEE7XsXURSnOzL72JvDEIROdoq3ibv1eDCmcsvO4Ige-mkvAEj3YYtjKidE0H6zJ6yciBJZIZz-i4okK9_1UdsQEMpyfniKxc3DIVnQGikQjD2TbZvyh0PIriuE8eJDji-cXmbw7tnedzd0gSujQJxXBsuTlAZpKJ4bQUPAHsyAvbRk14/s320/DSCF7615.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>By the way, excuse my handwriting. I'm writing this at 39,000ft. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>Destination is about 4,000 mls/ 6,400 km </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>Time to Destination - 7hrs, 50 mins</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>ETA - 3:36pm</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>4 hrs behind Oz</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>- Flight a little tiring. Feeling sleepy.</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>I have to admit, I don't fly well. It doesn't make me nervous, but it does tend to knock me around a little. My tinnitus flares up a little, my ears block up due to the cabin pressure, perhaps. By the sixth hour, my head began to pound a little. I popped a couple of Panadol and counted down the remaining two hours, as I unwrapped a couple of sticks of gum to deal with the blocked ears prior to landing at Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City.<br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>After getting our bags from the carousel, we got into the queue for immigration/arrivals and we were soon dealt with by an officious and very competent clerk who stamped the dog-eared page in my passport. I had purposely put the slight fold in the top corner of the page. It already had the stamps from our previous visit back in 2019 and, for the sake of continuity, I was hoping he'd stamp the same page. Which he did. Cool!</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>Stepped out of the airport terminal building into the warm Saigon air. It was overcast.<br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>We caught a cab to the hotel* and I was again reminded and amazed by the way traffic operates in Saigon. Probably 70 or 80% of it is made up of motor scooters and it's an intricate ballet of two and four-wheeled vehicles which negotiate around each other at any given time. Our cab driver relied heavily on his horn, as he closed up gaps in traffic before too many scooters zipped up ahead to block his path. Red lights at intersections are a suggestion, it seems, as some scooter riders check left and right before stealing their way across, with little regard for approaching cars which have the right of way. The cars slow down to let them pass, anyway. You hear regular short beeps from scooter and car horns, but I have to say I didn't hear the screeching of tyres or the sound of crunching metal at all during our time there. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>Checked-in to the hotel at around 5:30pm. We were taken to our room and we sat down on the bed and made loose plans for the rest of the evening. We decided, as per usual, to head out and go for a walk to get our bearings. And to look for an ATM teller machine for some funds. <br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The one thing that took us a bit of getting used to again was the exchange rate. One Vietnamese Dong doesn't translate into any meaningful amount in Australian dollars. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Basically, 10,000 Vietnamese Dong (VND) equals about $0.65 Aussie cents. So I had to jump onto XE.com more often than I wanted to. Since I carry pen and paper, I quickly jotted down a handy reference;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwEbfPuY8uECW32V8CS2Koo1xU2vkiHUsObjC-So0elJhxqes1QN4EjopEmkm2JaexbPDSpPgjlrvXMx1x9rNJvU5f4cGObFGP1CWuB_ZmH5MZPtb9hDJYGUWo259gbBzLss58IPkUDL9U9f9_PSaKiBNdxeskCzmeQE3-WP_miQcwNX__DszZnnQGFkPU/s3024/IMG_1722~photo.HEIC" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwEbfPuY8uECW32V8CS2Koo1xU2vkiHUsObjC-So0elJhxqes1QN4EjopEmkm2JaexbPDSpPgjlrvXMx1x9rNJvU5f4cGObFGP1CWuB_ZmH5MZPtb9hDJYGUWo259gbBzLss58IPkUDL9U9f9_PSaKiBNdxeskCzmeQE3-WP_miQcwNX__DszZnnQGFkPU/s320/IMG_1722~photo.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>VND AUD</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1,000,000 $65.oo</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> 500,000 $32.50</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> 400,000 $26.oo</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> 300,000 $19.50</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> 200,000 $13.oo</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> 100,000<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span> $ 6.50</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> 50,000 $ 3.25</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> 20,000 $ 1.30</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> 10,000 $ -.65</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I didn't end up using the money clip, opting instead for a small leather RFID blocking credit card holder which contained my bank card, AMEX card, and whatever cash I might carry. This wallet was small enough to fit into my front pockets. I did feel weird carrying three million Dong, even though it only equated to about $195.00 AUD. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>We got back from our walk and decided to hit the small bar on the 1st floor of our hotel. After a quick look around, we took a seat at a low table. This would be where my wife would do most of her study while we were away. The waitress brought over a cocktail menu. I had a quick glance through it and didn't see the drink that I wanted. No big deal. I'd just order it anyway. </b></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>She came back to us about five minutes later and I asked for an Americano cocktail, which is basically one measure of Campari, one of sweet red vermouth, and then topped up with soda water, in a glass over ice. The waitress had a little trouble understanding my order. So, I ended up ordering a Negroni instead, which </b></span></i><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>was</b></span><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><b> listed on the menu. I don't mind Negronis, but it's a very on-trend drink at the moment and I like to take the road less travelled. </b></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>It arrived about ten minutes later. Not bad, but I couldn't help thinking that they may have used Aperol instead of Campari because it had a light orange hue to it rather than a darker blood-orange colouring. </b></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>Later in the evening, we went up to the 24th floor where the roof-top bar and pool were located. The floor below was where the gym and day spa were situated. It was good to find the spa, because we had planned to get daily massages during this trip.</b></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>We resolved to make a booking next day. We got to the bar and I ordered a Gin & Tonic. My wife doesn't drink. The air was warm as we sat there looking out at the cityscape under the night sky. Saigon is known for a plethora of roof-top bars and many of the hotels have pools on their roof-tops. That way, lower floors can be dedicated to rooms. </b></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>After this, we went for another walk down the road from the hotel and found a Runam Café on a nearby corner. We visited one of these cafés the last time we were here. It's a small chain, but they make excellent coffee. Truth be told, you really cannot get a bad cup of coffee in Saigon. Every place we visited made a great cup.</b></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><b> </b></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>Tuesday October 3rd </b></span></i></u><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>Got up around six am. My body clock is in business for itself. Went down to breakfast buffet. One thing that we began doing about ten years ago whenever we travel- always see if a buffet breakfast is included with the hotel room rate. You can sometimes eat a big breakfast, </i></b></span><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>since there's so much to choose from, </i></b></span><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>and virtually forego having lunch later in the day. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>My wife ordered a latté and it arrived soon after. It was very milky. We suspect that the coffee was Nespresso. It had no kick to it. No major drama. This city has more coffee places than Melbourne. A <u>lot</u> more. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>My wife likes her first cup of the day to be strong. I have to agree. Your first coffee should be an ignition key that wakes you up. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>Headed out for a walk after breakfast and we ended up at a café called Shin Heritage, which we visited a few times when we we last in Ho Chi Minh City. We had a couple of coffees, to make up for the lacklustre ones that we'd had at breakfast. After that, we kept on walking and soon got lost. Again, no major drama. Stopped in a another Runam Café and checked Google Maps on our phones**. Turns out we were 300 metres away from our hotel. We had a couple of cool drinks at this café. I had a Strawberry and Blueberry smoothie and my wife had a Lemon and Mint cordial. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>Later in the afternoon, we headed up to the hotel's day spa for a massage. It was in a quiet, dimly-lit room. I opted for the one-hour full-body massage and felt like jelly by the end of it. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>We had the same the following day. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As I said earlier, this travel journal of mine was half-assed. A couple of days into the trip and I wasn't really keeping tabs on what we did. This probably had more to do with the fact that we had no real plans for this holiday besides walking around the neighbourhood and taking things easy wherever possible. As such, the journal and our photo-taking took a back-seat to us just being there with no definite aims set. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>One day three, we headed out. There are a couple of things that are abundant in Saigon. Cafés and roof-top bars, as already mentioned, and day spas. These spas all vary slightly in terms of services that they offer. Some do massage only, others offer manicures and skin treatments. Most of them have doorways that are situated on street level and you'll usually see two or three ladies sitting on stools outside trying to drum up business, with a casual "Hello, Madame" to my wife as we walk by. </b></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>One such place had an entrance hall with a scooter parked inside it. Two ladies were sitting outside and they greeted us as we walked by. We stopped to look at the pamphlet that they offered us. Foot Massage Acupressure, Facial Reflexology + Head Massage, Manicure Polish, Foot Massage with Paraffin, Special Acne Treatment(!), Pregnancy Massage(!!??), the list went on. And on page three, A Body Relaxing Oil Massage for three hundred and fifty thousand Dong, which worked out to about $21.00AUD. </b></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>We booked two of those for later in the afternoon. Twenty-one bucks was better than the sixty that we had paid at the hotel's day spa. And how bad could it be?</b></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>Later in the afternoon, we walked over to this day spa and were ushered up two flights of stairs in this wonderful old building to a group of small rooms. We pointed to the 60 minute Body Relaxing Oil Massage on the list of options and then were led to two tables in another room where we disrobed down to our underwear. Always leave your underwear on, thrill-seekers. Removing them sends a completely different message. That was not what we were after. And I got the impression that this was not that kind of place, anyway.<br /></b></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><b> </b></span></i><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: courier;"><i>As
regular readers may recall, I had bunion surgery on both feet back in
September last year. Then, in March this year, I fractured a
metatarsal bone in my left foot and have been feeling some pain in it
ever since, due to the fact that I walked around with this fracture for
ten days or so before getting it attended to properly. As a result, I
think the fracture didn't heal properly. </i></b></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>As a result, I didn't want my feet touched during the massage, so I showed my masseuse a Google translated sentence that I had prepared before we arrived. In English, it was; "I had both feet operated on last year. Please do not touch my feet."</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>She read the Vietnamese translation and giggled. She had very limited English, so we explained it to the older masseuse - who spoke better English - and she explained it to my one. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>Later that night, I re-translated the Vietnamese sentence back into English and it read; "I am a magician. I had to send my brothers to another dimension."</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>Once we stopped laughing, I re-wrote the Vietnamese sentence in Google Translate one word at a time and got vastly different English translations each time. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>Vietnamese has numerous symbols above various letters. I had a feeling they would have different meanings. Back in my hospitality days, a customer told me that the Vietnamese word 'toi' could be pronounced five or six different ways, each with a different meaning. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>A quick question on Google yielded this answer;</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="ILfuVd" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc">Vietnamese has an extensive number of letters with diacritical marks to make tonal distinctions.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i> </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>There you have it. That explained the giggling. She must've thought I was crazy. </i></b></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><b> </b></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>Anyway, I once read that when you're getting a massage the idea is to relax and just focus on the area that is being worked on. I lay on the table, with my face in the cut-out and began to relax as my masseuse worked on the back of my neck and shoulders. My wife was on the table alongside mine and I heard her masseuse say; "You are very strong." Lady Teeritz does light workouts throughout the week with the weight set that we have out in the car-port. She has sometimes recounted to me the story about actress Linda Hamilton who, when she began training prior to filming "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" in 1991, stated that she wanted to get 'a better back than Madonna's'. </b></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><b> </b></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>By the end of it, I could have fallen asleep there and then. I felt like jelly. My eyes were bleary as I gingerly got off the table and got dressed. My wife felt the same. We had found our preferred place for massages for the remainder of our trip. </b></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">During our time in Saigon, my left foot didn't really hurt all that much. Was it the warm weather? I also thought that the high humidity in Vietnam might affect my asthma, but I found no issues with my breathing while we were there. My wife said her eyes didn't feel as dry as they do back home. Her hair did go a little frizzy, though. Not something that I myself had to worry about. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We didn't take many photos this time around. We figured we'd take a holiday from doing so. Therefore, I'll just include a few pics from the time we were here back in 2019. For atmosphere.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7V0Vnmh4BduTUWReMUQjs0-pvCFiUeEAhQa07VQTcaBh_S-NiL5Hqd21SttaRlJRLsgZYsOjX6h6F6hM1Zrtdin2GAWEmQCuebN90IcFRxHmt4LygWF0l3cAIfZ9iOzftzF4upmDQcaE22kXD1acf760UIUcMJRjOx17OHDsd4AMXuihrmM97NgPk6KFF/s5184/P3300307.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7V0Vnmh4BduTUWReMUQjs0-pvCFiUeEAhQa07VQTcaBh_S-NiL5Hqd21SttaRlJRLsgZYsOjX6h6F6hM1Zrtdin2GAWEmQCuebN90IcFRxHmt4LygWF0l3cAIfZ9iOzftzF4upmDQcaE22kXD1acf760UIUcMJRjOx17OHDsd4AMXuihrmM97NgPk6KFF/w400-h300/P3300307.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I wanted to visit the Hotel Continental again. This is where author Graham Greene stayed, in Room 214 while writing <i>The Quiet American </i>in the early 1950s. Maybe we'd have a drink at their Bar Du Jardin. This time around, the bar was closed to the public. So we headed to the gift shop, which was also closed, and I asked at the reception desk if they still sold the coffee mugs with their logo on it. I had bought one the last time we visited. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">They informed me that these were no longer available. Ahh well...<br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOWI2gy8sMNju1zw9uiMnlqaMFlO7-ZjwhGR3ElYxhuKuI6VwAcMuiJoOvibe8oqaTAizfmSdv87SiFnu51PldV_qq1trNJuEIE5z6ds9VmqtzViYwhs3Ec46SWre_0UlHhNd4J3V_kFHYoBjKKfDOURs1wKnpLTY1Ree3bvn2jWN-Xp90SbiCL8h_awGl/s5184/P3280155.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOWI2gy8sMNju1zw9uiMnlqaMFlO7-ZjwhGR3ElYxhuKuI6VwAcMuiJoOvibe8oqaTAizfmSdv87SiFnu51PldV_qq1trNJuEIE5z6ds9VmqtzViYwhs3Ec46SWre_0UlHhNd4J3V_kFHYoBjKKfDOURs1wKnpLTY1Ree3bvn2jWN-Xp90SbiCL8h_awGl/s320/P3280155.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here's a shot of the Opera House, a grand old building located near the Continental Hotel. This time around, on the evening we walked by, there was a large crowd gathering outside waiting to be ushered in for some performance that night. A newly-wed couple stood on the steps to have some photos taken, while other random visitors took selfies nearby, with the facade of the Opera House in the background. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">At some point during this trip, two things happened to me; my stomach began feeling a little dodgy and I got some kind of skin rash on my forearms and neck. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">My wife and I retraced events, to see if we could determine the cause. We narrowed it down to the day before. We had been walking around the city streets and by around 2:00pm, I was feeling quite hungry, to the point where I was a little light-headed. We had yet to try any of the street food vendors and as we stood on a street corner looking for some place to eat, a young man approached with a laminated menu and I took a quick look at it. Some type of barbecued pork on a skewer. Yep, that would do. My wife's appetite in hot weather tends to diminish, but I was quite ravenous by now. So, the young man led us upstairs to a large dining room and we took a seat at a large table. The place was empty. Was that a sign? I ordered two of the pork skewers and a lemonade. My wife didn't have anything. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The skewers arrived soon after I placed the order. They were nice. <i>"Are they hot?", </i>my wife asked. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>"Just above warm"</i>, was my reply. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>"Be careful, T", </i>she added. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once I was done, an older lady brought me the bill and a refresher towel in a sealed sachet. I was feeling the humidity, so I used this towel to wipe down my forearms and the back of my neck to cool off a little. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Next morning, I felt a little queasy at breakfast and just had some buttered toast and fruit. Looking down at my arms, I noticed a reddish rash and it was slightly itchy. My wife saw that the back and sides of my neck looked pinkish and goose-bumpy. Playing detectives, we reasoned that maybe the warm pork might not have been a good idea and the refresher towel was probably not free of parabens, which I'm allergic to. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The street food in Vietnam is generally safe to eat, as long as it's hot. Another tip would be to eat from a street vendor where the locals are eating. I'll know for next time. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, my appetite took a nose-dive for the rest of the trip. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">We had our massage in the afternoon and while my masseuse was working on my shoulders, I felt her pause for a moment and then felt a finger drag slowly along the back of my neck. She then left the room. Was she getting an axe? </div><div style="text-align: justify;">She returned a few moments later and a felt a cream being applied to my neck and rubbed in. Within a couple of minutes, the itchiness subsided. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><span style="font-family: courier;"><i><b>Friday October 6th </b></i></span></u><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>Haven't really kept a travel journal this trip. Too tired or busy. That's okay, though. This holiday was all about taking things easy. Got back onto cigarettes, with very mixed results. I said to my wife a while ago that I'd only smoke when I travel. Silly idea. Takes too long to get off them once I return home. My handwriting's crap, by the way. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i> </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>Needless to say, a few ugly Australians staying in town, so Mrs Teeritz and I are being our usual selves by counteracting their poor behaviour. We had a quick lunch at My Bahn Mi, a small place that specialises in these pork or chicken filled bread rolls with lettuce and seasoning. A couple came in and sat a few tables away from us. The male was a large, heavy-set guy with close-cropped blonde hair. He ordered a beer. A few minutes later, the waitress brought over a beer bottle in one hand and a frosted tall glass in the other. As she attempted to place these items on the table in front of him, this fellow snatched the bottle from her hand while pushing her other forearm away, indicating that he didn't want the glass. He then polished off half the bottle in one swig and said to her; "Haven't you got bigger bottles?"</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>The bottle in his hand was a standard 355ml. Very poor behaviour, buddy. Very poor. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>I don't know why it's so hard for some people to remember that they are a <u>guest</u> in a foreign country and should, therefore, present the best of themselves. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>Then again, maybe that WAS the best of him.<br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i> </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>My appetite was a little better, so I figured I could eat a chicken Bahn Mi without any issues. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>For dinner, we went to the Runam Café near our hotel. My wife ordered a salad and I just ordered some fries. Her plate arrived about fifteen minutes later. Another ten minutes went by. Then another five. My wife called the waitress over and we mentioned that we had ordered some fries also. Shortly afterwards, the manager came over to offer his profuse apologies for the delay. We said it was fine, no problem. Being a hospitality industry veteran, I know that these things happen. We assured him that it was no major drama. He apologised again before retreating. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>My fries arrived about five minutes later. All good. Afterwards, we ordered coffees. A latté for my wife and an </i>affogato<i> for me. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>'Affogato'<i> means 'drowned' in Italian. You basically take an espresso coffee and add a small scoop of vanilla ice cream to it. Drowning it. The ice cream melts, resulting in a creamy golden brown coffee. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>They brought the coffees over. My </i>affogato <i>had a small scoop of vanilla ice cream in it, a little smaller than a golf ball. Then the waitress put another small bowl down in front of me. It had seven or eight more scoops of vanilla in it, with some maple syrup drizzled over it. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>"You sure you'll manage?", my wife asked me with a raised eyebrow as I dipped my teaspoon into the ice cream.<br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>Saturday October 7th </i></b></span></u><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>Our final night in Saigon. My handwriting is on holiday also, it seems. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>Today was good. 90 minute massage, light lunch and then to the Rex Hotel for a beer at their roof-top bar. Hot day and not much cooler while we sat there talking about future travel plans. Slow walk back to the hotel. Mrs Teeritz has been the best travel companion.</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>Wonder if I'll try an egg coffee before we leave? My stomach has been a little stand-offish this trip. I may have lost a kilo. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i> </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>We had no firm daily plans during our time in Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon this time around. We had gotten a little burnt-out by our respective jobs and this trip was all about taking a breather and recharging our batteries. </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>This trip pretty much did that for us. </i></b></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN3WeJWKoLGU03vrP5QeRAD8SsyJ_pfuse0hTQi_XIfFgo5HtAw82vmAmy9_lUyEoPlqdA3Sy9FAGw8HzGAj-9Pw7ZOsrlQOEYuLXsARzKjQu1diLDBwQqxpCTjZYgrMl77CVt6dgZe936QiqTyBR5NWV3JtcKa0ISjrEc9GYe4ptkSVrFEvagoMzxhZ4k/s1920/typecast.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1127" data-original-width="1920" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN3WeJWKoLGU03vrP5QeRAD8SsyJ_pfuse0hTQi_XIfFgo5HtAw82vmAmy9_lUyEoPlqdA3Sy9FAGw8HzGAj-9Pw7ZOsrlQOEYuLXsARzKjQu1diLDBwQqxpCTjZYgrMl77CVt6dgZe936QiqTyBR5NWV3JtcKa0ISjrEc9GYe4ptkSVrFEvagoMzxhZ4k/w640-h376/typecast.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>*We caught a cab to the hotel...</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The driver took us for a ride. <i>Really</i> took us for a ride. I was watching the meter while he drove. Towards the end of the journey, it was showing around 2 million Vietnamese Dong, which worked out to about $125AUD. Ouch! </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Feeling head-achey still from the flight, and reasoning that the Aussie limo to Melbourne Airport back home cost a little more, I figured this was a standard cab fare here in Saigon. First mistake. I should have remembered that a lot of things in Saigon are cheaper than back home. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">As we stepped out of Tan Son Nhat Airpo<span style="font-family: inherit;">rt, a young lady in corporate black trousers and crisp white shirt asked us if we wanted a taxi. I replied <i>"Yes, a Vinasun taxi, please". </i>Vinasun is one of the few authorised cab companies in Vietnam. She led us over to a cab rank and a driver quickly helped us with our bags. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"Does the cab have a meter?'', </i>my wife asked me under her breath.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"You have a meter?", </i>I asked the driver as he came around and held the back passenger door open for me.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"Yes, yes, have meter", </i>he replied as he made his way around to the driver's seat.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Second mistake - the cab didn't have the Vinasun livery across its doors.<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, after a half-hour drive - which felt longer than I remember - where he steered with one hand while checking his cell-phone with the other, we arrived at the hotel and I counted out the Vietnamese Dong that I had brought with me. This money was left-over from our previous trip in 2019. I counted it out. One million eight hundred thousand VND.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Not enough.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"You have Australian dollar?", </i>he asked, a little too hopefully. I had a hundred and ten bucks in my wallet. I handed it over to him while I asked my wife if she'd brought any AUD with her. She hadn't. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Then I remembered my mobile (cell) phone. I keep it in a leather flip-wallet and, behind the phone itself is an emergency $20 note, designed to get me a cheap lunch and coffee if I ever leave the house without my wallet. I don't do the pay-with-your-phone schtick that I see 90% of people doing these days. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I fished this folded note out from behind my phone and handed it over to him. The fare was $120AUD and I gave him $130.00; <i>"And ten for you", </i>I said. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Seven days later, when it was time to head home, our hotel's Concierge ordered a Vinasun taxi for us. The driver helped with our bags and got us to the airport in about 20 minutes. Then he turned to me and said; <i>"One hundred fifty six thousand."</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Had I heard him correctly? Hundred and fifty six thousand VND? That worked out to about twelve bucks AUD. I asked him again; <i>"One hundred and fifty six? Thousand?"<br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"Yes, one, five, six"</i>, he replied.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I gave him about 220,000.oo VND, which covered the cab fare and left him with a four dollar tip, which seemed to make him happy. He fished our cases out of the boot (trunk) and bid us farewell. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I stood there at the terminal. My wife said; <i>"What's up?"</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I explained the cab fare.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"You're joking. Oh my God!"</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"Bastard", </i>I said, referring to the driver who took us to our hotel a week earlier. <i>"That bastard", </i>I repeated.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Do you know how many meals a hundred and twenty bucks would have paid for?"</span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;">, my wife said, shocked. <i>"How many massages?!", </i>she added. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"That's it T, we're too old to be rubes like this. The bastard."</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I hope that driver has ten kids to feed, and I hope they ate well that night. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, hepcats, if you need a cab from Tan Son Nhat Airport in Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City, ALWAYS look for a Vinasun taxi. <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b><i>**Stopped in a another Runam Café and checked Google Maps on our phones...</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our mobile phone provider used to be Optus. However, they had a massive data breach last year and, for me, this was the final straw. I switched over to ALDImobile, run by the German supermarket chain which opened up here in Oz about a decade ago. My wife had already defected over to them over a year ago. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Only thing was that ALDI doesn't have International Roaming from Vietnam. Strangely, though, they DO have Norway. You know, for all the Norwegians who call Australia on a heavily regular basis. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">No huge drama, we thought. We would FaceTime our kids while we were away...until it dawned on us that my wife and I have iPhones and the kids switched over to Android-powered Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones earlier this year.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Another travel-rookie mistake! In the end, we wound up using Instagram video calling with our daughter, just to stay in touch with the kids while we were away. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And we used free Wi-Fi wherever it was available. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Which would explain the absolute bombardment of Spam emails I've been getting since we got back from this trip. I'm laughing as I write this. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Either laugh or cry, buddy.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Laugh or cry.<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Next trip, we'll get a couple of $200 dollar data cards for our phones from the Post Office and use them while we're away. A little more research required before then. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Time to become a little sharper when we travel. <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That damn cab driver! </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks for reading!<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div></div></div>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-88576628940298672172023-11-07T00:24:00.000-08:002023-11-07T00:24:20.441-08:00Reading/Time No. 3 | May to September 2023 - The Book/s I Read, The Watches I Wore, and a New Watch Alert!<p style="text-align: justify;">From my last post, of July 8th;</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i> I'll start on the next post sometime in the next week or two. </i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sorry!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Actually, the more I think about it, the more I realise that this could
become a very long post, so I think I'll write it as a two or three
parter. </p><div style="text-align: justify;">May to November is a long stretch of time and it feels like much has happened, to say the least, so splitting a long post into a few parts might make a little more sense. <br /></div><div><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's
been a busy 2023 so far. Work has been hectic, but in a
mostly good way. My feet are okay, except for the slight-to-noticeable
degree of pain that I experience with my left foot where I fractured a
metatarsal bone back in February. I'm hoping that this will fade over
the next six to twelve months. Otherwise, I feel more surgery may be
required. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Most importantly, we had to put our wonderful cat Dussy to sleep a couple of weeks ago, after her health went downhill rapidly. I spent the rest of September feeling miserable about it. Truth be told, I'm still not over it. <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I did write about her in my previous post, as I felt I had to get the experience out of my system. She was an extraordinarily wonderful cat that I will love and miss forever. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, not to dwell on it here. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPv6VvHeB1sYnRLYzGFT1CNLU9kOFMyMg8r9tf18ZI6VptXyOyD94fss0IFqRQ6LNuBEoXGzoQwijv7KG6jmQR1bJZqqVYTEve7m9Ou4vrPovn9clfcVinDsmNidSyFycf3SIA4xsqayl0bjZyz23iVPQPbvvBcGQzjizxWP6kMIEGqzY1PwX9m4D4Ngp1/s1280/april%2030%20-%202.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPv6VvHeB1sYnRLYzGFT1CNLU9kOFMyMg8r9tf18ZI6VptXyOyD94fss0IFqRQ6LNuBEoXGzoQwijv7KG6jmQR1bJZqqVYTEve7m9Ou4vrPovn9clfcVinDsmNidSyFycf3SIA4xsqayl0bjZyz23iVPQPbvvBcGQzjizxWP6kMIEGqzY1PwX9m4D4Ngp1/w300-h400/april%2030%20-%202.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">The 37mm Longines Spirit got quite some time on the wrist over the last few months. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"><p>Over the last year or so, I've reverted back to smaller sized watches in
certain styles. I've been thinking more about the types of watches that I
like, and the kind of size that I feel best suits my wrist. I've
basically broken it down to a few categories. This is something that I
began doing a few years ago and my aim is to end up with a definitive
collection of three or four types of watches, in a tight range of
sizes. </p></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>For
example, the Dive watch. I've been collecting watches since the
mid-'90s. I've tried numerous case sizes over the years and have decided that a circa 40mm diameter diver works best on my 6.5 inch
wrist (in my humble opinion). Sure, I can carry off a slightly larger
size, but I seem to be most comfortable with 40mm, with a give-or-take
of 1mm either side. So, 39mm to 41mm tends to be my preference, but I
can push to 42mm depending on the watch. My Omega Planet Ocean,
Seamaster 300 and Seiko SKX009 are all 42mm and they can tend to
dominate the top of my wrist, but that's okay to me because they're such
perfectly designed and balanced cases.</div><div> </div><div><u>Books read in May to September</u><br /></div><div> </div><div>I've been on a spy novel binge this year and have predominantly churned through more than a few of Mick Herron's works this year. </div><div>Prior to this, I was slowly trudging through Kim Sherwood's modern Bond story, entitled <i>Double Or Nothing</i> and got two-thirds of the way through it before it (or I) ran aground. More about that later.</div><div>I had already listed my gripes with this book in my earlier post from July 8th, so I won't go back into them here. Sherwood writes well enough, without a doubt, but I had to wonder if she was writing this book with a 'literary' writer's idea of how a Bond story should be. Writing Bond can be a razor's edge or tightrope walk, as it can be easy to fall into cliché or pastiche if one isn't careful. A few previous Bond continuation authors have lost their footing, in my view. Sebastian Faulks (<i>Devil May Care</i>) and William Boyd (<i>Solo</i>) spring to mind. </div><div>Very well written, but not memorable. </div><div> </div>Oh, before I continue about books, how's about a typecast about the new watch that I got in the middle of May?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHVLAJHTAFUl2JCSm9YCKBxzxsl42RkuUx35EzsWQxRGYn546H7hjCiLapBejnfDJ2RtrIptwaOv0Gq3gFSK5MI0wsyWD8YPHrfLfKZilKJUdSWIBTIvi6eOp-g-HO-P9rkIiAz_LgLBIwMdXGmhmraAYZuwk1Nm7v7KFjvjIzDo_sDdchU5CrRumrhVGG/s3206/DSCF7687.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2749" data-original-width="3206" height="549" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHVLAJHTAFUl2JCSm9YCKBxzxsl42RkuUx35EzsWQxRGYn546H7hjCiLapBejnfDJ2RtrIptwaOv0Gq3gFSK5MI0wsyWD8YPHrfLfKZilKJUdSWIBTIvi6eOp-g-HO-P9rkIiAz_LgLBIwMdXGmhmraAYZuwk1Nm7v7KFjvjIzDo_sDdchU5CrRumrhVGG/w640-h549/DSCF7687.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>With this new iteration of the Explorer model, Rolex has applied the numerals and filled them in with their proprietary Chromalight lume so that they glow in the dark with a nice pale blue hue. In normal lighting, the markers, hands and numerals are a stark, bathroom-tile white. In the dark, they go an icy blue. <br /></div><div> </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXL1gyXE3ZsxzYZ1BnU1HqkZjsvEqYUvwHmzTp9ogMfsOIXs5bIqcESqqZ_HIRZ0c0gS-YnYaMFtzfj3ELWp0ipVe5putLbpTKI1FJ7gEEdpuMvbETFr6H7n2RGPGgR3OmGQFFMKS0YcdpO2_QbmorZiQ4zcb_tGwt2wN44RiGdSc-oWQPaQG1BXfunPls/s3801/DSCF7517.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2373" data-original-width="3801" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXL1gyXE3ZsxzYZ1BnU1HqkZjsvEqYUvwHmzTp9ogMfsOIXs5bIqcESqqZ_HIRZ0c0gS-YnYaMFtzfj3ELWp0ipVe5putLbpTKI1FJ7gEEdpuMvbETFr6H7n2RGPGgR3OmGQFFMKS0YcdpO2_QbmorZiQ4zcb_tGwt2wN44RiGdSc-oWQPaQG1BXfunPls/w400-h250/DSCF7517.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Looking at this photo here, you can see the attention to detail in the lume-filled markers and numerals. </div><div>Very sharply done. <br /> </div><div>Why the Explorer, teeritz?</div><div> </div><div>A few reasons. For one, Ian Fleming wrote a similar watch onto Bond's wrist in his second OO7 novel, <i>Live And Let Die, </i>back in 1954. Referring to it as the <i>"the Rolex Oyster Perpetual with large phosphorous numerals", </i>many watch nerds speculated that the watch was an Explorer. </div><div>My theory? Well, Fleming was a stickler for details. Aside from his recipe for Bond's Vesper Martini, he specified the type of car Bond owned - a 1930 Bentley 4-and-a-half litre - right down to the engine modifications made to it, stipulated that Bond like his hard-boiled eggs - speckled eggs taken from French Marans hens - cooked for three-and-a-third minutes and served with Blue Mountain Coffee and toast with Oxford's English Marmalade. Fleming being Fleming, if Bond's Rolex had been an Explorer model, with the word 'EXPLORER' printed across the upper half of the dial, I suspect that he would have mentioned it. </div><div>And I say this even despite the fact that Fleming himself owned and wore a 1016 model Explorer throughout his life. <br /></div><div>Methinks that Bond's watch may have been the pre-Explorer watch, the Reference 6150;</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCd6TrLJQHczyl3d8ZX5vT-PcdcV2t07gs5I0YQPkJEWPmxld9SjxfYlSooY84Yl8jN1RWeY-ul114lsJpTSPGcEvzfCNLf9yuWSjDPIpd2Q0AR7RLqBBXilV1jJmJKT8o8J_Miemn1dI4gtKl-1h-tpEcwXZGxPgzEk-kv2pUE2B9jyvU9v6EjCn8iUwm/s1200/Rolex%20Pre-Explorer%20Ref.-615022-0.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="801" data-original-width="1200" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCd6TrLJQHczyl3d8ZX5vT-PcdcV2t07gs5I0YQPkJEWPmxld9SjxfYlSooY84Yl8jN1RWeY-ul114lsJpTSPGcEvzfCNLf9yuWSjDPIpd2Q0AR7RLqBBXilV1jJmJKT8o8J_Miemn1dI4gtKl-1h-tpEcwXZGxPgzEk-kv2pUE2B9jyvU9v6EjCn8iUwm/s320/Rolex%20Pre-Explorer%20Ref.-615022-0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This model tends to match Fleming's brief description. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, for my money, the current model Explorer would be the closest match to what Bond might have worn in the novels. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">That is my flimsiest reason for getting this watch. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">FLASHBACK - Years ago, I got home from work on a warm Summer's night, and we finished dinner, packed the kids into the car and drove down to the beach for a stroll along the water's edge. It was a busy scene, with people in the water and parked out on the sand. A cool breeze blew off the surface of the water as I walked along with my wife, my sandals in one hand and her hand in the other as we kept a lazily watchful eye on the kids. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">A little later, we sat on the low blue-stone wall that separated the sand from the concrete walking path and I saw a middle-aged Asian man walk by. He was wearing a white T-shirt and light grey shorts that stopped half-way down his thighs. A pair of thin, black rectangular glasses were perched on his nose. His immaculate black hair was cut short and greying along the temples. His tanned arms were wiry. On his left wrist was a Rolex Explorer wristwatch, and I recall thinking that it looked sensational on him in the evening sunset light. Golden Hour is a wonderful thing. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I began to speculate; was it his only watch or did he have a collection? I suspect it was his only watch - don't ask me why - and it looked damned perfect. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">That image, fleetingly caught, has always stayed with me. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And, another reason why I went for this watch is because it's just one of the nicer offerings in the current Rolex line-up. Simple as that. And it goes without saying that this watch got a lot of wear throughout the rest of May.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiTJ5ZTgohuQJhRzc5QEQlleDQWPgme34CKLmyoR1eEkcjpO4pnShBxK_xEpl9ajEC0x1NP5WDkAWe1SnQRaMgjLbvySB5f49VLkxBgxCP9M8MFM24_HJ9jiKrQWrmxBbLvNnQGbvBGFdIq2rDU7gBzG7_OTQx7KjoMv5wIB13zqfWabXDyIlgnHAAyFnR/s1920/25th.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1440" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiTJ5ZTgohuQJhRzc5QEQlleDQWPgme34CKLmyoR1eEkcjpO4pnShBxK_xEpl9ajEC0x1NP5WDkAWe1SnQRaMgjLbvySB5f49VLkxBgxCP9M8MFM24_HJ9jiKrQWrmxBbLvNnQGbvBGFdIq2rDU7gBzG7_OTQx7KjoMv5wIB13zqfWabXDyIlgnHAAyFnR/w300-h400/25th.jpg" width="300" /></a>Okay, back to our scheduled program. And so, on to Mick Herron's books. I've been bingeing on them this year. I read three of his short story/novellas, <i>The List, The Drop </i>and <i>The Catch. </i>Each of these stories centres on John Bachelor, a low-level operative who has been relegated to keeping an eye on retired spies. Nothing Earth-shattering or of national security, he's merely meant to check up on them once a week, to make sure they're eating properly, taking their medications, keeping out of mischief, etc. Herron has a wonderful writing style, reminiscent of some of Len Deighton's work. The stories are atmospheric and to be taken seriously, but there's an underlying wit and sarcasm to them that counter-balances the trade-craft and spy stuff that occurs in the stories. </p><p>John Bachelor tends to do the bare minimum of work required to keep his job, and he's of the notion that he'll one day be promoted or returned to the higher ranks of MI5, but he just seems not to do enough to increase his chances for redemption from the powers that be. Like the rest of Herron's characters, he's very well drawn. </p><div>While skipping through these three novellas, I persisted with Sherwood's Bond book mentioned above and got two thirds of the way through. I started reading it in mid-April and gave up on it on September 19th. I have been haphazardly keeping a book journal and kept a record of what I've been reading this year. The fact that this book took me five MONTHS to get to page 286 should have told me something. </div><div>Life is too short to waste time on a movie or book that you're not enjoying. </div><div>This book also began to kill my love of reading, given that it was taking me so long to get through it. Coupled with a very busy workload in my job, I soon noticed that the thrill of reading was beginning to fade a little, which I suppose is why I jumped into reading the novellas. Bite-sized books kept me reading. <br /></div><div> </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsB4G1Nt_SGvcYn2IX_41cCl8agw6QJH5s5a3qKsQ2lES7QkWFmeIupHrpPBqlQqxksbX0oYALpcuvCPZo1DqWWPbjJNfguWg4j9hv4UgZ1I9isUhkLC1tKEfuLrhl4F4zF31VK9Vj0_y4elIjlhhcvfea7PbCw447Oa-ksYBPx5orUt91xqWeNmEZdsRF/s3875/DSCF7591.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2821" data-original-width="3875" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsB4G1Nt_SGvcYn2IX_41cCl8agw6QJH5s5a3qKsQ2lES7QkWFmeIupHrpPBqlQqxksbX0oYALpcuvCPZo1DqWWPbjJNfguWg4j9hv4UgZ1I9isUhkLC1tKEfuLrhl4F4zF31VK9Vj0_y4elIjlhhcvfea7PbCw447Oa-ksYBPx5orUt91xqWeNmEZdsRF/w400-h291/DSCF7591.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>The Tudor Black Bay 58 has been worn a lot in the two-and-a-half years that I've had it. It has in many ways usurped the Rolex Submariner 5513 from its high perch in the collection. </div><div>So much so, that I've been giving some serious thought to selling the Submariner and perhaps replacing it with a more modern model, possibly a Reference 16610 from the early 2000s. I'll have to give a lot more thought before I make a definite decision. <br /> </div><div>And so, back to Herron's works. To date, he has written eight books in his <i>Slough House</i> series. These books revolve around disgraced members of MI5 who have botched assignments in major ways. Rather than being sacked (fired), and to avoid Human Resources red tape and/or wrongful dismissal litigation, they are relegated by HQ to a poorly funded/maintained/empowered division of the intelligence services at Slough House, a drab group of offices located behind a door - that's never used - which is sandwiched between a Chinese take-away restaurant and a newsagent/grocery. The staff enter these ramshackle offices via an entrance at the rear of the building. Up a flight of metal stairs to a door leading in, which always requires a shove to get it opened or closed.</div><div>The offices are cold and poorly lit, the stairs creak when somebody takes them. The staff bicker among themselves. As further insult, they are nicknamed 'Slow Horses', also being a pun on the location of their 'headquarters'. </div><div>In charge of this group is one Jackson Lamb, who drinks and smokes too much, doesn't shower often enough and treats them all like idiots, keeping them occupied with mundane and boring tasks, in the hopes that they'll quit the Service. Rumour has it that Lamb was once stationed in Berlin before The Wall came down, but this is yet to be fleshed out in any of the books I've read. </div><div>He routinely insults them, reminds them often enough of the reasons why they are in Slough House, and belches and farts in their presence, but he has an extreme loyalty towards them all and this is evident when his crew are in danger. They are his 'joes', after all. It's a term used throughout these books to refer to field agents. </div><div>Like John le Carré, Herron has created his own jargon. </div><div><br /></div><div>I read books three and four back-to-back. They were <i>Spook Street </i>(2017)<i> </i>and <i>London Rules </i>(2018).</div><div><i>Spook Street </i>begins with a suicide bomber detonating his back-pack in a shopping centre. Meanwhile, an attempt is made on the life of David Cartwright, retired spook (a term for spies) who may or may not be showing signs of dementia. His grandson is River Cartwright, one of the Slow Horses in Jackson Lamb's team, who goes to France to investigate the origins of the suicide bomber. </div><div>Old spy David Cartwright's name is Herron's easter-egg/homage to John le Carré, who's real name was David Cornwell.</div><div>River Cartwright fumbled a training exercise in the opening pages of the first book <i>Slow Horses </i>(2010), although it is questionable as to whether or not he was at fault. Rumour has it that his grandfather was instrumental in pulling some strings to avoid his grandson getting booted out of the Service entirely, thus we find young River Cartwright relegated to the mind-numbing purgatory of Slough House.</div><div> </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFFwJyOfaAFsPxhG6rCsyXnHC3FgVklqq3w6RT1KZ06OL5Yh-Eq8_WLvXwYamJv1WHxCwFi8lombzQex4zPV2KsTJjDZbhyphenhyphen69xWTDQKUuVlvhH3aRz1yIyFAvA6hq0_muWqqKsbrkoCfILMHRzqnLFwIAatnYUR85ZA_THCqe1Sci33-zJTPqg730Rys8y/s3641/DSCF7691.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="3641" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFFwJyOfaAFsPxhG6rCsyXnHC3FgVklqq3w6RT1KZ06OL5Yh-Eq8_WLvXwYamJv1WHxCwFi8lombzQex4zPV2KsTJjDZbhyphenhyphen69xWTDQKUuVlvhH3aRz1yIyFAvA6hq0_muWqqKsbrkoCfILMHRzqnLFwIAatnYUR85ZA_THCqe1Sci33-zJTPqg730Rys8y/s320/DSCF7691.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div>The Longines Spirit was worn a lot during September when I was reading <i>Spook Street. </i>The
37mm diameter of this watch does sit quite perfectly on my slender
wrist and its dial offers some nice, clear readability. Although, I do
find that this watch has more of a 'Winter feel' to it and, therefore, I
think it won't be worn so much over the warmer months ahead. I bought a
leather strap for it recently and I'll put it through its paces when
Winter comes around. </div><div> </div><div>Similar in some ways to the Explorer, this watch also features applied numerals on the dial which have been filled in with Luminous material. </div><div> </div><div><u>Applied markers as opposed to painted ones;<br /></u></div><div><u><br /></u></div><div>With applied markers, the dial has small holes drilled into it and the hour markers are then anchored to the dial, offering a three-dimensional aspect to the overall look of the markers or numbers. </div><div>Whereas, a painted dial is just that. The hour markers are stamped onto a flat disc dial, often then painted over with luminous material. Either method works well, but I have to say I do like the extra effort that is made with the applied markers. <br /></div><div><u><br /></u></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div>The events in the next book <i>London Rules </i>(2013) show some continuation from the previous novel, as the slow horses find themselves caught up in a plot involving a foreign hit squad that has arrived in London. Slough House's resident tech-head, a young IT whiz named Roderick Ho, goes missing. He's so conceited that he's of the belief that he was relegated to this dead-end team because he was too brilliant to remain in MI5. He's young and wears baggy denim and hoodies as his hands dance across computer keyboards while cans of energy drinks and empty pizza boxes pile up around his desk.</div><div>Meanwhile, River Cartwright is dealing with some revelations that he uncovered in <i>Spook Street.</i></div><div><i> </i> <br /></div><div>Herron is adept at characterisation. He gets you invested in the slow horses, even though, to keep things real, he kills off characters as the books go by. His dialogue is spot-on and his characters are consistent, with new one being introduced amid the skullduggery that goes in in the corridors of British Intelligence.<br /></div><div> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga4BkHrJZhL0iLohlbvbf025RTiQhM9RNMs-6XnKyOsCUY22yNxdCwxbCP6kLnlo1xrssJeCUKvTcabKwHL4RFbsrLDXdpPGzzZZgZA2XxButcI1QBq3_rS3qKSZX0lGw5Zfa8xalw-Z9LnB9d8iGp52kEk8piTQXmyCRgOLe3Q7d6xWSg3SI8Mbneoq8w/s3280/DSCF7692.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="3280" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga4BkHrJZhL0iLohlbvbf025RTiQhM9RNMs-6XnKyOsCUY22yNxdCwxbCP6kLnlo1xrssJeCUKvTcabKwHL4RFbsrLDXdpPGzzZZgZA2XxButcI1QBq3_rS3qKSZX0lGw5Zfa8xalw-Z9LnB9d8iGp52kEk8piTQXmyCRgOLe3Q7d6xWSg3SI8Mbneoq8w/s320/DSCF7692.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The Seiko SKX009K came in handy. There were some days when I was happy to be reminded of what day it was. The day wheel on this watch is in Spanish, hence the 'MAR' is short for 'Martes' (Tuesday), rather than 'March'. <br /><div><br /></div><div>And also, among all the Mick Herron that I read, I also blitzed through Charlie Higson's James Bond novella entitled <i>On His Majesty's Secret Service. </i></div><div>In this story, Bond is sent to investigate the affairs of a fellow named Athelstan of Wessex, who claims that he is, historically, the rightful heir to England's throne and he plans to disrupt the upcoming coronation of King Charles III. There's more to it than that, but I read it so quickly that I'm having trouble remembering it! I must have been in Slough House too long. It'll need a re-reading at some point. </div><div>I have to say though that it was well written. Higson penned six Young Bond books earlier this century and they were well-received. He has a better understanding of the character of James Bond than many of the continuation authors who have taken a crack at writing a OO7 adventure. </div><div>It would be interesting to read a full-length Bond novel written by him. </div><div>We'll see.</div><div><br /></div><div>Okay, so I'll park this post here for now. It got a little longer than I thought it would, but it brings things up to speed, as far as the last several months are concerned. </div><div>My wife has been studying over the past two years, working towards a Master's Degree in Counseling and I have been pretty busy at work this year, so we decided that a quick break was in order. We figured a week or so of doing as little as possible might be a good idea, preferably overseas.</div><div>So, we organised a short holiday. </div><div>More about that in the next post.</div><div><br /></div><div>I hope you've all been well and thanks for reading!<br /></div></div><p style="text-align: justify;"></p></div>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-66265642807966054412023-09-28T04:27:00.002-07:002023-09-29T01:17:52.868-07:00The Cat We Said Goodbye To | Dussy. 2007(?) - 2023<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKH2cFAraoQpR09xHgnZxj7xZnLEO_xdmOIn1-2XofTg-iZdsTSvZDteWHZXyWk61Ich9tBzQcacnXRwTaFHu11V5MD6uFbkGPfq9nsqNmR0xX5-EBnquh9-xX20YG1xP-8XAynHYyAQGUW6ez3wc20uvoavmCwYhJbYIAOSeEBXI0n23hsBqBEBgJMyDm/s3024/Duss.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKH2cFAraoQpR09xHgnZxj7xZnLEO_xdmOIn1-2XofTg-iZdsTSvZDteWHZXyWk61Ich9tBzQcacnXRwTaFHu11V5MD6uFbkGPfq9nsqNmR0xX5-EBnquh9-xX20YG1xP-8XAynHYyAQGUW6ez3wc20uvoavmCwYhJbYIAOSeEBXI0n23hsBqBEBgJMyDm/s320/Duss.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This house doesn't feel the same anymore.<br /><p></p><p><u>Sunday, September 10th*</u></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> <i>(*These underlined dates represent when I actually wrote portions of this post, rather than being a timeline of events. The events took place over a six day period, between September 6th and the 12th.)</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I had planned a normal post like the ones before this one. However, our older cat, Dussy, who was diagnosed with kidney issues three years ago is now at end-stage kidney failure, or very close to it, as far as I can tell. I wrote about this diagnosis back in September 2020. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Back then, the vet had said; <i>"Well, she could last six to twelve months or she could go as long as two to three years."</i></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-hzkIoEhORvn-PATcNiQ99GZ4t457OPfc7xE6g8bmuIhWDvZO1ArR5zsE8_dlvfjT9rHF4CsVuA5n7ddn0IVO09D3-kL05ZJqnj7GUWUMbjo_iPlPd1TIwcCA05vrAqEUH9lzwLAk1HnoCl0gYjESi4xfWGGbkwQU4z83CBt8Qkowxxej1Y2SOgMsWfPE/s2838/d7af99dc7dd4d292-photo-full.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2838" data-original-width="2624" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-hzkIoEhORvn-PATcNiQ99GZ4t457OPfc7xE6g8bmuIhWDvZO1ArR5zsE8_dlvfjT9rHF4CsVuA5n7ddn0IVO09D3-kL05ZJqnj7GUWUMbjo_iPlPd1TIwcCA05vrAqEUH9lzwLAk1HnoCl0gYjESi4xfWGGbkwQU4z83CBt8Qkowxxej1Y2SOgMsWfPE/s320/d7af99dc7dd4d292-photo-full.jpg" width="296" /></a></div></i>Sure enough, here we are, three years later and Madame D has spent much time asleep this week and has gone off her food. We've been keeping her hydrated and have fed her small amounts here and there. She's been on a prescription diet these past few years and has never been a real fan of the stuff that she's had to eat. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">As we fear that she's nearing her end - man, it's difficult to write that line - we feel that she may as well eat a few things that she'd actually enjoy. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've been carrying her to her water bowl and placing her down in front of it. She has quite a thirst, which is a symptom of this ailment. She's much, much lighter than she used to be, and I can feel every ridge along her spine when I stroke her back. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Added to this condition, she has, in recent months, also developed Feline Audiogenic Reflex Seizures, which causes her to flinch if she hears noises of a certain pitch. This can be anything from scrunching up aluminium foil to jingling of car keys.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is a condition that cats can develop once they get to around fifteen years of age. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My son has said that he's seen her have two seizures, where she collapsed to the floor and began to salivate for a few minutes. It happened a third time, late on Wednesday night, while my son was on the PlayStation. Once this passed, we brought her into the bedroom and she slept on the end of the bed with a blanket over her. And then it dawned on me that it was the clicking of the PlayStation controller's buttons that most likely were the cause of her three seizures, since they have only occurred when she's been in the lounge room while my son was gaming. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7MfnIFyV6bNDGy8HmCQGeNCqQLfsFxKT7dPmqVoXRRZ0Z1-nGmvBglnhzdDreNZomptNi8vRBAPRc8LUFlrNLaLoSdoirkRzwM9CcPTWOARQnp9wVhmIQf4UQsKGX6HUjijg48rnb-m-Bh717j590kLLlKfCC8fn2k-j2wDDzVGY5V3yUTSKYj6yqcLvk/s4320/2012%20Jun-Hiding.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3240" data-original-width="4320" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7MfnIFyV6bNDGy8HmCQGeNCqQLfsFxKT7dPmqVoXRRZ0Z1-nGmvBglnhzdDreNZomptNi8vRBAPRc8LUFlrNLaLoSdoirkRzwM9CcPTWOARQnp9wVhmIQf4UQsKGX6HUjijg48rnb-m-Bh717j590kLLlKfCC8fn2k-j2wDDzVGY5V3yUTSKYj6yqcLvk/s320/2012%20Jun-Hiding.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We've all been feeling down since her condition deteriorated so quickly in the last four days, but my wife reminded me that this <i>is</i> a sixteen year-old cat, after all, and one that has led a good life since she turned up on our (neighbour's) doorstep 14 years ago. She has been well-loved and taken care of. Even our other cat, Bowie, has stepped up to help by lying down against her to keep her warm. Granted, he also gets warm as a result, but there was a time not so long ago when you could barely get these two cats within a few feet of each other, let alone sitting together. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">We have a vet appointment scheduled for both cats tomorrow evening, as they are due for some shots, but it looks like the consultation will divert to discussion regarding ensuring Dussy's comfort and, if it comes down to it, the right time to send her off if she's in too much pain or distress. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Looking back now as I write this sentence (Friday, 15th), I realise that I wasn't truly prepared for the reality of what would come next.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>Monday, September 11th </u><br /></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;">Once my wife and I got home from work, we got the two cats ready for the trip to the vet. Our daughter was coming with us. We soon got into my car and made our way sedately to the vet clinic twenty minutes away. </div><div style="text-align: left;">Once we got there, the vet dealt with Bowie first, since his consultation was straightforward. He weighs 4.77 kilos, a healthy number in the range between 4.5 and five kilos. </div><div style="text-align: left;">Attention then turned to Dussy. The vet weighed her and told us that the cat has lost 600 grams since her last visit. She checked her eyes with a penlight. The cat's pupils did not dilate. </div><div style="text-align: left;">Prognosis; the last seizure would appear to have caused some neurological damage and may have affected Madame's eyesight. </div><div style="text-align: left;">The vet felt Dussy's midsection. <i>She feels constipated,</i> she remarked. </div><div style="text-align: left;">Madame had not had a bowel movement for a few days. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnUal2Z2CTMQFiMHZcsF_KP-IZ7CRQzUFZT6A_M2g3HRQDL-GE7p8KqO_ZIS-qREjRzu5Nht0ppacWbfJQciwbIm673TK-CQ2qCD4o1ZKtlXfVAT3n2bKAIjFUXVTICkKVK0teIUhucA08M6v5Wlmuw3rAjUSeYrMPlEdsCH9Ldu6Iolg067n7p2NBNHlQ/s3024/bc3df7c22569b291-photo%20(2).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnUal2Z2CTMQFiMHZcsF_KP-IZ7CRQzUFZT6A_M2g3HRQDL-GE7p8KqO_ZIS-qREjRzu5Nht0ppacWbfJQciwbIm673TK-CQ2qCD4o1ZKtlXfVAT3n2bKAIjFUXVTICkKVK0teIUhucA08M6v5Wlmuw3rAjUSeYrMPlEdsCH9Ldu6Iolg067n7p2NBNHlQ/w400-h400/bc3df7c22569b291-photo%20(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The vet said there might be a few courses of action we could try, but none of these would prolong this cat's life much longer and, more importantly, they would cause her distress. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This cat was close to the end of it's time. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The vet went on to say that she didn't think it would be wise to wait a few more days. I was asking logical questions, making sensible statements, etc. I didn't want to leave it too late, to the point where it might be 2:00am one night and this cat is in pain or distress. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">My wife and daughter felt the same. The vet told us that she had no appointments booked for the following afternoon at 3:20pm. We made the arrangements and left. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The ride home was sombre. I was, however, most concerned with giving this beloved pet a painless send-off.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We got the two cats home and gave Dussy a small teaspoon of vanilla ice-cream. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>Tuesday, September 12th </u><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I got up a little earlier that morning and went to the kitchen. I flicked on the coffee machine and then grabbed the egg carton out of the pantry and cracked one open. I transferred the yolk from one hand to the other, letting the egg-white slip through my fingers before spooning a small amount of the yolk into Dussy's bowl. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I went and got her off our bed and brought her to her bowl. She gingerly sniffed at the egg before her tongue darted out to eat it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I offered her some water afterwards, and then brought her to her litter tray. After that, I put her on a cushion in the lounge, next to a window in the early morning sun.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then I took a shower before my wife got up. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Made an <i>espresso, </i>kissed my wife and <i>Have a </i> <i>good day, hon</i>, then headed to the train station. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHaNuwII2m4SAQESADQjzmHbqT9LmKBwiMLV1e3rDiRpRhSfCHRz1kG7j7SkM8CsakSif1rnQB3KN0rMs4ZD-ZW1ZEIviZoQiOvfITcb4-3qg1o-B5TCNSYfcZsQQNGnk3n5E2LGm1-T3Ci0-Tf8bgYwYPWTvWfdT5bzSaml3g2gOTFMvxzqP0yzHmfiPN/s4608/IMG_2948~photo.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="4608" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHaNuwII2m4SAQESADQjzmHbqT9LmKBwiMLV1e3rDiRpRhSfCHRz1kG7j7SkM8CsakSif1rnQB3KN0rMs4ZD-ZW1ZEIviZoQiOvfITcb4-3qg1o-B5TCNSYfcZsQQNGnk3n5E2LGm1-T3Ci0-Tf8bgYwYPWTvWfdT5bzSaml3g2gOTFMvxzqP0yzHmfiPN/s320/IMG_2948~photo.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I left work at around 1:00pm and made my way home. The kids had kept Madame comfortable. There was her favourite blanket splayed out on the floor near the window in our bedroom and the sunlight shone through. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I lay down next to her and stroked her head. She hasn't purred for a week now. I held one of her paws, feeling the pads underneath, hoping that she'd recognise that it was me doing this. Hoping that she remembered the sound of my voice or my scent. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was now beginning to dawn on me. I had less than a couple of hours left with her. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="color: #2b00fe;">My wife and I would often take a walk after dinner. It might be a short ten-minute stroll around the block or it might be a longer walk around the neighbourhood and we'd be gone about 40 minutes or so. Dussy would follow us out the front door. We'd walk down our drive-way and Madame would be right behind us. As we'd cross the road in our street - it's a court. One way in or out - Duss would walk a little into the road and then stop. As we got to the end of the street, my wife and I would turn to look behind us and Madame would be standing there, like a sentinel. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="color: #2b00fe;">We would get back from the walk and the cat would be at the edge of our driveway. She'd see us and slowly slink her way towards us, out onto the road. As we walked past her, she'd turn and follow us back up the driveway. Unless my wife or I picked her up first. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0k_IjWHZgkvqRX_4vo61EZTQ24RPWEcvKSMppua6lGmZNtvJYM0DYoYj6louF5Z7B0S8h9Sx4b8hbO4Lf4nCKEZOvXC-ikbzSWE-0gyjUxSkaoWOP9CeZhcNGxTnS6vPzpqIvcK-i-ebTTz4xl0bucXBcN2GFR0ONo2f6p-VC7g0FEbPIsy7TajA1ToWJ/s2272/2009%20Mar.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1704" data-original-width="2272" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0k_IjWHZgkvqRX_4vo61EZTQ24RPWEcvKSMppua6lGmZNtvJYM0DYoYj6louF5Z7B0S8h9Sx4b8hbO4Lf4nCKEZOvXC-ikbzSWE-0gyjUxSkaoWOP9CeZhcNGxTnS6vPzpqIvcK-i-ebTTz4xl0bucXBcN2GFR0ONo2f6p-VC7g0FEbPIsy7TajA1ToWJ/w400-h300/2009%20Mar.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><i style="color: #2b00fe;">Left- March 2009 - the day she landed on our doorstep. A Chocolate-Point Burmese. Not the kind of breed that winds up as a stray. Even the vet that first checked her out was surprised. </i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i style="color: #2b00fe;">I opened up a can of tuna for her on that day. She became my shadow after that. My family has often commented on how she would choose my lap to sit in at any given time. We'd be sitting in the lounge room watching TV and Madame would make a bee-line for me and hop onto my thighs.</i><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;">I kept patting her while she lay in the sun. I was starting to feel awful. Lost. The kids were both home and they told me that she'd spent most of the day asleep. I got her a little more vanilla ice-cream on a saucer. I knew this would most likely be her last meal. Afterwards, I carried her to her water bowl. She wasn't interested. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I smiled and said to her; <i>Good girl. Better to have the taste of vanilla on your palate instead of water. </i>I brought her to her litter tray. Nothing. So, back to her blanket she went. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">My wife got home from work, we got Duss into her carry basket and headed for the veterinary clinic. I took a glance at my wife in the rear-view mirror while I drove. She was crying. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">We got to the clinic and were led into one of the suites. The examination table had a plush furry blanket laid across it, the ceiling lights were off and the room was illuminated by a soft glow from a wall lamp.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The vet came in and explained the procedure. She would place a catheter in Dussy's foreleg. Then, the cat would receive a large dose of anaesthetic, effectively an overdose. It would be quick, given Madam's age and frail state. That's all I hoped for, as my eyes welled up. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Take as long as you need with her, </i>said the vet before leaving us in the room. We all held onto Dussy for a while. My wife asked if I wanted to hold her while it was done. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I said 'no'. I couldn't bear that. I'd prefer to hold one of her paws, to let her know I was there. This cat has been my shadow for the last 14 years. I was the sucker who
gave her some tuna when she first appeared and she seems to have
preferred my lap over those of the other family members.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, I'm gonna stop here for now. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>Sunday, September 17th</u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The vet returned to the room and asked if we were ready for Dussy to have the catheter inserted. She reminded us that we could have more time if we wanted. I was definitely not in a rush for this procedure to be underway, but I didn't want to prolong the goodbye. Can you tell how my head was in two places?</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My son was holding Dussy and he gently passed her over to the vet, who took her into another room to fit the catheter. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSPm9YRzBwcsle98yHE6VRG63uPIC2wGlu6vr5LjEgDsfzD4k8IK70P-bow-e3C-LNZpxAmow6c38HLBrPosazuRfbNxt8QaEiMNe7ZLXOaJQ4iCLBFHSqx_tXJbE3n9eHyPJu5rq_mnhJTHR-UKtwiWZTixLMcopj8_Q0CAjhkLitcDpXdVqetvBbnmAA/s3024/fd1a9eb5f854a038-photo-full.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSPm9YRzBwcsle98yHE6VRG63uPIC2wGlu6vr5LjEgDsfzD4k8IK70P-bow-e3C-LNZpxAmow6c38HLBrPosazuRfbNxt8QaEiMNe7ZLXOaJQ4iCLBFHSqx_tXJbE3n9eHyPJu5rq_mnhJTHR-UKtwiWZTixLMcopj8_Q0CAjhkLitcDpXdVqetvBbnmAA/s320/fd1a9eb5f854a038-photo-full.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="color: #2b00fe;">This cat has never really had one name. When we first decided to keep her, she was called 'Latté', due to her two-tone shades of brown. Until my wife and I realised how pretentious that sounded. Then we switched her name to 'Wispy', on account of how her tail would sway and curl when she stood, like a thin plume of smoke. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i>At some point after that, her name changed to 'Dussy'. This seems to be the one that stuck, more or less. My wife and daughter called her 'Bubble'. My daughter also called her 'Peanut', again probably to do with her colouring, and she also inexplicably called her 'Sticky Chicken' on a regular basis. Oh, and 'Goodjibubble'. Although, that name didn't stick, thank God.<br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="color: #2b00fe;">And I sometimes called her 'Monkey' or 'Kangaroo'', to get a rise out of her. Didn't work. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="color: #2b00fe;">At any rate, if she had a passport, I'm sure it would list her as Madame Wispola Dusenberg. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i> </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A few minutes later, the vet brought our beloved cat back into the room and placed her gingerly onto the blanket. I saw the catheter on her right foreleg, held in place by a strip of blue bandage. I held her left paw and gave the pad a gentle rub as my heart-rate increased a little. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This was going to happen momentarily. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I asked my daughter to hold Madame, if she wanted to. <i>Are you sure?, </i>she asked me as tears welled in her eyes. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was sure. I knew I wouldn't be able to bear it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And, more importantly, I wanted my daughter to have this closeness with this cat. Remember how I said up above that this cat would always seek out my lap to sit in? Well, sometimes, she would choose my wife's lap or my son's lap. Never my daughter's lap. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This went on for years. From 2009, when she first arrived, till sometime in 2016, when I came home from work to find my daughter, big smile on her face, sitting on the couch with her feet perched on the ottoman, and Madame curled up in her lap. This was an historic event. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">My daughter was seven years old when this cat arrived. Dussy finally sat in her lap when she was 14. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">My daughter waited half a lifetime. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgorBE4e-6cOj60gI8fKmn0RPFSZmRWthI9HjkcgXjXhdKZYO_yrqRcdYEw8ap23eK3fjqIM5oXgo8lEky-66jG-YIf0i8fuXr_al1cJQZyf8x0o8v6ZM9jb70l9El9xEnO06tD93BFud1iDklHF52SCU86_cy0cNDYaBClWVtK-HxjP6BDKcWEAFOhUe3B/s2910/05b31e9f6189b991-photo-full.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2910" data-original-width="2897" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgorBE4e-6cOj60gI8fKmn0RPFSZmRWthI9HjkcgXjXhdKZYO_yrqRcdYEw8ap23eK3fjqIM5oXgo8lEky-66jG-YIf0i8fuXr_al1cJQZyf8x0o8v6ZM9jb70l9El9xEnO06tD93BFud1iDklHF52SCU86_cy0cNDYaBClWVtK-HxjP6BDKcWEAFOhUe3B/s320/05b31e9f6189b991-photo-full.jpg" width="319" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">I recall one year where we were having Sunday lunch. It was my
birthday and we had finished eating and I had received and unwrapped my
gifts and read the birthday cards that my kids had made for me.</span></i><br /><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">
It was a warm Summer's day. The front door was open, with a cool breeze blowing in through the screen door. Our dining area was right near
the front porch. My wife glanced at the door. Dussy was standing
outside on the front door-mat.</span></i><br /><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;"></span></i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">She's got something in her mouth</span><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">, said my wife as she got up from
the table and headed for the door. She opened it and Madame walked in
with a bird in her mouth. The cat took a few steps into the dining area
and then placed the bird on the floor.</span></i><br /><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">
On my birthday.</span></i><br /><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">
It was some black bird, with a thin yellow stripe across each wing. Very
exotic. I'd never seen one like it, before or since. Probably the last
of its species!</span></i><br /><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">
Dussy hadn't wrapped it, of course, but it was the thought that counted.</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My wife asked our son if he wanted to nurse Dussy one more time. He declined. She then wrapped Dussy in her favourite blanket and put her into my daughter's arms. I stroked this cat across her brow and between her ears. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The vet once again offered us more time, but we looked at each other, making an agreement with small nods. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was time. Logic reminded me of this, even though my heart wanted to back out of this procedure. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>Monday, September 18th </u><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">My daughter held Dussy up a little higher, cradled in her arms like a baby. I held our cat's left paw and gently stroked the pads. The vet took hold of the other paw and attached the syringe to the catheter. I watched her thumb push down on the plunger. She then removed the syringe from the catheter. I looked at Madame's beautiful face. A few seconds later, her tongue slowly poked out from her mouth and I seemed to see the light go out in her eyes. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I turned away as the tears began to pour out of my eyes and took a step back and sat in one of the chairs against the wall of this tiny room. The vet approached and offered me some tissues. I took the box and said a tearful <i>Thank-you</i> to her. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My head flooded with various thoughts; </div><div style="text-align: justify;">- This was it, there was no way to turn it all back. It was done. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">- I felt a little distraught at seeing her like that, with her pink tongue protruding from her mouth. I didn't want her to look silly or comical in her last moments. My daughter and wife told me later that the tongue retracted while I was sitting in the chair. It was a reflexive action, as Dussy's whole body let go. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The vet held a stethoscope to Madame's chest. We were quiet. A few seconds later, she nodded. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Madame was gone. I was grateful to the Gods that it had only taken three seconds or so. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">My daughter asked if I wanted to hold her. I nodded and she passed our cat over to me. I was nervous as I took her in my arms. I didn't want to see her head loll to the side. I wanted to pretend that she was sleeping. I wanted a little time to accept the fact that she was gone. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I held her in the crook of my arm and stroked the side of her face. I held her paw again for a while. I stroked the top of her head. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Her body made a sound as a held her. Air was expelled from her lungs. I worried a little right then, not wanting to think that she was in some pain or distress. The vet explained that it was a chemical reaction to the injection. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She told us to take as long as we needed to say goodbye. I have to say that she's been a wonderful vet. She'd said <i>I'm sorry</i> to us more times than she had to, and she shed a few tears herself. She has dealt with this cat on numerous occasions and always had nice things to say about her. <i>Oh, she's a grand old girl, </i>she remarked a few times, with her lilting Irish accent. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">She has one of those Gaelic names, easy to pronounce, but impossible to spell. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She and my wife left the room for a while. My wife wanted to pay for the procedure and she wanted to make arrangements for the body. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">We had discussed this the day before. Did I want to bury her in the backyard garden? <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">No. We wouldn't stay at this address forever. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The decision was made to have her cremated instead, and we would keep her ashes in an urn at home. They would be ready in a couple of weeks.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I held on to her a little while longer, stroking the side of her face. I asked the kids if they were okay. They were feeling a little better. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm not sure how much longer I sat there, holding on to her. Might have been fifteen minutes. I held her paw again and noticed it was feeling colder now. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">My wife came back in and we laid Dussy out on her blanket and wrapped her in it slightly. My wife placed a small handful of freesias between Dussy's paws. She had taken them from our garden before we left the house earlier. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">My daughter took a couple of photos of Madame as she lay there. I took one as well. She looked peaceful and I was glad that her deteriorating health was at an end. It was very difficult seeing her slide so quickly over the last six days. It did indeed happen fast. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I found the care label on the blanket that she was wrapped up in. It was a blanket from West Elm and the print on the care-tag had faded. I took out my pen and wrote on it; "Dussy 2007(?) - 2023. We love you". On the other side of the tag, I added; <u>"ALIASES</u> - WISPY - BUBBLE - PEANUT".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4AR4VDmUe9nqtVSNLrikoBM8q-bCxJ0nZgNiCTiIQNkv1xQvAE9HtG9dnHtVFi_eb66HQtOL-Y0cz-K9OaiDQi5CSrlqPJhiEPwAbXWc4nQFO4zcetvXbrsdVngtX6cXs8twVwgqR1CGUHCpgldUxwRxUyD5LY8dwgDEUnXP6qADfrhRF3n3qWMkZd9Ce/s4608/P3100355%20-%20Copy.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="4608" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4AR4VDmUe9nqtVSNLrikoBM8q-bCxJ0nZgNiCTiIQNkv1xQvAE9HtG9dnHtVFi_eb66HQtOL-Y0cz-K9OaiDQi5CSrlqPJhiEPwAbXWc4nQFO4zcetvXbrsdVngtX6cXs8twVwgqR1CGUHCpgldUxwRxUyD5LY8dwgDEUnXP6qADfrhRF3n3qWMkZd9Ce/s320/P3100355%20-%20Copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I leaned down to Dussy and whispered in her ear; <i>"I love you. You were wonderful. Thank-you". </i>And my eyes welled up again. I stroked her face one last time and kissed her cheek, where her whiskers were. My daughter wanted to say her goodbyes, so I didn't rush her. She spent another five minutes or so with her. I stood just outside the room, glancing back a couple of times. Feeling miserable for myself, but contented by the fact that Madame was now at rest. I didn't want to remember her the way she was in her final week. I wanted to remember her the way she looks in these photos.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We thanked the staff at the veterinary clinic. I made a mental note to write a card for the vet to thank her for her efforts. We left, got in the car and made our way home. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>Wednesday, September 27th</u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We didn't talk much on the way home. It was done, and I felt okay about having said my goodbyes to this cat. I pulled in to our driveway. We got out of the car and brought the now-empty cat carrier into the house. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Day-to-day practicality returned shortly afterwards and my wife and I decided to head to our nearby ALDI to get stuff for dinner that evening. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">We soon filled the two shopping bags that we'd brought with us and we approached the ice-cream section in the frozen food aisle. We checked the freezer that usually stocks the Kapiti Nelson Boysenberry ice-creams. It was totally empty, a blank white refrigerated space. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>"Oh, it's a day of loss!", </i>my wife exclaimed with a smile. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>"This is the worst day ever!", </i>I replied, smiling back. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A little bit of black humour to take the pressure off the day's events. We had all been crying an hour or so earlier. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>Epilogue</u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's now just over two weeks since we said goodbye to this beloved cat. I wasn't firing on all cylinders at work for the rest of the week after we had Dussy put to rest on that Tuesday afternoon. Made a few out-of-character mistakes here and there, as I was still reeling from it all. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As I said at the beginning, this house doesn't feel the same anymore. I get home from work and I don't see Duss curled up on a corner of the couch, punctuating the furniture or floor-space in one room or another. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've sat down to watch TV and she hasn't leaped up onto my lap. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">We have our younger cat, Bowie, and hes also a Burmese, but he's of a different temperament to her. He walked around a little distracted for the first few days after Duss had gone. I think it's truly dawned on him that she's no longer around. We've been keeping a closer eye on him and he seems to be okay. He comes and goes as he pleases. He even sits on the couch when we're watching TV, which is something that he never did. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last weekend, my wife visited the vet clinic to bring in some chocolates that we'd bought, along with a note of thanks from us both to the vet who carried out the procedure. Unbeknownst to me, she was also visiting the vet clinic to collect Madame Dussy's ashes. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">She brought them home in a little cloth draw-string pouch, along with a card from the vet. The ashes themselves were contained in a small plastic Zip-Loc bag. Hardly dignified, but practical. The vet had told us that this is how the pet crematorium packages them. They call it a 'scatter-bag', as some folks like to distribute the ashes in a special or meaningful location. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I held the plastic bag in the palm of my hand. It was smaller than a cake of soap. I put it back in the draw-string pouch and held on to it a few minutes. My wife would organise a small urn to put them in.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was good to have Madame back home. And I thank the Gods for sending her to us all those years ago. I'll miss her always, but I'm glad to have had her for the time that I did. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She was a source of affection, frustration (at times), friendship, amusement, concern, and above all, love for all of us in this family. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHOeYwJ-0AvstKldhVQ0c-wB6TvHJbbvv3kLjuUNlEsJ385Iq0CUL2fes57M-WUBkEQ2r-kj_K4JypES29cCSsriZ4L7skykZ22BmAI4fC4g_B6NB8Lq4VAElpspzV_nssWG-gJu12wydVdWc3Eh9pppQy_aoaox0jPfuS6HjsychY0yTNjgGxMYHo9jZS/s3024/e096f599a0b8fb4d-photo%20-copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2446" data-original-width="3024" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHOeYwJ-0AvstKldhVQ0c-wB6TvHJbbvv3kLjuUNlEsJ385Iq0CUL2fes57M-WUBkEQ2r-kj_K4JypES29cCSsriZ4L7skykZ22BmAI4fC4g_B6NB8Lq4VAElpspzV_nssWG-gJu12wydVdWc3Eh9pppQy_aoaox0jPfuS6HjsychY0yTNjgGxMYHo9jZS/w640-h518/e096f599a0b8fb4d-photo%20-copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> Thanks for reading. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-49832463812075447252023-07-08T04:23:00.000-07:002023-07-08T04:23:52.644-07:00Reading/Time No. 2 | March/April 2023 - The Book/s I Read, The Watches I Wore, Etc.<p style="text-align: justify;">Okay, thrill-seekers, no time to waste. I just put up the February post and then got started on this one. Not writing about the issues with my feet. That was covered a couple of posts ago. This post - and maybe all future posts - will be a little more frivolous in nature. Not sure, just an idea I'm toying with at the moment. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, as said in recent posts, I thought I'd try doing a little more reading this year in an effort to get back into the habit. I used to read a lot, but life got busier and I got more tired. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Okay, so...</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span><u>- What I Read In March - </u><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">British novelist Frederick Forsyth began a career in journalism in the early 1960s and wrote a book called <i>The Biafra Story </i>in 1969, which covered his time reporting on the Nigerian Civil War. He shot to international fame a few years later with his second book, a fictional account of a plot to assassinate French President Charles de Gaulle, entitled <i>The Day of The Jackal. </i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">My brother had a paperback copy of this book. It was in pristine condition, which led me to think that he most likely never read it. Once I started reading more grown-up/adult literature in the early 1980s, and after having seen the 1971 film adaptation of the book, a British-French co-production starring Edward Fox as the titular Jackal, I felt I was ready to read the book. I found it slow, but then, I was barely into my teens. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Since then, I've read seven other books by Forsyth over the years. And I'm probably due for a re-read of <i>Jackal.</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, I began the month of March with <i>The Afghan</i>, a Forsyth novel from 2006, which features a previous character of his, former SAS-man Mike Martin, a seasoned veteran of tours in the Middle East, who is recruited to impersonate a high-level al Qaeda commander who is currently being held in Guantanamo Bay. There is chatter throughout intercepted intelligence throughout the Middle East that the Taliban are plotting a major terrorist attack on Western interests. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw0JftuF55nxteQRA8ZOIe7MJoMkBiZOTQtSBT3aYY3GqriHlTLw40-ij2mRy8KZkhp8Ecokvb6PCbMoZou7qb9T85J5OlL0VdzApaGYLlz0SjK0YAJKO7z5Xif_pofhB1WkJdhYWD6Wb8CYuftPYTyGSY-ZIKqSCswVpSAhS6zsSxYyDcdxLA6W_61s9y/s1280/2nd%202.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw0JftuF55nxteQRA8ZOIe7MJoMkBiZOTQtSBT3aYY3GqriHlTLw40-ij2mRy8KZkhp8Ecokvb6PCbMoZou7qb9T85J5OlL0VdzApaGYLlz0SjK0YAJKO7z5Xif_pofhB1WkJdhYWD6Wb8CYuftPYTyGSY-ZIKqSCswVpSAhS6zsSxYyDcdxLA6W_61s9y/w300-h400/2nd%202.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I wont give away any more of the plot. I'd rather comment on the writing. I once read an article that described Forsyth's writing style as clichéd. I'll have to read more of his works to see if I can pick up on that, but I will go so far as to say that his writing can be a little bland in some ways. There are no flourishes, and this makes it quite workman-like. </div><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div style="text-align: justify;">However, his technical knowledge and levels of research are unsurpassed.This is where his journalistic background elevates his writing in terms of the information one learns while reading his books. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">For example, there are over 19,000 blank Belgian passports that have been stolen over the last three decades from various embassies, consulates, diplomatic satchels, etc and, to date, only a small number of them have been used, notably by Islamic State members, gun-runners, sex traffickers and drug dealers. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The book moved at a good pace for the most part, but I felt the ending was a little rushed, something that I began to suspect when I was about fifteen or twenty pages away from finishing it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">It almost felt like A) Forsyth was working to a tight deadline set by his publishers, a practice that has become quite common in the last couple of decades, if one recalls the amount of control that George R.R. Martin's publishers had over his <i>Game of Thrones</i> output, or B) Forsyth didn't have a clear idea of how to end the book. Also in the frame is the 1982 Submariner 5513, which saw some time on the wrist early in the month. This is the watch that I've wanted since I was a kid, as some of you may recall from one of my posts back in 2015, when I finally acquired the watch.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhudfj2ztW0ybdzO36PzUiZPbGEgG8MvQfva3SPKLJP5y_MLh96gWykIOO85vbE04FSoN4LXy_9nUsVEYu2diF6tJXs7YwrSTKKu4Z5UG-q-JaVgMA6eDncqa9YkwHb3gcai9gzeH_3szpxcUr9I2zozgu3heU3wY4YL5XhXCRyg6OhpIFkXFIivTWcxHyi/s1280/2nd.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhudfj2ztW0ybdzO36PzUiZPbGEgG8MvQfva3SPKLJP5y_MLh96gWykIOO85vbE04FSoN4LXy_9nUsVEYu2diF6tJXs7YwrSTKKu4Z5UG-q-JaVgMA6eDncqa9YkwHb3gcai9gzeH_3szpxcUr9I2zozgu3heU3wY4YL5XhXCRyg6OhpIFkXFIivTWcxHyi/w300-h400/2nd.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, I have found in recent years that this watch requires a little more care than a more modern equivalent. The crystal (glass) is plexi, which is a kind of acrylic and therefore more prone to scuffs and scratches, and a good knock will crack it. This alone gives me a little pause whenever I think about wearing it for any particular activity. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sure, if I crack the glass, I can simply get it replaced, but this would more than likely be something that I'd be doing every couple of years. That kind'a takes some of the fun out of ownership. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">That said, I've thought about replacing this one with a later model. Not sure. Need to give it a little more thought, as this watch carries a tonne of mystique and cachét, built up over the last seventy years since its inception. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The association that this watch has with Bond, scuba diving, Cousteau and his crew, McQueen, Redford, foreign correspondents of the 1970s and '80s is something that's not to be trifled with or underestimated. This is the most famous dive watch design ever made. Both a blessing and a curse in some ways. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Longines Spirit also got a bit of time on the wrist in March.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-0lv8gaK0-phnbcW7vhmG8WJk-lUXtnkZCXaAHm9_n4zgPGJ33yxPNXsuTRBWb4LcObPHlZIYf3o6-JewVUPx49XxtyGgG0jKl58ibiN3hk0mWUFf9vgYKjGVNCK0sBR-2NTv4dZvHgekPeqWo4YoY1BnyVfeUOmLIOSvXmdysSYBkOHZ2nX8peeMXFpp/s1280/5th%20arvo.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-0lv8gaK0-phnbcW7vhmG8WJk-lUXtnkZCXaAHm9_n4zgPGJ33yxPNXsuTRBWb4LcObPHlZIYf3o6-JewVUPx49XxtyGgG0jKl58ibiN3hk0mWUFf9vgYKjGVNCK0sBR-2NTv4dZvHgekPeqWo4YoY1BnyVfeUOmLIOSvXmdysSYBkOHZ2nX8peeMXFpp/s320/5th%20arvo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This watch punches above its weight. Super comfy and super legible, probably the two main things you want from a wristwatch. Of course, 100 metre water-resistance and very accurate timekeeping also help. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Regarding the Bombay Gin, I haven't seen this on the market here in my neck of the woods since sometime in the 1980s. So when I saw it in a nearby bottle shop (liquor store), I just had to stumble down memory lane and buy a bottle. It's a little weaker in alcohol by volume when compared to my go-to gin, Bombay Sapphire, but this was a pleasant drop nonetheless. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>- What I Read in April - </u><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_zfIXX8cRMNTSWthE0xYuD3NseL2tH81P1JXmWTSbF10lvtCOIl9pOfaYzyEZpEXzvra32x7bNa7F-ljVhsmcfHccvgezbMO5d1ULDfWXzdjGRYiJkXL2TeF4NTLZoOXSX0NsP1_Ui_UVQnfkXzD1DKrqh9CXfitDoyx5hbTQy1ag9OyuP0fMuAvONrRt/s1280/19th.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_zfIXX8cRMNTSWthE0xYuD3NseL2tH81P1JXmWTSbF10lvtCOIl9pOfaYzyEZpEXzvra32x7bNa7F-ljVhsmcfHccvgezbMO5d1ULDfWXzdjGRYiJkXL2TeF4NTLZoOXSX0NsP1_Ui_UVQnfkXzD1DKrqh9CXfitDoyx5hbTQy1ag9OyuP0fMuAvONrRt/s320/19th.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I quickly ran through another Mick Herron novella called <i>Standing By The Wall. </i>This is a small story centering on a pre-Christmas moment in Slough House, a forgotten division of MI6 where agency failures are sent to finish out their time with the Service or are driven to the point of resigning. I wrote a little more about this series of books in my previous post. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tell ya what, it must've been a cold night in April if I busted out that bottle of Laphroag Islay Single Malt. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This book was written last year and I get the impression that some characters from Mick Herron's earlier books are no longer around. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">From what I've read and heard from Herron in interviews, his intention with this series was to have characters come and go. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've read his first three books and I think I'll get back into his Slough House series. I've got them all at the moment.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">First, though, I thought I'd get into the latest Bond continuation novel, titled <i>Double Or Nothing</i>, written by Kim Sherwood. This book is, apparently, part of a proposed trilogy. The premise was intriguing. James Bond has been missing for the past 17 months. Three other Double-O operatives are searching for his whereabouts while also engaged in keeping tabs on a private military organisation and looking into the affairs of a billionaire who claims he can reverse global warming. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm currently (July 5th) about half-way through this book and I have to say that it has greatly hampered the momentum that I had built up at the beginning of the year. Three full-length novels and four novellas. I was doing nicely, thanks for asking, and then I landed on this book. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">My gripes;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- One Double-O is named Johanna Harwood, which also happens to be the name of one of the screenwriters of the first Bond film, <i>Dr No</i>, back in 1962.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Another character is named Bob Simmons, which is the name of the stunt coordinator of the Bond films in the '60s and '70s. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Miss Moneypenny is fairly high up in the Secret Service now, I'm not sure if she's running things or is very close to being top dog. She drives a vintage 1960s Jaguar E-Type that she had converted to an electric vehicle by Q Branch. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Q Branch. Nowadays, it is basically an AI, which works on all manner of things, including a hearing implant that is worn by agent 004, Joseph Dryden. When Dryden talks, every word is heard by Q Branch back at HQ. And they can also send him messages and intel via this implant. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So far, there have been no major highs or tension in the story, in my view. The completist in me wants to finish it, but man, it's a bit of a slog. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>Saturday, July 8th </u><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> I was reading this book during my morning commute in to work a couple of days ago and there's a scene where Johanna Harwood is sitting at an outside table at a cafe in Berlin. She places her order with the waiter and shortly afterwards, 'out of the corner of her eye', she notices the waiter approaching, holding a small tray with her order on it. The 'waiter' turns out to be another character in the book and yes, he is holding the tray, but he also has a tan-coloured overcoat draped over his shoulders as he approaches.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, you can notice an arm holding a tray out of the corner of your eye, but you fail to take in the tan overcoat? Which is not part of your standard waiter's uniform. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was about to start the next chapter and I saw the words 'Kina Lillet' on the page, and my heart sank a little further.*</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-bHSe-sw2dQbQn9ohNieUUKakahXPixVMwe0mmOTxVeBw5IIOTxYn4ys8eeaz0zJU47_0zAj8jj8cotJcr1vO0XUvW9xSRtpfumsHEv1g6bPCkH16c0pnyI6ZeQcIiZvWGdi9O64-GMMhowQVAHei1fEfZiqAIDqF96VAHycdYWxaWwPjcUzkK8zcIxAt/s1280/16th.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="1280" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-bHSe-sw2dQbQn9ohNieUUKakahXPixVMwe0mmOTxVeBw5IIOTxYn4ys8eeaz0zJU47_0zAj8jj8cotJcr1vO0XUvW9xSRtpfumsHEv1g6bPCkH16c0pnyI6ZeQcIiZvWGdi9O64-GMMhowQVAHei1fEfZiqAIDqF96VAHycdYWxaWwPjcUzkK8zcIxAt/w400-h194/16th.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The Tudor Black Bay 58 got some wear throughout April. This watch is part of my permanent collection. I've given some serious thought to my watches over the last year or two. Some more thinking to be done, as I notice some watches being worn much more than others. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">*Okay, another gripe of mine regarding this book - So here we are in Berlin with Double-O agent Johanna Harwood and another character who is mixing up a couple of Vesper Martinis, the recipe of which was created by James Bond in <i>Casino Royale.</i> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you need a refresher;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">3 measures of Gordon's Gin</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> 1 measure of Vodka (brand unspecified)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Half a measure of Kina Lillet vermouth<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Pour these into a cocktail shaker with lots of ice and shake it until it's very cold</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Strain it into a martini glass and add a twist of lemon peel. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Personally, I'm not a fan of this drink. Fleming had a cast-iron stomach (like everybody of past generations) and this drink is basically four shots of spirits. Which is why I always called BS on that scene in <i>Quantum of Solace </i>(Dir: Marc Forster, 2008) where Bond is on a plane and he's polished off SIX of these and only looks slightly punch-drunk. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Daniel Craig or not, that's <b><u>twenty-four</u></b> shots of alcohol, not including 12 shots of Lillet vermouth. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, this book is set in today's world.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Any Bond fan worth his Double-O licence would know that Kina Lillet was discontinued in 1985. It was replaced with an altered blend of ingredients and renamed Lillet Blanc. Its the little details that bug me when they are stuffed up. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Poor research? Bad editing? I wouldn't know. All I know is that I paid $32.95AUD for a book written by somebody who was commissioned to write it by the Ian Fleming Estate Publishers.<br /> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, I might just wrap things up here for now. I'll start on the next post sometime in the next week or two. We'll see how this book is faring by then. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I bought the Charlie Higson Bond novella, titled <i>On His Majesty's Secret Service, </i>which was released to tie in with the coronation of King Charles a couple of months ago. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Higson wrote the very well regarded series of <i>Young Bond </i>teen-fic novels earlier this century, so it will be interesting to read his take on a modern Bond. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I hope you've been well, and thank-you for reading!<br /></div></div>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-13738686261704439432023-06-10T23:46:00.000-07:002023-06-10T23:46:34.163-07:00Reading/Time No. 1 | February 2023 - The Book/s I Read, The Watches I Wore, Etc.<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span>s I mentioned in my previous post, I figured I'd read a little more this year. It's a pastime that I used to partake of more in my younger years, when it seemed that I had more free time. Even once the kids came along, I still managed to get some reading done in bed before lights out. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In recent years, though, I've fallen into the trap set by the little black rectangle, checking emails, Instagram and other non-urgent online crap before lights out.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, I felt it might be time to get a little more mature with my nightly routine and get back to reading. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also, I wanted to tackle espionage fiction in particular, as it's always been a favourite genre of mine, and there are a slew of titles that I'd like to read. And, as a way of perhaps doing a little more blogging, I figured I'd write a little something about these books. I should mention that I won't concentrate too much on their plots. I'll most likely be talking more about the writing, pace and readability (in my humble op) of the books. I'm no critic, mind you, so it's more than likely just gonna read as an opinion piece.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, time to get started.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <u> - What I read in February - </u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> In my previous post, I mentioned that I had read <i>The Trinity Six</i>, by Charles Cumming. That was a nicely written book, with a plot that reminded me of something that John le Carré might have written in his later years. It should be noted that le Carré didn't solely write espionage. Very often, his main plot would have to do with the nefarious dealings of big business or government, with a main character not being part of the secret intelligence world. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Next book that I read was a novella by a favourite modern spy author of mine, Mick Herron. He's been writing for twenty years, and his first couple of books were mysteries, but he hit his stride in 2010 with the release of <i>Slow Horses</i>, about a forgotten and neglected division of MI5 where agents who have messed up are sent to perform menial and unimportant administrative tasks, in the hopes that they'll become so bored and unfulfilled in this dead-end department that they'll hand in their resignations. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">They are stationed in a series of shabby offices in a building called Slough House, and the intelligence operatives at MI5 HQ in Regent's Park refer to these has-beens as the slow horses. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Leading this rag-tag team is one Mr Jackson Lamb, complete with a steady supply of cigarettes, Scotch and insulting one-liners directed at his team, or 'Joes', as they are referred to in spy slang. He has a paunch, which strains the (probable) polyester fabric of his food-stained shirts, an unfiltered potty-mouth, and an unrestrained lack of decorum which sees him break wind in any given situation. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">James Bond he ain't.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">What he is, however, is a wonderfully drawn character with a sharp mind, a former Cold Warrior who was stationed in Berlin when The Wall was still intact, and was captured by The Stasi at some point before coming back to Britain a different man. The details of this have only been hinted at in the three books I've read so far. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lamb seems to be playing two moves ahead of everyone else, including Diana Taverner, acting Head of MI5 and his former boss. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Slough House series has since been turned into two seasons of a mini-series for AppleTV. I won't say any more about it, except to say that they have been excellent, with a wonderful cast and great cinematography. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWHJabZZKSJCjtWcCnE5GbWMU5Bznhnn_mR0EeDT6pVBXjLGghPMkuxxmlr7-Ni5sT7t01CJwedwH0xotHHd6PhBzrgfdFAimVnrT9qLaRZVYiQXxSHLryAVBtbvbBDynvNsdT_Vyk19EqyvNea52fl0ol9G6jTMzLYQkDRczlu3qdCJvpE4HrjPcxAA/s1280/5th.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWHJabZZKSJCjtWcCnE5GbWMU5Bznhnn_mR0EeDT6pVBXjLGghPMkuxxmlr7-Ni5sT7t01CJwedwH0xotHHd6PhBzrgfdFAimVnrT9qLaRZVYiQXxSHLryAVBtbvbBDynvNsdT_Vyk19EqyvNea52fl0ol9G6jTMzLYQkDRczlu3qdCJvpE4HrjPcxAA/w300-h400/5th.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>Getting back to the novella that I read, <i>The Catch </i>concerns John Bachelor, a not-very-successful former operative of MI5 who has been cut down to part-time status and farmed out to looking after retired assets in their twilight years. He basically just has to check up on them every few weeks or so, to ensure that their fridge has enough food in it and that they are living out their final years without selling whatever secrets they may still possess to the other side. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bachelor gets called in by HQ and is tasked with finding one of his charges, whom he hasn't checked up on in some time, like he is supposed to. It appears the old boy has gone AWOL and who knows who he could be talking to? </div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's a short book, but the characters, some of whom appear in other Slough House books in the series, are well-drawn, and John Bachelor, despite his numerous shortcomings, is a three-dimensional and sympathetic character. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Wristwatch-wise, I wore the
recently-arrived Longines Spirit. This model is 37mm in diameter and
therefore sits nicely on my small wrist. This smaller size gives the
impression that the watch might have been made in the 1950s or '60s,
which is kind of the vibe I was going for. I came to the realisation
about a year or two ago that I prefer certain styles of watches to be a
certain size. That's a blog post on its own, for sure, and I'll get
around to writing it at some point. This watch's size makes for a nicely understated piece, one that stays out of sight until needed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The Catch</i> was a short book, which I had finished by mid-February, so I was now ready for a book that I had bought about two years ago and had yet to read. I took a week's break and then started on <i>All The Old Knives, </i>written by Olen Steinhauer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2wzEwVex0pNQ9N4V_L1896ICXyCyX1zyHR8grgFaLknupd6OGRGuIEWAfnUSIgMyHrWpEoyKiTdNgzxYpCA6Yk49eveSQYvaGSfnnBHf5hSskNF6-aAS9o-ZRP6AoKL2o-LY_VYU8JQIAlBffOy_bWDNIjf-73Rbm2yQmVP_hY9m8vbm6plQWzy_rOQ/s5184/21st.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3090" data-original-width="5184" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2wzEwVex0pNQ9N4V_L1896ICXyCyX1zyHR8grgFaLknupd6OGRGuIEWAfnUSIgMyHrWpEoyKiTdNgzxYpCA6Yk49eveSQYvaGSfnnBHf5hSskNF6-aAS9o-ZRP6AoKL2o-LY_VYU8JQIAlBffOy_bWDNIjf-73Rbm2yQmVP_hY9m8vbm6plQWzy_rOQ/w640-h382/21st.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><i>AMERICANO COCKTAIL</i> - Bond's first drink*<br /></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Into a highball glass, add a decent amount of ice. Then pour in;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 ounce (30ml) of Campari</div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 ounce (30ml) of Sweet Vermouth (Cinzano Rosso, Martini Rosso, etc. Basically, red vermouth)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Top up with Soda Water of choice. Mineral water works just as nicely. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Add a slice of orange. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">*Weaker, but cooler than a Negroni (IMHO), this is the first drink that we see Bond order in 1953's <i>Casino Royale </i>by Ian Fleming. You can bump up the measurements to 45ml each if 30ml doesn't provided enough kick. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is a great drink for a warm Summer afternoon. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Longines Spirit is also seen in the frame up above. <i>All The Old Knives </i>concerns two CIA operatives, who were once in a brief relationship, who reunite to discuss an old mission that went wrong. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Henry Pelham is still with the CIA and he has arranged to have lunch with his former flame Celia Harrison (nee Favreau), who was stationed in Vienna at the time of a hijacking which ended in disaster. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pelham has been assigned to investigate whether or not a mole inside the Agency may have caused the failure of the hostage rescue mission, which resulted in the deaths of over 200 passengers and crew on board the plane. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The story is told in 1st person present-tense, which I normally steer clear of, but Steinhauer's such an adept storyteller that I can forgive this aspect of the writing and was soon swept up by it. The chapters flit back and forth between Pelham's version of events and Celia Harrison's recollection of them and each chapter gives the reader little tidbits here and there without being led by the hand. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's a nicely plotted book and for me personally, a second read of it would reveal more to me, as I think I was slightly distracted by my foot troubles while reading it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In saying that, it was a worthwhile read. Not a true spy story in the strictest sense, but very well written. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And yes, this is another spy book that has ended up on screen recently, via Amazon Prime. I'll have to catch up with it someday.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuqVE3haYYmil5CzrL5e2EKzLVkoTw31_aAZausMQ6Y_DJBoEq5gKS1ArI8r0CEt5NOq784f8XHoSJz_9R3L13wfaUeaXVHlnZM4F45bmtLts55rlGpIV-cUlODhajEB9G0SKOe1coFebPRdxAB2FzBUBVLQIou74jViEOK7N3Xem940fMg-fgh8r33A/s1280/6th.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1045" data-original-width="1280" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuqVE3haYYmil5CzrL5e2EKzLVkoTw31_aAZausMQ6Y_DJBoEq5gKS1ArI8r0CEt5NOq784f8XHoSJz_9R3L13wfaUeaXVHlnZM4F45bmtLts55rlGpIV-cUlODhajEB9G0SKOe1coFebPRdxAB2FzBUBVLQIou74jViEOK7N3Xem940fMg-fgh8r33A/w400-h326/6th.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>This here is a circa 1963 Tudor Oyster, which I hadn't worn much in recent years because the seconds hand kept binding against the minute hand, resulting in the watch stopping while on the wrist. This is not actually something that you want a wristwatch to do. Kind'a defeats the purpose of a wristwatch. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The seconds hand would need to be re-positioned on the central post or it might've required some slight 're-forming' so that it would sit a little higher and, therefore, sweep over the minute hand without brushing against it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The watchmaker that I work with had a look at it and got it sorted out quickly. I wore it the next day and it performed like a champion. It was good to have it back on my wrist. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My wife found this watch in a Thrift store about 20 years ago. She paid fifty bucks for it. It wasn't running, the crystal was all scratched up, the winding crown wouldn't screw down into the case the way it was supposed to. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I then spent another $350.oo getting it serviced and fixed up. I could have sold it for four times that figure, at least, but this was the first (and only, to date) watch that my wife has ever bought me, so this aspect alone makes it a keeper. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3NjeTQ9fVh6FzbPYFMfgY6EtX6XNXTowmW_s3Nec1j7osLUTGwSgu9SEi2jHWApEc1ABuMKanCoP5H9YkyFoNhe-ciMgPJ3oW5u2PxLyfof2407FvZZL_AuG6QBPRbD-7khFDN06ULe1yNLKsTvEMiZXBVn6yc8PJ3lCeihmPG4TVWWjYLRMI4c36A/s5184/9th.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3NjeTQ9fVh6FzbPYFMfgY6EtX6XNXTowmW_s3Nec1j7osLUTGwSgu9SEi2jHWApEc1ABuMKanCoP5H9YkyFoNhe-ciMgPJ3oW5u2PxLyfof2407FvZZL_AuG6QBPRbD-7khFDN06ULe1yNLKsTvEMiZXBVn6yc8PJ3lCeihmPG4TVWWjYLRMI4c36A/w400-h300/9th.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At an opposite end of the spectrum is the 2007 Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean. This watch doesn't see as much time on the wrist as it used to, most likely due to its 42mm diameter which, while it sits okay on my wrist, is probably just a tad larger than I'd prefer it to be. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">My tastes have shifted in recent years. I've been collecting watches long enough now to know what works on my wrist, what doesn't, and what my evolving preferences are. I can tell that I'm reaching that point where I know exactly what kind of watch I like, in terms of both style/type and sizing. Took me long enough!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Having said all that, whenever I do put this watch on, I fall in love with it all over again. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, that's maybe this post done and dusted. I might get started on the next one soon, which will cover the month of March. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I hope you've all been well and thanks for reading!<br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-48318980523123241972023-06-03T01:56:00.002-07:002023-06-03T22:19:16.990-07:00June 2023 - Post-Op Recovery: Short Dispatch No. 7 - Taking a Little Longer Than I Thought (+ the Watches I Wore & the Books I Read)<p> </p><p>Saturday June 3rd, 2023</p><p> I actually started this post back in April, and then things got busy.</p><p>When last we spoke of this foot mishap, I was strapped into a moon-boot, which I would have to wear for approximately four to six weeks. </p><p>See my post before-last...or if you're too lazy to scroll down, here's the link;</p><p><a href="https://teeritz.blogspot.com/2023/02/feb-2023-post-op-recovery-short.html">Feb 2023 | Post- Op Recovery: Short Despatch No. 6 - A Slight Hiccup. (And a Tetanus Shot!*)</a><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, I wore the moon-boot for just on six weeks and then I had another round of x-rays and an Ultrasound. A couple of days after that, my podiatrist sent me a text message to say that the x-rays 'looked good' and I could take off the boot and get back into my normal shoes, but I was instructed to take it a little easy for a few weeks. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The moon-boot came off on March 22nd and I went along my merry way, but my left foot was still hurting a little. To be expected, I thought, as I figured that it might still be a few weeks before it was fully recovered. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Problem was, it was now a month later and I was still limping along. My foot was swollen on top near the toes and it still hurt throughout the day as I walked. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u style="color: #2b00fe;"><i>Book and Watch<br /></i></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><i><br /></i></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUHyaPQ6eXKkjJNGu3xB11Mrnxv1-20l2-1WhGL5GQhPaf7W5wQSkaHd9Y7OxFaPJmVq3iw26aZ9_nQOBCe8wyn2DUQCMtY9CKobbp0bPoyl0AAe_91DhVjseWbTj71oCHAkcQJwLZvBA39gziQYZkDekjSFK5w5r_bs2mEt6X9iiR4ReWFJ-_Q15QvQ/s1204/book%201%20mar.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1204" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUHyaPQ6eXKkjJNGu3xB11Mrnxv1-20l2-1WhGL5GQhPaf7W5wQSkaHd9Y7OxFaPJmVq3iw26aZ9_nQOBCe8wyn2DUQCMtY9CKobbp0bPoyl0AAe_91DhVjseWbTj71oCHAkcQJwLZvBA39gziQYZkDekjSFK5w5r_bs2mEt6X9iiR4ReWFJ-_Q15QvQ/w319-h400/book%201%20mar.jpg" width="319" /></a></div></u>I decided at the beginning of the year that I was going to make an effort to read more. And I also decided that the bulk of what I read should be espionage fiction, since A) I have quite a bit of it on my bookshelves, and B) it's a genre that I like to read.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, I started off with Charles Cumming's <i>The Trinity Six. </i>It concerns an English Professor of Russian Politics, Sam Gaddis, whose latest book hasn't exactly set the best-seller list on fire. His ex-wife is pressing him for more financial support and his editor is asking about his next book, suggesting that he perhaps try his hand at less academic (and more sellable) literature. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, a writer friend of his tells him about an elderly gentleman who claims to know the identity of the sixth member of the Cambridge spies who caused so much damage to British security during the war and in the Cold War years which followed. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Cambridge Five consisted of Harold 'Kim' Philby, Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean, Anthony Blunt, and John Cairncross. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Run a Wikipedia search for 'Cambridge Five' to get a good synopsis of this famous episode in espionage history. Kim Philby is perhaps the one who has been written about the most, and a recent book by Ben Macintyre, entitled <i>A Spy Among Friends, </i>offers further insight into Philby's duplicity during his years in British Intelligence. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The Trinity Six </i>follows our hero, Sam Gaddis, as he conducts a series of clandestine interviews with this elderly gentleman in order to uncover the truth of his claims while the KGB road-blocks all avenues open to Gaddis because they don't want this sixth member of this group of double-agents uncovered. The characters are well-drawn and the book is nicely written. Author Charles Cumming takes a deserved place at the table occupied in the past by the likes of John le Carré. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The watch in the photo is the early '90s Tudor Prince Oyster Date. It needs a service, and a new crystal (glass) because the existing one is a cheap after-market one and the date magnifier offers a distorted view of the date numeral. This is something that would not occur with a genuine Tudor crystal. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The watch measures a wonderful 34mm in diameter, which is considered small by today's standards, but was a standard men's wristwatch size for over 40 years, and it suits my small wrists just fine. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tudor was created by Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of Rolex, as a less expensive alternative to Rolex, and aimed at the working man who wanted a dependable and well-made watch. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">All parts, except for the movement, were made by Rolex. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCjgo5Xacv6HjP0YSoWhdZrtHW57TipBArkDuVJrdO8PnvXWdkhpR0BrrCdULbYO09PDKhkR5p5vF-50u4TIjhWn6ilI4d-wlqCzms7BRKoG-pI2aaAhvDiB9PKN5pya10Jc0UaB1OotHXgNKaDwymRv4GzSZbFn4IMZTijAq0x-Gtcu_uRs9mUTSv7Q/s938/02a_1952_BIRTH_OF_THE_BRAND.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="938" height="524" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCjgo5Xacv6HjP0YSoWhdZrtHW57TipBArkDuVJrdO8PnvXWdkhpR0BrrCdULbYO09PDKhkR5p5vF-50u4TIjhWn6ilI4d-wlqCzms7BRKoG-pI2aaAhvDiB9PKN5pya10Jc0UaB1OotHXgNKaDwymRv4GzSZbFn4IMZTijAq0x-Gtcu_uRs9mUTSv7Q/w640-h524/02a_1952_BIRTH_OF_THE_BRAND.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Your wristwatch snobs will say that Tudor was invented for people who can't afford a Rolex. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And your point is?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigYmzC5e293LnM-n7OAAIcRTtFTnKMy6IdWxunXpMDqPcNXu1PYBYapIsLimgtTRiwSFsZ8ALOS0SjxUemo4MrGpUZrbkFep8nshpgYf5Mx7g3h1IVfYL2qRaZ49tUEpqAb491de3ULRJ14HhZLMqoYJJQE6mSDuLu22MlMlN3I5A_YbtIk3pGP--B1A/s1280/typecast%201.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigYmzC5e293LnM-n7OAAIcRTtFTnKMy6IdWxunXpMDqPcNXu1PYBYapIsLimgtTRiwSFsZ8ALOS0SjxUemo4MrGpUZrbkFep8nshpgYf5Mx7g3h1IVfYL2qRaZ49tUEpqAb491de3ULRJ14HhZLMqoYJJQE6mSDuLu22MlMlN3I5A_YbtIk3pGP--B1A/w480-h640/typecast%201.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>May 29th - OFF-TOPIC: Since there's some empty space here, I figured it's a good spot to apologise to my regular readers for the long gaps between posts. Life is a little hectic, work is hella busy and consists mainly of staring at a computer screen for most of the day. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000;">kiojuh - okay, my cat just walked across the keyboard and typed that word. Ha! These letters are all close to each other on your standard qwerty layout. I think I might as well leave it in. </span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Where was I? Oh, yeah, my workday consisting of staring at a computer screen all day long. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">As such, by the time I find myself in the quieter moments of the evenings or weekends, getting back in front of a computer screen has less allure than it used to have. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Still, I'll see if I can post a little more often. More importantly, I'll see if I can keep it interesting. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since I've started reading a little more this year, maybe I'll write about the books I've gotten through. I'm no book critic, mind you. I have some classic spy authors still to read and there are also some modern authors whom I've never read, but ought to. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oh, and on the wristwatch front, two watches have gone and two watches have come in, at the time of writing, but more about these in due course. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, so following on from the typecast above, I was about to make an appointment through Priority Care...<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg08T0wT6hXnudEz0HvP9WObF6-loxteisgGj3-2HpYgCcNBaeUpl5b4PEZS5m9tr1jsQklxwdW4kphMiUfoR_faTCukUQjQYzvoG4eA7xMhnY27M9YmTBDzzWBCRq0NOAq21whDkQ250y81CXCCbnISXUq7jEsZQeDYyXtay8CXPTufjhjvcmgbqsggg/s1280/typecast%202.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg08T0wT6hXnudEz0HvP9WObF6-loxteisgGj3-2HpYgCcNBaeUpl5b4PEZS5m9tr1jsQklxwdW4kphMiUfoR_faTCukUQjQYzvoG4eA7xMhnY27M9YmTBDzzWBCRq0NOAq21whDkQ250y81CXCCbnISXUq7jEsZQeDYyXtay8CXPTufjhjvcmgbqsggg/w640-h480/typecast%202.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, that typecast was a month ago. So, I had the x-rays taken, and went and saw my surgeon in the first week of May. I gave him the rundown on what had happened with my feet since I last spoke to him back in December last year.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">He checked my feet and was happy with the range of motion in my big toes, although he did say that the operation will have staved off any joint fusion surgery for about five years. I do have osteoarthritis in my toe joints, after all. Hell, I was hoping to avoid that type of operation. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Still, I felt much relieved to be speaking to him about all of this rather than having to go through it all again with some other surgeon. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, he told me running is a no-no for the time being. That's okay. I don't run. And he said no push-ups, either. Now that's a shame, but I think I can work around it by resting the in-steps of my feet on a foam roller '. I tried it one day and felt my stomach muscles ache after a minute or so. Good. Might get a stronger core. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And it looks like I'll begin leaning a little more heavily towards a Mediterranean diet, which relies more on white meats (especially fish which contain high levels of Omega-3 fatty acids) and legumes which have anti-inflammatory benefits. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, enough of the serious stuff. It gets dealt with on a daily basis already. It's called 'life'. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This post has run out of puff, as far as I'm concerned, so I might just wrap it up and start on the next one. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although, I'll add a little here about a watch that I picked up back in early January. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">A little backstory first - Back in early February last year, I worked briefly for Longines, as a Customer Service Officer, dealing with repair enquiries on a daily basis. Prior to starting in this role, I did a couple of weeks training at one of their boutiques. I already knew enough about the brand, having sold them for over ten years at a watch boutique back in the Noughties, but it was interesting to see what the current Longines watch line-up consisted of. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The brand had released the Spirit range of Pilot's watches back in 2020 and it had done very nicely for them. As a refresher, a Pilot's watch tends to feature a dark dial with luminous numerals all the way around. Often, they will have a slightly larger or oversized crown, to make it easier to set and wind the watch while wearing flight gloves. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This was, obviously, aimed more at the pilots of yesteryear, but this style of wristwatch has remained popular over the decades since they first gained prominence in the cockpit. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, Longines released this new Spirit model in 2020;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://hodinkee.imgix.net/uploads/images/1600829585810-i4q44begg9-e332eea3cf4ec22989c35001edafba42/IMG_4774-Edit.jpg?ixlib=rails-1.1.0&fm=jpg&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=crop&ch=Width%2CDPR%2CSave-Data&alt=" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://hodinkee.imgix.net/uploads/images/1600829585810-i4q44begg9-e332eea3cf4ec22989c35001edafba42/IMG_4774-Edit.jpg?ixlib=rails-1.1.0&fm=jpg&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=crop&ch=Width%2CDPR%2CSave-Data&alt=" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">picture courtesy of Hodinkee.com, from this write-up;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/longines-spirit-automatic-40mm-hands-on">Hodinkee.com - Hands-On | The Longines Spirit Automatic 40mm</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was a great watch, but it didn't really grab me because I felt it might be a little too similar to my Hamilton Khaki Field Automatic, seen below. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Both watches have numbers 1 to 12 on the dial, both have date windows, and both are 40mm in diameter. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBzwbsxirNNdHz_xZ5h5YhFIkgivEUlwGYgCXnyGcXs8iwWZlOFFf99QHVPue82slxutSp-i-cG2hLsIwEPYDzNX2FF9OWZL4HQT8CckEgqIbSlkr-8XFuiOfKMrjnm8VaX8x_uAADx2DvkBUpGRm6gYs22TT7D9sck2gVi6Q_bww5O4NY4oOKrjrtfw/s2448/aca35750a16198b3-photo-full.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="2448" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBzwbsxirNNdHz_xZ5h5YhFIkgivEUlwGYgCXnyGcXs8iwWZlOFFf99QHVPue82slxutSp-i-cG2hLsIwEPYDzNX2FF9OWZL4HQT8CckEgqIbSlkr-8XFuiOfKMrjnm8VaX8x_uAADx2DvkBUpGRm6gYs22TT7D9sck2gVi6Q_bww5O4NY4oOKrjrtfw/w400-h400/aca35750a16198b3-photo-full.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>So, I didn't really give the Longines Spirit another thought. I thought it was a beautifully realised watch, but I didn't want a 40mm Pilot's watch. They had also released a 42mm version, and I was gonna well and truly stay away from<i> that</i> one. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And then, Longines released a 37mm version sometime in early/mid 2022, and I began to take notice, despite the fact that all of the marketing around this new smaller version was aimed at the ladies. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Having been into watches for much of my life, and having worked in the watch industry for over 20 years, I have seen fads, designs and tastes come and go. Watches started getting larger 20 years ago, circa 2003, with the first two culprits being the 46mm IWC Big Pilot, and the 43mm Breitling Crosswind models. These two brands ushered in a mad wave of BIG watches across most of the major brands. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thankfully, I have seen a shift back towards more sedate sizing, albeit a slow shift back, but a shift nonetheless. I'm all for there being some choices when it comes to watch sizes, but personally, once you go beyond a certain diameter, it's no longer about watches. It's about flexing, showing off, a pissing contest. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I too fell into the big watch craze about ten years ago when I bought a 44mm Hamilton Khaki Officers Mechanical. It was comically large for my wrist, but I was aiming for a watch that looked like a wartime spy's piece of kit. I reviewed that watch and had some fun doing so. The review is here on this blog for those of you who want to read it. I've been tempted to 'remake' that review with the newer Hamilton Khaki, but...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, Longines released the Spirit model in 37mm and I knew I was in trouble. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The new models were available in black, champagne-silver or sunray blue dial. I opted for blue, in an effort to break up the 'black dial heavy' collection a little. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This watch punches well above its weight. Here's a dial close-up;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0aXZRYtulgf1aMno9_ydJmRs6VAfxinUHijwpGT038GzSWicaiG7j0-2q9gNKB87d9CxnGAQfWtcQmCHdq9v6l2yP-MLvaAetRM-cuh0ziO_xq99zB9JX20bLujXI9DnEXn1qR-FPw9jsncFpGoaEcipFJgIm3xaVi3uJ0kRhoKxpbOfYtZ6UYiM6og/s1946/DSCF7489.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="1946" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0aXZRYtulgf1aMno9_ydJmRs6VAfxinUHijwpGT038GzSWicaiG7j0-2q9gNKB87d9CxnGAQfWtcQmCHdq9v6l2yP-MLvaAetRM-cuh0ziO_xq99zB9JX20bLujXI9DnEXn1qR-FPw9jsncFpGoaEcipFJgIm3xaVi3uJ0kRhoKxpbOfYtZ6UYiM6og/w640-h254/DSCF7489.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;">The numerals are applied, which means they are attached to the dial with prongs that slot into holes drilled into the dial. Very nicely done, and they appear to 'float' on the surface of the dial. The numerals are hollow and filled with Superluminova, the luminous compound that allows the numbers to glow in the dark.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The chapter ring, that outer edge of the dial with 5,10,15,20, etc, and the minute markers on it, has a little diamond-shaped cut-out at every hour marker. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The red-painted seconds hand has a diamond-shaped tip which passes directly over these diamond cut-outs, obscuring them for a brief moment. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The blue sunray/sunburst pattern on the dial reflects light at certain angles, and can look black in low light to a vibrant cobalt blue in bright sunshine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The date window is down at six o'clock, making for better symmetry to the dial.</div><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAmrE_oC2Fts_2YNeCXYTGhriDcKBYtr62P-31RFAXdQmBrt-hU_w_svLaunWa30Yh2jQK7iq7MN2L3x2mTprdz6oBLE-uDIkEQP6Gad5BcPbdXkm-20oFkkl-hpfODhc8Ym_Os03eMFJJrCjsxpQq5Y7OUIkZNKlAJUO6t7m3l_dM_uvs6p3MJLLmBg/s3151/DSCF7485.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2105" data-original-width="3151" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAmrE_oC2Fts_2YNeCXYTGhriDcKBYtr62P-31RFAXdQmBrt-hU_w_svLaunWa30Yh2jQK7iq7MN2L3x2mTprdz6oBLE-uDIkEQP6Gad5BcPbdXkm-20oFkkl-hpfODhc8Ym_Os03eMFJJrCjsxpQq5Y7OUIkZNKlAJUO6t7m3l_dM_uvs6p3MJLLmBg/s320/DSCF7485.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>And that's just on the outside. Under the bonnet, this thing houses the Longines proprietary Calibre L.888.4 movement, which offers a wonderful 72 hour power reserve AND is Chronometer Certified. The balance spring, which is most susceptible to magnetic interference in any watch and can cause excessive gains in timekeeping, is made of silicon, so that takes care of that possibility. <p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">There's a lot to like about this watch. The 37mm diameter sits nicely on my slender, school-girly wrist and the end-link on the bracelet has a small button on its underside which allows you to remove the bracelet from the watch without any tools. One added touch that I find cool is the LONGINES name engraved horizontally along the length of the clasp.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYNEswERROTzXEmmeW6aPeoFyUanHgUOnyjObG4ujUCFFpBj3nkDVeFxiXgSNdKBPaCcERX4OToJnr2w-96KCv75aeE2p_RV8hkTmf1ep4SORoKlGvevBxRLHm2_NiGkc1eqM_AXLFdS9KWbH3avYp1YuN9r8zE1olEjEJ3fWCCrxvTr8rjZ_Es5KDLg/s2966/DSCF7483.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2271" data-original-width="2966" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYNEswERROTzXEmmeW6aPeoFyUanHgUOnyjObG4ujUCFFpBj3nkDVeFxiXgSNdKBPaCcERX4OToJnr2w-96KCv75aeE2p_RV8hkTmf1ep4SORoKlGvevBxRLHm2_NiGkc1eqM_AXLFdS9KWbH3avYp1YuN9r8zE1olEjEJ3fWCCrxvTr8rjZ_Es5KDLg/w400-h306/DSCF7483.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Man, did I say I was wrapping this post up? Sorry.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">All in all, a very well-made and nicely understated watch, and one that fills the Pilot's watch category very handsomely. This 37mm size gives off a wonderfully old-school vibe. Those of you who are regular readers of this blog would know that this is the kind of feel that I generally aim for when it comes to wristwatches. </p><p> </p><p>Okay, all for now. I'll get started on my next post soon. </p><p>Thanks for reading!<br /></p>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-62590805823114472202023-02-23T01:21:00.001-08:002023-10-01T02:50:45.761-07:00My Most-Worn Wristwatches of 2022<div style="text-align: justify;">Well, last year had its fair share of ups and downs and I wore a watch throughout them all. Some watches saw more time on my wrist than others, and I was a little surprised by the results.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This yearly compilation has been a good exercise in helping me see which watches I wore the most, as this often allows me to determine just how attached (or not) I might be to a particular watch. A couple of watches here and there barely got a look-in. This is more to do with the watch requiring a service than anything else. For example, my Sinn 103 St Sa Chronograph began playing up back in April, so it hasn't been worn since then. Purchased in 2009, it is definitely overdue for some attention.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For this year's post, I think I'll list the watches in reverse order, just to mix it up a little. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also, I've included both the year of production, as well as the year in which I acquired each watch. If you just see just one year enclosed in brackets, that means I got the watch while it was still in production.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I took a bunch of photos, the majority of which I wasn't too thrilled with, but here they are anyway.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">No. 10 - CASIO MRW-200-H 43mm (2022)</span><br /></b></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><b><br /></b></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvbEzdW6uquSfeO-hAn9l29fvQU_i16R8aoE1GYQxI2uVrGnyWnsoYZllOQL-LdD6763vyuBhhKFsJiyA7fr8OBLXBiZcEfC2vsT6HdsDK8urqXzFYLlxZKhJWxbYK1y98xHD-xTSoW-O6QvhtLSTbq6IZzP2hVEbU37kaQ6fUivrkvy9srRPMe-Bchw/s5184/CASIO%20MRW-200H.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvbEzdW6uquSfeO-hAn9l29fvQU_i16R8aoE1GYQxI2uVrGnyWnsoYZllOQL-LdD6763vyuBhhKFsJiyA7fr8OBLXBiZcEfC2vsT6HdsDK8urqXzFYLlxZKhJWxbYK1y98xHD-xTSoW-O6QvhtLSTbq6IZzP2hVEbU37kaQ6fUivrkvy9srRPMe-Bchw/w400-h300/CASIO%20MRW-200H.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Picked this one up in April off eBay for $38.ooAUD. Brand new. Cheap and cheerful, with a lot going for it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Super-light all plastic 43mm case and strap construction with a non-ratcheted rotating bezel. Day and date function, flat mineral crystal, 100m water-resistance for a pleasant day at the beach or laps in a pool, luminous hour markers and hand-set, which doesn't last through the night, but this is okay for a watch costing less than fifty bucks. This would make a decent travel watch. If you lost it or it got stolen, you wouldn't worry too much. And for the price, you could buy two or three of them. Also available with a steel case on a metal bracelet, but I just wanted to try one out, so I opted for the most basic version. This is the watch that I took to hospital. The set-and-forget nature of battery-operated watches is a major plus. I wore this watch through 12 days in 2022. Doesn't sound like a lot, but it was enough to get into the Top Ten and the watch served me well. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And, an added bonus; There's an early scene in <i>Bullet Train</i> (Dir: David Leitch, 2022) where the assassin, Ladybug (Brad Pitt), goes to the train station locker to get his fake passport and other items he might require for this seemingly easy and straight-forward mission. He forgoes the pistol, having reached a point of enlightenment recently where he has sworn off carrying a gun and, in the locker next to the pistol, we see a Casio MRW-200H. Ladybug is already wearing a Breitling AVI 765 Re-Edition chronograph (Pitt is a Breitling ambassador), so he doesn't grab the Casio.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also in the frame - </div><div style="text-align: justify;">A compilation (Volume 4) of Greg Rucka's excellent MI6 espionage graphic novels <i>Queen & Country. </i>This Casio watch feels like the kind a low-level field operative would wear in a safe-house, or maybe that's just my imagination at work. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I had eight or ten of the single-issue <i>Queen & Country </i>comics at one stage before figuring that I should just get the collected editions. I have Volumes 1, 3 and two copies of Volume 4. Purchased the second copy, forgetting that I had already bought it. Volume 2 has been on its way from eBay since November 28th, but appears to have gone missing in transit. I contacted the seller and they said they'd send me another copy and they asked that I let them know if the first copy ever arrives. Will do. I'll also offer to send it back to them, on my dime. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">No. 9 - SEIKO Seikomatic Weekdater 37mm Ref: 6218-8971 (December 1965. Purchased 2022)</span><br /></u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh73HL189tCZDpXq9WKQ9ScZMyLYw38p-yhIxgnunrO-eqiFfDhZQU2MyjFNcuE-FhwJArUxO5rFDoeb3yOaL5Gr6S6aCnk-ZhdGbyOs1tIJ0QHig0D_R9Kif08xC-qr6PKCdGqR6LwLVGPoq7xzcEjAly8-uD-_DQJQDVGF3k_vAKJRNTKaHGAmVts8w/s5184/Weekdater%20-1.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2122" data-original-width="5184" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh73HL189tCZDpXq9WKQ9ScZMyLYw38p-yhIxgnunrO-eqiFfDhZQU2MyjFNcuE-FhwJArUxO5rFDoeb3yOaL5Gr6S6aCnk-ZhdGbyOs1tIJ0QHig0D_R9Kif08xC-qr6PKCdGqR6LwLVGPoq7xzcEjAly8-uD-_DQJQDVGF3k_vAKJRNTKaHGAmVts8w/w640-h262/Weekdater%20-1.JPG" width="640" /></a> I wore this one over 13 days of 2022, which was surprising. It's a great watch. The case is 37mm in diameter, which is a little large for the era in which it was made. Most watch case sizing - for your basic time-and-date piece - sat between 34mm and 36mm throughout the 1950s and '60s, with the odd 38mm 'jumbo' case appearing across a few brands. </div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Serial Number on the case-back starts with '5D', which corresponds to December 1965. Seiko had a simple serial number system up until a few years ago. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first digit of the serial number corresponds to the year of manufacture. The second digit corresponds to the month up to September (9). After that, Seiko switches to a lettering system for the last three months of the year, because they are double-digit months and this would get confusing. So, October would show as an upper-case 'O', not to be confused with a zero, November and December would be 'N' and 'D'. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, it helps if you have an idea of the decade in which your Seiko watch was made. This Weekdater model positively screams '1960s'. These models were produced for about five years or so (don't quote me on that). Looking at another Seiko watch that I have, the Seiko 5 DX, the serial number shows as '8D1337', which would make it December 1968. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Simple, yet effective. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, back to this watch. It has a nice clean silver dial with applied hour markers. I'm usually a sucker for a dress watch dial that has applied rather than painted markers. It shows that some effort was made in its manufacture. This model has a nifty day window positioned at the six o'clock edge of the dial, which makes for a nice point of difference to the slew of watches which have day and date display sitting alongside each other. The dial and hands have no luminous material on them. In pitch black conditions, you won't see a thing. However, the hands are slightly faceted, so in low light, they will bounce off a bit of reflection, making it possible to read the time. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The winding crown is recessed into the case at the 4 o'clock edge, something that Seiko has done with a tonne of their watches over the last fifty or sixty years. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The case itself is quite slim, which is cool considering this is an automatic watch with a rotor under the bonnet. Usually, a slim watch like this will be manually wound, allowing the manufacturer to produce a thinner case than an auto. Kudos to Seiko. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This watch appealed to me mainly due to the day/date configuration. The slightly larger case sizing also helped to set this watch apart from my Swiss-made vintage pieces. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also in the frame - </div><div style="text-align: justify;">A vintage National Panasonic transistor radio, a 1968 Nikon F photomic 35mm SLR, and a pair of folding sports glasses that were made in Japan. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The radio doesn't pick up stations very well anymore. I think the tuning knob no longer works as smoothly as it used to. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The camera really needs some use. I'll get around to it soon, once I've finished with a couple of other cameras that I have on the go at the moment. I love this Nikon. It weighs a tonne, but I recall it taking some nice shots the last time I ran some film through it. Might get a new strap for it as well. Actually, I may have one lying around somewhere. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The sports glasses are clever. The case is spring-loaded and folds up when the glasses are not in use. The lenses only magnify things to x2.5. I think these were meant for things like the opera or horse races. I might run some Vaseline along the tracks so that it opens and closes a little easier. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">No. 8 - TUDOR Ranger 34mm - Ref: 9050/0 (1970. Purchased 2020)</span></u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTxePyfeh5tIFO-6A2LyVjMcFQ6tg9DCd-1RoFnB06uXkm11n8Y4lmRkpLHS3tAzNFrS8b7MnjWS2PgCqEGKYO4989mXyZvdjZrXxsjJ3f5ZW2rlC2igcMcoKZ1-Py6i01IFnSp5DsvawlOaCTRNaUQMXuFmMj-k4xJzSw6oWhme-UtZVgZ9kI-CA-zA/s4712/Ranger%202.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3331" data-original-width="4712" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTxePyfeh5tIFO-6A2LyVjMcFQ6tg9DCd-1RoFnB06uXkm11n8Y4lmRkpLHS3tAzNFrS8b7MnjWS2PgCqEGKYO4989mXyZvdjZrXxsjJ3f5ZW2rlC2igcMcoKZ1-Py6i01IFnSp5DsvawlOaCTRNaUQMXuFmMj-k4xJzSw6oWhme-UtZVgZ9kI-CA-zA/w400-h283/Ranger%202.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>I've had this watch for just over two years and it's a beauty. It belonged to a fellow who worked as a crane operator, ambulance driver, radio operator, among other ''Real Guy" occupations. This man didn't wear a white collar, that's for sure, and he certainly took away eight of this watch's nine lives. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The bracelet on this piece is an after-market one. The original Oyster bracelet was killed long ago, and this guy just put some no-name steel bracelet on it. I wound up getting a straight-edge Oyster-style bracelet for it, for $20 bucks off eBay, before spending a few dollars more on a Geckota Berwick Vintage bracelet. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm hoping to get a Rolex Explorer some time this year and I'm not sure if I'll keep this watch if that happens. In saying that, though, this watch has some old-school charm to it and these Tudor Ranger models do tend to be a little thin on the ground. For now, I'll look at getting it serviced at some point and I'll see if I can find a genuine Tudor rotor for it. This watch was serviced ONCE(!) in its lifetime and the watchmaker replaced the Tudor-signed rotor with a ETA one. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I wore this watch throughout 15 days of 2022.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also in the frame- I was aiming for a 'Truck stop' vibe with this photo. The Marlboro Reds pack has been empty since the '90s, the Ronson Varaflame lighter is in great condition for its age. The Wilson bottle opener was from the Sunday Market in Trastevere in Rome. Cost me five Euros. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The sunglasses were two bucks and they live on a bookshelf near the front door. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">For when I need to look a little cooler walking from the porch to the letterbox to check the mail on a sunny day. <br /> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">No. 7 - HAMILTON Khaki Field Automatic 40mm - Ref: H70595593 (2018)</span></u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJdoOPmqQT_LfZnTWRmO-cBTZxE30Wk7dQ0poZXNFghkBFrnqpXzo1A8KNBPmuYbW2_otBzqCjMKLeqgAUwxZ_MClyorzOt2S6BVx-RaiDFD2zoQOIJfc4StIf5wvyj9O5PCdQ4Q7n_gFSq0qkB7r_dulBxRlxjS6Y11c2V1Ilj_KXOA46QowzMQJVmg/s5184/P1070070.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJdoOPmqQT_LfZnTWRmO-cBTZxE30Wk7dQ0poZXNFghkBFrnqpXzo1A8KNBPmuYbW2_otBzqCjMKLeqgAUwxZ_MClyorzOt2S6BVx-RaiDFD2zoQOIJfc4StIf5wvyj9O5PCdQ4Q7n_gFSq0qkB7r_dulBxRlxjS6Y11c2V1Ilj_KXOA46QowzMQJVmg/w400-h300/P1070070.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>This watch got some use throughout the year. Wore on 17 days, when I either had some yard work or handyman duties to deal with, and also on some other days where I just felt like wearing this piece. Despite the fact that I wore it when I expected it to get knocked around a little, I've still yet to put any significant scratches or marks on it. This watch just may be tougher than I thought. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Under the bonnet sits a ETA H-10 Calibre movement inside it which features a pleasant 80-hour power reserve. I'm beginning to like watches that have a three-day power reserve. It means you can take it off on a Friday evening and it'll still be purring along on a Monday morning. Or, you can wear it every few days without having to re-set the time and date. If you ever consider having a tight little collection of three or four watches, definitely have a think about a watch with a long power reserve. There are quite a few relatively inexpensive mechanical watches in the Swatch Group stable that contain these H-10 Calibres inside them. Tissot, Mido, and Certina would be three brands to look at besides Hamilton. Either way, across these four brands, you'd be bound to find something that you like, in either a sports or dress watch. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Also in the frame - Aside from a small selection of tools that I've purchased over the years, that scratched up red oil can was from my Dad's tool cabinet. He wasn't too much of a handyman and didn't own a vast array of tools, but the items that he did own were well made. <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">No. 6 - ROLEX Submariner 40mm - Ref: 5513/0 (1982. Purchased 2015)</span></u></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQnKBb3CiTzw0YcZK_0r80fhsXY7EivByCVio4OyTDqglZ-VXE0jJ4deHTWpW-R7o6c13W6k-ydBi5nH9FBuegLJk0HoBhFZIbp7NwJ-JACeKyp1vWRyVdfSh9Z5tB27JZ_JMvRMHeigAl0vxbeNuDWUW-ASOQCOPYLDk_BbB4OMwYtqqRiWlJGkqybg/s5045/5513%204.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3718" data-original-width="5045" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQnKBb3CiTzw0YcZK_0r80fhsXY7EivByCVio4OyTDqglZ-VXE0jJ4deHTWpW-R7o6c13W6k-ydBi5nH9FBuegLJk0HoBhFZIbp7NwJ-JACeKyp1vWRyVdfSh9Z5tB27JZ_JMvRMHeigAl0vxbeNuDWUW-ASOQCOPYLDk_BbB4OMwYtqqRiWlJGkqybg/w400-h295/5513%204.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>This one was a surprise. As in, I thought I wore it more than the 19 days that I actually wore it. Regular readers of this blog may recall that I had wanted one of these watches ever since I was a kid back in the mid-Seventies, after seeing a James Bond double-bill at the cinemas with my Dad and brother. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>I finally got it in early 2015 and it has been a great watch. However, a couple of things happened over the years which may have cooled my enthusiasm for this watch a little. Firstly, I had a minor mishap with the watch where I knocked it against a door frame and the bezel and crystal dislodged from the case. This was an easy fix for the watchmaker that I was working with at the time, but it still made me question the resilience of this watch. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>And secondly, I bought a Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight in December 2020 and began to get a lot more wear out of that watch. For me, the Tudor BB58 represents everything that the Rolex 5513 does, but in a more modern, and therefore robust, package. The Tudor is the kind of watch that Rolex <i>used</i> to make.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqv-de-eJSC1DGaYfCcJ6JrEpcQU3hnGu5rRFz790oQ3A4cqfOTR65D4EfSVFVJ2IJMdCn4ZiZ_wUV_fvDtvqwae_EVLjKpfSIQj_y9luZCAeoVlqI4uujuiv-rkQzY0vHJXiosDQXl6hRctHNgw2GBk_XvDW0Plh55C4S0MVZaxSYEYWJCfRu_H5brg/s4488/P1070067.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2654" data-original-width="4488" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqv-de-eJSC1DGaYfCcJ6JrEpcQU3hnGu5rRFz790oQ3A4cqfOTR65D4EfSVFVJ2IJMdCn4ZiZ_wUV_fvDtvqwae_EVLjKpfSIQj_y9luZCAeoVlqI4uujuiv-rkQzY0vHJXiosDQXl6hRctHNgw2GBk_XvDW0Plh55C4S0MVZaxSYEYWJCfRu_H5brg/w640-h378/P1070067.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span>Still, the absolute legendary status of the Submariner reaches far and wide. If nothing else, it is a very photogenic watch. It is also one of the cleanest watch designs ever made. Having graced the wrists of Steve McQueen, Jeff Bridges, Lee Marvin, four out of six 007s, Castro, probably half of Cousteau's crew aboard the Calypso, and countless foreign correspondents and National Geographic photographers over the past seven decades, it's reputation is assured.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Although, I appear to be approaching a crossroads with this watch. I'd like to keep it, but a part of me wants to move it along and replace it with a more modern version. Something from fifteen or twenty years ago, which may be more water-resistant and definitely a little hardier.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>We'll see. For now, it's going nowhere. <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">No. 5 (equal place) - OMEGA Speedmaster Professional 42mm- Ref: 3570.50.00 (2007) <br /></span></u></b></div><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXbYAAyyuaYNHEvWnYItlt5nsSg7Cqqbcjdxy8Ucq-zjp27Ks8knCEFazXPUUgR1MnWBEd4HO6oaD4iLdvZ26cBSvFpuPDLnPvCHUXxeC_Fzh0ZmYbvxukboyRxQfZnOpatF_L07oxk2OGd4p8E66ogr_dR9N1OK0UsT7bFRt8AnP87I7MaZDpmp6Enw/s5184/Speedy%202.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2916" data-original-width="5184" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXbYAAyyuaYNHEvWnYItlt5nsSg7Cqqbcjdxy8Ucq-zjp27Ks8knCEFazXPUUgR1MnWBEd4HO6oaD4iLdvZ26cBSvFpuPDLnPvCHUXxeC_Fzh0ZmYbvxukboyRxQfZnOpatF_L07oxk2OGd4p8E66ogr_dR9N1OK0UsT7bFRt8AnP87I7MaZDpmp6Enw/w400-h225/Speedy%202.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>I wore two Omega watches throughout 21 days each last year. One of them was this classic chronograph. It fits me well enough when it's on its bracelet, but I switched it over to a leather strap and it sits on my wrist much better. Similar to the Rolex Submariner in that it has a lot of history and level of mystique to it that only a small selection of watches can attest to. Its design and overall aesthetic has changed little since the mid-Sixties, which is merely further proof of the classic nature and staying power of this watch. Cynics would say that its moon-landing/NASA association is the only thing that's given this watch so much cred, but I couldn't care less about that. To me, it's simply a beautiful example of mid-Sixties chronograph design. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>I used to think about selling this watch, but I came to my senses. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>The Omega Speedmaster Professional may have gone to the moon, but this Omega Speedmaster Professional ain't going anywhere. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Also in the frame - My keys, with a vintage brass French hotel room key number tag, a pair of cheap motorcycle goggles - which I used in my review of the Longines Heritage model years ago - and a couple of packets of (stale by now!) Big Red cinnamon flavoured chewing gum. All draped across a 2010 Melway street directory, which is what we used before satnavs and Google Maps. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><b><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">No. 5 (equal place) - OMEGA Railmaster 36.2mm - Ref: 2504.52.00 (2009. Purchased 2012.) </span></u></b><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5camq5L1HQvYRB0EQuT1jEcuMNDWfi-OPYJqn9AIDWmteMxjqdxP8xEvyPTgMmnOgqGepKRJFwhg6xbcIip1wIpZVf7NDPaFKE4l4NUxl58s0UYPladX_DN686hJEQlpaZHnntHrrvimGYccRMh40LHX2gpnI9-oYfXEbbOsAITPO_Bsv6d0qi6RS2g/s5184/Raily%202.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5camq5L1HQvYRB0EQuT1jEcuMNDWfi-OPYJqn9AIDWmteMxjqdxP8xEvyPTgMmnOgqGepKRJFwhg6xbcIip1wIpZVf7NDPaFKE4l4NUxl58s0UYPladX_DN686hJEQlpaZHnntHrrvimGYccRMh40LHX2gpnI9-oYfXEbbOsAITPO_Bsv6d0qi6RS2g/w400-h300/Raily%202.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>With a diameter of 36.2mm, this watch suits my wrist perfectly. It was worn through 21 days of 2022 before I picked it up one day, set the time on it, wound it about a dozen times and... nothing happened. It wouldn't start. It was now well overdue for servicing. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Back in 2009, during my watch selling days, I sold this watch to a fellow who took good care of it. Then, in 2012, he decided to sell a couple of watches and he offered me first dibs on this one. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This watch has gotten a lot of wear and has appeared in every one of these 'Most Worn Watches' posts of mine over the years. It offers superb legibility and more than enough water-resistance for day-to-day activities. My one major gripe with this watch has to do with the design of the bracelet's clasp. It is perhaps the weakest part of the watch. As such, I have been passively searching for a clasp that will fit the existing bracelet, or a bracelet that will fit to the case without any issues. So far, no luck. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Either way, sometime this year, I'll be sending it off to Omega for servicing. At the time of writing, they are taking between six to eight months to service a mechanical watch here in Australia. It is what it is. Most service centres are extremely busy these days. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here's the link to my review of this watch, from back in, my God, was it 2013?!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://teeritz.blogspot.com/2013/05/omega-railmaster-co-axial-automatic.html">The Teeritz Agenda | Omega Railmaster Co-Axial Automatic (36.2mm) - REVIEW</a><br /><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Also in the frame - The Fujifilm X30 digital camera that I got for my wife for her birthday one year. She hasn't used it all that much, to be honest. I thought she might find it handy for family/holiday snaps and what-not, but as I have always tended to bring a camera along on holidays, it has always felt a little redundant to have two cameras to worry about. Besides, once she got an iPhone a few years ago, she told me that that was enough camera for her. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>A Fisher AG-7 ballpoint pen. Writes nicely enough, but I've always felt that a pen is only as good as its refill. This one has some nice weight to it, though. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Field Notes pocket notebook, because I always carry pen and paper. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><u><b>No. 4 - OMEGA Seamaster 300 42mm (WatchCo) - Ref: 165.0324 (Purchased 2009) </b></u></span></span></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaehkk4ILBTVlt1kzsNGsdRJgKMDg_ZiYEokiEw-xLm0jXZ6kSXh_aGXgztgSiGauBrzg2pSbZImJOLdiTmr0oXPJxz8jnIFU6IhRcZ6uFijNMiHcCweWgKMEyE7P9XDxalB5TDCnidKas8xyfwfYxhwiT-i3a95k7cBI8QyE8Gl79gjFDQr0-kO1_KA/s5184/SM300.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3516" data-original-width="5184" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaehkk4ILBTVlt1kzsNGsdRJgKMDg_ZiYEokiEw-xLm0jXZ6kSXh_aGXgztgSiGauBrzg2pSbZImJOLdiTmr0oXPJxz8jnIFU6IhRcZ6uFijNMiHcCweWgKMEyE7P9XDxalB5TDCnidKas8xyfwfYxhwiT-i3a95k7cBI8QyE8Gl79gjFDQr0-kO1_KA/w400-h271/SM300.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Twenty-three days in 2022 saw this watch on my wrist. I've said this more than once. Omega should have kept this watch in uninterrupted production. It would have given the Rolex Submariner a run for its money. I got this watch serviced a couple of years ago and it's running just fine. I could probably wear it more often than I do, but I'd really hate to knock it around too much. I still baby this one a little. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">If I could change one thing about this watch, I'd make it a millimetre or two smaller in diameter, but its çurrent size is not a deal-breaker. Put on this period-correct mesh bracelet and the watch 'breathes' a little more on the wrist, making for a very comfy fit. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also in the frame - A pair of Randolph Aviator sunglasses that I bought about seventeen years ago.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A paperback copy of Forsyth's <i>The Day of The Jackal. </i>I had this version of the book already, but it was in slightly tatty condition. When I saw this very good copy at a thrift store, I snapped it up. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have two other copies of this book. One is a Franklin Mystery Press hardcover edition, which features a break-down drawing of The Jackal's custom-made rifle and a map of Paris outlining President De Gaulle's itinerary on a particular day.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The other is a small hardcover edition printed by Collector's Library, with gilt-edged pages. I bought it in Paris from Shakespeare & Co back in 2016. I was on holiday and we visited the store because I thought I'd try searching for Richard Polt's <i>The Typewriter Revolution. </i> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Part of me thought it was a long-shot, but I had a niggling feeling that this famous bookstore was the kind of place that would stock this obscure book about typewriters and, sure enough, they had a copy on their shelves. I grabbed it. While doing some more browsing, I spotted this Forsyth novel, in its dainty little hardback form. I was in Paris, so I thought it made perfect sense to snag a famous thriller that's set in Paris from a famous bookstore in Paris!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The drink in the photo is a <i>Cuba Libre</i>;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> - Grab a highball glass.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> - Half-fill it with ice.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> - Add a measure of white rum. Maybe another half-measure for that extra kick. I used Havana Club, for that pre-Castro kind of vibe. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> - Top it up with that nectar of capitalism, Coca-Cola.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> - Add a slice of lime. Maybe even squeeze the juice out of a small wedge of it too. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Give it a light and gentle stir.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> And <i>Viva Fidel! </i><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was out of limes, so I opted for lemon. Turned out just as nice. Gotta get to Cuba one day.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">No. 3 (Equal place) - OMEGA Seamaster Planet Ocean 42mm- Ref: 2201.50.00 (2007) </span></b></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><br /></span></b></u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg80COJjCv4BAG32NiUc7W1Xc6PumzMeXPmkztNn2ClIZis_XioOQAMm8U8sftFmmD_E09RwCJ2LdU4JMchIm_TjxK4i0APOjGO4duUmHDV6Ix0mTG8qha8vvSVIrOpeYAs2C2Eoa8WCcs-VQzU9kx_QUywakcvcX-1ZWNQq0e5Nek9ZZ-Kp02a0Jqssw/s5184/PO.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg80COJjCv4BAG32NiUc7W1Xc6PumzMeXPmkztNn2ClIZis_XioOQAMm8U8sftFmmD_E09RwCJ2LdU4JMchIm_TjxK4i0APOjGO4duUmHDV6Ix0mTG8qha8vvSVIrOpeYAs2C2Eoa8WCcs-VQzU9kx_QUywakcvcX-1ZWNQq0e5Nek9ZZ-Kp02a0Jqssw/w400-h300/PO.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This Omega dive watch shared equal billing with another watch in the collection. Worn through 25 days of last year, this piece certainly has some presence on the wrist. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you look at the photos of the Railmaster and the Seamaster 300, you will see a blend of their DNA in this watch. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The sapphire crystal has anti-reflective coating, which makes for a very clear view of the dial. The hands have some decent lume on them, so reading the time in the dark is a snap. The case has some weight to it, so you always know you've got it on. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This was the watch that adorned Daniel Craig's wrist in his second Bond flick <i>Quantum of Solace. </i>It didn't get any close-ups, it wasn't mentioned by name, but Omega did run some print advertising showing DC wearing a dinner jacket with this watch on his wrist prior to the release of the film back in 2008. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also in the frame- The first of Royal Doulton's ceramic 'Jack' bulldogs, this one was released in conjunction with <i>Skyfall</i> in 2012, when London was hosting the Olympic Games and Queen Elizabeth II was celebrating her Diamond Jubilee. When we first see this figurine in the film, it is sitting on M's desk at the new, temporary MI6 headquarters. There are cracks across its face, implying that it has been glued back together at some point following the attack on MI6 headquarters at Vauxhall Cross. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The photo of Daniel Craig is out of the hardcover book <i>Bond On Set: Filming 'Quantum of Solace', </i>which features photos taken by Greg Williams during production of the film. The sharp-eyed among you will notice he's wearing a Planet Ocean. I got this watch about a year before the film was released. Basically, Bond copied <i>me! </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For once. <i> </i><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>No. 3 (Equal place) - ORIS Divers SixtyFive 40mm- Ref: 733 7707 4035 (2018) </b></span></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b> </b></span></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQYpKvagkh1xuVVVR24-9dfeaHriNF6EpfkdVNiRE664Ht6P-arRUivDvDdwm7DaIQHNPfb5KKnTpJQEdDbKR9tMoaTVQo3nhGxX-VP3HLxCa7nm0IHCgwu5hVttwDC3FLH7_teEkerKzXHWVuQSdblMkBD88CAObn7B2lo31w7lAdXDyK85VXxvLrGg/s5184/P1070018.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQYpKvagkh1xuVVVR24-9dfeaHriNF6EpfkdVNiRE664Ht6P-arRUivDvDdwm7DaIQHNPfb5KKnTpJQEdDbKR9tMoaTVQo3nhGxX-VP3HLxCa7nm0IHCgwu5hVttwDC3FLH7_teEkerKzXHWVuQSdblMkBD88CAObn7B2lo31w7lAdXDyK85VXxvLrGg/w400-h300/P1070018.JPG" width="400" /></a></div></b></span></u>The other watch that was also worn throughout 25<span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="color: black;"> days of last year</span></span> was also a dive watch, but to a lesser extent than the Omega. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I wrote a review of this watch not long after I got it, as I was very impressed with this piece. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://teeritz.blogspot.com/2018/10/oris-diver-sixtyfive-40mm-automatic.html">The Teeritz Agenda | Oris Divers SixtyFive 40mm Automatic with Blue & Black Dial - REVIEW </a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This watch gave off a Cold War vibe to me. Whether it was real or imagined is another matter. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">My theory is that not every field operative in the 1960s would have or could have purchased a Rolex Submariner for themselves after seeing Connery up on the silver screen as OO7. So, for them, the next best thing would have been to purchase something along the same lines as Bond's watch, i.e., a dive watch of some kind, by a less expensive brand. I hate using the word 'cheap' when I'm talking about watches. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This has been a favourite watch of mine. Different enough to my other dive watches, with its kooky numeral font, and its forty millimetre diameter sits nicely on my slender/girly 6.5 inch wrist. I don't get offended if somebody says I have a girl's wrists. It's what God gave me, and no amount of working out will make your actual wrist larger. Forearms, yes. Wrists, no. Simple as that. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are vastly more expensive watches on the market, which offer better timekeeping and deeper water-resistance, etc, etc, but you could score yourself an Oris Divers SixtyFive and it would serve you very well indeed. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This dial configuration was discontinued a year or two ago, but the D-65 range continues to produce 40mm models. Something like my watch or the all-black dial version can still be found on the second-hand market. When this watch was first released in 2015, it was the belle of the ball at the BaselWorld Watch Fair in Switzerland, garnering a lot of positive buzz among watch nerds and watch blogs. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>FULL DISCLOSURE</b> - I was the After-Sales Coordinator for Oris in Australia for almost six years. I can't say I was a fan of everything the brand produced, but 80 to 90% of the time, when they got it right, they got it <i>very</i> right. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also in the frame - This is a busy photo! I was aiming for a <i>stake-out-in-a-West-Berlin-safe-house </i>kind of mood.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A pair of Japanese-made binoculars.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A cheap deck of playing cards, printed on cheap card-stock, made in the PRC.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A smoked-glass ashtray.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A virtually empty pack of Camel no-filters, with one very stale cigarette left in it. Probably from around 2005, if not <i>1995</i>!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An IMCO lighter. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">A vintage pair of glasses, with lenses that give me a headache if I put them on. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">A 1st edition hardback copy of Ian Fleming's last two published Bond short stories. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b><br /></b></span></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>No. 2 - SEIKO Ref: SKX009K 42mm (2019. Purchased 2021)</b></span></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b><br /></b></span></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_R6vBJmnAcs3giAH23VlBu1VEyvSHdwnoWN2Ar-QQxvfcRe1gCumYSyKjBetLKeFI4QamotKASP_po_KPvUdEj_IMg4XP5s_Ypq3hxHAiEF39LDNJNFPu2aMx5quTaW-ziRDXFTyhEniKxG1oWoPywHBk1s5__QR2_3Y3ZFFE1MaUstJvYXXY97pnCA/s5184/SKX009K%20-%202.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2916" data-original-width="5184" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_R6vBJmnAcs3giAH23VlBu1VEyvSHdwnoWN2Ar-QQxvfcRe1gCumYSyKjBetLKeFI4QamotKASP_po_KPvUdEj_IMg4XP5s_Ypq3hxHAiEF39LDNJNFPu2aMx5quTaW-ziRDXFTyhEniKxG1oWoPywHBk1s5__QR2_3Y3ZFFE1MaUstJvYXXY97pnCA/w400-h225/SKX009K%20-%202.JPG" width="400" /></a></div></span></u>The equal third place Oris and Omega watches were both worn throughout 25 days of last year. This figure pales into insignificance compared to this classic Seiko, which I wore during 69 days of 2022!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This watch has no name. It is simply known by its Reference Number - SKX009. Its more famous sibling is the SKX007, which features a black dial and black bezel. I decided that I wanted a point of difference with this watch, so I opted for the blue-dialed 009 model with the blue and red bezel insert. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I got this watch in September of 2021. It had been discontinued about 18 months earlier and, aside from price hikes on remaining models, they were also beginning to get quite scarce. This is one of those watches that had been around so long that I thought I had plenty of time to snag one. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I used to have a pre-owned Seiko 7002 model from 1993 and I got rid of it a few years ago. Kicked myself slightly about a year after I sold it, because I've always thought there was something very cool about a Seiko dive watch. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This was the kind of watch that I'd see on the wrists of guys who would come into some of the cafés that I worked in over the years back in my hospitality days. These men were usually a few years either side of 40, unmarried (sometimes divorced), with a middle-age spread and Jaggeresque hairstyle (sometimes a little sun-bleached from too much time on the beach or in the surf on their boards), and they sometimes drove a cool car that had seen better days. Like that one guy I knew who had a late Sixties Mustang with the faded and peeling canary yellow paint-job rusting along the lower sills and the rough idling when he was stopped at a red light. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Beach bums one and all. But likeable nevertheless. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, I wanted another Seiko dive watch and these SKX00 models were getting harder to find, so I snapped one up off eBay. My one has the 'K' designation to the model number, signifying that it was assembled at Seiko's Malaysian subsidiary. If you want one that's built in Japan, look for the 'J' designation on the model number. At a glance, another way to tell the difference is the dial. The Made In Japan models have the phrase '17 Jewels' printed underneath the 'DIVER'S 200m' lettering just above the six o'clock marker. And, of course, just below the six o'clock marker, in very small font, you'll find the words 'MADE IN JAPAN' printed on the outermost edge of the dial. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I wore this one a lot throughout 2022. I liked the heft of it, I liked the easy legibility, I liked the day and date function, which came in handier than I thought, in a year that was a little topsy-turvy at times. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also in the frame - <i>Bullet Train </i>paperback by Kotaro Isaka. I saw the movie and liked it. I'm sure the book will be vastly different. The Hollywood spin tends to take some artistic licence with the source material. The book is told in present tense, which tends to bug me a little, but we'll see how it reads when the time comes. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">A little plastic resin box that my wife got many years ago, most likely before I even met her.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A monochrome bandanna that I got from some bar back in the late Eighties. They were doing a Midori liqueur promotion. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">An empty pack of Mild Seven. They were a nice cigarette. The box of matches was found in a box of assorted book-matches that my wife bought from a thrift store for five bucks. That was about seven years ago and we're <i>still</i> going through the matches. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><u><b>No. 1 - TUDOR Black Bay Fifty-Eight 39mm Ref: 79030N (2020)</b></u> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-AH2dyjnJ73xK6tLnPfx-f3oO9aRJFtppfLLeY8TVOHKcAqCNW5m5DP6qCXTpwRtc8S3iAeV3ouRq9ySsKx3IzKDWCXVBNCjwhriBTvIrPvZBdX0V_eNcrDauNTMfeU9-8nNkpg_wUrg4keWNZkKqaHJVcrPmM1OJOqa-mrhcXxg1uvFBU5l1orcfzg/s5184/P1020023.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2916" data-original-width="5184" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-AH2dyjnJ73xK6tLnPfx-f3oO9aRJFtppfLLeY8TVOHKcAqCNW5m5DP6qCXTpwRtc8S3iAeV3ouRq9ySsKx3IzKDWCXVBNCjwhriBTvIrPvZBdX0V_eNcrDauNTMfeU9-8nNkpg_wUrg4keWNZkKqaHJVcrPmM1OJOqa-mrhcXxg1uvFBU5l1orcfzg/w400-h225/P1020023.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>73 days of 2022 saw this watch on my wrist. This is a near-perfect* watch for me. I'll explain that asterisk a little later. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">To me, the Black Bay 58 represents everything that the Rolex Submariner <i>used</i> to be. This Tudor is a very well-made wristwatch that is both accurate and robust. Yes, it is expensive, but it's expensive in the same way that a well-made pair of leather boots are expensive. A great amount of thought and care have been taken in their design and manufacture and this is what justifies the price. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I wore this watch a lot. I wore the Rolex Submariner less. This is something that I suspected might happen when I first got the Tudor. Also, as I've stated more than once on various platforms on the web, owning a vintage Rolex Submariner is like owning a vintage sports car. A little more care is required when using it, and a little more servicing and maintenance are required during ownership. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, I'm careful enough with my watches, but I really don't want to wrap them up in cotton wool. Therefore, I find myself thinking more and more about upgrading the Submariner to a more modern version, say, something from around 2005 to 2010. This would be one of the last models produced before Rolex made some major changes to the Submariner's case design. The models from ten or fifteen years ago would have a sapphire crystal and better water-resistance. Reason enough to upgrade right there. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">For now, I'm still in the thinking stages, but it would seem that that's the direction I'm heading in.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The heart says keep the one I have. The head says replace it with a sturdier version. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Let's see who wins. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">*Now, about that asterisk; The bracelet, or rather, the clasp, may be this watch's one small flaw. For <i>my</i> wrist, that is. The length of the clasp bridge is quite long and it doesn't follow the curvature of my wrist. This leads to a slight gap between the inside of the bracelet and my wrist, and more importantly, doesn't provide me with a 100% perfect fit. Here's a picture that I prepped a couple of years ago for a previous post;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXel1XuN9jMUoklyu0_thiNpTE2O-wS1b6m3fhvypyLNc6lPH8isgR_vokCAWgp5ig6j94Bg5MaetVJbYRqZI4cCkTCPEmfpkLNPf1AEHZfrcdDxt_8A4Flxb7_dtc4aJtaz8S597m_IQTV80j0hR_VdQe1Pvl6YzQ3-tx1W_aN0pNXLYOZhALMZ3DTA/s4032/wrist.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXel1XuN9jMUoklyu0_thiNpTE2O-wS1b6m3fhvypyLNc6lPH8isgR_vokCAWgp5ig6j94Bg5MaetVJbYRqZI4cCkTCPEmfpkLNPf1AEHZfrcdDxt_8A4Flxb7_dtc4aJtaz8S597m_IQTV80j0hR_VdQe1Pvl6YzQ3-tx1W_aN0pNXLYOZhALMZ3DTA/w400-h300/wrist.jpg" width="400" /></a>See that gap where the black arrow is pointing? Yeah, that's the problem that I have with this bracelet's clasp. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Luckily, a few independent bracelet manufacturing companies have created a half-link for the bracelet of this watch. I will be investing in one of these links soon, to see if it will solve this issue. You never know, and for thirty USD, I'm willing to chance it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Aside from that, I can't fault this watch. It has modern technology and reliability, all packaged in a vintage aesthetic that harks back to mid-century sports wristwatch design. In a perfect 39mm case diameter, with a super legible dial. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8R2VGpEFcFooTIy3kMTEgxqfoUyPzEjI-Y8fjrx_ildNEKs7TkmaxvHUz2cH9VjnxSvLJ1Jw9e2VkUVTdr9slCfI4SUS8wcrjvBfkSiyQqDMeBk0sr4ireJYzKivzUGb-HgIjNUlTGxdhqQ6YnTZhaCfvP4yx0GBgEkuGDnviN86CgMicc5RiAQmUnw/s5184/P1020018.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3640" data-original-width="5184" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8R2VGpEFcFooTIy3kMTEgxqfoUyPzEjI-Y8fjrx_ildNEKs7TkmaxvHUz2cH9VjnxSvLJ1Jw9e2VkUVTdr9slCfI4SUS8wcrjvBfkSiyQqDMeBk0sr4ireJYzKivzUGb-HgIjNUlTGxdhqQ6YnTZhaCfvP4yx0GBgEkuGDnviN86CgMicc5RiAQmUnw/s320/P1020018.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>Also in the frame - My passport, which just might expire before I take another trip anywhere. </p><p>A couple of travel guides that we bought before our big trip to Paris and Rome back in 2016. I wrote about the Paris leg of the trip here;</p><p><a href="https://teeritz.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-teeritz-clans-european-trip-part-1_14.html">The Teeritz Agenda | The Teeritz Clan's European Trip, Part 1 - Paris: "Effing Hell, All The Cliches Are True!" </a> </p><div style="text-align: left;">I never did get around to writing about the Rome and Abruzzo parts of the trip. Maybe one day, but I'll have to check the notes that I wrote (not many) and more than likely, I'll have to ask my wife about some of the sites we saw and the things that we did because she has a cast-iron memory. Actually, I do remember most of the things that we did, but the days began to blur a little. Especially because we stayed in two fantastic European cities close to rivers, the Seine and the Tiber. </div><div style="text-align: left;">Gotta get back to these cities one day. </div><div style="text-align: left;">While in Paris, I snagged a pair of Persol 649S sunglasses. I was aiming for a '70s style Interpol agent vibe. Of course, they weren't using Euros in Paris back in the Seventies. </div><div style="text-align: left;">And from the photo just above, the coin was a souvenir from the Notre Dame Cathedral. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">And there you have it. These yearly lists have been a good way for me to see which pieces get worn more than others, whether my tastes have changed, if I show a preference for one type of wristwatch over another. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">One thing, though. I think there's gonna be a little bit of a shake-up. Yes, yes, I've been saying that for years, I know. Although, the more time that passes, the more I begin to realise that I have done nothing about it. </div><div style="text-align: left;">So, methinks 2023 will be the year. I spent last year dealing with health issues and job changes. I think this year will involve some tidying up and consolidating. Maybe I won't make any leaps and bounds, but I'll definitely aim for a little more streamlining of my collections.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Seriously, Ted. ;-) <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">At the time of writing (Feb 23rd), I have another watch that arrived a month or so ago, but more about that at a later stage. </div><div style="text-align: left;">For now, it's about moving some things along, across all of my collections. <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">We shall see what happens.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Thanks for reading!<br /></div>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-88001803673990482952023-02-15T02:32:00.004-08:002023-02-15T02:32:46.104-08:00Feb 2023 | Post- Op Recovery: Short Despatch No. 6 - A Slight Hiccup. (And a Tetanus Shot!*)<p style="text-align: left;"><b><u>Wed, February 1st, 2023</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">So, here I am again. I thought my last post might have been the last one to cover the recuperation of my feet after the bunion surgery that I had back in mid-September, but it would seem that I have one more hurdle to jump. If I <i>could</i> jump, that is. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I've been limping along for the last two weeks or so. Cant fully bend the toes of my left foot. Every step of my left foot hurts. </p><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm gonna try and keep this one short. We'll see.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Mon, Jan 9th</b> - I was helping the watchmaker move his old work-bench and one of the bench's feet landed a little hard on top of my left foot. It hurt a little for a couple of hours, but faded after that. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Tue, Jan 17th</b> - One week later. My left foot had been feeling pretty good recently. It seemed like its post-op recovery was lagging a little compared to my right foot - which can bear my full weight - but it was feeling stronger in recent weeks. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, I woke up a little early one morning and tried a few push-ups. Did 12 of them, as a light test, to see how my left foot held up. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">No problem. Twelve push-ups were a walk in the park. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Until late in the afternoon. I began to feel a tightness along the toes of my left foot and it began to hurt a little as I lifted the foot with each step. When I knocked off for the day, I slowly made my way to the train station, limping along.<i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Okay, this ain’t good,</i> I thought to myself as I began to walk slower, being outpaced by men in their 60s and 70s. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I got off at my station and took ten minutes to take the five minute walk to my car. Yeah, you read that right. Took me twice as long to get to my car. This was not good. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I made a doctors appointment. I already had one scheduled for the following week. Wanted to get my 2nd booster shot for Covid and I was also due for a tetanus shot. However, this foot was giving me some noticeable pain AND concern so I tee’d up a consult with a different doctor. She had a look at the foot and gave me a referral for X-rays. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Fri, January 20th</b> - Had the appointment with the doctor. Not the usual physician that I see, but this doctor was very helpful nonetheless. My foot was looking quite puffy near the toes. She wrote me out a referral for x-rays.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b> </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Sat, January 21st</b> - Next morning, I headed out to the Radiology clinic and had my feet x-rayed. Meanwhile, I continued to limp along. My foot would be quite swollen by end-of-day. Every step I took would hurt. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Diary entry, Tuesday January 24th; </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a bit done today. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Foot is killing me. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i> </i></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Wed, January 25th</b> - Doctors appointment that I had scheduled before this new drama with my foot. He read the x-ray report. No sign of fracture. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">My Doc suggested that I put Voltaren on the swollen foot for a week or two. Voltaren is an anti-inflammatory gel used for arthritic pain. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I asked about getting a second Covid booster shot, but he told me that, since I'd had a bout of Covid about a month or so earlier, I was immune for another six or eight weeks. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i> </i><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><i> </i></div><div>*Got my tetanus shot, though. Why the asterisk in the title of this post? Well, back in 2011, I wrote this quick post;</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://teeritz.blogspot.com/2011/07/as-if-im-gonna-step-on-rusty-nail.html">As if I'm gonna step on a rusty nail.</a></div><div> </div><div>Over
the years, whenever I thought about when I'd be due for a tetanus
booster shot, I would do a Google search for 'teeritz rusty nail' and
this post would come up. </div><div>So, I knew when I would be due for my next shot. </div><div>Now, with this post, I'll hopefully know when I need to get a tetanus booster in ten years or so. </div><div> </div><div>My diary entry that day; <i>Not sure I'm happy with XXXXX's diagnosis. Maybe get a 2nd opinion. </i></div><div><i> </i></div><div><b>Tue, January 31st - </b>Had an appointment with a local podiatrist. She was an amiable lady who was quite thorough. She decided to conduct an ultrasound on my foot. I sat up on the examination table while she slid the sensor wand across the top of my left foot over the metatarsal area. </div><div>I was tempted to ask; <i>Is it a boy or a girl?!</i></div><div>About a minute into the procedure, she said; <i>I'm not 100%, but I think there's a fracture visible. </i></div><div>She tilted the screen towards me, but to be honest, I didn't know what I was looking for. <i> </i></div><div>As a precautionary measure, to arrive at a definitive answer, she booked me a referral for another set of x-rays, from a different radiology clinic, as well as another ultrasound procedure.</div><div>As an added gesture, she gave me the name of the sonographer that she trusts would do an accurate ultrasound and she also added the phrase 'bulk bill' on the x-ray referral paper. That way, I wouldn't have to pay for the procedure, unlike the first round of x-rays that I had done ten days earlier. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Mon, February 6th</b> - Got the x-rays and ultrasound done at this different clinic. Everyone was very pleasant. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Tue, February 7th</b> - Podiatrist called me to say that she had gotten the x-ray and ultrasound results and yep, there was a fracture in one of the metatarsals of my left foot. I made an appointment to see her at the end of the day. Sure enough, I had a look at the films on her computer and there was a tiny sliver of bone sticking out very slightly from one of the metatarsal bones of my foot. Podiatrist surmised that perhaps it didn't show up in the first x-rays due to the angle of my foot. </div><div>Thankfully, it would just require my wearing a moon-boot for the next 4 weeks or so. This was gonna be a little bit of a hassle, but I was thankful to find out the cause of this pain and swelling. </div><div> </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ0k8EKk_TX_PA9i96_bQdC47-IMma4qt_E_vb4AM9C1OIfUvDIPXIO6rnBBcqTkT30y_jSa4hqiD_Cc8yle581bsHRp9IlnxODwYWvgxLw2x1HRLGxvKPZXNrImLOz6mzw13SDy1aoDTs424N9d9nd7D_ilmeeinkRGAvwzKTUBo-XfiUisDuZ_GIYQ/s1280/8th.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ0k8EKk_TX_PA9i96_bQdC47-IMma4qt_E_vb4AM9C1OIfUvDIPXIO6rnBBcqTkT30y_jSa4hqiD_Cc8yle581bsHRp9IlnxODwYWvgxLw2x1HRLGxvKPZXNrImLOz6mzw13SDy1aoDTs424N9d9nd7D_ilmeeinkRGAvwzKTUBo-XfiUisDuZ_GIYQ/s320/8th.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This boot is heavy, and it carries the risk of causing hip pain and alignment issues. To counteract this, I got a rubberised sole to go under my other shoe, in order to provide the required height to keep both feet in line with each other.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I also booked a couple of laser therapy sessions over the next week or so, to help speed up the recovery process. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Photobiomodulation, commonly referred to as Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT), involves near infra-red light which is designed to work at the cellular level. We'll see how that goes. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">For me, the jury's still out on how this might have happened to begin with. I'm leaning more towards the push-ups being the cause, since the swelling and pain kicked in about eight hours later. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm a little ticked-off with myself for letting this happen, but how could I have known it would have resulted in this? </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I made the decision to start exercising a little more
seriously once this boot comes off. I'll also look into maybe getting a bone density test done, as suggested by the podiatrist. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, this was a headache I didn't need, but I'm glad that it's being taken care of and that I exercised a little initiative rather than just accept my doctor's assessment. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bit of luck, I'm on the road to recovery already. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thanks for reading!<br /></div>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-11393377583315218232023-01-14T05:13:00.000-08:002023-01-14T05:13:28.490-08:00Nov-Dec, 2022/Jan 2023 | Post-Op Recovery: Short Despatch No. 5 - Walk, Don't Run...Away From 2022.<div style="text-align: justify;">December 27th, 2022 </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Here we are, four days left in the year. This one has had its fair share of ups and downs. I'm currently dealing with a persistent cough that seems to peak overnight, resulting in my having to get up in the wee small hours to give myself an inhalation with-...but I'm jumping ahead a little here. I'll get back to that.</div><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><u> Mid-November</u></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRcnyWf-A3XLC71ofBgIZBH0BbxQwjs7pGuQpU0ZQHtEBVBp3uW4cfIgXnm5LAD5oMo6-MEu-a5SP4JXzImE3R1c094XZ8mtuLsZ8GiKovQ3cYviBD9rY5lvz4zsbYtiupKN0umIJeLZwTaL-J98BGPTefVFsSGPjSJp0vNt0bWpWpMX6knzhTslYiaA/s1280/14th.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRcnyWf-A3XLC71ofBgIZBH0BbxQwjs7pGuQpU0ZQHtEBVBp3uW4cfIgXnm5LAD5oMo6-MEu-a5SP4JXzImE3R1c094XZ8mtuLsZ8GiKovQ3cYviBD9rY5lvz4zsbYtiupKN0umIJeLZwTaL-J98BGPTefVFsSGPjSJp0vNt0bWpWpMX6knzhTslYiaA/s320/14th.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">I went back to work on the 14th and, sure enough, there were a few minor headaches to deal with. I have to say, though, that the staff who filled in for me while I was away did a stellar job. I only had to deal with spot-fires rather than major blazes. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of these blazes was a customer who used his watch incorrectly and managed to 'lock' the crown so that the watch had to be sent off to be re-set. This was a quartz watch that has a bunch of functions to it which are all controlled with the crown. The dial has two hands (hour and minutes) as well as two digital screens which offer other functions such as alarm, stopwatch, count-down timer, etc. Well, the watch had to be sent back to the manufacturer's service centre. When I contacted the customer, I informed him that this repair would take four weeks. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Five days later, he called to enquire as to the state of the repair. We had no new information to give him. The watch was undergoing repair. We don't actually give customers a blow-by-blow update on their repairs. If I tell a customer their repair will take, say, six weeks, there's no point in them calling me a month later to ask how it's going. <i>It's currently under repair</i> is my standard response. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've tried to explain this to the store staff who get enquiries from customers regarding their repairs, using the Pasta Analogy;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> I'm gonna cook you a bowl of pasta. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The pasta takes twelve minutes to cook in boiling water. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, don't ask me in five minutes; <i>How's the pasta going? </i>because my reply will be; <i>It's cooking.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i> </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, back to this customer with the locked-up watch. I didn't speak to him when he called on the fifth day. He ended up talking with one of the reception staff. The staff member spent about fifteen minutes on the phone with this customer, who ended up saying that he was going to call the police to tell them that the brand's service centre has stolen his watch. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yes, that's right. This billion-dollar multi-national Swiss watch brand has stolen your five thousand dollar watch, sir. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I spent the first week back just getting up to speed and taking it a little easier as far as walking around was concerned. I used the cane that you see in the photo up above and I wore the Tudor Black Bay 58.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A few days later, I visited a nearby jewellery store where I worked very briefly ten years ago. Worst company I ever worked for, but that's another story. This store is a Longines stockist. I've had my eye on a particular watch for most of this year and I thought I'd go try it on, to either get it out of my system, or put a deposit on it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">They had it in stock. I tried it on. The sales gal and I got to talking and she told me that they'd be having their Black Friday sale a week later. She suggested I come back then and place a deposit on it and she'd lock it in at the sale pricing. I had a feeling it would be somewhere between 20 and 26 percent off the retail pricing. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, I went back the following week and put some money down on it. I'll say more about it in future posts. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A week later, I had an x-ray appointment scheduled. This would be followed by a meeting with the surgeon who performed the operation on my feet back in September. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTtWXeKYEwhICcKTqAn9gDNGP3LtEGarWQmQDxaZkFEndRyowlUE8Rv24cQqo3BLiOaQHYo5ABw8cyCD-M73DWImma4mcTy-oYX6PES3zHipRgfuSgHLtVtJKLmeOXA7Zfj1S4YdlRde4ISmURf5RVYo96w3IhNYY0J_BZyjhX55pqVQAJKzX1eDvD-Q/s1168/30th.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1168" data-original-width="837" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTtWXeKYEwhICcKTqAn9gDNGP3LtEGarWQmQDxaZkFEndRyowlUE8Rv24cQqo3BLiOaQHYo5ABw8cyCD-M73DWImma4mcTy-oYX6PES3zHipRgfuSgHLtVtJKLmeOXA7Zfj1S4YdlRde4ISmURf5RVYo96w3IhNYY0J_BZyjhX55pqVQAJKzX1eDvD-Q/w286-h400/30th.jpg" width="286" /></a></div>Got the x-rays done and then had the appointment with the surgeon two days later. He had a look at the scars and said they appeared to be healing nicely. He suggested I break up the scar tissue by massaging the area daily. I had a few questions to ask him, mainly regarding long-term recovery and the possibility of further surgery. He allayed my concerns and said that any further surgery looked unlikely. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">We talked briefly about orthotic shoes and then he asked me about what I did for a living. I told him I was the Service Manager for a wristwatch retailer and the conversation soon turned to the watch industry and the scarcity of Rolex watches and the prices on the pre-owned market, etc. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">We ended up talking more about my job than my feet. I wore the Submariner 5513 for this appointment. And, man, how many of those orange VISITOR stickers have I accumulated over the last few months!? They date-stamp them when you arrive at the hospital's main entrance. Then, they ask you a few Covid-related questions before asking you to remove your mask so that they can give you one of their own tight-fitting, multi-elastic masks. <br />He seemed happy with the way my feet were healing and told me there would be a follow-up appointment in six months. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Fast Forward...</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Happy New Year! I was happy to see the end of 2022. My wife and I have noticed that every seven years or so we tend to have a crappy year, peppered with a few more lows than highs. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Still, we got through the year relatively unscathed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Friday December 9th, though, I felt a little raspy in the throat and decided to take a RATS test and, sure enough, it showed positive. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I had Covid-19. Again. I had been careful for months. I wore a mask during my commutes to and from work. I tried to sit away from people who weren't wearing masks whenever possible. No luck. So, I quarantined for the next seven days or so. This bout was rougher than the one I had at the start of 2022. This one came with a very runny nose and a very persistent cough that would flare up in the middle of the night. I slept on the couch for about a week, because I didn't want to keep my wife up. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC14Ix3clBOXTvWg-FSoN8CYYuaY8e9wjf_1nF913aHx2opA2W0pJo3QUA-2rFjvOtOqP1bitILpCWxIoTctdpo5DIzX7g7bsHkfIvlZfP0TvWH-8R5vzDfHAFRB829gEgsOB3oygqE680KN3l9oLt5TunRi985MPg-76QTKZD-UJIeWMqEBxF_7ylIQ/s1280/14th.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="978" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC14Ix3clBOXTvWg-FSoN8CYYuaY8e9wjf_1nF913aHx2opA2W0pJo3QUA-2rFjvOtOqP1bitILpCWxIoTctdpo5DIzX7g7bsHkfIvlZfP0TvWH-8R5vzDfHAFRB829gEgsOB3oygqE680KN3l9oLt5TunRi985MPg-76QTKZD-UJIeWMqEBxF_7ylIQ/w306-h400/14th.jpg" width="306" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And I also worked from home for the following week. Turned one end of the kitchen/dining table into my workstation. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Sunday the 18th, I did another RATS test and it showed as Negative. Cool. I could return to work next day, but I'd wear a mask in the office as a precaution, and I'd also keep my distance from a colleague whose immune system is slightly compromised. I wore my Seiko SKX009K. Later that evening (Monday), I had an appointment at a nearby respiratory clinic. A few of these clinics have been established in the last couple of years to take the pressure off hospitals. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was now Covid-negative, but I was still coughing and going through Kleenex tissues like crazy. The doctor explained that it looked like I now had a secondary infection. He prescribed me a course of antibiotics and sent me on my way. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I still felt crappy over Christmas, but by New Year's Eve, I was back to my old self. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I decided that a doctor's appointment would be a wise idea for sometime in January. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">January 14th, 2023</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Last year was a very hectic and eventful year;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Quit the job that I was at for just under six years, on the last day of 2021.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Started 2022 with a bout of Covid-19. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Started a new job in late January and stayed there for around six weeks.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Got a new job in March.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Had my tooth implants and crowns fitted in April.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Came down with a flu in mid-June. Had it until the third week of August. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Got my feet operated on in September.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Finished the year with another dose of Covid-19.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have around 30 hours of Annual Leave accrued. That won't get me very far. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">As for Personal (Sick)/Carer's Leave, I'm at minus 11.4 hours. Basically, I owe them! So, it's at least six months before I could take a week off. Ahh, well...at least I have my health, so to speak. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Managed to spend about thirty minutes in the sun on Christmas Day and ended up getting sun-burnt. That hasn't happened to me since the Summer of 1990/91. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The feet are still a little fragile. I wake up in the morning and they feel quite tight all along the entire soles. This fades as I begin walking. My left foot hurts at times when I take a step. I've been going to the beach and taking walks along the sand in the early evening, just after dinner and before sunset. I think I need to toughen them up a little. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've also put on a little bit of a paunch in recent years and I think I may have gained a little more weight around the middle in the last few months. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gotta do something about that. Exercise won't really do it. It's got more to do with eating a little less. Smaller meals. Portion control, I believe is what the kids are calling it these days. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">While I'm at it, since I work on the third floor of an office building, I'm gonna do like Cary Grant used to. I'm going to start taking the stairs a little more. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfNwsDSGF5Bp1HwVH4Gdzucu3GxXfQs-j4tRErrbveLVsFtFVxUPOohPXdVLAtB1pN9oft-kTcS9QMSKrLj0bIQkcI993oL1-OJaG0HMW0nhl8T9gMfGIy9av2XDeoYuLe5u5aGGcL-UfEMNjAVKIrDt8qTT3N1JYxrf5jI57MyVpvXPc7nXu25m1MpQ/s1280/6th%20-%201.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfNwsDSGF5Bp1HwVH4Gdzucu3GxXfQs-j4tRErrbveLVsFtFVxUPOohPXdVLAtB1pN9oft-kTcS9QMSKrLj0bIQkcI993oL1-OJaG0HMW0nhl8T9gMfGIy9av2XDeoYuLe5u5aGGcL-UfEMNjAVKIrDt8qTT3N1JYxrf5jI57MyVpvXPc7nXu25m1MpQ/w400-h300/6th%20-%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Omega Speedmaster Professional got some time on the wrist this month. I do find, however, that I tend to wear my more water-resistant watches during the Summer months, because I know that the watch will be subjected to sweat and water more often. This strap that you see on the Speedy is one that I've had for over ten years. I thought it was time to put it onto a watch a leave it one the watch so that it would wear out over a few years. I have a few too many watch straps and it's time to start cycling through them. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrF2MeKEX5iC7_q1ikuNxq8-Lg6MoZTNmLe1crZhAnnahdhtBnLiEwxhSNzHrGK60tIRyOtnngp7aSlLPjGj6Rjb4dIu5OSoBLEQ9o8830DcGHE1Afb-iMZLVnp3u6VsRJPR6VugPaIYsJhAcCcHuTHbFhfL0gBb3pxHljTjUjAMl-zj1kQXenhALIdA/s839/RT%20Foot%20x-ray%201-2%20-%20Copy.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="574" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrF2MeKEX5iC7_q1ikuNxq8-Lg6MoZTNmLe1crZhAnnahdhtBnLiEwxhSNzHrGK60tIRyOtnngp7aSlLPjGj6Rjb4dIu5OSoBLEQ9o8830DcGHE1Afb-iMZLVnp3u6VsRJPR6VugPaIYsJhAcCcHuTHbFhfL0gBb3pxHljTjUjAMl-zj1kQXenhALIdA/w274-h400/RT%20Foot%20x-ray%201-2%20-%20Copy.jpg" width="274" /></a></div>And that's it. This is the last post
in this Post-Op Recovery series. I hope you've enjoyed reading it. The
operation was such a long time coming that I began to build it up in my
head into something more worrying than it needed to be. Looking back, it
was a text-book procedure and it seemed to go well according to plan.
The surgeon who performed the op was quite personable and I look forward
to speaking to him again in a few months. Hopefully, the niggling pains
that my feet are giving me will subside over time. I have to remind
myself that full recovery can take a year or so. The operation was
September 14th. Four months ago. Still early days.<div style="text-align: justify;">One last x-ray shot of my right foot. You can see the three screws clearly enough. The metatarsal bone where the two screws are located was the segment that was cut through along its length. The two separate sections were then spaced wider apart before the screws were inserted. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ouch! In saying that, though, I can put my full weight on my right foot without any pain. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">But like I say, still early days. I won't be doing any pirouettes on this foot just yet. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I hope 2023 has started nicely for you all, and I hope that this year treats you all kindly, and may the low points be minor ones. </div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thanks for reading!<br /></div>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-91068950543805884532022-11-13T00:53:00.002-08:002022-11-13T00:53:41.074-08:00October-November, 2022 | Post-Op Recovery: Short Dispatch No. 4 - Home. Stretch. <div style="text-align: justify;">Title is misleading, dammit. This dispatch ain't short.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">October 20th, 2022.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> So, I've been home as the recovery continues. I've been sitting at the kitchen table during the week, with my feet propped up on two chairs tucked in under the table as I go through repair quotations and send them out to customers. This resulted in some back-ache after a couple of hours of being seated, but was alleviated considerably when my son gave me a cushion to put behind my back. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">WHY didn't I think of that?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTvGIY_45ctDXgNT-nR918D_jgg8Vyq_NQYIuBTH-FoHwdvlXOtt0gstOc8Bwr4tIWBxJhab8opo6OuE397kPUOHVxJbAfZPQMs__MGfprnJRmkhvZbg11L17jwpp1n0A6o7j0iAe35HqTiBIKEKUfud-Ohjnpm7_J74uMrs9ltFm_xsONJXJalOE9tg/s1280/18th.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTvGIY_45ctDXgNT-nR918D_jgg8Vyq_NQYIuBTH-FoHwdvlXOtt0gstOc8Bwr4tIWBxJhab8opo6OuE397kPUOHVxJbAfZPQMs__MGfprnJRmkhvZbg11L17jwpp1n0A6o7j0iAe35HqTiBIKEKUfud-Ohjnpm7_J74uMrs9ltFm_xsONJXJalOE9tg/w300-h400/18th.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>This has been my desk set-up while working from home. Laptop computer to my right, notepad to my left, keeping track of what I've done for the day and how long it took me. With the odd coffee break here and there. On this particular day (18th), I wore the RADO Golden Horse while I prepared repair quotations to send out to customers. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some watch brands are incredibly busy at the moment and their repair turnaround times are anywhere between fifteen to twenty weeks. That's just how it is. No way around it. Mind you, the customers are informed of this when they receive their quotations, but it is buried in amongst all the other information.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, to make it clearer, I have been outlining the repair time-frame in a box located a third of the way down on the first page. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite that, I still get customers emailing me for repair updates six or eight weeks after they've given the go ahead on a repair which will take say, twelve to fourteen weeks to complete. There's no real update that I can give to these customers. The repair is underway and going along according to schedule. Once it's completed, AND subject to it successfully passing final testing, the customer will be notified to come and collect their repaired wristwatch. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, I've tried to move my toes a little more this week, to see if there's been any pain and yes, there has been some pain. I've got an X-ray appointment on the 25th, and then a follow-up consultation with the surgeon a couple of days after that. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I downloaded the paperwork related to this whole adventure and saved it to my hard drive. The surgeon's Orthopaedic Letter to my GP contained this information, that I had forgotten about, since it dates back to January last year (2021);</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i> He will require a day in
the hospital and will need to strictly elevate for two weeks. He will be in orthopaedic shoes weight-bearing as
tolerated for six weeks at which stage he should be getting back into his own shoes. It would take a year to get the
full result from the surgery. He is aware as he has some arthritis of the toes there is a risk this may progress to
more severe arthritis requiring a fusion of the first MTPJ in the future. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i> </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I did some reading up on MTPJ (metatarsophalangeal joint) fusion<i>.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWgGK7eU9mat1YHu_hCtaLvV14E5TZcBhDuPYZ-R4i2UH7c0-NdOjTTpAQMGULuELgTR5bO-mwCpncHTd5ggPkzncfcZALLK4bk0Btk2oDlxurCp4i25yoCvhdF8AikLNz0GAxzeF2THv7aq4RtvlbQeRzRvizufORMbH1jUzz72JgBVz4c1oJYt7SSQ/s1280/mpjfusionsynthes_1280.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWgGK7eU9mat1YHu_hCtaLvV14E5TZcBhDuPYZ-R4i2UH7c0-NdOjTTpAQMGULuELgTR5bO-mwCpncHTd5ggPkzncfcZALLK4bk0Btk2oDlxurCp4i25yoCvhdF8AikLNz0GAxzeF2THv7aq4RtvlbQeRzRvizufORMbH1jUzz72JgBVz4c1oJYt7SSQ/w400-h225/mpjfusionsynthes_1280.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>From what I gather so far, this fusion will restrict the bending of the toe, as a metal plate will be screwed in across the top of the first joint. This transfers the weight of each step up towards the top of the foot and the ankle, which can lead to other issues later on. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Having said that, though, there's some conflicting information to be found on this topic, depending on what sites you land on<i>.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Either way, my aim is to avoid this kind of surgery for as long as I can. First step is a slight modification of diet here and there. My wife has ensured that we all eat healthy. Although, I still falter when it comes to things like white bread and sugar. The idea is to eradicate as many processed foods from my diet as possible, as these have an inflammatory effect, thus adding to the causes of arthritis. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, for starters, less sugar wherever possible. But, the damn stuff is in just about everything. Like peanut butter, for instance. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Still, I dropped my sugar-in-coffee intake down to half-a-teaspoon about four of five months ago, and at work, I go to a coffee place that makes such a good cup of coffee that I don't bother adding any sugar to it. So that's a start. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fIEKVi1vBZYxe4pErBhzQK7w16Le_6iNcXCyh6Pw_kgUx4b5PQXnX6OAJbPpzGUkpbcA3kfNrZF7FfP8nrGSe5OY3m77q-VP3fMMrRmlopkOD7wEvxEKeicGyIwxmAaCBWd92dVXn4U9ORGlRzi23Vfg6In6pL9KeJ3Qs8VXBgzOlByha3UaLDvzKQ/s1280/25th.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fIEKVi1vBZYxe4pErBhzQK7w16Le_6iNcXCyh6Pw_kgUx4b5PQXnX6OAJbPpzGUkpbcA3kfNrZF7FfP8nrGSe5OY3m77q-VP3fMMrRmlopkOD7wEvxEKeicGyIwxmAaCBWd92dVXn4U9ORGlRzi23Vfg6In6pL9KeJ3Qs8VXBgzOlByha3UaLDvzKQ/w400-h300/25th.jpg" width="400" /></a>Tuesday the 25th</div><p style="text-align: justify;">A 4:30pm appointment to have some x-rays taken. I got there way early, expecting to sit in the waiting room and read a book until I was called, but things actually happened pretty quickly. I only had to wait about ten minutes before I was led into the Radiology Room (I forget the number) where I hopped up onto the table and had four x-rays done. I asked if it was possible to have copies emailed to me. I was told that I could ask at the reception desk for a DVD copy of them. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The young lady at the desk told me that it would take about ten or fifteen minutes to organise the disc. That's cool, I could wait. I had been home all day, plowing through emails and repair quotes. I wore the 1969 Seiko Skyliner. Just nice and simple. Time only. The DVD disc was ready and the receptionist came over and handed it to me. I thanked her and headed for the exit where I called for a cab. Got home in time to beat the rush-hour traffic. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiiIBUkIsQLd-fatXbVlyZiqvYNAnK_0_8fu_9ry5sDMQy0q6SM2JDMZ-MJNh9495wfTOedBWCAXxnkJg4tbYcEMl6fyQilPCpI9tzG-A15fuiqYBXqzworiri0amNiFiO7Z0WL6gXQL-g9Vgr4uEzj509B3vWa-GvxdzOSd3gaDGvsyIVKAia2-iWhA/s712/RT%20Foot%20x-ray%203.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="460" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiiIBUkIsQLd-fatXbVlyZiqvYNAnK_0_8fu_9ry5sDMQy0q6SM2JDMZ-MJNh9495wfTOedBWCAXxnkJg4tbYcEMl6fyQilPCpI9tzG-A15fuiqYBXqzworiri0amNiFiO7Z0WL6gXQL-g9Vgr4uEzj509B3vWa-GvxdzOSd3gaDGvsyIVKAia2-iWhA/w259-h400/RT%20Foot%20x-ray%203.jpg" width="259" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here's my right foot, showing the three titanium screws that were fitted. I don't know what to look for. Let's just hope that these screws are where they ought to be. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Two days later, it was time for my follow-up appointment with one of the doctors. I got to the main entrance of the hospital and then detoured towards the path where the Outpatient Consulting Clinic was located. It had been raining all morning, but had now stopped. I hobbled along on my crutches, with a satchel slung over my shoulder containing a black Clairefontaine notebook with some questions in it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I got to the desk and gave my details, after answering the array of Covid-related questions from an orderly at the door. Fifteen minutes in the waiting room before I was called in by the doctor who had re-dressed my wounds a couple of weeks ago (see Post-Op Recovery: Short Dispatch No. 2 for details of that little episode).<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He directed me to the examination table and I hopped up onto it and removed my Cam-shoes. Meanwhile, he looked at my x-rays on his computer screen and was happy with what he saw. He put on blue rubber surgical gloves and checked my feet, gently pressing and prodding them in places and seemed satisfied with how they were healing.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Any questions?</i>, he asked. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Actually, about five or six</i>, I replied, as I reached for my satchel and retrieved my notebook. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtxgiRrVpC36aPwMJOcs4jRv0v-hsAYHLeDqRiT0mJNM2GvBrKMXCdgC34yWuHqAY7ZWBmhlv3r_yMbwJrKSrx_t9K-9sx67vvgj_qBvBLt1__XNC4LG059_lWbGwUtxC_JW57tTTZB-fgAXNTC4r98DCYWaRBCUddGaHW3_VX-Svvk1ggMYChrE9A3w/s2325/Typecast%201.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2325" data-original-width="1632" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtxgiRrVpC36aPwMJOcs4jRv0v-hsAYHLeDqRiT0mJNM2GvBrKMXCdgC34yWuHqAY7ZWBmhlv3r_yMbwJrKSrx_t9K-9sx67vvgj_qBvBLt1__XNC4LG059_lWbGwUtxC_JW57tTTZB-fgAXNTC4r98DCYWaRBCUddGaHW3_VX-Svvk1ggMYChrE9A3w/w450-h640/Typecast%201.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>I also asked about the possibility later on of the above-mentioned MTP Joint fusion. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I always get the impression that no doctor wants to commit to a definitive answer to some questions. And that's cool. I can't blame them, to be honest. He said it's hard to tell. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I already know that once osteoarthritis begins, it can't be stopped. Although, it can be slowed down, through exercise and diet. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, we eat pretty healthily in our household,<i> </i>thanks to Lady Teeritz. Oh, wait a sec. I've already mentioned this, haven't I? </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, aside from the questions here on the left, an obvious one was; <i>Is there anything I should be eating more of?</i><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimMj3jASmZGtMKlLG5c4n8vEI6LGjWP6q-Y4vLBDMZGPPeUJESkTC12Sb405fNVAn3wrwy8PJSIPcwlxSxQLeB7_yRd2ME0Y1Wh6Tn5E_z1fAl_G8tGcMGyeJNOipKdDpJF8U5w1FApQnvuMmjpJSelPaD_xJUg50CPVlYoQyRVLX-re3kkhpPv5DSTw/s1615/Typecast%202.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1148" data-original-width="1615" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimMj3jASmZGtMKlLG5c4n8vEI6LGjWP6q-Y4vLBDMZGPPeUJESkTC12Sb405fNVAn3wrwy8PJSIPcwlxSxQLeB7_yRd2ME0Y1Wh6Tn5E_z1fAl_G8tGcMGyeJNOipKdDpJF8U5w1FApQnvuMmjpJSelPaD_xJUg50CPVlYoQyRVLX-re3kkhpPv5DSTw/w400-h284/Typecast%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i> </i><i>Turmeric, </i>was his answer. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i> </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Well, we already use a fair bit of it in some meals, </i>I replied. <i> </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Should I start sprinkling it on my feet?, </i>I added.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">We began using it less in our cooking when the kids complained about it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mind you, they put chicken salt on almost everything. Chicken. Salt.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
Turmeric is a spice that is well-known for its anti-inflammatory
properties. An anti-inflammatory diet is beneficial in keeping your
joints healthy and delaying osteoarthritis, which is what caused my
bunions to begin with. I did a little reading up on it and found that it's also available in a concentrated liquid form that can be added to a glass of juice or water and the body absorbs it more thoroughly. So, I'll do a little more research on that. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once I had finished with my questions, he arranged one more follow-up appointment in five weeks with the surgeon who performed the operation. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was now free to go. I thanked him and he left to go attend to his next patient while I put my shoes and socks back on. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I then made my way to reception. It had been pouring with heavy rain all
morning. I stood at the desk, supported by the crutches that I'd been
using since September 15th, with my feet in the cam-shoes that
distributed my weight towards the heels rather than the toes. The
receptionist looked out at the rain and then turned to me and said; <i>Oh, it's awful out there. Have you got a car?<br />
Yes, </i>I replied. <i>In my driveway at home.</i><br />After she gave me a copy of my next appointment details, I made for the door. A nurse told me how to get to the main entrance without walking through the rain. <br />
I ended up slowly making my way to
the main entrance, using covered pathways that led to a
staff entrance where a lovely nurse, who was a few paces ahead of me, used her key-card to buzz me in. I thanked her and shuffled over to the main desk, where I handed in the crutches. <br />
I then called a cab (I don't do Uber) from the foyer and waited. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That was Thursday the 27th. I wore socks and slippers for the next couple of days. Then, on Saturday (29th), one of my toes had a blister on it and a reddish rash was forming on top of the left foot. Allergic reaction to something? I popped an antihistamine, usually used for hayfever. Visited a chemist later in the day and asked a pharmacy assistant for some over-the-counter Ibuprofen after explaining my symptoms. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Man, these feet are going through the wars. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I wore the Tudor Ranger on the last day of October.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i> </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6trITop-Z7tsXb3TaGrFar9QsLkcWKin7y1xIP5KEvxWKftU3_-W1_EXGI-ZYMydzt0X20s2nDVEV3OfVV-4La4KS5uUuAjvOqjhJkUp4FcMSNb4jegKTOMzkIonNgguOnHUseDWX9Rm6Dcq-AlEZIBcgfTXifzBu69MjF8CQb7ARXlTP4QXPEPobrA/s1280/29th.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6trITop-Z7tsXb3TaGrFar9QsLkcWKin7y1xIP5KEvxWKftU3_-W1_EXGI-ZYMydzt0X20s2nDVEV3OfVV-4La4KS5uUuAjvOqjhJkUp4FcMSNb4jegKTOMzkIonNgguOnHUseDWX9Rm6Dcq-AlEZIBcgfTXifzBu69MjF8CQb7ARXlTP4QXPEPobrA/s320/29th.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></i><u>November - A Brief Rundown, <span style="color: #2b00fe;">Interspersed With Some of the Watches I've Worn Over the Past Eight Weeks</span></u><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">1 - I called my Manager and told him I'd be back at work mid-month. So, I had about two weeks to get some shoes, tie up some loose ends, and get prepped to return to work. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Over the past couple of months, I would open up the car and start her up every day, to keep the engine ticking over. Well, I didn't start it for about five days. So, on day six, I got behind the wheel and turned the ignition and rrr, rrr, rrr, click, click, click. No luck. Battery was out. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Later in the day, I hooked up the jumper cables to my wife's car and we gave it a crack. No go. My car still wouldn't turn over. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Spoke to the watchmaker that I work with. He's into restoring cars, so I figured he'd know what to do. He said if both cars are 4-cylinder (they are), then the donor car needs to rev its engine in order to provide some grunt for the dead-battery-car. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">We tried that about a week later and bingo! I took it for a 15-minute spin around the neighbourhood. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje74AjTPikYtyJEMOywNjaiG1D5ZDCcmm21UKh79xWv0ZCutXGQ-KVY9_aPk1uJYZLc39Mh3AazWZWKlap-PfC_YdN4f-pl0JLc5ROyPHYf6YMP9sHm0x-beu1T8WdyLpKUWFur5O34lhL1feQln7-WSBLwA-5FEk3XQltg46zoU4UDCWkLjmFSVdnbA/s1280/4th.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje74AjTPikYtyJEMOywNjaiG1D5ZDCcmm21UKh79xWv0ZCutXGQ-KVY9_aPk1uJYZLc39Mh3AazWZWKlap-PfC_YdN4f-pl0JLc5ROyPHYf6YMP9sHm0x-beu1T8WdyLpKUWFur5O34lhL1feQln7-WSBLwA-5FEk3XQltg46zoU4UDCWkLjmFSVdnbA/s320/4th.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Early October - The Seiko SKX009K got a bit of time on the wrist. Day and date function came in very handy, as the days began to blur into one. </span><br /> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">2 - During my last medical follow-up, I was told by the doctor that I could get back into my own shoes, but they were making my feet ache. There was a store a few suburbs away that specialised in semi-orthotic shoes. Basically, they sold a few brands that made extra-wide running shoes. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, I headed down there. It was quiet on that Saturday morning, so the young sales dude had time to give me the full consult. I stood on this platform, which gave him a readout of which parts of my feet were making the most contact with the floor. The results were quite varied. The heel of my right foot covered more area than that of my left. The ball of my left foot was greater than my right, etc. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another machine took a 3D scan of my feet and offered up the numbers regarding arch height, heel to toe length, heel width, etc, etc of each foot. Well, my left foot is a size 10.0D and my right is a 11.0C (US sizing).</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I tried on a few different pairs of shoes and ended up buying two pairs. I'd be wearing them for the next few months at least. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2OQdPqxmegV6BRiowLB_FW_OnKT-2GKEusckslDXT4HAXZ0FO3jae9pa5u8_-OeaXlxo69QPE-KfnHOoXFvM8c_gN3FVHf5kDr83ey5NpvjoQpAzGfc7PgrhQN-WV8LfDCuXfWZnyin-AYaVOcmONbDYpP1GPxSmjndBczXnLejycNpyISfdiB1nsAw/s1280/16th.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2OQdPqxmegV6BRiowLB_FW_OnKT-2GKEusckslDXT4HAXZ0FO3jae9pa5u8_-OeaXlxo69QPE-KfnHOoXFvM8c_gN3FVHf5kDr83ey5NpvjoQpAzGfc7PgrhQN-WV8LfDCuXfWZnyin-AYaVOcmONbDYpP1GPxSmjndBczXnLejycNpyISfdiB1nsAw/w300-h400/16th.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Mid-October. Aside from taking a daily calcium supplement with Vitamin D, I was also trying to get some sun on my feet, to help boost recovery. On this particular day, the early '90s Tudor Prince OysterDate was the watch of choice. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> </span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">3 - I have my mobile (cell) phone and our home internet plan bundled with Optus, one of the telcos here in Australia. Well, they suffered a huge data breach last month and the personal details of millions of their current and former customers were compromised. This included email addresses, phone numbers and, of greater concern, drivers licence numbers, for fuck's sake! </div><div style="text-align: justify;">About a week after this breach appeared on the news, I received an email saying that my licence details were part of the breach. I was directed to the VicRoads website which had set up a special page explaining their reaction to this issue. VicRoads is our state's version of your DMV and DVLA. It would seem that they were doing more about this problem than friggin' Optus. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've always had a bug-bear with this telco. They make it almost impossible to contact them online. So, for me, this is the last straw. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm switching my phone to another company when I get a chance, and I'll start shopping around for another Internet provider who also has land-line options, so that I can make and receive calls from relatives overseas.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I can't begin to tell you how ticked off I am about this fiasco. Optus has not exactly been bleeding apologies over this. Assholes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgehevmjwdIGFFwrBHORqICzlGYxa4G8XHkj9RfjPlDdcjEkJCTpD2znoP7GDI2-zudqjwzDnULQ6sO8ywNu_TCRuqkKvGR8Vvk5HwOpzo2HnEaOeUioy-iGxePy_ZfHxxITwRiV7FAemeApkJ6NzvkCqV7_KuKnIUdA-FTDDbmlFFVF9Z9N07St9zxxQ/s1280/28th.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgehevmjwdIGFFwrBHORqICzlGYxa4G8XHkj9RfjPlDdcjEkJCTpD2znoP7GDI2-zudqjwzDnULQ6sO8ywNu_TCRuqkKvGR8Vvk5HwOpzo2HnEaOeUioy-iGxePy_ZfHxxITwRiV7FAemeApkJ6NzvkCqV7_KuKnIUdA-FTDDbmlFFVF9Z9N07St9zxxQ/w300-h400/28th.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Late October. The Oris Divers SixtyFive on an adjustable NATO strap. Being adjustable means that it's not a true NATO strap. It has an overly-complicated (IMHO) buckle on it that requires some fiddling around in order to shorten the strap for your wrist if desired. Annoying. </span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">4 - The bathroom renovation saga ended last month* and it was time for the big cleanup. I organised a skip (dumpster) to be delivered to our driveway, so that we could throw in everything that came out of the old bathroom, such as the bathtub and all the wall tiles and sheets of plaster that were removed. Man, so much timber! I spent an hour in the sun carefully loading stuff into this skip. I took my time with it. Last thing I wanted to do was drop something heavy on a foot. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">* The final stage of this bathroom renovation was the frameless shower cubicle. Two sheets of glass with a door hinged on one of them. I did some price comparisons. First place quoted me $2,400.oo supplied and fitted, without even coming 'round to my house to measure. It was all done via text messaging, which I thought was sloppy. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Second mob quoted me $3,600.oo. Were they fucken' insane?!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Third place quoted me $750.oo for the shower and the glazier who would be doing the installation - referred to me by them - quoted me $450.oo to put the whole thing together. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, I didn't take too long to make a decision. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib3oLrPmfS6gABqff2H_xdlpv6YYE2reczimGltyVldXW5ul7seMlio8kb_eE-X4FrLLyYTEi2X_irX8Koxb8vWKcQiuPK6zuJ3YlYMggSR6wXhAs-ZwX0agz8Nhp4i87nUvMVZWXiQ_Ae5NMdjNedA8DyXK288PQreOcnkCx7_qNomcAwNd6CG_Durw/s1280/gf%20-2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="928" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib3oLrPmfS6gABqff2H_xdlpv6YYE2reczimGltyVldXW5ul7seMlio8kb_eE-X4FrLLyYTEi2X_irX8Koxb8vWKcQiuPK6zuJ3YlYMggSR6wXhAs-ZwX0agz8Nhp4i87nUvMVZWXiQ_Ae5NMdjNedA8DyXK288PQreOcnkCx7_qNomcAwNd6CG_Durw/w290-h400/gf%20-2.jpg" width="290" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">5 - We paid the builder and saw our savings account take a sharp drop, and we're now waiting for the plumber and electrician to send us their bills. All good. The bathroom looks great and the wife and I will slowly start socking money back into the account. That's what it's there for, after all. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">It would be nice to take a holiday somewhere, but I have no leave time left over, thanks to this medical leave. That's cool. Head down, tail up for six or eight months and she and I may start thinking of a trip then.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">6 - Sean Connery died on October 31st two years ago, so I wore my Bond watch for a week. Actually, I wore two. The Rolex Submariner on a single-pass Regimental strap from CNS watch bands.com and the Tudor Black Bay 58 on a brown alligator strap. These two combos were similar to what Connery wore in his first four Bond films. These Regimental straps are very comfy. I have three more on their way to me. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've spent the last six weeks checking emails, writing quotes, and calling customers and repair centres, all from the end of the kitchen table, with my feet propped up on two chairs underneath. My boss (the watchmaker) and the Girl Friday (who's actually in on Mondays and Tuesdays) have held the fort while I've been away. The Service Centre has hobbled along, like myself. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRbfif9W3kz-o_EW7WdXp6Eg7Z-29TSbl1zhntcUO_NZHdibD4NUyhmRo2vOs1XODDKWSfbMDcSUxebCJkQq84qpvLO0ps-LbJBjIBBVpDZa6W5JORxHB6XNDL5Ona9UViw52dlN3fI6KSjudq9-rBZlSkQ0erQx7NHDpbMxNU4vA3s8d4IEeedPDK9g/s1280/10th.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRbfif9W3kz-o_EW7WdXp6Eg7Z-29TSbl1zhntcUO_NZHdibD4NUyhmRo2vOs1XODDKWSfbMDcSUxebCJkQq84qpvLO0ps-LbJBjIBBVpDZa6W5JORxHB6XNDL5Ona9UViw52dlN3fI6KSjudq9-rBZlSkQ0erQx7NHDpbMxNU4vA3s8d4IEeedPDK9g/w400-h300/10th.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">November - Back to the Seiko SKX009K, but I've put this NATO strap onto it and my plan is to leave it on the watch until the end of Summer. I'd like to put it through its paces.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm going back to work on Monday the 14th and there will definitely be some spot-fires to put out, such is the nature of this industry. As the Christmas and New Year period approaches, things will slow down a little more and I'm expecting that I'll be dealing with a few irate customers. However, since I usually cross my t's and dot my i's, any complaints regarding repair time-frames will be dealt with by reminding the customer that it was all outlined in the quotation that was sent to them, to which they agreed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's gonna be a busy time and I'll be in no mood for any shenanigans. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">November 12th.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> I have another x-ray appointment scheduled for later this month (man, I bet my feet will glow in the dark soon) and then a follow-up with the surgeon. I'll need to sit down and see if I have any questions or concerns before I see him.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The big toes are still slightly numb and still slightly swollen, which is normal. Might be another couple of months before they return to how they looked. Left foot hurts a little with each step. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I bought a walking stick from a thrift store a couple of weeks ago. Figured I'd use it for the walk from the train station to my office when I go back to work. My wife warned me not to let the cane overcompensate for my foot. I reckon I'll use it for the first week or two back at work, to ease my way back into walking a little further than around the block of my neighbourhood. I think I just may be doing a little more walking on a daily basis than I have for a while. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some other dull aches here and there. The arches feel tight, my Achilles heels ache when I get up in the morning and, throughout the day, my feet feel like I have duct tape stuck underneath them, stretching from my toe to the heel. Feels weird. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Everything from the ankles down needs a good stretch here and there. There's a podiatrist nearby and I just might schedule an appointment to see if there are any exercises I can do to help the recovery process along. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_xOOaoY4stdbb8z2VHJaSugs3w3qXscK_e10kYNj6RDU4DE1kXHTeA_s9c5lIhA0KijYBopBvi-KRA7oAYiDnbOTFZfCwAubRIDP1SEpQ-jvreN4xue2kfMjwsecS_yvFndIxuMPsiEBi65RtqzaAL6uO7FGgQeZsygP6H5cgROeDVE9SSSXhVzAYw/s5184/PB020012.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_xOOaoY4stdbb8z2VHJaSugs3w3qXscK_e10kYNj6RDU4DE1kXHTeA_s9c5lIhA0KijYBopBvi-KRA7oAYiDnbOTFZfCwAubRIDP1SEpQ-jvreN4xue2kfMjwsecS_yvFndIxuMPsiEBi65RtqzaAL6uO7FGgQeZsygP6H5cgROeDVE9SSSXhVzAYw/w400-h300/PB020012.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">One more watch photo. This was the Tudor Black Bay 58 on a brown alligator strap. Similar to the set-up of Connery's Rolex Submariner in <i>Dr No. </i>Also in the frame is the circa 1946 Smith-Corona Sterling, a pair of Moscot Lemtosh sunglasses, and a 1965 Minox B camera. Oh, and the Folio Society copy of Fleming's <i>From Russia With Love.</i></span><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sunday, November 13th. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, time to wrap things up here. My wife told me that I handled this whole recovery pretty well, given that I can be prone to complaining about the slightest thing at times. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I AM my mother's son, after all.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I told her that I wanted to show a little stoicism throughout this process. No point grumbling about things that can't be helped. You just have to put your game-face on and get on with it. That's my dad's side in me. He seemed the more pragmatic parent. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nice to know that I inherited some of the good traits along with some of the crummy ones. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I hope you've all been well over the past couple of months, and I hope these posts haven't been too cumbersome for you. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Take care, and thanks for reading!<br /></div></div>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-10199860519190989482022-10-22T05:22:00.001-07:002022-10-22T05:23:27.326-07:00October 13th, 2022 - | Post-Op Recovery: Short Dispatch No. 3 - A Scar Is Born?<p style="text-align: justify;">In our last thrilling episode, I had a slight mishap that required me to go to hospital, just to play it safe. They sorted it out, gave me some antibiotics and scheduled an appointment for me to come back a week later for follow-up. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Well, today (Monday) was a week later and off I went. The cab driver got me to the hospital with time to spare. Man, I've caught more cabs in the last three weeks than I did throughout the '90s! I owned a 1970 Mercedes-Benz 280S (manual!) that spent more time on my mechanic's hoist than it did at the kerb outside my house. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I shuffled to the reception desk, confirmed my details, then parked myself in the pretty crowded waiting room. They called out my name ten minutes later. Impressive. I thought I'd be sitting there an hour or more. I approached a nearby corridor and was directed towards Room 4. I made my way in there and was seen by one of the surgeons who assisted with the operation three weeks ago. That was good. I thanked him later on and I asked him to pass on my thanks to the others who were part of the surgical team, assuming he sees them again anytime soon. <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Once up on the examination table, he removed the adhesive bandage that was covering the wound. I gently gripped my calf, expecting to feel a little pain as the bandage peeled away, but it came off without any resistance. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I thought the wound still looked a tad shoddy, but the doctor seemed happy with how it was progressing. He placed a thumb on either side of the wound. I cringed. He gently pressed down with his thumbs. I didn't feel any pain. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>"It's looking okay. It might heal a little rough, or that could just be some tissue that will flake off as it heals", </i>he said. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>"So it might scar a little more noticeably? I can live with that", </i>I replied, almost adding <i>Chicks dig scars! <br /></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">He put a small patch of absorbent gauze over the wound and then a rectangular patch of clear adhesive. This was a waterproof bandage and I was instructed to leave it on for a week or so. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgswWWm7TZfxf5u14_tfK51-QTpzW0GsYFAS1tibAG30zGfa44RgUEkBOc57zzJttzjfBfwXoV1LwkCAA65h2vvN51-kYyQFdpnJGMr8H5sL6s0RCgqdx_MB-zcWBuQrOi9myT8NHXXCGP5FTJR9qzOf5mboP2GwSozMN8_D68l8mcYir3KjWCmCzFKCw/s1280/10th.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgswWWm7TZfxf5u14_tfK51-QTpzW0GsYFAS1tibAG30zGfa44RgUEkBOc57zzJttzjfBfwXoV1LwkCAA65h2vvN51-kYyQFdpnJGMr8H5sL6s0RCgqdx_MB-zcWBuQrOi9myT8NHXXCGP5FTJR9qzOf5mboP2GwSozMN8_D68l8mcYir3KjWCmCzFKCw/w400-h400/10th.jpg" width="400" /></a></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oh yeah, the wristwatch I had on. One that I haven't worn much in recent years. The classic Omega watch which will celebrate its 30th year of production next year, the Seamaster Professional 300m. I don't wear it as often as I used to, but whenever I do, I'm reminded instantly of what a well-made watch it is. <br /></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">And so, this follow-up consultation drew to a close. I put my cam-shoe back on, thanked him again, and made my way out of there. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">About an hour after I got home, I was reaching for a box of tissues located on the bottom shelf of the bathroom cabinet and I heard my shirt rip. Yes, the shirt in this photo. The one with the penguins on it. I must have put a strain on the fabric. Either that or my massive rippling biceps were just too damn big for this shirt. A closer inspection showed a long tear along the seam of the armpit. Irreparable. Time to say goodbye to it. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I didn't bother changing shirts. I wasn't going anywhere else today. I put on a chore jacket and settled myself at the end of the kitchen table. After cranking up my work laptop, I made myself a <i>latté</i> and then sat down and began going through some emails and repair quotations that had come in over the weekend. I had one foot propped up on one chair on my right, and my other foot resting on a chair to my left. <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's now 10:44pm Thursday night, October 13th. Tomorrow will make one month since I had the operation done. Recovery time-frame is six to eight weeks. I've just clocked up Week Number Four. I hope last week's little hiccup hasn't caused a major setback. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Wait and see. No point worrying about it for now. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Thanks for reading! <br /></p></div>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-53979056005436809352022-10-15T23:52:00.000-07:002022-10-15T23:52:01.941-07:00Early October 2022 - | Post-Op Recovery: Short Dispatch No. 2 - Heel, Boy, Heel!<p style="text-align: justify;">So, it was now almost three weeks since I'd had the bunion operation and the feet seemed to be healing okay. I was taking an aspirin a day, to deal with potential blood clots, a calcium tablet, to help with bone healing, and a Vitamin C supplement, to assist with the wound healing. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It was Tuesday morning, October 4th, around ten am, and I was going to take a shower. I had taken off the cam-shoes and I was gingerly standing in the <i>en-suite</i> bathroom, which is about 2 and-a-half feet wide by about six feet in length. Basically, a shower cubicle one one side, a vanity basin in the middle, and a toilet at the opposite wall. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmNMf58dkOII1O_jEz6O5pHgTCWxaHfcXFobES8CfKaq9ToTamCAQbE9vMt0wp4a2d7OZJMeStUnpPoNTPxsyRW0d8niv3XZHJ7RVzbePkJBXFTM3PEpIpt4Rqii6RQ0Dcd5Xsu1GdxSfU7wbJ-FY1o52vwb5Y6Q93HXpwh3LTGy1wzNeg-waf0XkH0Q/s1273/cam%20shoe.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="1273" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmNMf58dkOII1O_jEz6O5pHgTCWxaHfcXFobES8CfKaq9ToTamCAQbE9vMt0wp4a2d7OZJMeStUnpPoNTPxsyRW0d8niv3XZHJ7RVzbePkJBXFTM3PEpIpt4Rqii6RQ0Dcd5Xsu1GdxSfU7wbJ-FY1o52vwb5Y6Q93HXpwh3LTGy1wzNeg-waf0XkH0Q/w400-h201/cam%20shoe.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The cam shoe is like a sandal. The Velcro fastenings lift away completely so that you can put your foot into the shoe from above. The inner sole of the shoe is a flat neoprene rubber which does not bend at all. It's designed to keep the foot and toes on a flat surface so that the toes don't bend or flex. These shoes are quite bulky, so they need to be removed prior to putting on or taking off trousers. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, I was going to remove the thin adhesive bandage that was applied after the stitches were removed five days earlier (see previous post). </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I crouched down to pick something up off the floor and felt an unpleasant tightness in my left foot where the stitches had been. I noticed also that I had lifted my left heel off the floor. These cam shoes are designed to distribute your weight and balance towards the heel, thus preventing any pressure on the toes, but I had lifted the heel. I straightened up and took the two steps out of the <i>en suite </i>and sat down on the edge of the bed. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Slowly, I peeled away the bandage and saw the wound had opened up a little. No blood, but it didn't look great, either. I removed the bandage from the other foot. That one looked okay. I took a shower and then got out and gingerly dried off the wounds. I then placed some non-adhesive gauze pads on both of them and wrapped a light bandage around them. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The left foot gave me some sporadic bursts of light pain for the rest of the day. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">By the time my wife got home from work, at around 5:30, I had already decided to go to the hospital to have the wound checked out, just in case. I told her I'd take a cab, knowing how that would go down with her. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Within a few minutes, I was in her car and we were headed for the hospital. We got there a few minutes before six pm and the Emergency Department was doing a brisk trade on this seemingly quiet Tuesday evening. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">After explaining my situation to the nurse behind the reception desk, she explained that, since I'd had the procedure done there a couple of weeks ago, she try to rush me through a little faster. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">She asked me how bad was the pain, on a scale of 1 to 10? I told her it was around 4. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I suggested to my wife that she leave, as she had brought me here straight after getting home from work and she hadn't eaten yet. She told me to give her a call once I was done and she would come back to pick me up. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was seen to about 90 minutes later. I apologised to the nurse who was dealing with me initially. I felt like I was wasting their time. She said <i>better to be safe than sorry</i>. Made sense. If there was any infection starting, the wise thing to do would be to deal with it sooner rather than later. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">She checked out the wounds and said she'd get a doctor. I was escorted to another room and got myself gingerly onto the examination table. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have to say, if I haven't said it already, that every one of the doctors and nurses that I've dealt with so far have been wonderful. One or two of the reception staff could do with some customer service training, but for the most part, they've all been great. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The doctor came in and had a look at the wound while I explained how I thought it may have happened. He made a quick call to one of the Orthopaedic specialists, who turned up five minutes later. He had a look at the feet and prescribed a 7-day course of antibiotics and a fresh dressing. Then he bid me farewell and left. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Y3S3H_sa3hiQpQpeGvas33SWZehE_M_iJnSb8pvdLgRAJSpo-XT_DCx2Vrx34nDrgsaKhwgyC1mGD9eh2nKtqiwocloT4ZrY4sYGNyRXpaWeZs1wm1-1Zb2fEfD2EgVUrx4nXgjfZjWft5jeTltwBL0YXXpCUWQtBthFoX6mBZLMK1vY_xaiK843Pg/s1017/4th%20crutches.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1017" data-original-width="668" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Y3S3H_sa3hiQpQpeGvas33SWZehE_M_iJnSb8pvdLgRAJSpo-XT_DCx2Vrx34nDrgsaKhwgyC1mGD9eh2nKtqiwocloT4ZrY4sYGNyRXpaWeZs1wm1-1Zb2fEfD2EgVUrx4nXgjfZjWft5jeTltwBL0YXXpCUWQtBthFoX6mBZLMK1vY_xaiK843Pg/s320/4th%20crutches.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, this post needs another picture. I wore the Seiko SKX009J that day. Sleeping has been a little difficult, as my feet are propped up on a cushion under the covers at the end of the bed. It's a very tight fit, and moving my feet is awkward. As a result, I'm finding that I only move the position of my feet two or three times overnight and my lower back is certainly feeling it. I asked about this sleeping arrangement and was told to keep my feet elevated as much as possible. I have been doing so, but as I write this (on Sunday October 9th), I wonder if I still need to keep them elevated above the level of my heart, as I was instructed to do at the outset. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Toes above nose</i> is what they told me after the operation and I made sure that my feet were level with my face whenever I was lying down. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although, when I go back in a week for the follow-up, I'll ask again with regard to how elevated my feet need to be. <br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nurse started cleaning the wounds and patted them dry while the original doctor typed up his brief report and scheduled an appointment for me to return in a week to have them assessed again. Then he said his goodbyes and left also. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The nurse deftly cut out a patch of thin adhesive gauze, like the one I had on the wounds originally and then she trimmed the corners so that these patches were a soft rectangle. For the open wound, she applied a small strip of gauze, like those little band-aids they use in boxing movies, to close up an open cut. Then a small patch of padded gauze on top, followed by the thin adhesive patch to hold it in place. I was told not to get this wet. Over on the right foot, three small strips of gauze and then the adhesive patch on top. My feet looked like they'd been through the wars. Dry and rough patches of skin, as well as the light bruising near the bandaged areas. As soon as I'd be able to, I'd give them a thorough cleansing, and maybe some moisturiser, to get the skin a little more supple while they recover.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once the nurse had completed her sterling work, I was good to go. She said goodbye and left, to go and attend to the next patient, and I strapped my cam shoes back on and left the room. I made my way past the reception desk, wanting to thank the ladies there, but they were busy dealing with new arrivals. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I got a text message from my wife as I was heading for the door. I replied, telling her that I had just finished up and she responded, saying that she would be on her way shortly. It was around 8:20pm.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I sat down at a bench outside in the cool Spring air and waited. With my feet elevated. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thanks for reading!<br /></div></div>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-70226858002993109272022-10-08T17:50:00.002-07:002022-10-09T00:56:37.594-07:00Late September 2022 - | Post-Op Recovery: Short Dispatch No. 1- Footloose & Frankenstein<p style="text-align: justify;"><u>Oct 6th, 2022</u></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I might just do the odd short post here and there as I recover from the bunion operation that I had a few weeks ago. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Thursday, September 15th. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> I was discharged from the hospital that morning, as mentioned in my previous post. The following day, the big toe of my right foot looked bruised and felt numb. This is normal, I was told. My feet were still fully bandaged up and I was wearing the cam-shoes, which are basically a pair of velcro-fastened sandals with a very stiff sole. They're made to prevent you from exerting pressure on the balls of your feet, thus keeping the toes in one position. All weight is distributed to the heels when you walk. And I had a pair of those forearm crutches that are all the rage these days. I asked about the old wooden armpit crutches, 'cos they're a little more old-school, but was told that they don't really use those anymore. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I wore the cam-shoes all day and into the night. Two cushions positioned at the end of the mattress, the covers lifted out from underneath my side of the bed. It has made for awkward and uncomfortable nights of sleep. Despite the numbness that I felt in my right toe, I still felt this sensation of a razor blade cutting into the toe from time to time. Putting on a pair of pyjama pants could be excruciating if the cuff brushed lightly against the top of my toe. Bloody weird sensation. <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I was given a prescription for a five-pack of heavy duty painkillers and was told by the hospital pharmacist to just take plain old paracetamol tablets for pain over the first three to five days and to use the prescribed painkillers for strong pain only. In the end, despite some sharp - but brief - moments of pain here and there, I didn't use the painkillers. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The paperwork that I was given upon being discharged from hospital stated that I should go see my GP five to seven days after the operation. So, I made an appointment for the following week. <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Tuesday, September 20th. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Four days after the op. The pain had subsided greatly. Although, as I shifted position in bed that night, my elbow slipped off the edge of the mattress and I reflexively tensed up. And curled my toes. My feet felt like they had just caught on fire. Did I just tear the stitches? Both feet hurt a little over the next few days. I was scheduled for a follow-up appointment at the hospital on the 29th. I kept an eye on the bandages. No visible bleeding. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, I had the appointment with my GP the next evening. It was for after 6:00pm, so it was gonna cost me $101.oo for this consultation. He was running late with appointments. I didn't get to see him until close to 7 o'clock. I hobbled into his office and took a seat. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>"Now, what can I do for you?", </i>he asked. I showed him the hospital discharge paperwork which stated that I was to make an appointment to see him. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>"The hospital didn't contact you?", </i>I asked.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>"Nope. That's slack", </i>he responded, pointing at the paperwork in my hand. And there I sat, thinking that I was paying a hundred bucks tonight to chat with my doctor about nothing in particular. It would seem that the hospital's discharge paperwork was a generic one that they hand out to most patients. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Not to have made this visit a complete waste of time and money, he wrote me up a referral for a yearly-scheduled blood test, to be done after the first week of November, and took my blood pressure. Once this consultation was done, I headed to the reception desk and paid. Our public health insurance body, Medicare, would reimburse me $35.oo for this visit. Still, though...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I started writing a typecast, so I'll just paste it up here, shall I? Disregard the dates. That's when I wrote them, not when the events occurred.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2gXiS73RUpyAOaoRP2yVnd0TXWhqWbRYux1-PPt8cSlo5Drxo-c-jLpvTEHQShFXf0s6PInhetwFf-E4KLksze--JQDrnLFgLALgWMr-ItqdY8_X5snPIi5VQ8pvm50n0awSu19Y92uX9ijZv5BP9XsVOZ5Q3Fy6kzQi-p-iSoFAMqpgZkgNQXBQA2A/s1259/Typecast%201.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="1259" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2gXiS73RUpyAOaoRP2yVnd0TXWhqWbRYux1-PPt8cSlo5Drxo-c-jLpvTEHQShFXf0s6PInhetwFf-E4KLksze--JQDrnLFgLALgWMr-ItqdY8_X5snPIi5VQ8pvm50n0awSu19Y92uX9ijZv5BP9XsVOZ5Q3Fy6kzQi-p-iSoFAMqpgZkgNQXBQA2A/w640-h170/Typecast%201.jpg" width="640" /></a>Oh. Wait a sec. I've jumped the gun a little here. Let me bring you up to speed. I had a follow-up appointment at the hospital on the 29th. The night before, I got online and booked a cab for nine am the next morning. I'm old-school. I doubt I'll ever catch an Uber. My appointment at the Orthopaedic Clinic was for 9:45 and, while it would only most likely be a 20-25 minute drive, I was allowing for any possible delays. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The taxi cab arrived at my house at 9:06am. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9wvURc0SmetnE7J7gEY5hbUS0xyp-2hYuYunaq88u9owGIv8oJ6bvQ9DbWQaJE9hRXDwBuvy7-DmHM4qW-AclLu4DL_l8s7EBp-RhBhS0x3_8nAIjftENcSgJcN5l1wjURwyizpv5RUM2gWrrSBNbvxe4Hdp66Xig8ks_iH18aAPQnuoR8kwsz_YTIQ/s1236/typecast%202.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="1236" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9wvURc0SmetnE7J7gEY5hbUS0xyp-2hYuYunaq88u9owGIv8oJ6bvQ9DbWQaJE9hRXDwBuvy7-DmHM4qW-AclLu4DL_l8s7EBp-RhBhS0x3_8nAIjftENcSgJcN5l1wjURwyizpv5RUM2gWrrSBNbvxe4Hdp66Xig8ks_iH18aAPQnuoR8kwsz_YTIQ/w640-h224/typecast%202.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">October 8th</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"> I needn't have worried. The doctor flooded it with saline and it peeled away easily enough. To my untrained eye, it looked like the stitches were still in place. The slight mishap a week or so earlier didn't appear to have caused any issues. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The doctor looked over both feet and then made a quick phone call. A few minutes later, one of the surgeons who assisted during my operation arrived. We made our quick greetings and I asked him to thank everyone involved in the operation on the day. Whether or not he will see these same nurses and staff anytime soon is another matter. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">He had a look at the sutures and said it all seemed to be healing nicely. He then turned to the younger doctor and explained which stitches to cut first and in which order. He then bid me goodbye and left. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The young lad soon got to work. He had a small tool that he would use. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxNN1580IBAau6rk-ZMzgwLasHO45UcJMKKlgKygtelHmlHK1IT6OSduESMOw1BK8fvVAdggt00oJsRtbFycqYyy0lmOvFxkPIWvsVcbC21E7arb4bRKjbPucKZ6t1lgqeqe97TZ9AJmv8yMSt79w-V7SRoL8uiV53XJrntSCIK80Qx0NadPgvvFmvJw/s644/stitch%20cutter%20pic.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="237" data-original-width="644" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxNN1580IBAau6rk-ZMzgwLasHO45UcJMKKlgKygtelHmlHK1IT6OSduESMOw1BK8fvVAdggt00oJsRtbFycqYyy0lmOvFxkPIWvsVcbC21E7arb4bRKjbPucKZ6t1lgqeqe97TZ9AJmv8yMSt79w-V7SRoL8uiV53XJrntSCIK80Qx0NadPgvvFmvJw/w400-h148/stitch%20cutter%20pic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He tore open the sealed plastic packet containing the stitch cutter and positioned himself over my left foot. I wondered if he would be comfortable hovering over my foot like that. Did he want to sit down? Was there sufficient lighting? </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I, meanwhile, grabbed the lower section of the chore jacket that I was wearing and scrunched it up in my closed fist. He got to work, and I felt a slight pull against the thread, followed by a sharp burning sensation. I gripped the jacket. It took him a few minutes to remove all the sutures. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In one foot. I felt the sharp burn on a few occasions. <i> </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>"This your first day, Doc?", </i>I wanted to ask him, through gritted teeth.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then, he shifted over slightly and I placed my right foot in front of him. I gave some thought to including photos here, but thought better of it. This is a reasonably family-friendly blog and we don't want to frighten the youngsters. So...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1bVCoV41I3ulzn1t_MCnOcbYO16zmkQMiUENTp56Unir3NgrzjMImnXxC3Y9WkhjdF7DCDX-O9RVdneUt-de_YatbAgiSw0Vr4MBnwOeTcb1IbXsNwIcpz6BiYAosttv52n2tzoGiSfaqU89GY-ZNdfAwjnTPHxKbbJXHtgY8ACiA-6NAybJQuj8Gdw/s483/how-to-draw-feet-staning-realistic-foot-easy-step-by-step-drawing-tutorial-for-beginners.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="483" data-original-width="376" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1bVCoV41I3ulzn1t_MCnOcbYO16zmkQMiUENTp56Unir3NgrzjMImnXxC3Y9WkhjdF7DCDX-O9RVdneUt-de_YatbAgiSw0Vr4MBnwOeTcb1IbXsNwIcpz6BiYAosttv52n2tzoGiSfaqU89GY-ZNdfAwjnTPHxKbbJXHtgY8ACiA-6NAybJQuj8Gdw/s320/how-to-draw-feet-staning-realistic-foot-easy-step-by-step-drawing-tutorial-for-beginners.jpg" width="249" /></a></div><-- This pic is from; <a href="https://www.drawinghowtodraw.com/stepbystepdrawinglessons/2017/03/draw-feet-human-foot-easy-step-step-drawing-tutorial-beginners/">www.drawinghowtodraw.com/How To Draw Feet</a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There were more sutures running along the outer edge of my foot, but for the purposes of this demonstration, these ones illustrated here were the problem. Specifically, the last, very tightly knotted(!), thread, which proved difficult to slide the cutting blade underneath. Needless to say, it took him almost as long to remove this one last knot as it did to do the entire other foot. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">By the end of it, I had a slight sheen of perspiration on my forehead and my knuckles ached from gripping the jacket. FYI, the skin on top of the foot is very, very thin. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once he was done, I started breathing again while he cleaned the wounds with saline and applied a thin adhesive bandage on both feet. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>"Leave these on for a few days and then remove them. It's okay to get them wet, Just pat them dry afterwards", </i>he informed me. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">That was good to know. I had been taking showers wearing these long plastic leggings with elastic cuffs. The whole process of showering was taking me around 30 minutes from start to finish. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, They reminded me that I had a follow-up appointment with my surgeon on the 27th and I was then free to go. I got my crutches and got out of there. There's a cafe situated a little ways up the street from the hospital. I decided to grab a coffee. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">My wife sent me a text message. I replied and sent her a photo of my feet. She replied, saying they looked grisly, and she asked a couple of questions regarding the bandages, etc. While I sat in the cafe with my <i>latté,</i> I quickly jotted down some notes regarding my next appointment. I wanted to make sure I had everything covered. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjThFAxiC5Cnadw0P0nZmWcsiie3Sfi4mx60z8TGxndhMLYJC17wi58BTDji7ye3S-gULagI7HNST6kqZkZ3J6Ro7GNE9eKJ2YBJrEkMRRx_zCQuSPFKSKhqKH2oREJ3htRrNlyThTLGWxV6WlEt5pDp5a9CHZuxdcQ7xq2lye801fCkzsQnSop9U5fAw/s1082/26th%20-%20night.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1082" data-original-width="1027" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjThFAxiC5Cnadw0P0nZmWcsiie3Sfi4mx60z8TGxndhMLYJC17wi58BTDji7ye3S-gULagI7HNST6kqZkZ3J6Ro7GNE9eKJ2YBJrEkMRRx_zCQuSPFKSKhqKH2oREJ3htRrNlyThTLGWxV6WlEt5pDp5a9CHZuxdcQ7xq2lye801fCkzsQnSop9U5fAw/s320/26th%20-%20night.jpg" width="304" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, so much for a 'short dispatch'! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oh, and since this blog of mine is
about watches, as much as anything else, I wore the 40mm Hamilton Khaki
Field Automatic to the hospital. I wanted something that could could
withstand a knock against a doorway or something.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I finished the coffee, slowly made my way back to the hospital entrance, figuring it would be easier for a taxi driver to find me at a hospital rather than outside a street café, and called a cab. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The taxi arrived about fifteen minutes later. I climbed into the back-seat and gave the driver my address and headed home. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thanks for reading! <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-41577013900150817742022-09-30T03:06:00.001-07:002022-09-30T03:06:49.435-07:00September 2022 - Park your dogs*...for the next six to eight weeks. | Got My Foot Operation Done. <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">*<i>My dogs are barking</i> is a phrase that simply means my feet hurt. In this case, the word <i>dogs</i> means feet and the word <i>barking</i> means hurts. The expression <i>my dogs are barking</i> can be traced to journalist T. Dorgan, who worked for the <i>New York Evening Journal</i>. He coined many phrases, often using rhyming slang. Supposedly, the phrase <i>dog meat</i> became <i>feet</i> in this idiom. The term <i>my dogs are barking </i>was popularized throughout the world by American servicemen.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><a href="https://grammarist.com/idiom/my-dogs-are-barking/">Grammarist.com/Idiom/My Dogs Are Barking</a> </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="color: black;">It might have been in a Raymond Chandler novel where a couple of goons with gats bust in on Philip Marlowe at home and one of them says to him; <i>Park your dogs.</i> Meaning 'sit down'. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="color: black;">******************************************************************* </span> <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">So, my bunion operation was scheduled for Wednesday the 14th. My wife started a new job about a month ago. She could either take time off to drop me off to the hospital or pick me up once I was ready to be discharged. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I told her I'd get a cab to the hospital. That would make it easier for everyone. Besides, I knew that seeing her when I was discharged would lift my spirits no end. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrDX13X-z9SnRxI6YY2MmJeNenU99OjQTTCXetpZ3ZaJfB_u1ksprtUEjUVrD-32MCriUIY13nw_XzS58IYaLpLRFK7Qol8DuqMltWFa2VDvujg05JaJxOhmA9cD7hjAxhamp1f8z1P3lVyOyk5HNKM9eNqepLHcdH5yU44VydPveiUhsH33OOwpvzHg/s1280/13th.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrDX13X-z9SnRxI6YY2MmJeNenU99OjQTTCXetpZ3ZaJfB_u1ksprtUEjUVrD-32MCriUIY13nw_XzS58IYaLpLRFK7Qol8DuqMltWFa2VDvujg05JaJxOhmA9cD7hjAxhamp1f8z1P3lVyOyk5HNKM9eNqepLHcdH5yU44VydPveiUhsH33OOwpvzHg/s320/13th.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I wore the Submariner 5513 on the Tuesday, the day before the op, since I figured it would be a while before I wore a nice watch again. Looking back, I should have probably taken one or two days off before the date of the surgery. Things felt a little rushed as the fateful day drew nearer. I've been in this new job of mine only since late March, so I haven't clocked up enough leave time to cover the 6 to 8 weeks of recovery time that I'd need. Ahh well, couldn't be avoided. If you read my previous post, you may recall that I was called by the hospital and given two dates to choose from for this operation, one in August and one in September. I'd been on the public waiting list since mid-2019 and, while it would have been more convenient to have had this procedure done in December or January, I really didn't have a choice in the end. My boss was very understanding, told me not to worry about work. It would all get done in the long run. It is what it is, as my wife will often say. Good news is that I tied up as many loose strings as I could before I took the work laptop home with me. I won't crack it open for the first two weeks, but I'll tackle emails a few days a week after that. <br /></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Our bathroom renovation is still ongoing, and I should have been a little more productive with organising the shower installation, but that's okay. It'll get sorted while I'm at home recovering. It can all get arranged with a mobile phone and internet access. <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP6l1mTEnKCvJBSyH_jf17RZBVTzgHMpGR1i_gCrvlLUMu-NFTfn_8vM5BVBkSIzWbFYE14nAVAVTIM_3Ja4RmOhi5xVKEuHNTPKSXIGAypzFP8_wrbPwsJazOaIQxv62z6SMIC26zIF1TY1ObMoR6xNFhAb6xTWfjT5-Rb0iXtQntYRTln8Pa9ARyXQ/s1280/13th%20-%20night.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP6l1mTEnKCvJBSyH_jf17RZBVTzgHMpGR1i_gCrvlLUMu-NFTfn_8vM5BVBkSIzWbFYE14nAVAVTIM_3Ja4RmOhi5xVKEuHNTPKSXIGAypzFP8_wrbPwsJazOaIQxv62z6SMIC26zIF1TY1ObMoR6xNFhAb6xTWfjT5-Rb0iXtQntYRTln8Pa9ARyXQ/s320/13th%20-%20night.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I began packing my overnight bag a couple of days before. Thought about taking a book along, but wasn't sure if I'd have enough time or energy to read any of it. Would prefer short stories, to be honest, so that I could stop and start where required without interrupting the flow of a longer novel. In the end, I didn't take <i>The Thin Man</i> with me. I did, however, mix up a Dry Martini, one more thing that I wouldn't be doing for the next month or two. As far as a wristwatch goes, I decided to bring along the Casio MRW-200H-1B. All plastic case and strap, quartz-operated, plenty enough water-resistant, and with day and date function. Robust enough (I think) to take some knocks and cheap enough ($38.ooAUD off eBay) to replace if it breaks or disappears. I was a little wary of hospitals. My mother had her wristwatch and transistor radio disappear on two separate hospital stays back in the Seventies and Eighties. I'm sure things have changed since then, but I was just playing it cautious. Last time I was in hospital was back around '94 when I had an endoscopy procedure for a stomach ulcer. Prior to that was 1971 when I had my tonsils out as a kid. So, hospitals make me a little nervous. </div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Okay, so I took a cab to the hospital, tipped the driver - 'cos he got me there in good time - and made my way to the Day Procedures building. Gave my details to the lady at the desk. Sat in the waiting area for about 45 minutes. I'd gotten to the hospital at 11:20am. The procedure was to be done in the afternoon sometime. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I checked my phone. There was a text message from my <span style="color: #6aa84f;">wife;</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Wednesday 10:06</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhye_W1q6DBnGAjLSXpoFVv89svdFQU-LIvuY4qwOIzrvPIEaBqhrG0wcH8EANKj36KYup7kufK6gnjDyQ1akVZg78Xl2WR4ityV_l_cZMS03Zt3aR5msbjXQd4j-AXPop1eupXbQRsvZWazQpp0zeyuRG0uneV6cfFoaaLnDmdER1QiKgS_phSMez0mQ/s864/1%20gif%20edited.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="750" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhye_W1q6DBnGAjLSXpoFVv89svdFQU-LIvuY4qwOIzrvPIEaBqhrG0wcH8EANKj36KYup7kufK6gnjDyQ1akVZg78Xl2WR4ityV_l_cZMS03Zt3aR5msbjXQd4j-AXPop1eupXbQRsvZWazQpp0zeyuRG0uneV6cfFoaaLnDmdER1QiKgS_phSMez0mQ/w174-h200/1%20gif%20edited.jpg" width="174" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Please take a photo of your lovely feet for me. </span></span></span><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">She meant post-op. My feet were gonna look a mess pretty soon. I sent her a quick <span style="color: #2b00fe;">reply, <span style="color: black;">along with hospital rules regarding visitors;</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> No visitors 😞. Covid rules still in place. </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMBanVGJ-qDV3Jmgg2LAcIfW2QFhC6Bm9Pm7GThVkMNBw95HE9yGCP0nagEkJI_bCKCzW_TXUPAKRuzB4AbRqnBKLg9ScGc8Ce18p0UZkDYLWrEsm7w5I5SBPWZq8QxyOWrpl4JzIPtuA3exU3sm8IuJqqUoGsG_IgMW391eY8zBLqKtAfcH1gHMBJdQ/s852/3%20gif%20edited.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="852" data-original-width="750" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMBanVGJ-qDV3Jmgg2LAcIfW2QFhC6Bm9Pm7GThVkMNBw95HE9yGCP0nagEkJI_bCKCzW_TXUPAKRuzB4AbRqnBKLg9ScGc8Ce18p0UZkDYLWrEsm7w5I5SBPWZq8QxyOWrpl4JzIPtuA3exU3sm8IuJqqUoGsG_IgMW391eY8zBLqKtAfcH1gHMBJdQ/w176-h200/3%20gif%20edited.jpg" width="176" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><i> </i></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What wtf!!! Can't I do a covid and come in</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4XnxA943Aw2J-CdjYh270Me29Rd9tLWv2B-OM9W-vbXJuHdCUViedMHegq5SOwuklbdJ-zB_sDY1TfSpj6qh--_LnJMeWOxhSA0r8dfLBcFp4uxJmADJa25TJGnPAGNh5EuInzrBOFDUSZDGHKQIcdg6B9kutymLi8CYQoI43C_TXETdLhbVJezKq9A/s875/2%20gif%20edited.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="875" data-original-width="750" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4XnxA943Aw2J-CdjYh270Me29Rd9tLWv2B-OM9W-vbXJuHdCUViedMHegq5SOwuklbdJ-zB_sDY1TfSpj6qh--_LnJMeWOxhSA0r8dfLBcFp4uxJmADJa25TJGnPAGNh5EuInzrBOFDUSZDGHKQIcdg6B9kutymLi8CYQoI43C_TXETdLhbVJezKq9A/w171-h200/2%20gif%20edited.jpg" width="171" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> <span style="color: #2b00fe;"> </span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> Nope. You're to go to Main Entrance tomorrow morning around 9:30 and they'll contact the Day Procedure Centre and bring me round. </span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> Dammit. </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Is you there now?</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I guess we could face time </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> <span style="color: #2b00fe;">Yep. Here now. And we can face time! Good call. </span></span></span></span><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Forty minutes later... </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Going in. Radio silence for now. We'll see how I go once I'm out of the theatre. See ya </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Good luck</span></span><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I began to feel alone and a little nervous. I wished my family was here. I compartmentalised this feeling for the time being.<i> Put it in a box, slot it away for the moment, teeritz. Deal with it later. <br /></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As I sat in the waiting room, a young nurse approached and introduced herself. She then escorted me to a small office where I was given a mask, a Covid/RAT test and my blood pressure was taken. A plastic medical strip was put on each wrist. I would lose count of how many times I would be asked for my name and date of birth during my stay.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I re-signed a consent form, since it had been over a year since I last did so. Looking at the info regarding the risks of the surgery, it listed possibilities such as infection and ongoing pain. There was a third item listed also, but doctor's handwriting being what it is, the nurse and I couldn't make out what it said. She then led me to a bank of lockers and handed me a hospital gown and basket. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It was happening. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I was pointed towards a row of changing rooms and slipped out of my civvies and into the gown, with those annoying string-ties at the back. Off came the Casio watch. I put it inside a shoe. Along with my wallet, which contained my Medicare Card, my ATM card, and a $20 note. I crammed my socks in after them. My mobile (cell) phone went into my other shoe. I made sure to put it on Silent mode. My wedding ring was being a little stubborn. I left my underwear on and asked the nurse if these needed to come off as well. She said that it would be okay to leave them on, since they'd be operating down at my feet. My ring, which refused to come off, was wrapped in masking tape. I was then led back to the office, where I glanced at the wall clock on numerous occasions for the next forty minutes or so. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Pretty soon, it was time to move location. They asked if I wanted a wheelchair. I declined. This would be my last smooth walk for a while. It was a short distance from the office to the ward of beds near the operating theatre. I lay down on the bed, with its raised section where the pillow sat, and one of the anaesthetic nurses approached and asked me my name and date of birth. She asked about allergies and such. I explained that I'm a mild asthmatic who smoked for 35 years and quit in January last year. I use Symbicort (a preventer) from time to time and Ventolin (a reliever) from time to time. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Do you get short of breath if you go up a flight of stairs?</i>, she asked.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I told her that I work on the third floor of a building and when I take the stairs, I feel out of breath once I get to level three. She said that's pretty normal. Another nurse came over and fitted a cannula (IV needle) into the back of my left hand and fastened it down with surgical tape. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It was happening. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I was now beginning to feel alone, since it was some hours since I'd seen my wife before she left for work. And I hadn't seen the kids since the day before. I was a little nervous about this whole endeavour to begin with. My Dad suffered a stroke while under anaesthetic during an operation back in 1981 and he never fully recovered. A little imagination can sometimes be a dangerous thing, and I began to think about something going disastrously wrong during the procedure. <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Five minutes later, one of the assisting surgeons came over and asked how I was doing. He said the operation would be taking place soon, and did I have any questions? A little late right now if I <i>did</i>. He took a Texta (Magic Marker) out of his pocket and drew a circle on my right foot and wrote an upper-case 'R' in it, followed by a long arrow pointing down towards my toes. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Is that in case you forget which is which?, </i>I asked. <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">About ten minutes later, the surgeon appeared, with two other doctors who'd be assisting him. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Do you know what you're having done today? </i><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I wanted to say 'sex change' for a gag. But instead; <i>Yes, you're gonna take one of those little electric saws, like you get from Bunnings (a hardware chain), and you're gonna make a long zig-zag cut through the bone. And I think some titanium screws are going in there as well. </i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">They would be performing an osteotomy. Specifically, an Akin and Scarf Osteotomy, to deal with the bunions on both feet. One big toe (L) would get a small wedge of bone cut away from it, the other toe (R) would have a bone cut and realigned and held together with two titanium screws. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Is there anyone at home?</i>, he asked. You know, to look after me once I'm discharged.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Yeah, </i>I replied<i>. A builder who's taking his damn sweet time to complete a bathroom renovation. And two kids who - </i>I looked up at the clock on the wall. The time showed 1:17pm - <i>are probably still asleep right now. </i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I liked this doctor. I felt that I'd be in good hands. About 20 minutes later, they wheeled my bed towards the operating theatre, which was a short distance away. They lined my bed alongside the operating table and began to make moves to lift me up and across.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Do you want me to slide over to this one?, </i>I asked. I felt like I wanted to help them, since they'd all be very busy soon enough. I lifted myself up and sidled over to the operating table. I glanced at wrists. A couple of Apple watches, natch, but nothing else to be seen. The anaesthetic nurse on my right told me to rest my head on the pillow. I looked up at the huge lighting array above the table. An IV tube was attached to the cannula taped to my left hand by the nurse to my left. I began to shiver a little, my lower jaw quivered. Was it cold in here or was I getting nervous? The nurse to my left gave the IV tube's valve a slight twist and a felt a slightly icy sensation inside the back of my hand. The nurse to my right placed the oxygen mask over my nose and mouth. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It was happening.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Somebody's calm and soothing female voice told me to take a few deep breaths. I drew the oxygen deep, going for that abdominal breathing - where you fill your entire lungs by making your stomach rise as well as your chest - and made sure I breathed evenly and calmly. Despite the butterflies fluttering around behind my sternum. <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>That's good, just one more, </i>she said. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> I took another deep breath.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> And maybe half of another.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjglywOOyPN6odiHFv6WdsO_hZGlF50cqR__Zi3A5jMhRTL62DtF0tkc0rC49j1SVs-x_TFek42oJx-z8gFGapUXJbQnFWMsr6A5j9IiY6fRoyNVWoiKii_IbZ5EDwRJPxDgTRKeTRLwVllXVubx18TcIDi14VxHeyS6430kkBshiaHqdgv3zlrSp4qpQ/s1280/14th%20-2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjglywOOyPN6odiHFv6WdsO_hZGlF50cqR__Zi3A5jMhRTL62DtF0tkc0rC49j1SVs-x_TFek42oJx-z8gFGapUXJbQnFWMsr6A5j9IiY6fRoyNVWoiKii_IbZ5EDwRJPxDgTRKeTRLwVllXVubx18TcIDi14VxHeyS6430kkBshiaHqdgv3zlrSp4qpQ/w400-h400/14th%20-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I opened my eyes and looked at the end of the bed. I felt a little tired, but still awake and aware enough to know what had happened, and where
I was. My bandaged feet felt numb, which was good. I slowly bent them towards me, at the ankle. My throat hurt a little. I had two thin
cotton blankets over me and the room temperature was pleasant. I felt
tired. I slowly reached for the basket on the chair next to my bed. It
had my clothes in it. I reached for the shoe with the socks in it and
fished out my Casio wristwatch. It showed 3:25pm, approx. I got my phone out of my other shoe. Checked it for emails and messages. All clear. Read an article or two on BBC.com about the arrangements for Queen Elizabeth's funeral. Wanted to send a text message to my wife. She was still at work. I didn't want to disturb her, but I wanted to let her know things were okay. She beat me to the punch about half an hour later;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKuAhHDgFF_dcs6jm0RjQCuyy54en_G2WY77JuNjx5ZW6Bdmt0ckSGyGf4obzEq5OwEqnmR7ovra_wZkv9R2zy_clKoRf3CVcjL881_CO_0BOUWzKjiH9XXkC9BKg8ATehv_cisUpia0CNUe8aGAc__SCKgd5aCI8_gCl9-2AlWETgBvhDrq45xrApQ/s852/3%20gif%20edited.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="852" data-original-width="750" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKuAhHDgFF_dcs6jm0RjQCuyy54en_G2WY77JuNjx5ZW6Bdmt0ckSGyGf4obzEq5OwEqnmR7ovra_wZkv9R2zy_clKoRf3CVcjL881_CO_0BOUWzKjiH9XXkC9BKg8ATehv_cisUpia0CNUe8aGAc__SCKgd5aCI8_gCl9-2AlWETgBvhDrq45xrApQ/w176-h200/3%20gif%20edited.jpg" width="176" /></a></div><br /> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Waiting for you to wake up</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">wondering how you are </span></span></span>💗</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> <span style="color: #2b00fe;"> Woke up in recovery/Post-Op about an hour ago. I'm lucid, but talking slowly, feeling a little punch-drunk. And sleepy. Otherwise all good. Please do not worry.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Love you glad okay rest</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> <span style="color: #2b00fe;">They took my blood pressure a few times. Feet feel numb. Love you too. Thanks for all your help and reassurances. Staff here are great. Like 24 Hours in A & E. *<br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><i>*24 Hours in A & E</i> is a British documentary series which follows 24 hour periods in one of London's busiest Accident & Emergency hospitals. </span></span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Everybody I spoke to in the lead-up to this op told me not to worry, but the only person I listened to was my wife. She knew of my concerns regarding the anaesthetic and she provided the soothing voice of reason whenever my worry surfaced. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I slowly drifted into sleep. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dinner was around five-thirty pm. The tray was placed on the over-bed table. I lifted the plastic lid off the main dish.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Warning - The following photo contains images of hospital food. </i><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-et6WrePC0RRDnKkpG9t2oPrdz-mSOt20EmFqkukRsc2BQEoTVJx3dUN0TFO3_rdw3KlBL5xMQRGGuj97bphPHVFgwA0bXnqolYlZ-JdZXu4t6-7wswy6Vapjm7LclFn7qeSEQJDAUd3idCWCRPYq-TH2jZYcm6Mkssp64QyOboxjlzVLhs5H5F55Lg/s1280/dinner.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-et6WrePC0RRDnKkpG9t2oPrdz-mSOt20EmFqkukRsc2BQEoTVJx3dUN0TFO3_rdw3KlBL5xMQRGGuj97bphPHVFgwA0bXnqolYlZ-JdZXu4t6-7wswy6Vapjm7LclFn7qeSEQJDAUd3idCWCRPYq-TH2jZYcm6Mkssp64QyOboxjlzVLhs5H5F55Lg/w300-h400/dinner.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>There's that long-standing gag about hospital food being inedible. Truth be told, I wasn't all that hungry, but I felt it may be wise to eat whatever's put in front of me. Fuel the healing process wherever possible. If it tasted bad, I'd leave it be. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I took a photo of it and sent it to my wife. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Mushy peas!!! </i>was her reply. Diced lamb, carrot, peas and rice. Actually, the menu slip accompanying this meal stated that it was Braised Lamb with Mint, with diced carrot, steamed rice and, yep, mushy peas. It was warm. Would have been nicer if it was hotter, but that was a minor quibble. It tasted fine. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">If anything, I was more in the mood for the cup of tea that was on the tray. Sometimes, a cup of tea works wonders. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And, I think I shouldn't have had the <i>Tiramisu. </i> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was feeling tired after dinner, so I think I may have closed my eyes and had a snooze. Woke up at some point, checked my Instagram - why, I don't know - and quickly clicked a tab on my phone which landed me on a wristwatch forum. Just wanting to see that the world hadn't changed significantly while I was gone. Nope, all still the same. People still putting up pics of watches on their wrists and asking if they looked to big or small for them. People still complaining about how long it takes to repair a wristwatch. People still joining up on the forums to ask if their newly-inherited wristwatch was real or fake. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-BKx9EeOmWT-fJLBKNOkcP7AuAU2B9Zf8hCidpZo8DgCOJ360bVSEjyAP65XROn9Zju-ak6A-Rxk85aszllrIdmMNr1LGlIut4RvklM5hHuieCXN4zEHNAJlm83TLb-nDmyzYk34DG5lp1Ydp74H4SUHaMRLTlzJR6krNQfSCtIkDRvtn4WYcxTswA/s1024/Pietro%20Annigoni%201955,%20QEII.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="625" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-BKx9EeOmWT-fJLBKNOkcP7AuAU2B9Zf8hCidpZo8DgCOJ360bVSEjyAP65XROn9Zju-ak6A-Rxk85aszllrIdmMNr1LGlIut4RvklM5hHuieCXN4zEHNAJlm83TLb-nDmyzYk34DG5lp1Ydp74H4SUHaMRLTlzJR6krNQfSCtIkDRvtn4WYcxTswA/w390-h640/Pietro%20Annigoni%201955,%20QEII.jpg" width="390" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I then switched over to the BBC.com tab and read some more news about the lead-up to Queen Elizabeth's funeral. I don't think I'm a royalist, but it really does feel like the end of an
era, and the end of a certain type of monarch. You can say what you will about the necessity or relevance of a monarchy in this modern age, but there's no denying that Her Royal Highness took her role seriously throughout her 70-year reign. That alone is to be commended. The old-world term 'steadfast' - a word that really isn't used much these days - applies to Queen Elizabeth II. Certainly, she held those old-fashioned British values of 'show little to no emotion' and 'keep a stiff upper lip', but you have to admire her consistency. Also, let's face it, over the years, she did appear to show her humourous side from time to time, just to prove that she wasn't totally different to the rest of us. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Having read so much
espionage fiction over the years, the term 'Queen and country' cropped
up often enough to give the phrase a certain <i>gravitas, </i>in my view. A certain nobility and higher calling which goes beyond merely doing something for the benefit of one's government. The term holds that very old-world notion, which dates it back to an earlier era, be it the 16th, 18th or 20th century. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hmm, maybe I <i>am</i> a royalist. I've included this 1955 portrait by Pietro Annigoni, who was famous for painting in the Renaissance style. This portrait was briefly seen in the Bond film <i>On Her Majesty's Secret Service </i>(Dir: Peter Hunt, 1969), when - SPOILER ALERT - Bond hands in his resignation from the Service and raises a glass of Scotch to the painting hanging in his office. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Wednesday 22:01</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Slept for an hour or so. Just had some antibiotics into the back of my hand, and an injection into my stomach to prevent blood clotting. Not feeling very sleepy right now, but the nurse may be back at one am to give me Panadol. If I'm awake. Nighty night!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-family: arial;">- T xxxooo</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Now I'm feeling a little tired...</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Ok sweets won't ring sounds like you've got a lot in your system</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Rest</span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I fell asleep shortly after and, sure enough, at around one am, the nurse came in and gave me some tablets. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWf8EVGwguiMM9UjM0874lfd-80vWiMxFIYsEC02pzBhMQ_fAjNr_w7WXOwmJ8z2lQMHVUxV43zKlsOHkDt8SXVAC99zn190e_Kw5cYQbVW7PmDZMbE-MXMmW2B2WLAdYq3-qvOXzpg6l_28rcsqOP3jooXkahY9OUB18cFomVWDzNvbVeXYuw1-2YCA/s1272/14th%20-1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1185" data-original-width="1272" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWf8EVGwguiMM9UjM0874lfd-80vWiMxFIYsEC02pzBhMQ_fAjNr_w7WXOwmJ8z2lQMHVUxV43zKlsOHkDt8SXVAC99zn190e_Kw5cYQbVW7PmDZMbE-MXMmW2B2WLAdYq3-qvOXzpg6l_28rcsqOP3jooXkahY9OUB18cFomVWDzNvbVeXYuw1-2YCA/w400-h373/14th%20-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Here's the Casio MRW-200H, ticking along. <br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The next morning, three doctors came in to see how I was doing. By now, the numbness and painkillers were beginning to wear off and it began to feel like somebody was slowly, oh so very slowly, slicing open the top of my big toes, at the first joint, just below the nail bed. The toe of my right foot was beginning to bruise also. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>How are we this morning</i>?, one of them asked.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Well, </i>I said,<i> it feels like a razor blade is cutting the top of my toes. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Yes, that'll be the anaesthetic wearing off, </i>he replied. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">A few more minutes of chit-chat. They seemed happy with how the procedure went. That was that. Off they went. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was due to be discharged at 9:30am. Before that, I would be visited by the pharmacist, physiotherapist and I'd have to get another set of x-rays done. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Things started happening a little faster. I had breakfast (corn flakes, two slices of cold toast, orange juice, a cup of tea) and then was put into a wheel-chair - on which I had to fold down the spring-loaded foot-rests myself, for fuck's sake! - and was whisked over to the Radiology room to get some sexy pics of my foot skeletons taken.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">That done, I was wheeled back to my bed. Pretty soon, I got a visit from the pharmacist, who informed me of the medication. Firstly, I was instructed to take paracetamol tablets regularly for the first three to five days. I was also prescribed a five-pack of Endone, a painkiller, to be used only for strong pain. She handed me the prescriptions for the painkillers and wished me well.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, now to get out of this hospital gown and into my own clothes. This would take a while. Last thing I wanted to do was put any pressure on the stitched-up parts of my feet. I had a plan, though. The trick would be that, no matter what I did, I was to stay aware of the position of my feet at all times. And, I should ensure that I was 'anchored' properly. That is to say, I'd better not lean too far forward or back, to avoid slipping. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Because that would really ruin my day. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I had brought in a pair of Zanerobe ath-leisure (hated term) jogger pants. They had a draw-string waist. No belt. Good. One less thing to worry about. The cuffs were wide enough to allow my bandaged and swollen feet to get through. Good. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I took my time. Got both feet into them without screaming. Then a T-shirt. Then a hoodie. I sat back on the bed and raised the pillow higher so that I could lie back a little more upright. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was around 9:30am by now. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My
wife had already sent me a text message to say that she had arrived. I
told her of the delay. She replied, saying that she'd grab a coffee at
the nearby cafe and text me back when she was on her way back to the
hospital. <br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The physiotherapist arrived soon after, to ask if I'd need a chair for use in the shower once I was back at home. I explained that we had a metal stool that would work well enough. She then told me of a medical supply store nearby that sold the plastic waterproof leggings that I would need to wear in the shower, in order to keep the bandages dry. I took the address off her. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, she explained the crutches to me. I would have free use of them for the first month, but after that, they'd cost me $8.oo a week to hire. No problem. I signed the paperwork for them. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">A few minutes later, I was good to go. I slung my overnight bag onto a shoulder and bid farewell to the staff, and especially the nurse who looked after me during my stay. <i>Thanks, Lily!</i> They asked me if I wanted a wheel-chair. No thanks, I figured I'd get used to the crutches that I'd just slid my forearms into. My mobile phone buzzed, to say I had a message. Another nurse walked me slowly round to the reception area and out the door where my wife was waiting for me. Man, she was a sight for sore eyes! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">She asked me if I wanted her to bring the car around. It was parked about four car spaces away from where I was standing. We walked over to it and she opened up the rear passenger side and placed the crutches in. I eased myself into the passenger seat in front. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the way home, we stopped off at the medical supply store and the pharmacy. Then we got home and I slowly worked the crutches along the driveway and got myself into the house and parked on the couch where there was a foot-stool with two cushions on it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">That's where I stayed for most of the day. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6sCCQEqQ9Wb4R5vvzzBXfF-ROp9rZmv8J7-mV-gDEbvvkM0RT03SpLkpiskNhYtNnBdfmkMMUngNHPUt994g9TkP0KRT-Y1bBpJpqdC4L6jcBpJNDEoQ-jIiIh7dHk1a2NfkXVPFNZFqDrpGwP9ytuBgH9l6h_Tu64txOcoomsdectFTsDBP0fgLN0g/s1271/23rd.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1052" data-original-width="1271" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6sCCQEqQ9Wb4R5vvzzBXfF-ROp9rZmv8J7-mV-gDEbvvkM0RT03SpLkpiskNhYtNnBdfmkMMUngNHPUt994g9TkP0KRT-Y1bBpJpqdC4L6jcBpJNDEoQ-jIiIh7dHk1a2NfkXVPFNZFqDrpGwP9ytuBgH9l6h_Tu64txOcoomsdectFTsDBP0fgLN0g/w400-h331/23rd.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Finally got back into reading once I'd settled into a sort of routine at home. I finished off <i>The Man With The Golden Gun</i> and then promptly began Anthony Horowitz's third Bond continuation novel, <i>With A Mind To Kill</i>, which takes place two weeks after the events of <i>TMWTGG. </i>Forty pages in and I'm very curious to see where this story will go. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Casio still on the wrist.<br /> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">These bunions first began bothering me sometime around 2008. They would ache from time to time during the day, but it was at night when I got into bed that I would really feel the pain. My feet would feel as though they had been run over. I knew I had to get them operated on at some point. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's been a long time getting to this point and now, the recovery was just beginning.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I wanted to give it the best chance possible. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Let's see how I go over the next few weeks. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thanks for reading!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-19892017957254266372022-09-04T03:34:00.001-07:002022-09-04T03:34:42.189-07:00Busy Start to 2022 | Part 3 - April to August ; Settling In To New Job / Time To Fix The Place Up / Unexpected Calls + Recent Wristwatches<div><p>This post will be longer, as it will cover four months and will ramble on and on, flicking back and forth between April and July. </p><p>Sorry. </p><p>Anyway...</p><p>...Early April. The Omega Planet Ocean got a little time on the wrist.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSWvAPYpZR_X_r-fwTRTZWH_M9TwJiXZ40VoCvM6Tq5nbW_K6BC3Gf9_YtlhAtN9PzfCkdQAr45-qQ-iko5Fru8SbjvwuxKZuS396iRHeSqtLb6P2yGJpbiZ_ZGpLHnBG0rjQJUx1_dNO3EvCxQPIZWC82jQSbQeqU8XMDTnYO5TasItvr_krfLAgHw/s1280/4th%20-2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSWvAPYpZR_X_r-fwTRTZWH_M9TwJiXZ40VoCvM6Tq5nbW_K6BC3Gf9_YtlhAtN9PzfCkdQAr45-qQ-iko5Fru8SbjvwuxKZuS396iRHeSqtLb6P2yGJpbiZ_ZGpLHnBG0rjQJUx1_dNO3EvCxQPIZWC82jQSbQeqU8XMDTnYO5TasItvr_krfLAgHw/s320/4th%20-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have a huge jar filled with old matchbooks. They come in handy for lighting the stove-top burners in the kitchen (when we run out of boxed matches) and the gas heaters in the lounge areas of the house. And the occasional incense stick. I also tend to use them in photos here and there. For atmosphere. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I started reading <i>The Heart of Danger</i> by Gerald Seymour sometime in April. Written in 1995, it concerns a disgraced MI5 operative who now works for a small-time detective agency in the UK. A woman hires him to find out who killed her daughter, who had gone into war-torn Croatia and gotten caught up in the conflict. Seymour was a journalist before turning to fiction writing and he has had a prolific writing career. He writes well, and some passages are hard to get through, as he gives very brief descriptions of the atrocities occurring in this civil war in the former Yugoslavia, leaving the reader to ponder them afterwards, using their imaginations to fill in the gaps. I have two or three other books of his on my espionage shelf. One of them is an uncorrected proof copy of <i>Holding The Zero</i>, which I got back in the late '90s when I worked at a Borders bookstore. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAKFD5Neoj83Zej015UtcyS5INfYsmwO1XcOK0aGUwdGnLfVot3tfmYyvUraUG7fGZg0g7a155CWJpCfv6e2SxlCmFdvh-6bg-ExZSH7a5o3l9XYBLqung5aw9HWYm_m8RDnGqoOPPFj3UHgBNT-X9KVLPWNyi1mfzaHt4E0k2cUGzZ59XIxOvbjmkBw/s2456/25-6-22.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1293" data-original-width="2456" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAKFD5Neoj83Zej015UtcyS5INfYsmwO1XcOK0aGUwdGnLfVot3tfmYyvUraUG7fGZg0g7a155CWJpCfv6e2SxlCmFdvh-6bg-ExZSH7a5o3l9XYBLqung5aw9HWYm_m8RDnGqoOPPFj3UHgBNT-X9KVLPWNyi1mfzaHt4E0k2cUGzZ59XIxOvbjmkBw/w640-h336/25-6-22.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWI0csPnEasAAcCKJmjWdq-7pn3BSQKT7Ntx4-9ZlOuA0sXiz1vTI-BIKlbvi2J7IrDuXVtVJodxybhnUlvMVSPjm0O1ERHCS_nGflp6jwYtrTKqSk7uJaM4j3D1Y0cdUMEw_L9KSeJV72J3-srFQy69YdfwKUHfJYz3DX-lbRsGr4tN8eV1A6z5cOiA/s1280/7th.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWI0csPnEasAAcCKJmjWdq-7pn3BSQKT7Ntx4-9ZlOuA0sXiz1vTI-BIKlbvi2J7IrDuXVtVJodxybhnUlvMVSPjm0O1ERHCS_nGflp6jwYtrTKqSk7uJaM4j3D1Y0cdUMEw_L9KSeJV72J3-srFQy69YdfwKUHfJYz3DX-lbRsGr4tN8eV1A6z5cOiA/s320/7th.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i>"What's wrong with your arm?", </i>asked the girl behind the coffee machine as she was making me a <i>latté </i>on that Thursday afternoon in April.<br /><i></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was taking a picture of the machine's logo with my watch in the frame, so I held up my arm at a slightly awkward angle while using my other hand to tap my iPhone's screen in order to focus the shot of the Tudor Ranger on my wrist.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>"Oh, it cramps up sometimes along the forearm", </i>I replied as I slid my phone back into my pocket and fished out a five dollar note to pay for the coffee. That wasn't a total fib, mind you. This forearm cramp actually happens from time to time with my right arm. If I reach into my inside-left jacket pocket with my right hand, my forearm muscle 'locks up' and feels quite tight, making it difficult for me to straighten my wrist. Gotta get that looked at someday, but it's a difficult thing to replicate in a doctor's office, as it doesn't happen to me all the time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">La Marzocco is a coffee machine manufacturer and I had never heard of them until about five or six years ago when it seemed that they were suddenly everywhere. The brand must've launched a very aggressive expansion campaign at some point because they appear to have muscled their way in to a lot of restaurants and cafés in recent years. Nice machines, and I have been told that they are one of the biggest sellers in Italy. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">July 10th, 2022</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> The extra solar panels have been installed. The battery has been fitted to a wall in the carport. Now we just have to wait for some dude from the solar energy authority to come around and inspect the work and sign off on it. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, I forgot where this blog post was heading from here. Oh, that's right, work has begun on the main bathroom. And, like any renovation, the time-frame and pricing have both stretched out a little. To be expected, I guess.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is the bathroom located to the rear of the house, close to the kid's bedrooms, so basically, they use it. The main bedroom has a tiny<i> en-suite</i> attached to it. My wife and I will consider getting it fixered/uppered at some point in future. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">A few other watches worn in April;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaYOsUuCauXbxhWmeTFRZLoOivqVj0eGD_EFUkTSnyPy1eT4bBLPXB28FSSIF2JxBv5sdWKKJH9a0XB3kn8T4kImRIg2UQ-FdUyzHWugtvU2EsQHqfbzTW2FgO56_q_GHUFGSBIcoAMNW9zXMTadID-Tw5HspEZ69vRwoSg_O4tRIB6jtebyVcNYUpKg/s1280/9th.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaYOsUuCauXbxhWmeTFRZLoOivqVj0eGD_EFUkTSnyPy1eT4bBLPXB28FSSIF2JxBv5sdWKKJH9a0XB3kn8T4kImRIg2UQ-FdUyzHWugtvU2EsQHqfbzTW2FgO56_q_GHUFGSBIcoAMNW9zXMTadID-Tw5HspEZ69vRwoSg_O4tRIB6jtebyVcNYUpKg/w400-h400/9th.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx8Efd1J1YjHs9YX97N1IqjqASnnyf_5ACfyvM8MLozKD0ejsfPZajr2BMnulLykZFIqVuBB9vpNZDouOc_BipdoSStjEeFK5149e7RFc10wjl0OPHOUpWf16fatSNSGaGo5GjoK-WhW7QtVBXT65EN1vmrzHMjHnXh5PnGf-xSGWj3ZA2XYN4lTHPBg/s1280/12th.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx8Efd1J1YjHs9YX97N1IqjqASnnyf_5ACfyvM8MLozKD0ejsfPZajr2BMnulLykZFIqVuBB9vpNZDouOc_BipdoSStjEeFK5149e7RFc10wjl0OPHOUpWf16fatSNSGaGo5GjoK-WhW7QtVBXT65EN1vmrzHMjHnXh5PnGf-xSGWj3ZA2XYN4lTHPBg/w400-h400/12th.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>It's been ten years since my Mother died. And as the saying goes, time marches on regardless. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I light a candle for both of my parents every year on the anniversaries of their passing and I lit a candle for them at Notre Dame when my family visited Paris in 2016, and again at a number of churches throughout Rome during the remainder of the trip. It seemed like a fitting thing to do. I think it's a tradition that I'll continue whenever I travel. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The watch seen in this photo is a Swatch watch that I bought for Mum sometime back in the early '90s. She used to wear an automatic Citizen watch that she got back in the 1970s, but that watch stopped working a long time ago. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The crown on this Swatch seems to be on its last legs, as it's heavily worn down. This watch was definitely put through its paces over the years and I was surprised to find that it still worked once I had a new battery installed. I bought a new rubber strap for it, because the existing metal bracelet was stretched and I couldn't be bothered removing any links from it to size it up for my wrist. I may wear it from time to time, or I just might 'archive' it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I bought a bamboo tray six months ago and my plan is to make a 'box frame' out of it. I plan to display my Dad's Gillette safety razor, Wyler wristwatch, and Identity Card that he received when he landed on these shores in 1952. Along with these items of his, I'll add a ring that Mum wore, one of her neck scarves, and this Swatch watch. Ideally, it will still be working, so that this box frame of items will also double as a wall clock. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijkO7fx6iry9ZLVOou11RkBh8xFv6dARQLPmhEkOT46YGbr2S-VwAFa_3DGqviDgW-TOnOECQs84rkiAEigU21uBXzLG7tr7abPfAt0HiiS2jimDHsdfCcBNPx6VOCl3wl0Nsk9xi6iezHrPrLF-S1xnnLOfz9YcslKes6EAeAugl9AQFsvqcweauV4Q/s1280/13th.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijkO7fx6iry9ZLVOou11RkBh8xFv6dARQLPmhEkOT46YGbr2S-VwAFa_3DGqviDgW-TOnOECQs84rkiAEigU21uBXzLG7tr7abPfAt0HiiS2jimDHsdfCcBNPx6VOCl3wl0Nsk9xi6iezHrPrLF-S1xnnLOfz9YcslKes6EAeAugl9AQFsvqcweauV4Q/w400-h400/13th.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>This mid-1960s Seikomatic Weekdater always brings up images in my head of Japanese brands that I don't see around much anymore. Sanyo, Datsun, National Panasonic, for example. Sure, Datsun was renamed Nissan at some point, but the old name has more of a classic '60s and '70s vibe to it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This Weekdater can be a hassle to set the day and date function on, but it's a nice watch nonetheless. And this one is a pretty clean example, too.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Saturday, July 23rd, 2022</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> My wife and I still have these 'flu's, for crying out loud! </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was feeling better on Thursday and then woke up yesterday with a spiky throat and spent the day at work filling my office bin (trash can) with dirty Kleenex. Keeping Kimberly-Clark in the black!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I wonder if it had anything to do with Wednesday?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;">DISSOLVE TO: </span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;">INSERT - TYPECAST PAGE ONE</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1QVB8VhNkidMJGevzyfSfpWEASdCpozQgd3uJfGlyTSpun6D9sJ9YntbBbWN5uEcjrXj7s03n7xmz--JX8vnBCWWHD-aiyoLbiq-KJRgxK7puFRERWSCWHyfWKWCQo6W05besF6go1kc5MfIiomCtU52jnKznG7crNfyQYA7Ja1Jphv6mFLrfYaxbhA/s2315/typecast%2021-7-22%20-pg1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2315" data-original-width="1632" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1QVB8VhNkidMJGevzyfSfpWEASdCpozQgd3uJfGlyTSpun6D9sJ9YntbBbWN5uEcjrXj7s03n7xmz--JX8vnBCWWHD-aiyoLbiq-KJRgxK7puFRERWSCWHyfWKWCQo6W05besF6go1kc5MfIiomCtU52jnKznG7crNfyQYA7Ja1Jphv6mFLrfYaxbhA/w451-h640/typecast%2021-7-22%20-pg1.jpg" width="451" /></a></div><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZM6FfvdN7N_TnBCbsSxHh0UplEtVNkTjAQpuq9WkOBt6-edKNXoF7QgEc-LjXhPtWa-B4FH0v7JNp6oD9bub-uYcG_TQzZshLzn7IfSw_NmP6C470aM7PAj7hL2nv1GYGZ3v2X8qeZv6R8u27ZOxDx5uCopjaOCpda44HHwTn7r8sFxyhHJbY76TXcw/s1660/typecast%2021-7-22%20-pg2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1660" data-original-width="1631" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZM6FfvdN7N_TnBCbsSxHh0UplEtVNkTjAQpuq9WkOBt6-edKNXoF7QgEc-LjXhPtWa-B4FH0v7JNp6oD9bub-uYcG_TQzZshLzn7IfSw_NmP6C470aM7PAj7hL2nv1GYGZ3v2X8qeZv6R8u27ZOxDx5uCopjaOCpda44HHwTn7r8sFxyhHJbY76TXcw/w630-h640/typecast%2021-7-22%20-pg2.jpg" width="630" /></a></div></span></b>And that's where things currently stand. Wait a sec. This post is all over the place, with its back-and-forth approach. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Let me consult my diary and see if I can add a little more to an already long post. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><b>APRIL</b></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEuWjhQXZ5Fi4UpVExbZffkynudE67hffZbx2auHWpqOksJLViUKOef-PAJc2ruW2N3fyv7oKiBwfRiTMX1J8KBTzTp1DcWxTzcA82PF86n_fFKZfzYcyG5-qWc28gE1GQrCNH6JGwaU5MJqAsQZr8BHPnkssS1110UlCQVJlSGZYBlbvOMt95caymLQ/s1280/8th%20-2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEuWjhQXZ5Fi4UpVExbZffkynudE67hffZbx2auHWpqOksJLViUKOef-PAJc2ruW2N3fyv7oKiBwfRiTMX1J8KBTzTp1DcWxTzcA82PF86n_fFKZfzYcyG5-qWc28gE1GQrCNH6JGwaU5MJqAsQZr8BHPnkssS1110UlCQVJlSGZYBlbvOMt95caymLQ/s320/8th%20-2.jpg" width="320" /></a>I had the porcelain crowns fitted to the implants that I had done back in August last year. And thus ends this
long saga. Bit of luck, I'll still be able to chew on steak when I'm an
old man. The dentist did tell me to floss more, and to start using an electric toothbrush as well. Man, so much to remember! I had some mild toothaches and associated headaches in the first few weeks after this procedure, but now (late July), things seem to have settled down. So that's the top part of my body sorted. I wore the Omega Railmaster 36mm on the day I had this procedure done. This is a great watch, one of my favourites, and one that I'll hold on to. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGS-7N2gcuySlP7lWc4bmwNQBULvfppJ3R5Eptw2cqIA60mgOb0Yif1pQNN_HQXHhXvJ0DwKeMokjpXjS_iMoB4OGjgYS76I1PZwi_G3A-13la9nVIMYOPDZfhcL_DXKnWxKs3XYKOGX7UZkidYOH8KQDwKSS-QyLyLNYH-QkfGNPDPB0B6IWisb67Vw/s1006/19th%20-2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="986" data-original-width="1006" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGS-7N2gcuySlP7lWc4bmwNQBULvfppJ3R5Eptw2cqIA60mgOb0Yif1pQNN_HQXHhXvJ0DwKeMokjpXjS_iMoB4OGjgYS76I1PZwi_G3A-13la9nVIMYOPDZfhcL_DXKnWxKs3XYKOGX7UZkidYOH8KQDwKSS-QyLyLNYH-QkfGNPDPB0B6IWisb67Vw/s320/19th%20-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This here is the Casio MRW-200H-1B. It's all plastic, which makes it very, very light. It's battery-powered, so you can just set it and forget it. It's got luminous hands and markers, although they are not very bright. It's 100metres water-resistant, so you could wear it snorkeling if you wanted to. It's got a day and date feature. Its $38AUD off eBay. Which makes it pretty easy to forgive its shortcomings. And yes, the bezel rotates. Very handy for lunch breaks and parking meters.<br />This would make a very good travel watch. If it got lost or damaged, it would be cheap enough to replace. You can also get one in steel for about $60AUD. The specs list it as 45mm in diameter, but I think it may be smaller than that because it sits quite nicely on my 6.5 inch wrist. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4k4yxXMkZw-wvnhrF-Xmvr7wEttBGob3iFtvEhxCNph6B0HAizaHRSlhiGTueZ3uHxr90qIhgTg4ymmrtfikBshQeQ21u-77B9CURByDVWILo8k0fH1jGmuVZzDwsMoG8YvEF7d3mXndlBG0JnyPk70vngIR6q0a-p2kIbVaQ6XO1V7U-FPRL4NLTLQ/s2495/Main.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2299" data-original-width="2495" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4k4yxXMkZw-wvnhrF-Xmvr7wEttBGob3iFtvEhxCNph6B0HAizaHRSlhiGTueZ3uHxr90qIhgTg4ymmrtfikBshQeQ21u-77B9CURByDVWILo8k0fH1jGmuVZzDwsMoG8YvEF7d3mXndlBG0JnyPk70vngIR6q0a-p2kIbVaQ6XO1V7U-FPRL4NLTLQ/w400-h369/Main.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Sold this watch in April. Although, I must say, eBay's cut of the profits really took the fun out of the entire process. That place is definitely a buyer's market rather than a seller's. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Reason I sold this Oris was because I had found it wasn't getting much wear. In the interests of thinning down the collection and getting it to a stable of watches that get regular time on the wrist, I felt it better to move this one along. Also, with a diameter of 40mm, I thought it was a little large for the kind of watch that it is. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">At any rate, its new owner in Canada is enjoying it, and that's the main thing. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b> </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><u><b>MAY</b></u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b> </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> Prime Minister Scott Morrison lost the Federal Election. Good. He handled this country's Covid response badly. And that's as politixy as I'll get. <br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQj2g4jXUDL59XW5zt1HGXQAlg3AexUaF-cbkPB7EeimEinRltNi-D6v8WV5AdZcGCSF4w2Gi6PxC4o1O3Ld2GKvmjDI6GTajnmFsEUE_SECaXzcnk_XmRK1xLQqayMM0QKIT888VrGQOhAHQrik3oP-vJVzwfDnL3Y09U1SPNFRRjcsprXNah6TjHpw/s1280/5th%20-Nope.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="1280" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQj2g4jXUDL59XW5zt1HGXQAlg3AexUaF-cbkPB7EeimEinRltNi-D6v8WV5AdZcGCSF4w2Gi6PxC4o1O3Ld2GKvmjDI6GTajnmFsEUE_SECaXzcnk_XmRK1xLQqayMM0QKIT888VrGQOhAHQrik3oP-vJVzwfDnL3Y09U1SPNFRRjcsprXNah6TjHpw/w400-h211/5th%20-Nope.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>I had planned on wearing the Sinn 103 St Sa chronograph one day in May and, as I was setting the time and date on it, this happened. The date disc got jammed between two numbers. Now, since I bought this watch back in 2009 and it has never been serviced (<i>shame on you, Teeritz!)</i>, I figured it's well and truly overdue for some attention, so I contacted the Sinn Service Centre and made some enquiries regarding pricing and such. Although, I should also get my wife's Sinn 556a serviced as well at some point, as it's losing about three minutes a day. I got it for her back in 2014, so it's definitely due for some work. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmFuqES8GcxN0wOJy6SzjeuF1rCoz8qjeZgEIUcUdqqN4tWrHxQZKV2Jir0VXHhivljroQwOmVEu4O5BQAVjqMKO3mssekmQoEsx2TFAa277-GR4NMBMzL_YkGpMY8fFg37Qsm2rAoZuHp3LKQ66jhMHgcgw4Pavpx9-SYnaArfKFL3VwobZ1nUybgEg/s1280/18th.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmFuqES8GcxN0wOJy6SzjeuF1rCoz8qjeZgEIUcUdqqN4tWrHxQZKV2Jir0VXHhivljroQwOmVEu4O5BQAVjqMKO3mssekmQoEsx2TFAa277-GR4NMBMzL_YkGpMY8fFg37Qsm2rAoZuHp3LKQ66jhMHgcgw4Pavpx9-SYnaArfKFL3VwobZ1nUybgEg/s320/18th.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>And the Tudor Ranger got some regular wear in June. I've taken it off the bracelet and put it on a strap. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tudor released a new Ranger model in early July and it is a dead ringer for this model, except that it measures a modern 39mm in diameter instead of 34mm like this one here. Just as well, I suppose. If it had been, say, 37mm, I'd be in trouble. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I must say, I'm a sucker for a nice expedition watch like this. It makes for a clean and
legible dial layout. While there's no real definitive explanation out there regarding this style of watch, my humble opinion states that an expedition watch will tend to have fewer numerals on the dial than a military or pilot's watch, which will usually have all twelve numbers around the dial, unless they remove one for the date window or two for the date window and brand logo (or triangle) at the twelve o'clock position. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><b>JUNE</b></u><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_qYq99fxEn1P3qXkZ4aRzrptnV3KqGGskiV67sn2sZONJhoRuZdDWodGra5C_KUoNJWee9FCQcgW3SyT8aYo8k49MxKIBa-k_8tCOQQNaLmdC0bfojiOSvwz8e0zIbVJoLq3UQbMheXa3Qkvmn2cqT6K4Us34gm6EutXnpKA0BKwEaddWSXoSTgNiUA/s1280/1st%20-%20night.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="965" data-original-width="1280" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_qYq99fxEn1P3qXkZ4aRzrptnV3KqGGskiV67sn2sZONJhoRuZdDWodGra5C_KUoNJWee9FCQcgW3SyT8aYo8k49MxKIBa-k_8tCOQQNaLmdC0bfojiOSvwz8e0zIbVJoLq3UQbMheXa3Qkvmn2cqT6K4Us34gm6EutXnpKA0BKwEaddWSXoSTgNiUA/w400-h301/1st%20-%20night.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>My Nikon FE had an issue where the shutter wouldn't press down after winding on the film to the next frame. A camera repairer in the city quoted me $320.oo to service it. That was his basic price for servicing any 35mm film camera. I could have sworn his pricing was around $150.oo a couple of years ago. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, at the risk of making things worse, I figured I'd take a stab at fixing this issue myself. After some digging on the web, I found photos of how the underside's internals ought to look. There was one thin metal stem on the film advance section of my camera that looked like it wasn't latching on to another stem. Swiss Army Knife pliers to the rescue. Some gentle persuasion and now it looked like it would work as it should. I should mention that I had to unscrew the bottom plate ten or twelve times before I finally sorted this problem out, but the SAK pliers, some sewing machine oil and more than a little patience and I think it's going to work fine when I next load some film into it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Keeping time of this procedure was the Seiko SARB033. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnm5u2z6ufycME5RQty46TGup9d2_0hQxkyPw9u5VEmXuQgHrTkvKbOJgywGCYK8LE-S-pvnref7bwtZ8hZuWoVgcmRWtiqN9TEnUdrDnh1K1UW8ur0T9E3xd516oCZF1u_ojR3WMkl0Yef52KBYqg0U_nRJBWec676uphCks3oeelj1Nil6cLAcBHXA/s1208/4th.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="874" data-original-width="1208" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnm5u2z6ufycME5RQty46TGup9d2_0hQxkyPw9u5VEmXuQgHrTkvKbOJgywGCYK8LE-S-pvnref7bwtZ8hZuWoVgcmRWtiqN9TEnUdrDnh1K1UW8ur0T9E3xd516oCZF1u_ojR3WMkl0Yef52KBYqg0U_nRJBWec676uphCks3oeelj1Nil6cLAcBHXA/w400-h290/4th.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The Seiko Seikomatic Weekdater got a little wear in June. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I got a lot of time - pardon the pun - for Seiko. You can buy a Seiko watch for less than a hundred bucks, you can buy a Seiko watch for a couple of grand. If you venture into the world of Grand Seiko, you could spend three thousand to fifty thousand. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">While there is talk in the industry that things may change at Seiko over the next year or two, as the new CEO has said that Seiko can no longer be all things to all men, indicating that the brand may no longer offer anything for less than a thousand dollars, in an effort to move the brand a little more upmarket, Seiko has been so prolific for so long that you could easily snag something for a couple of hundred dollars for a long time to come. That was a long sentence!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I bought the audiobook - or rather, a MP3 version of it (<i>Read the fine print next time, Teeritz!</i>) - of <i>The Spy Who Loved Me</i>, read by the wonderful Rosamund Pike. I didn't get a case with the CD, just a plain paper sleeve. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So it was time to get a little creative. This is the original 1962 1st edition hardback artwork by Richard Chopping (picture from <a href="https://www.manhattanrarebooks.com">The Manhattan Rare Book Company</a>);</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvcLiHV5IzCDPuK3Gr-I-4iiwekHzdpLsh5RbZ3Ks905TMoxgfZBecmOTiJA57LKUb1LP1q_9pyXtMG6fUq_qt-1DyGIfsoy_FnUrk4umhR9I3FElwG5hVjUy_7Od0OvarI0dVwbMEq0-Mck_qZiyUvz1Fm3qeDNtJuxwhD0aUBf5-OzU72c1vXoNizg/s969/1399.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="969" data-original-width="660" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvcLiHV5IzCDPuK3Gr-I-4iiwekHzdpLsh5RbZ3Ks905TMoxgfZBecmOTiJA57LKUb1LP1q_9pyXtMG6fUq_qt-1DyGIfsoy_FnUrk4umhR9I3FElwG5hVjUy_7Od0OvarI0dVwbMEq0-Mck_qZiyUvz1Fm3qeDNtJuxwhD0aUBf5-OzU72c1vXoNizg/w273-h400/1399.jpg" width="273" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The classic Bond book motifs are there. Chopping's <span> <i>trompe</i>-l'œil style of painting, the knotted timber background, the stencil font. Of Ian Fleming's fourteen 1st Edition James Bond novels published by Jonathan Cape in London, Chopping's artwork would grace the covers of eight of them. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span>So, I thought I'd create a sleeve for the CD that would be slipped into a plastic DVD sleeve that I had. First of all, I wanted a picture of Rosamund Pike. Wait a second, I'd better throw in a little bit of back-story; <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span><i>The Spy Who Loved Me </i>was published in 1962 and was Fleming's attempt at doing something different. It is told in first person, by a woman named Vivienne Michel, a French-Canadian who is escaping a string of failed romances by heading to America. She makes a pit-stop at a small motor-court motel in the Adirondacks, which is closed mid-season and soon visited by a couple of shady thugs who take control of the place and hold her and the elderly owners against their will, and it's not until about two-thirds into the story that James Bond appears.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span>Fleming wasn't happy with reception to the book. When the Bond film rights were sold to EON Productions, he stipulated that nothing but the title of this book could be used if it were ever made into a film. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span>Okay, so I needed a picture of Rosamund Pike. I found a screen-shot from <i>Gone Girl </i>(Dir: David Fincher, 2014), the film that made the world sit up and take notice of Miss Rosamund Pike. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span>Next up, the font. I downloaded one called 'Cargo Crate' about seven or eight years ago. I also had a font called Royal Quiet De Luxe (courtesy of <a href="https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-fonts.html">Richard Polt's Classic Typewriter Page </a>) which I wanted to use, since Fleming himself used a Royal Quiet De Luxe typewriter. I cropped the photo down from its 16:9 aspect ratio, then ran it through Microsoft Paint so that I could add the text. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span>The end result. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmeICC9-okecPWUMLhEiAThwpPzSv7PykTMGElUOAW61323aM7uq1aP47DXCmU7mfP-EFEzFnBbfRDJMORFYmOXo0wwImwOA3bLwiRvnacDcvV8YTIUCKRCiIBu0pZeX-7C7T_2glxuHCKBEwuR3I8jXJbtcL1MPh38XpjzvxYHex2ulalUijwfzmP7g/s797/TSWLM%20audiobook%20-%20Copy%20(3).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="797" height="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmeICC9-okecPWUMLhEiAThwpPzSv7PykTMGElUOAW61323aM7uq1aP47DXCmU7mfP-EFEzFnBbfRDJMORFYmOXo0wwImwOA3bLwiRvnacDcvV8YTIUCKRCiIBu0pZeX-7C7T_2glxuHCKBEwuR3I8jXJbtcL1MPh38XpjzvxYHex2ulalUijwfzmP7g/w640-h638/TSWLM%20audiobook%20-%20Copy%20(3).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Miss Pike's hairstyle in this screen-cap is not properly representative of women's hairdos of the early 1960s, but I love the look on her face in this still. Looking at it now, it suits the Bond story nicely. It could be Vivienne Michel's initial expression upon seeing Bond appear as an unsuspecting guest at the motor court. She now knows that these two thugs will most likely rape and murder her before they leave and the appearance of this Englishman at the reception desk gives her some hope, without her knowing who he is or what he does for a living. Or it can also be read as the look of a woman who has just seen another guest arrive at the motel, knowing that he too will be killed by these two criminals before the week is over. <br /></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Z4b87vlEr5YPfpXJbU0OC-j_pauXFVSswpdLhEQus8UXOKLnoF_lXliy1i5W08DFjDxax3Q-FZ78HUGGZYGQcXupbr8cMHCtPbt9fLGhpOg9PP3gdqm0aTv3NgJeZWTokfl_XbqN1OBcZLXhuDUfsbDF3uz0BUqohA0SEU0zw7ug1GWItbZlQmd1jQ/s1245/10th.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1245" data-original-width="1212" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Z4b87vlEr5YPfpXJbU0OC-j_pauXFVSswpdLhEQus8UXOKLnoF_lXliy1i5W08DFjDxax3Q-FZ78HUGGZYGQcXupbr8cMHCtPbt9fLGhpOg9PP3gdqm0aTv3NgJeZWTokfl_XbqN1OBcZLXhuDUfsbDF3uz0BUqohA0SEU0zw7ug1GWItbZlQmd1jQ/s320/10th.jpg" width="312" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One more photo, aiming for the counter-top of some second-rate diner of the early Sixties. It's been over thirty years since I last read this book. I should have another read of it, but I've instead started re-reading <i>The Man With The Golden Gun</i>, Fleming's final full-length Bond novel. </div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Reason being that I recently purchased Anthony Horowitz's final Bond continuation novel, titled <i>With A Mind To Kill, </i>and it takes place about two weeks after the events of TMWTGG. So, I thought I'd read it again as a refresher.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span>I've got a couple of other books on the go as well at the moment. <i>The Best of A.A. Gill</i> is a collection of the late, great journalist/critic Gill's articles covering a variety of topics, from airports to Uganda, from New York to vegetarians. At times very funny, at times very moving, it's a reminder of what a gifted writer we lost back in 2016. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwOcMBYz8hg1wPVpJ6DvAcprATMpZelQRlWnat05YkXRTAWVeEsM8-G7IWZb3WwpciMtOy4eapXpq-T-UoGgaFFmeT8P-_GuzrvcVnB43CXV1sxCngAf1tKAp-OZ9-USQeWF9MlnglEX1ceBmUsIhSMNztMH9YtrSa2Cs64wIztxEEabNPzNYbYmvWAw/s1280/13th-2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1253" data-original-width="1280" height="391" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwOcMBYz8hg1wPVpJ6DvAcprATMpZelQRlWnat05YkXRTAWVeEsM8-G7IWZb3WwpciMtOy4eapXpq-T-UoGgaFFmeT8P-_GuzrvcVnB43CXV1sxCngAf1tKAp-OZ9-USQeWF9MlnglEX1ceBmUsIhSMNztMH9YtrSa2Cs64wIztxEEabNPzNYbYmvWAw/w400-h391/13th-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>This Seiko 5 DX 6106-8180 model from 1969 was on the chopping block for a few months. Then, I thought about getting a new strap for it to see how it would look. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>The case shape is very reminiscent of watches from that era and I figured I'd try turning it into a driver's watch. Not that there's any true definition of what that kind of watch would be, but I thought if I put a Rally strap onto the watch, it might jazz it up a little. Rally straps are called that because they have perforations in the leather, and this is meant to mimic the look of driver's gloves, which have those cool-looking holes on the knuckles, designed, presumably, to provide a little breathability from the leather while driving. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWFE_OJFjvufklMTHrho43nQHH8YdqyJdsjRNGuOo7LRFYWGI6jODmmhjOpokWLI4vw6UIta2vofxR3W8ATnrpkR6jLVPKKQNGaIs-rOLY2jJ9iEpvYpaBLjc8UXFSS1B_s0HziSW__Gac38wXvqoboO6SL_mExrda4bnoxVtHBUrKVN-NfHPdUOqNFQ/s1327/driving%20gloves%20-.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1115" data-original-width="1327" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWFE_OJFjvufklMTHrho43nQHH8YdqyJdsjRNGuOo7LRFYWGI6jODmmhjOpokWLI4vw6UIta2vofxR3W8ATnrpkR6jLVPKKQNGaIs-rOLY2jJ9iEpvYpaBLjc8UXFSS1B_s0HziSW__Gac38wXvqoboO6SL_mExrda4bnoxVtHBUrKVN-NfHPdUOqNFQ/w400-h336/driving%20gloves%20-.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>This picture, taken from...</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><a href="https://www.thegentlemansjournal.com/article/wear-driving-gloves-without-looking-like-idiot/">The Gentleman's Journal | How to Wear Driving Gloves (Without Looking Like an Idiot) </a><br /> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>...shows the type of gloves that I'm talking about. While I have worn leather gloves while driving on cold Winter mornings, I'm not sure that they go well with a 2006 Mazda 3 hatchback. These seem better suited to wooden dashboards and steering wheels, as evidenced in this photo. Still, in my own defence, my car is a stick-shift, with a candy-apple red paint job. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Anyway, back to the watch strap, I opted for something that would give the watch a sportier, automotive edge. The watch has a gold-toned chapter ring surrounding the dial, so I looked for a strap that would have a little gold stitching, but this was to no avail. In the end, I settled for orange stitch. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFxOMDd2NKqQh_sEo8YDD0XXEO4X2-pZuhCqzTCsjzb92WTpWITiVnOq6Hl_uJWV6h1xsPrlIhXO_bhInrGDGd3jeEK9IGtsSQdWOXiiF5nJ5qQANKJZUXRC2DhbuLNXs98lA7rrx0krdnTCX_5teUWiQ--dyKsIS0ksP2mvzcshv75sjrJUIVd0Pp2g/s1280/thumbnail_IMG_0025.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFxOMDd2NKqQh_sEo8YDD0XXEO4X2-pZuhCqzTCsjzb92WTpWITiVnOq6Hl_uJWV6h1xsPrlIhXO_bhInrGDGd3jeEK9IGtsSQdWOXiiF5nJ5qQANKJZUXRC2DhbuLNXs98lA7rrx0krdnTCX_5teUWiQ--dyKsIS0ksP2mvzcshv75sjrJUIVd0Pp2g/w400-h400/thumbnail_IMG_0025.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span><br /></div><div><span> </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The bathroom renovation that was started in the second week of July is still ongoing at the time of writing. The builder found some asbestos (natch) in the walls, so that had to be removed before the work could continue. Then, over on another wall there was a patch of black mould. This was due to a leaky tap (faucet) in the laundry. </p><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, the electrician discovered a live wire in the wall between the bathroom and the kitchen. The fun never ends. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">September 4th.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've just been very busy with work, and this flu has knocked us all around for quite a while. I first noticed my sore throat in late June. A few weeks ago, I made a doctor's appointment and was given a heap of medication to knock this thing on its head. It worked. By the end of August, I was finally back to whatever level of health I had before I got sick. My son got over his bout of this flu and my wife also saw her doctor about getting some medication for hers. It's been a nasty one this year, folks. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My bunion op is now ten days away, and there's other personal stuff going on that I won't go into. Suffice it to say that these are some stressful times I'm living in right now. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, glass-half-full and all that. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxR3yyrFouTYdKHVNYkRcTrsbq2JIkzhcPQo1zT7AaTy5w0VbQgAxoTdopC94OdrkP9zrDubqsPFNb86eYQHkVNr0pjgFsgZhbLlkb2SPTWd53wmUyMy15mYm5Cc0PJbTkWNlm-jpipr2Lx143_v6XvjWWd6xA68m2O_zRJceDR_l3TsgPCmgEu2Qmg/s1279/8th%20-3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1063" data-original-width="1279" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxR3yyrFouTYdKHVNYkRcTrsbq2JIkzhcPQo1zT7AaTy5w0VbQgAxoTdopC94OdrkP9zrDubqsPFNb86eYQHkVNr0pjgFsgZhbLlkb2SPTWd53wmUyMy15mYm5Cc0PJbTkWNlm-jpipr2Lx143_v6XvjWWd6xA68m2O_zRJceDR_l3TsgPCmgEu2Qmg/w400-h333/8th%20-3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Speaking of glasses, this one had a Dry Martini in it - along with a toothpick and three slivers of lemon peel - on a Friday night in July when I wore the Omega Railmaster. I've been adding a little more vermouth to my Martinis lately, just to see if A) I'd notice the difference, and B) whether or not I might prefer a little more vermouth in them. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Jury's still out. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was drinking less (as in not at all) while I had the flu, so maybe I'll wait till the upcoming warmer months and maybe try experimenting then. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, this post ran off the rails, so I'll sign off soon. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">To finish off, a quick rundown of some of August's watches. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh35n2IPCMoUVNS0bmJAXLJ3oOGlK8CmJ-SIQ34y8fXgt4VwuyiLm28QuRYRzHHo8YuAQmKEHExqMKs0HNnGo0Sn6Tv1GxvW9yfZWfm8rAjertjKo3ErHTCEy2WRRfwgaJJcPFvv1DWcu8ytyD6bfxeMQinikHO8gG5WPTmjRVsJytZJMz3sNwqemAXeQ/s1272/6th%20-%20morn.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1272" data-original-width="1223" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh35n2IPCMoUVNS0bmJAXLJ3oOGlK8CmJ-SIQ34y8fXgt4VwuyiLm28QuRYRzHHo8YuAQmKEHExqMKs0HNnGo0Sn6Tv1GxvW9yfZWfm8rAjertjKo3ErHTCEy2WRRfwgaJJcPFvv1DWcu8ytyD6bfxeMQinikHO8gG5WPTmjRVsJytZJMz3sNwqemAXeQ/w385-h400/6th%20-%20morn.jpg" width="385" /></a></div>I wore the Citizen Eco-Drive Nighthawk on the first Saturday in August when my son and I had a late-ish breakfast of pancakes and coffee - at the Australian equivalent of IHOP - before catching a morning session of <i>Bullet Train </i>(Dir: David Leitch, Columbia Pictures, 2022). </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I enjoyed this film. Some people have complained of the violence in it, but I thought it wasn't so bad, when compared to a Tarantino flick, for example. The story moved at a nice pace, the action scenes were clever, the funny scenes were well-placed throughout, and the characters were well-written. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was nice to see Brad Pitt playing against type also, as a retired killer (with anxiety and conscience-ridden issues regarding his chosen profession) code-named 'Ladybug', who takes on the job of retrieving a briefcase on board the train bound for Kyoto. Problem is, a bunch of other bad-guys want the case as well. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's a trope that's been done a million times, so the trick is to put a new spin on this type of story. These days, I don't take too much of my Film Studies sensibilities with me when I go to the movies. First and foremost, I want to be entertained. You know, the reason they started making movies in the first place? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgaiAZr_xnixa2eI2gqhZdBPIEH4DvJhVXCab6fiiiv3Wf21EwsCTX40RzMo-s894tltVTNUdQaEjj-aOY20-jxnMeBpgo8pgMehzW7VcH5MiqXFZ1feFW3189x_Leec97lFFZQpVTLdwHkyKNjI3Vv67CQM_57qbRvFfdPsdE49-OcehjlmcikB9RWQ/s1280/7th-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgaiAZr_xnixa2eI2gqhZdBPIEH4DvJhVXCab6fiiiv3Wf21EwsCTX40RzMo-s894tltVTNUdQaEjj-aOY20-jxnMeBpgo8pgMehzW7VcH5MiqXFZ1feFW3189x_Leec97lFFZQpVTLdwHkyKNjI3Vv67CQM_57qbRvFfdPsdE49-OcehjlmcikB9RWQ/w400-h400/7th-7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The Omega Speedmaster got some wear in August as well. It's on a crappy leather strap at the moment and I think I'll either rub it down with some moisturising cream or put a newer strap on it. Right now, I'm leaning more towards sprucing up this current strap. Get a little more life out of it. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And I think that's it for now. Apologies for the rambling nature of this post. I should have written it months ago. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Alas, life got in the way. As mentioned, my bunion procedure is happening in a week-and-a-half and I'm a little nervous about it. Mainly to do with the anaesthetic and how I'll go with it and how I'll come out of it. I'll only be in hospital overnight and then it's around six to eight weeks of recovery time, assuming there are no post-op complications. The first two weeks is where I'll need to keep the feet elevated. Of course, I'm also thinking about showering and sleeping, but I'll figure these out as they occur. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Work-wise, I'll work from home, as best possible, once the recovery process is underway. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Either way, we'll see how it all goes. If I feel up to it, I may do short posts during my recovery period. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I hope you've been well, and thanks for reading!<br /></div></div>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-37326172839818091602022-05-28T23:40:00.000-07:002022-05-28T23:40:06.654-07:00Busy Start to 2022 | Part 2 - February & March; New Job / New Old Spies / Newer Job!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwrj2fiv7CGTvoKAZYkLf2u8fcPvLbg_5Sn14aDtIJ2WBzSoDgKcyPYc8yHBeL7pFFnTH7i1FQMoD8MeQDwWu-5xyuvU7jl8v1VeAxi7kk7WvoEZ5DPsOGLvTQ1xGdnLHYFX1uXnXp3xokmMmwaKXU1aUCa-5lL4hTe7VWUJfKk38RUI333o1PZnviLA/s1570/Feb%202022%20typecast%20-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1273" data-original-width="1570" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwrj2fiv7CGTvoKAZYkLf2u8fcPvLbg_5Sn14aDtIJ2WBzSoDgKcyPYc8yHBeL7pFFnTH7i1FQMoD8MeQDwWu-5xyuvU7jl8v1VeAxi7kk7WvoEZ5DPsOGLvTQ1xGdnLHYFX1uXnXp3xokmMmwaKXU1aUCa-5lL4hTe7VWUJfKk38RUI333o1PZnviLA/w640-h518/Feb%202022%20typecast%20-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">One of the watches I wore in January was this recent arrival. A late 1965 Seiko Seikomatic Weekdater. I was after a dress watch with both day and date function. This one was in very clean condition, with no blemishes on the dial and no naked-eye-visible corrosion on the hands and markers. Just the usual scuff marks and light scratches on the case that are evidence of daily wear and tear. </p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV3ux9p2kj-hjM9lhEJgor7eW4iFHZ6ldNNclpxo3KDpg-xYrSOWpkNcgaH3JZ2REI0OwMCQt1POeOV94Jfkfu7O2ZZ_uJhUuzpjNMiEikJ-IeNZzDObBWwK3Oz22xuTVQBNBcF11lnAtTJmsiuEL3h4j8kyJXS8uTmCeH9YKAAiImSA2vFEpWvBkhjg/s1280/21st.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1271" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV3ux9p2kj-hjM9lhEJgor7eW4iFHZ6ldNNclpxo3KDpg-xYrSOWpkNcgaH3JZ2REI0OwMCQt1POeOV94Jfkfu7O2ZZ_uJhUuzpjNMiEikJ-IeNZzDObBWwK3Oz22xuTVQBNBcF11lnAtTJmsiuEL3h4j8kyJXS8uTmCeH9YKAAiImSA2vFEpWvBkhjg/s320/21st.jpg" width="318" /></a>I spoke to a watchmaker who collects vintage Citizen watches of the 1960s. He said that an old watchmaker once told him that these old Seiko and Citizen watches were deliberately built to stand up to a lot of wear and tear. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Reason being that they were relatively inexpensive back in the day and therefore, when it came time to get them serviced, it would be difficult for the customer to justify spending, say, $20 or $30 to service a wristwatch that cost them $80 or $100 to originally purchase. The way around this was to build a watch that could go a decade or two before it required maintenance. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Properly looked after, these things would run a long time before servicing was needed, and while I see a lot of old Seiko watches that have been trashed over their lifetimes, I also see a few pieces like this one, which appears to have been taken care of by its previous owner(s). </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Okay, where was I up to? Ahh, yes... <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGXmnZDVuFMRqbJlY84lKqBFFh-VLaHsrbaEApoYSQLTwZ-PPxJo_WmTNDRmIihfn6kHNq5PgwCREDfRlxGcJjN4hd1ElooOa9w8TkJlN29rwtslUJkbBZmUoUipIxpJYDJzIuZ45wMJ7b5JIX2JUen-b756sAziLUuX8cEL0XXW8dDPT0yotyqYHifw/s1492/Feb%202022%20typecast%20-2%20copy.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="1492" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGXmnZDVuFMRqbJlY84lKqBFFh-VLaHsrbaEApoYSQLTwZ-PPxJo_WmTNDRmIihfn6kHNq5PgwCREDfRlxGcJjN4hd1ElooOa9w8TkJlN29rwtslUJkbBZmUoUipIxpJYDJzIuZ45wMJ7b5JIX2JUen-b756sAziLUuX8cEL0XXW8dDPT0yotyqYHifw/w640-h230/Feb%202022%20typecast%20-2%20copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">After the initial training period over the first couple of weeks, I settled into the routine of my job and its workload. As stated, everyone was great to work with. I made a few little changes here and there, such as the layout and wording of emails that are sent to customers. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I answered customer enquiries and concerns regarding the whys and wherefores of their repairs. This is the part of the repair process where a customer will either accept or decline a repair quotation. I felt it was my job to explain the reasons behind a repair, in order to help a customer make an informed decision. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">One gentleman, an ex-engineer, was disappointed by the fact that his quartz watch needed a new movement. He was given the watch by his employers as a retirement gift in 1993. In NINETEEN-NINETY-THREE. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>"They told me it was the best watch of its kind and that it would last forever"</i>, he opined. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I reminded him that it had served him faithfully for almost thirty years. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I reminded him that it was probably not a good idea to have had the previous battery change done by somebody who was not accredited by the brand, as it seemed that the incorrect battery had been fitted and the movement had drawn insufficient power from it and this may have done some damage to the movement.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I reminded him, gently, that his engineering firm should not have made blanket statements like "it would last forever", because they were an engineering firm, not a wristwatch manufacturer. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I informed him that, being a tiny machine that runs 24/7, it requires maintenance from time to time, and that the movement inside the watch has reached its end-of-life and now needs replacing. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In the end, all of this was enough to convince him to get the watch fixed. Hopefully, it will outlive him. And possibly me too. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2bPpXOdKQb3JlNDI5_gTR81e0gCNXMTLdCIPKRpXTqvOnOm205zWjkZI1DzLW_gshFIQXZ1CVTMPtRa9sKXAp17tpUMdwmyXFtNRkZGTCz1RZZASZlw2q2bexzYGopf-7PCiKyPsIZX-I2vkT3SZUFMkiAGCjN4oMCCvbFchmxI4g-7YsAQeJ2Myuag/s1280/4th.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2bPpXOdKQb3JlNDI5_gTR81e0gCNXMTLdCIPKRpXTqvOnOm205zWjkZI1DzLW_gshFIQXZ1CVTMPtRa9sKXAp17tpUMdwmyXFtNRkZGTCz1RZZASZlw2q2bexzYGopf-7PCiKyPsIZX-I2vkT3SZUFMkiAGCjN4oMCCvbFchmxI4g-7YsAQeJ2Myuag/s320/4th.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><u><i>READ IN FEBRUARY</i></u><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">I re-read Fleming's <i>Live And Let Die. </i>I had my brother's old paperback copy for reading on the train, and a Folio Society hardback copy on the bedside table at home. There were a few flat spots in the book, or maybe they were just passages that I wasn't thrilled by, mainly to do with...I can't remember. Maybe old gold coins and pirates. At some stage, I'll tackle the next one, <i>Moonraker. </i>Figured I'd slowly go through them all again, interspersed with other reading. The Omega Railmaster got a decent run here and there. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">So anyway, the job was going okay. About a month or so into it, I got an email from a company that had seen my resume online and they were interested in discussing it further. This was an appliance company, totally different to what I was doing. They were offering noticeably more money and it was a supervisory position. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Now, normally, I wouldn't look twice at a job like this, but my wife's contract at her job is to end in June and it looks like it won't be renewed this time around. The company she works for doesn't have the funding and it is relying more heavily on young volunteers doing industry placement. She's had her contract extended twice in the past. At the moment, she's studying online for a Masters Degree in Counseling, working at this job three days a week, and volunteering as a counselor elsewhere one day a week. So basically, her plate is pretty full and the paying aspect of it may be coming to an end if she doesn't find something else soon. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Therefore, it made sense to me to consider this appliance supervisor's gig. It would be a change of scenery, for one thing, whether that was a good thing or not. I did the math, considered it carefully, and regretfully handed in my resignation at the watch company. It really sucked saying goodbye to this job. The HR manager did say to me that if the grass wasn't greener on the other side, I should consider coming back, as there are always opportunities coming up at this company. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">That was a wonderful thing to hear. And it is something that I will seriously consider if things don't work out. <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">So, while I was winding up my time at this job, I contacted my referees to let them know (again) that they might get a call from a company asking to know a little more about me. Things got a little strange here because one referee asked me how committed I was to starting work at an appliance company, of all things. Reason he asked was because his company was looking for a new Service Centre Manager and would I be interested in this role? </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Man, oh, man. All of a sudden, I'm in some kind of demand. Felt weird. I asked him for a snapshot of the role and he filled me in. I told him I'd give it some serious thought. I called him back a few days later and we hashed it out a little more. He sent me the Position Description via email. Yep, I could do this job. Easily. So, I accepted the job. I was due to commence the appliance supervisor's job in around two weeks (I got a bit of a run-around with this job, but that's a whole other convoluted story). Anyway, I contacted the appliance company and regretfully informed them that I had been offered a position in the industry that I was coming from and had decided to accept it, so therefore, I would not be going forward with joining their company. I apologised to them, but they seemed cool enough about it. I'm sure these things happen often enough. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Leading up to all of the above was the slight mental anguish that I put myself through for a couple of weeks prior to accepting the offer from my old employer. My wife thought it wasn't such a wise idea. <i>Never go back,</i> is her motto when it comes to workplaces. I reminded her that back in the day, I worked the retail side of the company and this time around, I'd be behind the scenes, so to speak. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>You do you. You're an adult, </i>she replied. Well, we'll see about that, in due course. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVng21TAmEzwFPVDA6Z0P8yMtU9TzPDRNCtfe_Hb2GdQHqsN446_OYMMyAHQ3aSXCkkgRCS-bmcRbWUGgqJNcAqHtW64IDssRUtXEEZ9EKhFJUJteJIgzYGdA9_02bDkXq8ESfvKO3MbXrt5N3VBE_K0oykMbzSYTPASlOQNjlTQbBB7cPoyu5UwyRdw/s1280/17th%20-1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVng21TAmEzwFPVDA6Z0P8yMtU9TzPDRNCtfe_Hb2GdQHqsN446_OYMMyAHQ3aSXCkkgRCS-bmcRbWUGgqJNcAqHtW64IDssRUtXEEZ9EKhFJUJteJIgzYGdA9_02bDkXq8ESfvKO3MbXrt5N3VBE_K0oykMbzSYTPASlOQNjlTQbBB7cPoyu5UwyRdw/w400-h400/17th%20-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Twenty/twenty-two seems to be the year of espionage fiction for me. If I'm at a thrift store and I see a good-condition hardback copy of a book that I have in paperback, I tend to buy it. Some other books might get replaced by a version with a nicer cover art. Like this early le Carr<span>é. The plain covered copy is from the 1970s and it shows. A lot of fiction tended to favour a cover with bold font and maybe just a splash of colour. Which is fine, of course. After all, you don't buy a candy bar for the wrapper. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>However, given the choice between the one on the right and the one on the left, I'd go for the atmospheric one on the left. And so I did. The white-covered one ended up in a bag for the thrift store. Also in the frame is the '82 Submariner 5513, which I wore here an there through February. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Of course, sometimes, I find that I have multiple copies of the same title. This occurs with almost all of my Fleming Bond novels, and I've also found that I have three copies of two Len Deighton titles. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg25H_izZKPW6mrpfJu3wPpcM-EWHgWHWRBbZX8pdRBMVFGg4olkOSoLMenyDMpwfeuUCDCNTAoc-4lB8ddoLpc03FOT-jTfGJTbDuGWG9vjxtFqireICTJmd1AydokgUo-kZJnM8YizoWOUBP3CLUwPMRMB1bNGiX6t-7ZURuGmS2V2EUuyry7IXSLig/s1280/IPCRESS%201.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg25H_izZKPW6mrpfJu3wPpcM-EWHgWHWRBbZX8pdRBMVFGg4olkOSoLMenyDMpwfeuUCDCNTAoc-4lB8ddoLpc03FOT-jTfGJTbDuGWG9vjxtFqireICTJmd1AydokgUo-kZJnM8YizoWOUBP3CLUwPMRMB1bNGiX6t-7ZURuGmS2V2EUuyry7IXSLig/s320/IPCRESS%201.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The classic early 1960s first edition artwork by Raymond Hawkey, which the publishers Hodder & Stoughton considered 'disgusting'. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>As the book is concerned with a slightly shady working-class military man who is seconded to a small branch of British Intelligence, it presents us a virtual polar opposite to Fleming's Bond. The unnamed hero of this book is smart-alecky, smokes French cigarettes and knows his way around a kitchen. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>The book was made into an atmospheric film in 1965 starring Michael Caine as Harry Palmer. It might be okay to have an unnamed hero in the book, but the movie needed somebody with a name. This film was produced by Harry Saltzman, one half of EON Productions, the company that produces the Bond films. Caine made two more Palmer films in the '60s and he has stated that he wished he had made a few more. Although he starred in two more Palmer movies in the 1980s, these were forgettable, straight-to-video releases that weren't based on any of Deighton's novels. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8SGf7pX0vvapYh4iEE62yKpOksfTqLB6Ot0619p4UfUeECuxerf9GmkRevIKFDtuSYZRIgTX_FGsjMFDC_w6ZIfemi3nUw_Y1nTiZZcMHZofLHZu3ahYzoRz74d9Ao_Y9l9lBk6aEhc2GgTpyuQngqgxpIaGuAL46jYH5hJO9O6-ddavIwS6qXO0t0Q/s1280/IPCRESS%202.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8SGf7pX0vvapYh4iEE62yKpOksfTqLB6Ot0619p4UfUeECuxerf9GmkRevIKFDtuSYZRIgTX_FGsjMFDC_w6ZIfemi3nUw_Y1nTiZZcMHZofLHZu3ahYzoRz74d9Ao_Y9l9lBk6aEhc2GgTpyuQngqgxpIaGuAL46jYH5hJO9O6-ddavIwS6qXO0t0Q/s320/IPCRESS%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span>In the '80s, I picked up this copy. The layout owes much - if not all - to Hawkey's classic cover from 20 years earlier. This is the copy that I first read in 1987. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Like a lot of paperback thrillers published in the '80s, it has a bold upper-case block font with the author's name above the title. They began to resemble movie posters. Again, we have a seedy picture that conveys boredom and frustration. To me, anyway. Did the cup of tea go cold? Was it too weak? Has the cup been washed recently or is he just refilling it, leading to the cup-ring stains on the desk/table? Could our protagonist not find an ashtray? Or was he too lazy to go get it? And on and on. The constant motifs are the revolver, a beautiful Smith & Wesson hammerless .38, and the Gauloise cigarette. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Len Deighton's works have been reprinted in the last year or so and the cover art has been atmospheric. Although, I have a bug with this new version of <i>The Ipcress File. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><i> </i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Judn_6wmZdSEdCpSsWjs-APd8YAlg9fXr0gyHbqk0EevlXuj9tgzK4lIWYs7Ln6t3gnUDzkhHRb85rl3R-FF7dMIximzmpOoHrIDrfzrXEFvIW-8iM1c1RMtgEYr-27bB7J_5j0iL8Q0B2w-bSw67E2ztwJw1gcRgs3pywkhB9NEiVB26UbCt3BjBg/s1280/IPCRESS%203.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Judn_6wmZdSEdCpSsWjs-APd8YAlg9fXr0gyHbqk0EevlXuj9tgzK4lIWYs7Ln6t3gnUDzkhHRb85rl3R-FF7dMIximzmpOoHrIDrfzrXEFvIW-8iM1c1RMtgEYr-27bB7J_5j0iL8Q0B2w-bSw67E2ztwJw1gcRgs3pywkhB9NEiVB26UbCt3BjBg/s320/IPCRESS%203.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></i>The grip of the revolver is ridged. Now, I'm no expert on firearms, but this type of butt is a relatively modern - as in, post 1980 - addition to pistol design. So, for me, the allusion to mid-Sixties Cold War espionage breaks down a little because of the inclusion of this particular pistol. Of course, throwing in a pair of '60s Michael Caine-style glasses and a Leica M1 rangefinder camera draws a clear line to both the era in which the book was written and filmed. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Anyway, this new reprint was the copy that I would read, because the font was a tad larger than that of my older copies. Feeling a little creative, I felt that this book needed its own bookmark. A quick hunt across the internet yielded some photos and a quick rummage through my 'props box' supplied the rest. <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxWrlgZTHgMHanjFHL3RD91itl3RYVJyq3wYVcfdhz3fXd7VCeuY7zE3C2gFHAsLgoyaEcKhMNFQtQ1AjiXAjKwj08hGLxWA2dlSeJHNVgVdODx1Lk7iwpRAXLQVf0h8iC9bgg4xn-b6JwcigficLbIwqNlmGjY30fJd1Gnan9kd5XZXBQjMOjuLSlTA/s1280/25th.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxWrlgZTHgMHanjFHL3RD91itl3RYVJyq3wYVcfdhz3fXd7VCeuY7zE3C2gFHAsLgoyaEcKhMNFQtQ1AjiXAjKwj08hGLxWA2dlSeJHNVgVdODx1Lk7iwpRAXLQVf0h8iC9bgg4xn-b6JwcigficLbIwqNlmGjY30fJd1Gnan9kd5XZXBQjMOjuLSlTA/s320/25th.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Arranged the items on the photocopier and hit the "START" button. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was a bit bummed by the streaks running down the photos of Michael Caine, but looking at them now, it adds to the lack-of-proper-budget aspect of the Intelligence branch that Harry Palmer works for. I do like the way the coffee ring turned out. I spent some time ruling the thick lines onto the 3x5 index card and then typing in the text, so I was gonna be pretty pissed off if the coffee ring didn't turn out the way I wanted. That Gauloises packet has been empty since '89, by the way. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Seen in the frame is the Submariner, which got some wear throughout Feb/March.<br /><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Anyway, a few weeks passed and I started my new gig in the last week of March. And it has been busy ever since. The watchmaker and the office manager both said to me that the amount of repairs coming through have been unprecedented. Anyway, that is something that can't be controlled, so all I can do is concern myself with the aspects of the job that I can keep a lid on. At the time of writing (late May), I'm still riding the learning curve on a daily basis as new situations arise. All good so far.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>For me right now, it's just a matter of getting a feel for the job. Is it something that will be interesting and challenging (up to a point) over the long term? Is this the job that I'll retire from? </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Only time will tell is the clich</span><span>éd response. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Right now, I just wanna get the hang of the ebbs and flows of the job on a daily and weekly basis, to better determine where I can make changes that'll make it run more efficiently. In my view, of course. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Well, the Workshop Manager told me to set things up to suit myself, so I just might end up doing that. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>I may make changes here and there that make no discernible difference. If that happens, then I revert back to how things were and see if there may be another way to do things as time marches on.<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>The changes seem to have more to do with streamlining certain processes rather than making large alterations to how things are done. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Then again, I just might change things up here and there. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>As you can see, I'm still amidst the whole thought process surrounding these changes. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Anyway, some other watches worn through February and March;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgewM2gZolVFeUEHKkv6Eav1j8jtmyuL5uKPk9QmC-fQsvOGpdBv-fdGuyBdG1OdSMPOpr2clD_VIXB0tFvw7tH13cT0BrL4OSrx-3HGAYr-eDddam5N0jkactrQejAEdL4PBra4EAcIc_-aE-5-6NxKQBLnT-ESfbDGuXnx-ZgeOALehjmiIH8PaPVBw/s1239/30th.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1239" data-original-width="1145" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgewM2gZolVFeUEHKkv6Eav1j8jtmyuL5uKPk9QmC-fQsvOGpdBv-fdGuyBdG1OdSMPOpr2clD_VIXB0tFvw7tH13cT0BrL4OSrx-3HGAYr-eDddam5N0jkactrQejAEdL4PBra4EAcIc_-aE-5-6NxKQBLnT-ESfbDGuXnx-ZgeOALehjmiIH8PaPVBw/s320/30th.jpg" width="296" /></a></div>The 34mm circa 1970 Tudor Ranger, seen here on a Geckota Oyster bracelet.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've been passively hunting for a Tudor rotor to fit an ETA Calibre 2784, which is the movement inside this watch. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">At some point in this watch's life, it was serviced by a watchmaker who could not access Tudor parts. As such, the rotor in the movement, which had 'TUDOR - PRINCE OYSTERDATE' engraved on it, was replaced with an ETA 2784 rotor, which is blank. It's the correct part for this watch, it just isn't branded. And this affects its value to some reasonable extent. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">If I can find a rotor, great. If not, it's no big deal. Either way, this watch does indeed need a service. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSS_Jqu1HzoCOxAPcUtf-x9dUxmkfWrXlgtOups-DGmIptbVOUvISqVuMHleJ4imqvjimbOIkf9HJZz5JNiB_pkoVdS8dCvijjQxnG4myT-UQlNJWVyJHCfrmH90sXkrtEPx9bGRVGUB8GMW45PffRzQyoogzl8ITKOMpwUgrwGUJ-JiXhI4vkEq0APQ/s1280/10th.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSS_Jqu1HzoCOxAPcUtf-x9dUxmkfWrXlgtOups-DGmIptbVOUvISqVuMHleJ4imqvjimbOIkf9HJZz5JNiB_pkoVdS8dCvijjQxnG4myT-UQlNJWVyJHCfrmH90sXkrtEPx9bGRVGUB8GMW45PffRzQyoogzl8ITKOMpwUgrwGUJ-JiXhI4vkEq0APQ/s320/10th.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The Seiko SKX009K has been worn a lot since I got it last September. Produced from the mid '90s until around 2019, in my view it deserves cult status along the same lines as classic Swiss-made dive watches. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Its overall aesthetic can't be mistaken for a Rolex, Omega, TAG Heuer or any other long-produced dive watch made by a big Swiss manufacturer. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sure, the timekeeping can be a little fluid, but this watch actually runs quite accurately. The water-resistance is more than adequate, the Hardlex crystal is hard-wearing, and the dial and hands are still readable at 4:00am. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's a lot of watch for what it cost. <span><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgANH5-radyxseGxNXNvvnQUShm-7I_dsP_NuGRYTBawP_SdsP6FrX6o7Uv_fgF5xLRUxWmbQb13JLuOI03s8MTQbqmKrbcCY_f-r88LVwlqwqR-_cF4vNfvQE6Le56zV7oYbzn2ncSbQ8HSYstlX1CBtbga6e_1qpWAO6PYBsxVSJ_ULsXWILj6cgfA/s1280/18th.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgANH5-radyxseGxNXNvvnQUShm-7I_dsP_NuGRYTBawP_SdsP6FrX6o7Uv_fgF5xLRUxWmbQb13JLuOI03s8MTQbqmKrbcCY_f-r88LVwlqwqR-_cF4vNfvQE6Le56zV7oYbzn2ncSbQ8HSYstlX1CBtbga6e_1qpWAO6PYBsxVSJ_ULsXWILj6cgfA/s320/18th.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Tudor Black Bay 58 is another regular. Still not a 100% perfect fit on my wrist, but this has become the most minor of quibbles for me since I got it back in late December 2020.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Seen in the frame is my 1980s pair of tortoise-shell RayBan Wayfarers, back from when Bausch & Lomb made the lenses. I had prescription sunglass lenses fitted to these frames, so that I could keep them in the car for driving in Summer. They are the Transition lenses which darken in sunlight. Problem is, I don't drive a convertible, so the lenses can only go dark if I hold them in the sun for about ten seconds. They're bi-focals too, which makes them handy. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Malfy Gin has been available here in Australia for some time. Only problem was that it was infused with lemon. I don't go for flavoured gins, so I've held off on buying it. Then finally, I stumbled upon this plain version, with the light blue accented label. It's a nice gin. Normally, my tastes in this spirit run towards English gins and nothing else. Bombay Sapphire, Beefeater, Tanqueray, Gin Lane 1751. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In recent years, though, I've dipped a toe (or tongue would be more accurate) in Gins from other countries;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Roku (Japan). My wife bought me a bottle a few Christmases ago because she liked the shape of the bottle (octagonal) and the texture of the label. Very crisp. You have to hand it to the Japanese. Whenever they try their hand at something that some other country is renowned for, they bat it out of the park. Grand Seiko is their answer to Rolex. Yamazaki is Suntory's answer to Single Malt Whisky.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Aviator (USA). Cool bottle, and it's owned (or was) by actor Ryan Reynolds. I like the idea of American-made Gin. Gives it a Prohibition-era vibe. Some say this gin is a little hit-and-miss, but I haven't found any issues with it. Although it makes for a workmanlike Gin & Tonic, I made a Dry Martini with it and it was sharp. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Citadelle (France). Again, it works nicer as a Martini than it does as a mixer. Actually, that may not be true. That statement, which I also said about Aviation Gin, might have more to do with my palate getting accustomed to the taste of tonic water, and I have found that I tend to buy different brands of tonic and some of them have added ingredients. This in itself changes the taste of a G&T. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There's a brand called MGC, which stands for Melbourne Gin Company. Over the last five years or so, I've seen a bunch of new gins hit the market and some of them are made here in Australia. I've been tempted to try them, but I find their pricing insulting. I ain't paying 80 bucks for a gin made in my home town. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also in that photo are three different copies of Len Deighton's <i>Funeral In Berlin. </i>I'll have to get rid of one. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCaMQEneoikEFyNiirh2QcXPxUo_2J-7E7Gbg2bcM566o8Tm0Dt6lEI-WAEZRrDiJ5qUFjdKW4xJWqgxsQsrsvQlBHX99zNfNEnsCHnrlmsCdiaAbothJuMvMVqwO_BmR19YRC6Yf-1u4LgEC8pdFsY9EUHZL247nO0wIbwscra8850KhwBzuzuSc8mA/s1280/Feb%2028th.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1148" data-original-width="1280" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCaMQEneoikEFyNiirh2QcXPxUo_2J-7E7Gbg2bcM566o8Tm0Dt6lEI-WAEZRrDiJ5qUFjdKW4xJWqgxsQsrsvQlBHX99zNfNEnsCHnrlmsCdiaAbothJuMvMVqwO_BmR19YRC6Yf-1u4LgEC8pdFsY9EUHZL247nO0wIbwscra8850KhwBzuzuSc8mA/s320/Feb%2028th.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>And finally, one more watch worn earlier this year. The Hamilton Khaki Field Auto. This one gets mainly worn for gardening and handyman duties, but every now and then, it ends up on my wrist for a normal day's work. I daresay it probably requires a service, as some fine brass metal filings can be seen through the sapphire crystal case-back. I haven't done a timekeeping check on this watch, but I'd be fairly certain that it's probably out of factory specifications. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, so that's the second and third month of the year covered. I think I'll leave it there and maybe get started on April and May. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then this blog will be up to speed. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I hope you've all been well this year so far, and thank-you for reading! <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-53155524457323582722022-04-17T05:28:00.149-07:002022-04-17T06:27:39.389-07:00Busy Start to 2022 | Part 1 - January; Seriously, Boss? / Happy Birthday, Son! <div style="text-align: justify;">I began this post at the beginning of the year, but things soon got very hectic. Subsequently, in an effort to put it all down, I thought I'd get it underway, but rather than one very long post, I'll see if I can break it up into a few parts. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway... <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I handed in my resignation on December 30th. I'd had enough. I'd spent nearly six years working for a guy who behaved like a ramped-up version of David Brent (UK) or Michael Scott (US) from <i>The Office, </i>but without the laughs. Worst boss I've ever had. Can't say any more about it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, I quit on the second-last day of 2021. Same day, one of my co-workers said he had a sore throat. He'd spent Christmas visiting his family interstate and claimed that he had the air-con on in his car for the entire five-hour drive back to Melbourne. Reckoned that he must've caught a chill. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I gave four-week's notice - as per my contract - and was told that I could finish up on January 24th. Cool. I could tie up a few more loose ends, even though I was virtually up to date with everything. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Next day, I was told that I could finish at end-of-day, since the office would be closing for the year and would re-open in the first week of January 2022. Okay, no problem. I could use a rest before I began my next job. </div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><b>Happy New Year!</b></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Finally popped open that bottle of Piper-Heidsieck champagne that I bought in 2015. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Sunday January 2nd, I felt a raspiness in my throat. I figured I was coming down with a Summer cold, most likely brought on by the stressful and busy few weeks in the lead-up to Christmas and my resignation just before New Year's Eve. I must have gotten a little run-down. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">My son has had a persistent cough for over a month. He caught a cold from his sister. He usually takes a couple of puffs of Symbicort for his asthma each morning, but has run out of the inhaler and, like any young adult, has been a little bit lax with refilling his prescription. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">To play it safe, he and I decide to go get Covid tested next day. The testing station is banked-up with cars. I'm waived over to another lane with a few other cars. I sit behind the wheel for a few minutes and then I get out of my car, put on my mask, and approach the car in front of mine. I ask the driver if he knows why we were directed into this lane. He tells me that the testing station is full for today and he was told to try coming back tomorrow. Dammit!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My son and I head home and we try again the next day at around midday. A sign at the entrance states;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Covid Testing Closed due to High Demand.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We try again the day after that. Same thing. I hear one of the traffic wardens tell another driver to "Come back tomorrow at around six am."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">By now, I've had a very sore throat, a runny nose, aching back, slight fever, and a cough for the past couple of days. Feels like a 'flu, but is most likely the Omicron variant of Covid-19. We are all double-vaxxed in my household, and my wife and I have also had the booster shots. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">As an asthmatic who smoked for 35 years, my main concern is if I develop a shortness of breath. This has not happened so far, but it's the one main symptom that I am closely monitoring for. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><b>January 7th </b></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> My son and I get up at 6:30am and get to the testing station just before seven. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">We get tested a few minutes before ten am and then head home. We're told that we should receive our results within the next 72 hours. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, my wife and daughter go and get tested on Sunday the 9th. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My son gets an SMS message on his phone a couple of days later. Result is Positive. My wife and daughter get their results next day. Positive. I'm yet to hear back, but obviously, if they've all tested positive, chances are virtually 100% that I'll test positive also. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">January 13th and I still haven't heard back. I'm pissed off with my co-worker for not going to get tested when he had a sore throat. I'm <i>very</i> pissed off with my boss for not sending the co-worker home to get tested. Very sloppy outcome. No duty of care on my employer's part, no logic or consideration on my co-worker's part. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Like my wife has sometimes said; <i>You wouldn't want to be on a lifeboat with these kinds of people. </i><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Current guidelines for Covid testing - once you've gotten tested, you are to isolate for seven days. If you receive a negative result during that time, you're in the clear. If you receive a positive result in that time, you must continue to isolate until the seven days are up. By this stage, you are no longer contagious and can go out in public again. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I get a text message on January 16th, stating that I had tested positive for Covid. Of course, by now, I no longer have symptoms. If that was Covid, then it was like a moderate bout of the 'flu. The sore throat was the worst part of it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Glad it's over, though. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Get vaxxed, people.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I wore the Seiko SKX009K while I sat behind the wheel at the testing station for three hours. Just as well I brought a book;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4H8xImdpcm7moiin6nBqpcffiGXjZkVR57Tea88J9Q4bi-aJM0f4jKbEbmhITa1MMWrF8rCrhbQpKNMMptnQWlWsR69zbnKWBk5CIctZ0FQ_ejCnp-KFxmrc0wGL3wwcdt0dcjmus6xRY3d5yfVwbZZyQd0kXAWdt4goUjHyeMqa9lnofvAhhB4w1_A=s1280" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4H8xImdpcm7moiin6nBqpcffiGXjZkVR57Tea88J9Q4bi-aJM0f4jKbEbmhITa1MMWrF8rCrhbQpKNMMptnQWlWsR69zbnKWBk5CIctZ0FQ_ejCnp-KFxmrc0wGL3wwcdt0dcjmus6xRY3d5yfVwbZZyQd0kXAWdt4goUjHyeMqa9lnofvAhhB4w1_A=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Anyway...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKQLBf3nnXS6b-P1Kx07J5nPiBOOVYRMELHjM7RwdxiMqkzRMzFRgsRWHob_GJCKWH4NrpiaPeWueBIlCoelBzmKtsJZKQgLDcnxVdh-tKn9JEHWiGiNQRvKoYpJbKjQisvqarDSyXMoYTn8JxuXNckwdHSVbaY3Q8bdBWbgA-8xp2lgXBeKPL8rgl9w=s1219" style="clear: left; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLEbW1Hy7p_4BBwVR48nIV9sNMTefAHNi4D3drgpMnIiQ0W5YLAxf9h5EfdFU2vqmhDQa2oqzw2NhWjlwVsYfRaZHJjEgPf9Nt5YlSLl_ldnJNNRggcLCfLddGHoLTz3cZ-pc07fZgPcN1IojmbXJA51o-V-F01QWK4Zu3lgiAksrf5X7b-j1azD8QXQ=s1272" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1007" data-original-width="1272" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLEbW1Hy7p_4BBwVR48nIV9sNMTefAHNi4D3drgpMnIiQ0W5YLAxf9h5EfdFU2vqmhDQa2oqzw2NhWjlwVsYfRaZHJjEgPf9Nt5YlSLl_ldnJNNRggcLCfLddGHoLTz3cZ-pc07fZgPcN1IojmbXJA51o-V-F01QWK4Zu3lgiAksrf5X7b-j1azD8QXQ=w400-h316" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I may have mentioned this before, but I have strong memories of my Dad wearing this watch. He used to work night-shift as a machinist at a textile mill. At around ten pm most nights, I'd glimpse him winding this watch while he waited for the coffee to boil. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">After downing the cup of coffee, he would walk two streets away to the bus stop to catch the 10:50pm bus to Brunswick (Melbourne, not New Jersey). He would arrive at the stop near the Brunswick Town Hall and then walk a few streets to where Peerless Mills was located and begin his shift at 11:30pm.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He wore this watch on an expanding bracelet, but by the time I took ownership of it, the bracelet had snapped and I figured it would look nice on a leather strap. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><b><br /></b></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><b>January 18th</b></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> My son and I head into the city to go visit the TAG Heuer boutique. He turned 21 on Christmas Day and my wife and I figured it would be nice to get him a watch of his own, even though he'll inherit my collection one day.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sort of*. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">But, I'm getting ahead of myself.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rewind to a couple of weeks earlier. I fish three or four watches from my collection. They are all basic time-and-date watches in different case diameters. I sticky-tape a ten cent coin onto the dials of each watch. My test is not about how the watch looks, but how it sits on the wrist. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">We sit down with our boy and I go through the basic idea of a classic Gent's Watch. Something in stainless-steel, that just tells time and date. A watch that won't date. A watch that works well whether you're 21 or 91. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">But first, let's look at sizing. He already has a Seiko dive watch that I got him when he turned sixteen. It's 42mm in diameter and is built to take a beating. However, a day-to-day watch should perhaps be a little more understated. A little more all-purpose. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Firstly, the 34mm Tudor Ranger goes onto his wrist. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then, the 36mm Omega Railmaster.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, the 38mm Seiko SARB033. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">All three of these are basic pieces. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He leans towards the size of the Seiko. That's cool. I've done my research and have looked into two brands that both offer something in 39mm. Sure, one millimetre larger than his preference, but I doubt he'll notice. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I explain to him that I'm aiming for a watch that will do virtually everything. So, my criteria would be the following; </div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Time and date</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Mechanical (for longevity and heirloom aspect)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Water-resistant, minimum 100 metres (I don't care what anybody says, that's the minimum for peace-of-mind days at the beach, jumping into a hotel pool, or snorkeling)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Luminous dial markers and hands (for readability in the dark)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Metal bracelet (you can always put a leather strap to it later if you want)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As I said, two brands came to mind; TAG Heuer and Tudor. And within those two brands, two different models;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of them is a Tudor Style, in 34mm 38mm and 41mm;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLcddUJSUujImtCXQuR00wTeUkQ2EZBsbzYXznqh8dF7kdAmxqQLXAVXr7dWLjmjoS1iqFlG1cxBYoOMrhtjfdR347nq4n67HOVqxH0Qe77eMVAcY0HQgANuzItvM50Qvfwvwq87ZoWMqOJi1lJjprDuyNeKjw8z_TaG7ag3ZaIHwzVcP_e1DJ8KzPg/s1009/tudor-m12500-0002%20Style%20pic.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1009" data-original-width="622" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLcddUJSUujImtCXQuR00wTeUkQ2EZBsbzYXznqh8dF7kdAmxqQLXAVXr7dWLjmjoS1iqFlG1cxBYoOMrhtjfdR347nq4n67HOVqxH0Qe77eMVAcY0HQgANuzItvM50Qvfwvwq87ZoWMqOJi1lJjprDuyNeKjw8z_TaG7ag3ZaIHwzVcP_e1DJ8KzPg/s320/tudor-m12500-0002%20Style%20pic.jpg" width="197" /></a></div>It ticks a lot of the boxes. 38mm is the right size, 100m water-resistance, nice black dial, date window, steel bracelet. <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, it lacks one crucial element, in my humble opinion. The hands have no lume in them. There's no glow-in-the-dark stuff in them. You're sitting in a cinema watching a boring movie, you won't be able to check the time to see how much longer you'll have to sit there. You wake up in the middle of the night and glance over at your watch on the nightstand and all you're gonna see is more darkness. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Deal-breaker. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Not so much if this watch was part of a collection, whether it be two other watches or 20. But as a watch to wear on any and all occasions, well...deal-breaker. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, that left us with TAG Heuer. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">But first, a digression. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, before I get into it, I just want to say that I have a lot of respect for the TAG Heuer brand. Back in my watch selling days, my store would get a lot of customers coming in for TAGs. Some of them would purchase the watch and would never be seen again, living happily ever after. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE7kYrXTuZzjebGudKBc7Kjkl7lm6YREGMTGUtkRZ-YEAY9lGrHnxUHMVnajrgpSpWWOycnTacfDE3jjth_fmvRXe2S9_PxUvabuZcZVAsREDPG8NPMYVULdX0Gm6vo0Msagx3hNYCokjlRth67X5EprVer_8jHy0nVYCk4FZrO20ifxl9a0tokHooww/s1352/TAG%20Heuer%201000%20two-tone%20ad.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1352" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE7kYrXTuZzjebGudKBc7Kjkl7lm6YREGMTGUtkRZ-YEAY9lGrHnxUHMVnajrgpSpWWOycnTacfDE3jjth_fmvRXe2S9_PxUvabuZcZVAsREDPG8NPMYVULdX0Gm6vo0Msagx3hNYCokjlRth67X5EprVer_8jHy0nVYCk4FZrO20ifxl9a0tokHooww/s320/TAG%20Heuer%201000%20two-tone%20ad.jpg" width="242" /></a></div>Others would come back one, two, three or five years later, ready to purchase their next watch, be it another TAG Heuer or some other brand. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Basically, TAG Heuer was the gateway brand for a lot of people. It got them interested in a well-made and dependable Swiss-made wristwatch and they would come back for more, regardless of brand. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Aside from that, I bought myself a quartz TAG Heuer 1000 Series dive watch (left) back in 1987 and it served me very well.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I should have kept that watch, but I stupidly sold it back in the early days of my watch collecting life. Yes, yes, it was two-tone and strongly borrowed from Rolex design, and it was battery-powered. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">But it was the Eighties, after all. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The brand used to be known as Heuer and it made some very respectable chronographs in the '60s and '70s before falling on hard times in the late l970s, along with a lot of other Swiss watch brands, thanks to the influx of inexpensive quartz-operated watches that had been coming out of Asia for almost a decade. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Just as Heuer was going under, along came a company called Techniques d'Avant Garde. This company supplied equipment and resources to the motorsport industry, such as Formula One. A search through the internet can bring up many photos of F1 drivers from the 1970s wearing Heuer wristwatches. The brand, predominantly through the efforts of Jack Heuer, great-grandson of the brand's founder, saw its watches on the wrists of Formula One greats like Niki Lauda and Clay Regazzoni. If you ever want to read about this, visit a website called Calibre 11. It's perhaps the best site about Heuer. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here's a link;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.calibre11.com/ambassadors-heuer-formula-1/" target="_blank">calibre11.com | Before the Ambassadors: Heuer & Formula 1</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Man, another long post! Okay, so where was I? Oh yeah, the Tudor didn't fit the bill, so we looked at TAG Heuer. Specifically, the Carrera Automatic. Heuer created a chronograph in the mid 1960s and named it the Carrera, after the legendary - and short-lived - Carrera Panamericana road race;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The <b>Carrera Panamericana</b> was a border-to-border sedan (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_car_racing" title="Stock car racing">stock</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touring_car_racing" title="Touring car racing">touring</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_car_racing" title="Sports car racing">sports car</a>) <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rally_racing" title="Rally racing">rally racing</a> event on open roads in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico" title="Mexico">Mexico</a> similar to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mille_Miglia" title="Mille Miglia">Mille Miglia</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Targa_Florio" title="Targa Florio">Targa Florio</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy" title="Italy">Italy</a>.
Running for five consecutive years from 1950 to 1954, it was widely
held by contemporaries to be the most dangerous race of any type in the
world.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-classics1_1-0"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrera_Panamericana#cite_note-classics1-1">[1]</a></sup> It has since been resurrected along some of the original course as a classic speed rally.
</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> - wikipedia entry</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyPXf2PJPArw2eOq_TuswMTCQLJypQD78fXViVNkdVpJlYOMWqapNyHEfLjd_YbOQn4qsti9utQfty3igNe6vNqdYZ7CX0NYeaWDJOggjmGQWuM_T9AUfreEx7LvG8dEuXwSxyIt3eQt9xKRx0JZ5L4m3Li06MxuBs36nupYGlFtzWpGYjgwGivX74IQ/s1024/2447SN%2063-65.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="924" data-original-width="1024" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyPXf2PJPArw2eOq_TuswMTCQLJypQD78fXViVNkdVpJlYOMWqapNyHEfLjd_YbOQn4qsti9utQfty3igNe6vNqdYZ7CX0NYeaWDJOggjmGQWuM_T9AUfreEx7LvG8dEuXwSxyIt3eQt9xKRx0JZ5L4m3Li06MxuBs36nupYGlFtzWpGYjgwGivX74IQ/s320/2447SN%2063-65.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>A mid-Sixties Carrera Chronograph (Reference 2447SN), pic courtesy of the phenomenal Calibre 11 website. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">This watch is one of the most famous chronographs ever made, and in my humble opinion, it belongs in the same iconic realm as the Omega Speedmaster Professional, Rolex Cosmonaut, Zenith El Primero A386, and Universal Geneve Compax chronographs of the same era. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">TAG Heuer brought out a re-edition in the late 1990s, remaining pretty faithful to the original design. Shortly after that, the brand introduced a line of watches under the Carrera banner and these have been in production ever since. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Within this range, there is a nice time-and-date model. Measuring 39mm in diameter, it is water-resistant to 100m and features a discreet date window down at the six o'clock edge of the dial. All stainless-steel case and bracelet, available in black, blue or silver dial, with steel hands and markers. And, one more model with a black dial and gilt hands and markers. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz7NxJOLhmDcFt3_9Bw9zLcN50aGelyc83vwyIjPPvyaqarTjqYRBxRt6dOPmMUeeNDHmB-J750hBJhAbgob0doV56UbasvpkFQCsMA8m-rsTP4TAfQP2JJSVk22l7Emuyp2rmoe8bbdRJ7QfVmHkuGgEYMjSZeJlLwdxdszH8to6paQ39xGSiFbqaDA/s2000/WBN2110.BA0639_0913%20-%20Carrera%20BLK.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1273" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz7NxJOLhmDcFt3_9Bw9zLcN50aGelyc83vwyIjPPvyaqarTjqYRBxRt6dOPmMUeeNDHmB-J750hBJhAbgob0doV56UbasvpkFQCsMA8m-rsTP4TAfQP2JJSVk22l7Emuyp2rmoe8bbdRJ7QfVmHkuGgEYMjSZeJlLwdxdszH8to6paQ39xGSiFbqaDA/s320/WBN2110.BA0639_0913%20-%20Carrera%20BLK.webp" width="204" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I ran through the pros and cons of each colour. This was based on what I've learned over the years, but also on my own preferences and opinions. Now, I didn't want to sway his decision in any way. I just wanted him to make as informed a decision as he could. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Silver dial - Perhaps the dressiest of the bunch. Although, from my experience, the hands can tend to 'blend in' a little against the dial when viewed in low light. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Black dial - A sportier look overall. Best contrast between dial and hands. The main drawback, if you can call it that, is that just about every brand has a black-dialed dress watch as part of its line-up. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Blue dial - A very nice shade of Cobalt blue. If blue is your favourite colour, then go for it. If you're gonna worry that a blue dialed watch won't go with certain outfits, then steer clear of this one. More importantly, worry less about the colour of your watch dial and whether or not it'll match your clothes. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5C_LdJYQAfid3TMtnGLVPfTskPFtLqZFPBUOebW5OESa3BC7MX-8p46VimJdKQ1RLEAExdK7jGNSXkjBrDlhTMiRZaflSWLqmKNFhZ-peuoUAP7lYTpKDziOfauj_ESY0BifF4-KJsB7GeQd7pMXr9qJcRtlGo7GI04Tl2HkiGSmSZdnw44dwuMyaIQ/s2000/WBN2113.BA0639_0913%20-Carrera%20BLK%20&%20Gilt.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1273" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5C_LdJYQAfid3TMtnGLVPfTskPFtLqZFPBUOebW5OESa3BC7MX-8p46VimJdKQ1RLEAExdK7jGNSXkjBrDlhTMiRZaflSWLqmKNFhZ-peuoUAP7lYTpKDziOfauj_ESY0BifF4-KJsB7GeQd7pMXr9qJcRtlGo7GI04Tl2HkiGSmSZdnw44dwuMyaIQ/s320/WBN2113.BA0639_0913%20-Carrera%20BLK%20&%20Gilt.webp" width="204" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Black dial with gilt markers and hands - If I had to choose, this would be the one. Still sporty, with its black dial, but the rose-gold plated hands and markers give the whole watch a nice lift. And in some lighting, the black dial appears to take on a pleasant 'coffee-bean-brown' shade. This is something that I pointed out to my son about this watch. I told him the choice was his. If liked the blue, go for it. If he liked the black, go for it. Etc, etc. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He chose the black and gold. I had been saving my money over the last few years, in order to pay for a couple of titanium crowns to be fitted by my dentist and, once I had enough for this procedure, I just kept on saving. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I called a fellow I know who deals with TAG and managed to get a few bucks off the rrp of the watch. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">My wife and I were thinking that it would be an idea to get the case-back engraved, but the watch has a see-through case-back, with very little space left over to add any engraving. Still, I just may look into getting it done. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtAb3V20aU3Tr0hqFfEIKMQNMFFT6G3yiw4neinOGmrwh1jX_WzWHfJmI9wJrFR_eQC5zjm8yL-YpyPq6vUq7TfjZL_pAroYhAtRaNC1TTBKDTfjL-7boUnPRwrXrMgoEYPhANtF1dG-dTynqNrZ8dcc1rIDYAup8K16iCTXGas4zfWX8eVL-TMvelBw/s1280/26th%20J.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtAb3V20aU3Tr0hqFfEIKMQNMFFT6G3yiw4neinOGmrwh1jX_WzWHfJmI9wJrFR_eQC5zjm8yL-YpyPq6vUq7TfjZL_pAroYhAtRaNC1TTBKDTfjL-7boUnPRwrXrMgoEYPhANtF1dG-dTynqNrZ8dcc1rIDYAup8K16iCTXGas4zfWX8eVL-TMvelBw/s320/26th%20J.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I have to say that it does look good on his wrist, and I think he likes it, based on the fact that he doesn't normally wear a watch around the house and yet here he was, a week later, with the watch on his wrist while he tackled zombies on the Playstation 4. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">He's worn it to work a few times since he got it and the watch now has some scuffs and marks on it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is now truly his. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">*********************<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>*...even though he'll inherit my collection one day. Sort of. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i> </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I think I've said this here before; Giving my watch collection to my kids would be more a curse than a blessing. My daughter has said she has dibs on the Rolex Submariner, but I told her that that watch would be sold upon my demise - if I still have it when I kick the bucket - and the proceeds would be shared between her and her brother. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'd let them choose two or three watches each. The rest would/should be sold and the proceeds split between them. I'd also reiterate to them that these watches require care and feeding. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, hopefully, it's not something I'll have to deal with for quite some time yet. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I hope you've all been well, and thanks for reading!<br /></div>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-43646624689346632222022-01-04T18:57:00.001-08:002022-01-04T18:57:09.927-08:00My Most-Worn Wristwatches of 2021<p style="text-align: justify;">Wednesday, January 5th, 2022 - 1:57pm AEDT</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Okay, so 2021 is over, and it's time for my annual write-up on the wristwatches that spent the most time on my wrist throughout the year. Turns out that I wore a watch 368 times last year. Which means every day of the year plus a few swaps throughout the day on a few occasions. </p><div style="text-align: justify;">Rather than just another collection of photos of the Top Eight Watches of the year, I've also included some other items in each photo. Turns out I have a few other collections. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">My way of thinking is that if I have three or four of a particular thing, it's a collection. Socks and underwear don't count. <br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, let's get started. In the Number One spot was a watch that I knew would gain the top spot, but I was staggered by how often I wore it last year.</p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u>No. 1 - Tudor Black Bay 58</u></b></span><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfmZVN5CshDAJ4Amj3jsXV5fMdRLvACrvC7pdtN9wT6tRQYh4pMKlYkQbZZo_wU2jmDRpS7L0jB46Jf360_zTdxCvaN6O4kfYhUQycpEpUc_wzy4yF-0AWRPzNI1lfJDSujdmP_1zhmq4bb4v9NjU0Gxih6fJAISyWPHEB6xAvmFDt6bdrKhZeJdDEpA=s3421" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2942" data-original-width="3421" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfmZVN5CshDAJ4Amj3jsXV5fMdRLvACrvC7pdtN9wT6tRQYh4pMKlYkQbZZo_wU2jmDRpS7L0jB46Jf360_zTdxCvaN6O4kfYhUQycpEpUc_wzy4yF-0AWRPzNI1lfJDSujdmP_1zhmq4bb4v9NjU0Gxih6fJAISyWPHEB6xAvmFDt6bdrKhZeJdDEpA=w400-h344" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I wore this watch on 115 days in 2021. A landslide. It's not a perfect fit on my wrist. The clasp bridge section is quite long and its curvature doesn't follow the curve of my 6.5 inch wrist, but this is a minor quibble. What this watch does right, it does very right. I'm tempted to put it on a leather strap over Summer, to give it a little more wear and tear, but for now, I'll leave it on its bracelet. For me, this watch represents what the Rolex Submariner dive watch used to be, up until around 2010 when they made some major changes to the case design.</div><p></p><p>One of my Instagram followers, @libations_and_explorations, summed it up nicely; <br /></p><h3 class="_6lAjh"><div class="qF0y9 Igw0E IwRSH eGOV_ _4EzTm ItkAi"><span class="Jv7Aj mArmR MqpiF"></span></div></h3><p><i><span>In
my opinion, the Tudor Black Bay is the real Rolex Submariner of today.
It is high quality, expensive, useable, but not insultingly overpriced
either.</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span>I agree. Don't let the word 'expensive' throw you off. In this instance, it's expensive because it's extremely well made, and you get what you pay for. </span><i><span> </span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span>Also in the frame</span><i><span>; </span></i><span> </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span>Camera - early '80s Olympus OM2n - I had one of these back in the early '80s and I stupidly sold it to fund the cost of repairing a Polaroid SX-70 Land camera. About five or six years ago, I got on eBay and bought this model. Then about a year later, I bought a spare because the price was dirt cheap.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span>Sunglasses - We were in Paris back in September 2016 and I wanted to buy something to commemorate the trip. These are Persol 649S (for small) Havana brown frames. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span>Pen - a Parker Sonnet ballpoint. Got one off eBay and it began to fall apart about three months later. Took it to a pen store and they sent it off to Parker for repair under warranty. Turns out it was a fake! I was given the option to purchase a new one at a heavily discounted price, as a Goodwill gesture on their part. Suited me fine. Of course, they kept the fake. That was cool too. <br /></span></p><p><span>Typewriter - my Olivetti Lettera 32 that I bought back in 1981. Hammered out a lot of book reports and assignments on this thing. <br /></span><i><span></span></i></p><p> <span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u>No. 2 - ORIS Divers Sixty-Five <br /></u></b></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbF5ltehqGx9ZcloBkgU71DLSAQfOmogq-wNRDWT7IkZJygcOU6szArzfN3qbvpR_-MjDVJUElLVNQ0weZtL4g1FIhDy9MeYzWfM3JMd3aHP29LwvUuF4gA1nRuj33SLQ2XsTAeN0wxLARia_WIBhptVdin4DXjCQFmybdGHBD8iJJ3Zh2u0VLddM9Xg=s3361" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2963" data-original-width="3361" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbF5ltehqGx9ZcloBkgU71DLSAQfOmogq-wNRDWT7IkZJygcOU6szArzfN3qbvpR_-MjDVJUElLVNQ0weZtL4g1FIhDy9MeYzWfM3JMd3aHP29LwvUuF4gA1nRuj33SLQ2XsTAeN0wxLARia_WIBhptVdin4DXjCQFmybdGHBD8iJJ3Zh2u0VLddM9Xg=w400-h353" width="400" /></a></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: justify;"><p>Worn 58 times last year, this one is a favourite. Slim case, perfect 40mm diameter, easy to read. And it's what watch collectors call a 'strap monster', which means that it tends to look good on just about any strap you put on it. This model, with the four sci-fi styled numerals on the dial, was discontinued a couple of years ago, which I think was a mistake. Sure, it's not everybody's cup of tea, but it's such a distinctive look. </p></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: justify;">Link to my review from about three years ago; <br /></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><a href="https://teeritz.blogspot.com/2018/10/oris-diver-sixtyfive-40mm-automatic.html" target="_blank">The Teeritz Agenda | Oris Divers SixtyFive 40mm Automatic with Blue & Black Dial - REVIEW</a><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Also in the frame; </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Camera - 1970s Yashica GSN Electro 35. I loved the retro look of this large rangefinder camera. I think I've only run one or two rolls of film through this thing and the results were nice. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sunglasses - The classic RayBan Clubmaster frames. These frames have quite a few screws holding them together, so it's wise to keep them in their case when they're not being worn. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Pen - A Caran d'Ache 849 ballpoint. A gift from ORIS. A nice sturdy ballpoint pen with a one-piece barrel. You have to unscrew the push-button at the top in order to replace the refills. </p><div style="text-align: justify;">Typewriter - My son sent me a photo of this Blue Bird typewriter one afternoon after spotting it at a Thrift Store; "Forty-five dollars. Do you want it?'' </div><div style="text-align: justify;">''Sure!", I replied. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">It types nicely, although some of the keys are beginning to lift. Has a similar look to my Olympias. <br /></div><p> <span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u>No. 3 - Seiko SKX009K </u></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWQgDGE3dZjc2IFuv0a7Vr_oncCgYvjO9CQxcsr_HSKPfBcjGTwN1BdsSwHvJJjmyrroEUdXJFfYMc9sHMELAwg9Ebtcm97WYrCBThWCAYAs3oS_h95_3Qi7G_zcWdinFEG7cyX5RJr4CXcj-kF7YIFWacJeE1Y3YkaKnUDoRtkGWgB7_RLQzeUAbgZA=s5184" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5184" data-original-width="3888" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWQgDGE3dZjc2IFuv0a7Vr_oncCgYvjO9CQxcsr_HSKPfBcjGTwN1BdsSwHvJJjmyrroEUdXJFfYMc9sHMELAwg9Ebtcm97WYrCBThWCAYAs3oS_h95_3Qi7G_zcWdinFEG7cyX5RJr4CXcj-kF7YIFWacJeE1Y3YkaKnUDoRtkGWgB7_RLQzeUAbgZA=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I got this one in late September and it clocked up 27 days on my wrist. This is one of Seiko's most well-known designs, having been in production from around 1996 until a couple of years ago. The black-dialed version is the SKX007, but I opted for the deep blue dialed model instead, with the blue and red bezel. I figured my collection had enough black dive watches in it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is the 009K, which means that it was assembled at Seiko's plant in Malaysia rather than Japan. If you want the Japanese version, look for a 009J. These are still reasonably easy to get. The surest tell-tale difference is that the Japanese-assembled models will have ''21 Jewels'' printed on the dial. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mine came with a rubber strap, which I promptly removed and replaced with the metal bracelet that I got about ten years ago for another Seiko watch which I have since sold. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is one of those watches that I used to see back in the '90s on the wrists of middle-aged surfer dude types that would frequent a cafe/bistro that I used to work at. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Seiko models in this price range ($100 to $600AUD) are known for their 'leisurely' timekeeping, but I have to say that this one seems to be keeping pretty good time throughout the day. Another reason why I opted for one of these was because it features a day and date window. I dunno about you, but I get those days after a public holiday or long weekend where I go in to work on a Tuesday and it feels like a Monday. Throws my whole week out of whack. By Friday, I don't know <i>what</i> day it is. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also in the frame;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Camera - Another Olympus OM2n, but this is the all-black bodied version, which is what I had back in the early '80s. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sunglasses - a pair of Persol 2679-S frames that I got about fifteen years ago. Beautifully made. Their design is not currently in fashion, but no big deal. Everything comes around again, and these are a classic narrow frame that look like they could have been made in 1962, 1992 or 2012. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pen - a Shaeffer ballpoint that I think I got as a swap with my boss at work. Can't remember what I gave him. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Typewriter - Olympia SM9 from late 1966. This thing seems to have been barely used by its previous owner, or they really looked after it. Writes like a dream. <br /></div><div><p> <span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u>No. 4 - Omega Planet Ocean 1st Generation </u></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWLXleP0UY3Qi6VPV9KsUHiJwtmKBfUmpbMvHj994NTroRC7g6Wd0YoQg-yRBwqwo-YGKAu_6P6b10kM3XWgaCLCJgYmdqO3qz5yKn6bwrvjl686HUuV4MMFs-rABNMmtqXPRbRM0JcYQSxb972trfGpCFp5CCdH-C0lTBkfzdiKRm2THFbUYuCOKa0w=s4172" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3846" data-original-width="4172" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWLXleP0UY3Qi6VPV9KsUHiJwtmKBfUmpbMvHj994NTroRC7g6Wd0YoQg-yRBwqwo-YGKAu_6P6b10kM3XWgaCLCJgYmdqO3qz5yKn6bwrvjl686HUuV4MMFs-rABNMmtqXPRbRM0JcYQSxb972trfGpCFp5CCdH-C0lTBkfzdiKRm2THFbUYuCOKa0w=w400-h369" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This one is a favourite, and it was worn over 21 separate days of 2021. As I have so many leather straps scattered around, I figured I may as well get some wear out of them. Ideally, though, I should probably wear leather straps through the Winter months when A) there's less chance of them getting wet, and B) less risk of them wearing out through exposure to perspiration. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Planet Ocean series has seen a few iterations since it was first released in 2005, but I think Omega got it right the first time. This 42mm version was sported by Daniel Craig in his second Bond outing <i>Quantum of Solace </i>in 2008. I got mine in 2006, as a gift from Omega for selling the highest number of their watches during a three-month sales period. Nice to know that, for once, Bond copied me!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also in the frame;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Camera - a Nikon FE, produced during the brand's Golden Age, when they released one fantastic camera after another, throughout the 1970s. This one needs to be serviced, as the film advance lever doesn't lock when you wind on to the next frame. Aside from that, it works like a charm.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sunglasses - Tom Ford 'Snowdon' frames. My wife got these for me about eight years ago off eBay for $20 bucks! Then, Daniel Craig wore the same frames in <i>SPECTRE</i> in 2015. Once again, OO7 took a leaf out of my book. These frames have a very '1960s' look to them. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pen - a Lamy Studio ballpoint. This has a twist action to expose the point of the refill, which is not my favourite type of pen. I prefer a push-button, as it can be used one-handed. Back in my two decades of working in restaurants, I got used to having a pen in one hand and a notebook in the other, which made for a smoother and quicker method for taking orders at table. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Having said that, this is a nice pen to use, with a lovely weight to it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Typewriter - a circa 1956 Smith-Corona Silent Super. This brand made some great typewriters in the '40s and '50s, and this is one of their classics. Nice snappy action to the keys and type-slugs as they hit the page. <br /></div><p> <span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u>No. 5 - Omega Seamaster 300 WatchCo Edition</u></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhm1-8dl3cTGZhcN0G23E83facWseZzPxhQlmHfWRAAbmRlUbOrpiFXruhBFf2nHw0uCpdC_c0WnkMeT2NGfAgZfwJuDOPgNoKKMd476GgB9NZIoZFin-kBnZ-P4DBYDCLLP4f1O8XZe8UCxe34OTnU0cHj7Ujg8Y1xBOr8w8txTf458-TiE7fgVo56sQ=s5184" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhm1-8dl3cTGZhcN0G23E83facWseZzPxhQlmHfWRAAbmRlUbOrpiFXruhBFf2nHw0uCpdC_c0WnkMeT2NGfAgZfwJuDOPgNoKKMd476GgB9NZIoZFin-kBnZ-P4DBYDCLLP4f1O8XZe8UCxe34OTnU0cHj7Ujg8Y1xBOr8w8txTf458-TiE7fgVo56sQ=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Right behind the Planet Ocean was this watch, which I wore over 20 different days last year. Omega put its own spin on the dive watch back in the late 1950s and this iteration, which dates back to 1964 represents, for me anyway, the pinnacle of their dive watch design aesthetic. I've often said on watch forums that Omega should have kept this watch in uninterrupted production, with just some minor changes over the years, to allow for improvements in technologies and materials, etc. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">There's a reason why the Rolex Submariner dive watch has attained such a classic status over the years. Rolex are known to be slow in making changes and this resulted in a dive watch that stayed on the market virtually unchanged for decades, thus becoming an iconic wristwatch that is found in almost any Top Ten List of the best watches ever made. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In my view, Omega could have achieved a similar result if they kept this watch going through the decades. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also in the frame;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Camera - the Nikon FM2, another classic of theirs. This one may need servicing also, but it seems to work okay, although I think the internal light metering seems a tad sensitive. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sunglasses - Randolph Engineering Aviator frames that I bought about fifteen years ago. These are a spare pair that I keep in my work bag.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pen - Mont Blanc MeisterStuck 146 ballpoint. This is a reconditioned pen that I got a couple of years ago. As with any ballpoint pen, they are only as good as the refill inside them, in my humble opinion, and this pen does write very nicely. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Typewriter - the late 1950s Tower Chieftain III, which is a Smith-Corona Skyriter rebranded for Sears Department Stores back in the day. A nice machine to use, and very compact too. <br /></div></div><div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u>No. 6 - Tudor Ranger <br /></u></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiThjoltNiGUlJyEkdGE8lM-xAZOExFLiSmE4v_txbkv5DK2gGtzXrQPlarQCvaLHFoB3ntcZ3gIBMPnWnyzfN7_dIHM9ZlU1-47v3z0y3I7K0XhstNQ4D2-u_m-G01g00T6xHWiqAnFxc5NxINJuPq2N0l2I9vSZ4_Twwv44wPufOb_M55kOnH4Pu6yw=s5184" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiThjoltNiGUlJyEkdGE8lM-xAZOExFLiSmE4v_txbkv5DK2gGtzXrQPlarQCvaLHFoB3ntcZ3gIBMPnWnyzfN7_dIHM9ZlU1-47v3z0y3I7K0XhstNQ4D2-u_m-G01g00T6xHWiqAnFxc5NxINJuPq2N0l2I9vSZ4_Twwv44wPufOb_M55kOnH4Pu6yw=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This one was worn 19 times last year. It came out of nowhere late in 2020. It was offered to me at a good price and I found it difficult to say no. The previous owner told me that he had it serviced once during the time that he owned it. I had it checked out after I got it and the original rotor was replaced with a generic ETA rotor. No biggie. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This watch was based on the Rolex Explorer model. Tudor watches were made by Rolex and they used ETA movements in them instead of in-house Rolex movements. As such, they were lower-priced and aimed at a wider customer demographic. The cases, winding crowns and bracelets were made by Rolex, but the movements were outsourced. This watch measures 34mm in diameter, which is as small as I tend to go with watches. This one has certainly led a life, as can be seen by the condition of the dial and hands. It's had some water-entry at some stage and I'm sure that it's due for another service. Something that I'll get around to at some point. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also in the frame; <br /></div></div><div><p style="text-align: justify;">Camera - Nikon EM from late '70s/early '80s. I had one a few years ago, then sold it. This one was about $40 bucks on eBay. Body only. The lens was another $70. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Pen - Fisher AG-7 Space Pen. I love the look and feel of this pen. It's very solidly built. I just wish the refills provided a smoother writing experience. Although, maybe that's the compromise for having a pen that writes at any angle. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sunglasses - Five bucks from a Thrift Store. There's something very "1970s helicopter pilot" about these frames. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Typewriter - Circa 1958 Groma Kolibri. The smallest one I have. Just slightly taller than a box of matches. Writes nicely, if a little loud. <br /></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u>No. 7 (equal place) - Rolex Submariner 5513 </u></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbKGSQVYseQy3mHChgGEM-o6EUte0siX6DHPTYV0DwdBbx14xB8z2J4H6UGLSbE6MRUpxFWlErne3C_Rcd8B0iWuD42RnUp79bxPdx_R1EZalhJ7-d5uReDcAOtvfATakUYCICf-mPtHNfIW6XfcbhIVtygYe8n8yK8M5PF-ZPvHgy8Jc0Kb0efgipPA=s5184" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbKGSQVYseQy3mHChgGEM-o6EUte0siX6DHPTYV0DwdBbx14xB8z2J4H6UGLSbE6MRUpxFWlErne3C_Rcd8B0iWuD42RnUp79bxPdx_R1EZalhJ7-d5uReDcAOtvfATakUYCICf-mPtHNfIW6XfcbhIVtygYe8n8yK8M5PF-ZPvHgy8Jc0Kb0efgipPA=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A Bond watch. I wore it through 17 days last year. The Tudor Black Bay took some of the limelight away from this watch and I did give some serious consideration to selling this one. I spoke to the watchmaker I work with. He said hold on to it. I spoke to a watch dealer that I know. He said hold on to it. Even my wife said hold on to it. She added that I had wanted this watch for so long that it would be a shame to get rid of it. Then I put it on one morning and decided that I was foolish to even think of getting rid of it. I'll look at getting it serviced sometime in 2022, as I think it may be due for some attention. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also in the frame; </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Camera - a circa 1968 Nikon F Photomic. This thing weighs a tonne. I really should load it up with some film and give it a bash. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sunglasses - Moscot Lemtosh, in tortoiseshell. I got these in Bangkok in 2014. Great lenses, and they have a nice ''Sean Connery in <i>From Russia With Love" </i>vibe. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pen - a Parker 75 ballpoint in gold-plate. Nice pen to write with, but the clip is so flimsy. If you have it clipped inside a shirt pocket and you bend down to pick something up off the floor, the pen will slip out of your pocket. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Typewriter - a circa 1947 Royal Quiet De Luxe. Sometimes, if you type too fast, it will join two words together, which can be annoying. It's an idiosyncrasy of this model. Well, it <i>is</i> a 70+ year-old machine. This is the model made prior to the Henry Dreyfuss revamped design of 1948.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bond author Ian Fleming purchased a gold-plated version of the Dreyfus model to write his first book, <i>Casino Royale. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u>No. 7 (equal place) - Seiko SARB033 <br /></u></b></span></p></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjCk3Wrc1m2coQLS3Yt04uDBGQ2OJLr7aRF9M8XT9XgPt77m_BoE3YnFeWSI5z-Nl-tevbi6spofHBDyYqOxIgYHOaXPjuAQg1kbicM27qlc7sOTdUYUaX7fC0A38iNmmFTw0StqB6h2Q0apqjuaDhi7ps-5vdtzc8xz63B8g_ut25zhcbCnIWbvUwqlQ=s3801" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2886" data-original-width="3801" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjCk3Wrc1m2coQLS3Yt04uDBGQ2OJLr7aRF9M8XT9XgPt77m_BoE3YnFeWSI5z-Nl-tevbi6spofHBDyYqOxIgYHOaXPjuAQg1kbicM27qlc7sOTdUYUaX7fC0A38iNmmFTw0StqB6h2Q0apqjuaDhi7ps-5vdtzc8xz63B8g_ut25zhcbCnIWbvUwqlQ=w400-h304" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In equal 7th place, with 17 days on the wrist is this clean and clear dress piece. This one works nicely on its bracelet and it looks equally smart on a plain black leather strap. This would make a good all-purpose wristwatch. 100m water-resistance, a nice and neutral 38mm diameter, which would suit a wide variety of wrist sizes, this is a watch that punches well above its weight. This watch was discontinued a few years ago and has become quite sought-after since. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also in the frame; </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Camera - Olympus Pen F digital. This is a micro 4/3rds camera . I did a bit of research prior to buying it. In the end, the range of functions and its retro design won me over. It's been a great camera. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pen - a Lamy Logo ballpoint. Nice design, if a little flimsy. The clip came off once and an internal spring fell out. Took me a few minutes to put it all back together. A good pen, though. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Typewriter - a circa 1951 Olympia SM2. Writes like a dream. I think Olympia are my favourites. They are such rock-solid typewriters. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u>No. 8 (equal place) - Omega Railmaster 36.2mm </u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgs66iHqIiFtNzXxdPZgdoBB1jk5rQ4fBa_OH2wJzvJ-FdrlWc4vVREx2CMWv8aRLiYQ7rZStLkLP4uWB7ZEAoLXUDpuhNfbJUOnZpDZcBM1ofuWV1DmyKhKWE1RWDkEzL28xwRea84eL-Ika9gGwZ_3zQogvWC16vp3x-DEQ4Cp5gGaDbLDx6q2nSWBA=s3451" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2790" data-original-width="3451" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgs66iHqIiFtNzXxdPZgdoBB1jk5rQ4fBa_OH2wJzvJ-FdrlWc4vVREx2CMWv8aRLiYQ7rZStLkLP4uWB7ZEAoLXUDpuhNfbJUOnZpDZcBM1ofuWV1DmyKhKWE1RWDkEzL28xwRea84eL-Ika9gGwZ_3zQogvWC16vp3x-DEQ4Cp5gGaDbLDx6q2nSWBA=w400-h324" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I wore this one 15 days last year. It's a favourite. My one issue with it is the clasp. It's a design that dates back to the early 1990s and I'm not a fan of it. I've been thinking about maybe swapping it out with an Omega clasp from another model, but this will require some fine measuring and some possible filing down of components to ensure that they fit. Might be a bigger job than I can handle. At the moment, the watch is on a Forstner flat-link bracelet, which suits it nicely, but it's a lightweight bracelet compared to the Omega original. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And, if you want to read the review I wrote of this watch eight years ago;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://teeritz.blogspot.com/2013/05/omega-railmaster-co-axial-automatic.html" target="_blank">https://teeritz.blogspot.com | Omega Railmaster Co-Axial Automatic (36.2mm) - REVIEW </a> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also in the frame;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sunglasses - RayBan Wayfarers in tortoiseshell. I bought them in 1986, at the height of the Wayfarer craze, thanks to Tom Cruise popularising them in <i>Risky Business </i>in 1983. He wore the black frames, and everyone I knew was buying them. I opted for tortoiseshell. I have another pair of them somewhere, as well as a pair with prescription lenses in my car. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pen - Aurora 98 ballpoint pen. This was sent to me by relatives in Italy back in the mid-Seventies and it stayed in its box for almost forty years before I started using it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Typewriter - a circa 1953 Olivetti Studio. I love the entire look of this machine, but man, is it loud! This one will probably go at some point. <br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u>No. 8 (equal place) - Omega Speedmaster Professional </u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b> <u><br /></u></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIJ_APaJMP4GzwFw0Z0p6uOxfS-Kzkc4PX57Jo0RncgIDahfolo1LxE1GC3aCi7RFGx2eolgSi79hY8TwfgkDUDVHJptqmURQG6HQl67njCXY28ml_9QOiPOYNvvC09zawAZy74H3iQogdZgaJy_dblEUezZgiTVJaBz8SvFeLpTYgkiFQlawtfykstQ=s4000" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIJ_APaJMP4GzwFw0Z0p6uOxfS-Kzkc4PX57Jo0RncgIDahfolo1LxE1GC3aCi7RFGx2eolgSi79hY8TwfgkDUDVHJptqmURQG6HQl67njCXY28ml_9QOiPOYNvvC09zawAZy74H3iQogdZgaJy_dblEUezZgiTVJaBz8SvFeLpTYgkiFQlawtfykstQ=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As with the Railmaster, this watch was also worn on fifteen days in 2021. A classic 1960s chronograph design, which has been virtually unchanged for over 60 years, this watch deserves its place in wristwatch history, irrespective of the fact that it was also the Moonwatch, wore by the astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">These days, it has its detractors, who lament the lack of sapphire crystal, the 50m water-resistance, and the fact that it houses a hand-wound movement, but for me, this is all part of its charm. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also in the frame; </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Camera - a plain and simple Olympus Trip 35 rangefinder. In production from 1967 till 1984, probably a few of these were used by spectators during the Apollo 11 astronaut's ticker-tape parade upon their return from their historic moon landing. Simple to use, just point and shoot, and it produces a very atmospheric photo. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sunglasses - the other pilot's-style frame, similar to the Randolph Engineering model, these ones are made by American Optical. Slightly larger than the Randolph's, and the main difference is that these have plastic lenses rather than glass. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Typewriter - a 1960s Olivetti Lettera 22, which I bought recently. Not sure why, to be honest, as I'm in the mind-set of trying to thin out my typewriters rather than adding to them. <br /></div></div><div><p style="text-align: justify;">And that's it. The ten watches that got the most wear throughout the year. This is a good exercise, no matter what collection you might have, because it provides a broad view of what gets used the most, which may in turn help one to determine one's preferences. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I've come to realise that I like the all-round dependability and practicality of a dive watch. Aside from dive watches, I tend to like the simplicity of a Field or Expedition watch. Basically, a black dial with a few numerals on it, with bold hands to contrast against it. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I have to say that my vintage pieces barely got a look-in this year. Some of them require servicing, so that might explain it to an extent. I think, though, I was still in a long honeymoon phase with the Tudor Black Bay. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, that's how it all stands. I've been wearing the Seiko SKX009 since New Year's Eve. As it has a day and date function, it's been handy. You know how the days blur a little in the first week or two of January? Or maybe that's just me. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Thanks for reading, and stay safe! <br /></p></div>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-12431792937724004792021-12-31T22:28:00.002-08:002021-12-31T22:28:47.899-08:00XXXXday, November XXth, 2021 - Back on Tracks, Bond Off/Bond On, Covid Headaches & Recent Wristwatches | P.S.- This is an older post that I should have put up a month or so ago. <p style="text-align: justify;">Saturday January 1st, 2022 - 5:28pm AEDT. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">HAPPY NEW YEAR!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Dammit, I never got around to putting up this post back in November. Life has been very busy in recent months and it just slipped my mind. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, since I started it, I figured i'd better post it, even if just to show that I'm still alive and kicking. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">November 7th</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Quick re-cap from my previous post - My wife was under 14-day home isolation last month after a few of her co-workers tested positive for Covid. We all got the requisite tests done during the first week of her quarantine period and all tests came back negative. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">On day thirteen of her quarantine period, she went to get tested. Next day, she got a negative result. SO that's that all sorted. Personally, we were 100% certain that she would be okay, but we had to cross our t's and dot our i's. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I went back to work after a week of annual leave - plus an extra couple of days of staying home after Covid tests - and found a mountain of work waiting for me. Always happens. Took me two weeks to get it all under control. We moved offices. For the last five years, our office was about ten kilometres out of the city centre. Late September, we began the move into the CBD. So, I'm back to catching trains in to work, and I have to say that not much about this commute has changed since I last took trains back in 2011. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm none too thrilled about having to leave home at least 40 minutes earlier in the morning, plus the added expense of a daily train fare. Although, I plan to reach a point where I get to the station well before 8:00am so that I can get to work by 8:30am. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRWWhfNUJkwLLv5QwzYOpeFzHJzbDHZGTAu6gTaHSYCfsM-8hRh9ZKfyL1GkdvkLxYxPTYI2aIZB4oVkvUAACOB8Fh4JL3PmKLDsvegUQlPGyTI5G-TvoVVBykUrdbzxrwE40nenvteYN1/s1280/13th.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRWWhfNUJkwLLv5QwzYOpeFzHJzbDHZGTAu6gTaHSYCfsM-8hRh9ZKfyL1GkdvkLxYxPTYI2aIZB4oVkvUAACOB8Fh4JL3PmKLDsvegUQlPGyTI5G-TvoVVBykUrdbzxrwE40nenvteYN1/s320/13th.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">The recently-purchased Seiko SKX009K has gotten a lot of wear since it arrived. Great legibility, comfortable on the wrist, and its day and date capability has been very handy. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Back around August of 2019, the Melbourne State Orchestra announced a special screening of the Bond film <i>Skyfall</i>, with the orchestra playing a live rendition of the movie's score while the film played on the screen. As soon as tickets went on sale, I snapped up four of them. It would take place in April 2020 at Hamer Hall, a theatre that usually hosts MSO performances. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Well, Covid lock-downs soon delayed this performance, as virtually all theatre, concert and cinema venues closed throughout the pandemic. <i>Skyfall in Concert</i>, as it was known, was postponed three times. And then in September this year, I received an email stating that I would be refunded the ticket price and would be invited to re-purchase them once a new venue was confirmed. Well, the new venue and performance date was confirmed in the first weeks of October. The concert would now take place on December 8th at the Myer Music Bowl and I would receive an email soon to allow me to purchase early-bird tickets. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Hmm, the Myer Music Bowl is an outdoor venue. I wasn't crazy about that idea. Anyway, I received the invite via email and hit the link which re-directed me to the ticket buying page. Whereas the original tickets that I purchased cost me $90.oo each, these new tickets would be anywhere between $74.oo and $149.oo AND I couldn't see a tab or section on the webpage that would allow me to choose my preferred seating. I was now ticked off. <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I understand the change of venue. These theatres book events often many months in advance, and I get that Hamer Hall (the original venue) was probably scheduled to have other performances booked throughout the remainder of this year. So, if it was now to be held at an outdoor venue, I could probably cope with that, assuming the weather held out on the night. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, no clear indication of seating preference, coupled with a possibly steep hike in pricing was a deal-breaker for me. After stewing for about half an hour, I didn't bother purchasing tickets for this event. My family provided further logic to my own view. <i>If the weather's no good, it won't be any fun, if the prices are $150 bucks, then that's way too much, etc. </i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I soon felt better about it all. In the meantime, my family snagged tickets to a Gold Class session of <i>No Time To Die</i> on opening day. Gold Class tickets are $38.oo each and you get to sit in an reclining armchair in a theatre with 20 seats. You can order food and drinks beforehand and they'll bring them in to you at pre-arranged times throughout the screening. So, there's that to look forward to. Finally, after so many delays, the new Bond flick opens here in Australia on November 11th. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMWJPKsBHPdfcwgjMgXmIIuR2v49dIVmc8iVK3qHdOa6cwUuf00bxQyZzq_DJVQhZPnEgbiPoZe6fUSO4uzj3DO4LsGsjdo7l5oggxckoyKnU1OZ1f5y2nZqi0OOP7tKnznSxsZjDT0c5k/s1024/no-time-to-die_set-visit_matera_49.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMWJPKsBHPdfcwgjMgXmIIuR2v49dIVmc8iVK3qHdOa6cwUuf00bxQyZzq_DJVQhZPnEgbiPoZe6fUSO4uzj3DO4LsGsjdo7l5oggxckoyKnU1OZ1f5y2nZqi0OOP7tKnznSxsZjDT0c5k/w400-h266/no-time-to-die_set-visit_matera_49.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>I'm hoping it's a good film. Reviews - which I haven't read - have been positive for the most part. There have been a few spoilers online, in the most unlikely places. One Instagrammer whom I followed put up a photo from the film with a three-word caption which, for me, turned out to be a major spoiler. I promptly hit the 'Unfollow' tab.<p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Been waiting years for this film, what with all the added Covid-related delays, and some knob throws a major spanner in the works with three little words. And that, hepcats, is just another problem with social media. I'll be closing my Twitter account at some point. I set it up nine years ago as part of my Social Media module when I was doing Library Studies and have no real use for it. For me, it's just one more bit of mind clutter, and another thing that I have to tend to. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, I hope this new Bond film makes up for the last one. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Update;</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8D95E3P9oDWvYSaop9d33ZB8qkiBuczZQL-6-CqOKAFsSLMBXd-1iVR7WNFDVYZynTXZQ6vmxxk5gwOmjkgYg1EJdpt6x38nhNbtXrwi5r7PWivaqAitp2GVaXyiL-_xCemKtk8td-yJ/s1280/typecast+1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="416" data-original-width="1280" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8D95E3P9oDWvYSaop9d33ZB8qkiBuczZQL-6-CqOKAFsSLMBXd-1iVR7WNFDVYZynTXZQ6vmxxk5gwOmjkgYg1EJdpt6x38nhNbtXrwi5r7PWivaqAitp2GVaXyiL-_xCemKtk8td-yJ/w640-h208/typecast+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Some of the watches I wore since my last post. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjieK9ZE5y0BrndWOpwYeemZHxm1a0b1XvQvqXSHLBXWPjOaiUXZ44pUlxEjiyqG4pMvNSiZi6A7qH-Ur7ptwZMfz7cWtQ_AAyneKLw0WO0X3d7ViQ3FBTE7swbiIgx4eVO_xNlIab2mxiP/s1280/29th+Sept+-+2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjieK9ZE5y0BrndWOpwYeemZHxm1a0b1XvQvqXSHLBXWPjOaiUXZ44pUlxEjiyqG4pMvNSiZi6A7qH-Ur7ptwZMfz7cWtQ_AAyneKLw0WO0X3d7ViQ3FBTE7swbiIgx4eVO_xNlIab2mxiP/w400-h300/29th+Sept+-+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The Tudor Ranger. I had the case-back opened up to get a look at the movement. It appears that the original rotor was replaced with a generic one. I was slightly ticked off at first, but as I plan on keeping this watch, it's no big deal. Also, I can get an after-market rotor off eBay, which is something that I should have done when I saw them for sale a few weeks ago. Otherwise, if I ever do sell this watch, I'll just be transparent regarding the rotor. <p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Also in the frame is this Montecristo ashtray. I don't smoke cigars, but I've always liked the Art Deco-fonted Montecristo logo and colourway. It's such a pleasant shade of yellow. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7eBT9IpMjpygE1vyk89lmW619Ok3BA4blWKi8SUSV7RbQBKZh4tUDg0epahYvVz2n902WzEaOMUw07NmY4rg-lauMqyChe_GQeFSsbd8g3t4c3HXKHR1RAEIutG-EpBkVaNN0tyEpDH2_/s1280/26th+Sept.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7eBT9IpMjpygE1vyk89lmW619Ok3BA4blWKi8SUSV7RbQBKZh4tUDg0epahYvVz2n902WzEaOMUw07NmY4rg-lauMqyChe_GQeFSsbd8g3t4c3HXKHR1RAEIutG-EpBkVaNN0tyEpDH2_/w400-h400/26th+Sept.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Continuing to get regular wear is the Tudor Black Bay 58. I write down in my diary each day the watch that I've worn, so that I can write up a Most-Worn Watch tally post early in the new year. I thin the Black Bay will be in the Number 1 spot this year. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I took this photo with my iPhone and then ran it through the Mosaic filter in the Prisma editing app to produce this effect. I like the fact that, even through this filter effect, the watch is clearly legible. For me, that's the main criteria for any wristwatch, especially as I get older. Since I now pretty much have to put on glasses to read anything from a novel to a list of ingredients on a biscuit packet, I like my watches to be easy to read. <br /></div><div><p style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPX_VSvrGL5h5OuCW9riL5Cr50qznchagv8ryv-mtVOoLUB5TtFRvyCsJMTgJ17KdJw8OKVNNk2cX3o8xfxFA76sV46RDjFOVQFSMm-2hlgy5jqLVUgMHI982yUaBWc3dg9Os5ZOZS8rgy/s1280/21st.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPX_VSvrGL5h5OuCW9riL5Cr50qznchagv8ryv-mtVOoLUB5TtFRvyCsJMTgJ17KdJw8OKVNNk2cX3o8xfxFA76sV46RDjFOVQFSMm-2hlgy5jqLVUgMHI982yUaBWc3dg9Os5ZOZS8rgy/w400-h400/21st.jpg" width="400" /></a>The Rado Golden Horse was perfect for those days when a simple time-and-date watch was required. To give myself a break from sports watches. I'm somewhat tempted to get another watch in a similar style, but I'm not really sure why. About a year ago, I started writing myself a document outlining each watch in the collection and why I have it. This was done as an exercise to help me determine what kind of watches I like, which ones in the collection will stay (most of them) and which ones will most likely be moved on. Needless to say, this document is a work in progress and I'm not even sure if it will ever be finished, as my tastes tend to change a little over time. However, it has been good to get it all down on paper, so to speak, as I've found that my tastes have changed over the years and I now seem to have a better understanding of the kinds of watches that I like. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyK_wKNPkJcLeUWCdmQBvkdU6VYk3mK9faG2ROLhkTNbvY0DH-KHLEaPLitiZLcbwtPAzBCHrfebo7fCR535iK-Pa-jaoBla89I9D0o16Cv_6dpw7lY9DpIcBM0Q5AmdffWVdAL33Cq2FX/s1190/27th+Sept.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1190" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyK_wKNPkJcLeUWCdmQBvkdU6VYk3mK9faG2ROLhkTNbvY0DH-KHLEaPLitiZLcbwtPAzBCHrfebo7fCR535iK-Pa-jaoBla89I9D0o16Cv_6dpw7lY9DpIcBM0Q5AmdffWVdAL33Cq2FX/s320/27th+Sept.jpg" width="275" /></a></div>The Hamilton Khaki Field Automatic spent some time on the wrist. As mentioned, since it's a beater, it gets worn for yard work and handyman duties around the house, but I've yet to really put any marks on it. Which is probably a good thing, even though I think it'll look good with a few scars on it. I seem to have accumulated a vast array of leather straps over the years, so I thought I'd put this one on this watch. My idea is to leave a strap on a watch long enough to actually see the strap deteriorate over time. Worn daily, a leather strap will last anywhere between 1 and a half to 2 and a half years, depending on exposure to water, perspiration, or any other fluids, be they chemical or organic. Moisture can weaken the adhesives and stitching used in the manufacture of the straps. This is normal wear-and-tear, and it's sometimes the hardest thing to explain to customers who contact me to complain that their leather strap only lasted them three years. That's a pretty decent run, if you ask me. Having been in the industry for so long, three years is at the upper end of a leather strap's life-span if the watch has seen regular wear. Oh, and of course, plain old exposure to air and sunlight will weaken the leather too. Leather dries out, boys and girls. And speaking to the girls out there, ladies, a little bit of perfume or fragrance applied to the wrist will have an acidic reaction on the stitches of your leather strap. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9IYZ_HPACx9_xr2H5PdLJXCwvxLiW1fyfrBIT6gBOS1BJJtTodr0B3nwG6igm8El3n-DgZYn0J2TR_DjXZrmyCJV9zsmwU8sf0I4ufdc61edecS0EIc0oVYOpPMz1EVUpd_6_giTTdftr/s1206/typecast+2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="696" data-original-width="1206" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9IYZ_HPACx9_xr2H5PdLJXCwvxLiW1fyfrBIT6gBOS1BJJtTodr0B3nwG6igm8El3n-DgZYn0J2TR_DjXZrmyCJV9zsmwU8sf0I4ufdc61edecS0EIc0oVYOpPMz1EVUpd_6_giTTdftr/w640-h370/typecast+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The trains have been relatively quiet during this (hopefully) last lock-down that we had in Victoria. It was lifted in late October, but it seems that not everybody has returned to their original workplaces. Here's my train carriage at around 5:45pm on a Wednesday afternoon in late October;</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz-INtnjj1y-X-LHMviuYWcdM72l9j47MRuvsdNPeKegt-dwTrIv1AT7sh5Zve9wzxg7b4s62fIEV_CgnTgRQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Of course, since then, there are more people traveling by rail as life enters 'Covid normal'. Masks are no longer required outdoors, but I still tend to wear mine on cold days, moreso to keep my face warm than anything else. I'm seeing a lot of people who are not scanning the barcodes outside of various establishments before going in. This is still a contact tracing requirement in the event of another major outbreak. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Service Victoria has created an app that you download onto your smartphone and after you scan the barcode outside a store, it registers that you've visited this location, along with a link to your vaccination certificate if you've had both Covid vaccines. Most places now won't let you in unless you are double-vaxxed. There's still a large segment of anti-vaxxers in our country who think that the vaccines are injecting some form of population control technology into our bloodstreams, etc. Seriously? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I ain't gonna get into it. We had a couple of staff at work who had no plans to get vaccinated. Until management told them that it was a requirement of the job under current State regulations. One of them said to me; <i>But you don't have to worry. You're double-vaxxed. </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i>I'm also a mild asthmatic who smoked for 35 years, so my respiratory system is already compromised and I don't need to risk it, </i>I replied. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">His wife is a nurse, so he gets a lot of anecdotal info regarding Covid cases at the hospital where she works. He says most of the Covid fatalities are due to patients already having some pre-existing health issues that already compromise their immune systems, etc. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I understand that, but I don't plan on chancing it if I can. Just as well he got vaccinated, because if he didn't, I'd be recommending to management that he posed a potential risk to the rest of us in the workplace. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Anyway...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><u><i>CURRENTLY READING</i></u></b></span><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>The Lies of Locke Lamora </i>by Scott Lynch. </b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0dlYCRyY5_g8Nns5L2n_JC98D-m4QQFLSdMae2rkKTNhLqXQjU2r6_PvUBKeu667qAotgG8upfW4x1IU0fAn29Ds0_-i24O9UUVn1t6ZyqktDpPKUOTW8Ap1K6_SHprNsKOMj41TAkBI3/s1280/Locke.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1068" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0dlYCRyY5_g8Nns5L2n_JC98D-m4QQFLSdMae2rkKTNhLqXQjU2r6_PvUBKeu667qAotgG8upfW4x1IU0fAn29Ds0_-i24O9UUVn1t6ZyqktDpPKUOTW8Ap1K6_SHprNsKOMj41TAkBI3/w334-h400/Locke.jpg" width="334" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Published in 2006, it's set in the mythical city of Camorr, a blend of medieval Venice and 18th Century London, and centres around a young orphaned street urchin named Locke Lamora, who is sold by The ThiefMaker to The Eyeless Priest. The ThiefMaker is glad to be rid of this child, who has caused him nothing but grief. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And the kid is only seven years old. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Eyeless Priest sits outside his temple, blind and blind-folded, and chained to the building by his wrists. He is the Priest of The Crooked Warden, the patron saint of thieves, and is the caretaker of a bunch of other orphaned boys that make up The Gentlemen Bastards, a group of sneak-thieves, pick-pockets and con artists, all well under the age of eighteen when the story begins. The Eyeless Priest, or Father Chains, as he goes by, teaches them the skills of thievery and the art of the con. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This first book is part of an initial trilogy, and Lynch has just completed Book 4, due for release soon. It's the kind of book that my son likes to read and he offered it to me as a way for me to take a break from my usual literary diet of thrillers. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have to say this book is fantastic. And that's not just coming from somebody who doesn't usually read fantasy. This book is beautifully written. Lynch has a wonderful way with words and turns of phrase. Beyond that, he's vividly created this world that exists in a realm made up of glass skyscrapers, dark alchemy, and a vocabulary and terminology which appears confusing at first, but is soon understood once you get into the story. I was hooked about a dozen pages in. And then there's the plot. Think of <i>Oliver Twist </i>crossed with <i>The Sting.</i> Locke Lamora is slightly-built, not good at fighting or handy with a sword, but he makes up for it with his conniving. He and his gang are soon in the midst of a long con involving a shipment of rare wine and a rich Count that they plan to swindle. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And that's just the start of the story. The city of Camorr is overseen by the Duke Nicovante at the upper reaches, and Capa Barsavi at the criminal end. Crime in the city is tolerated by the upper classes as long as certain conditions are not breached, and Capa Barsavi is there to ensure that nobody, including Locke and his gang, upsets the status quo. Barsavi also collects a commission from the proceeds of all crime in Camorr. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A lot more happens, but I'm only about three hundred pages in, just over half-way. The characters are foul-mouthed at times, richly detailed and layered, and the story flashes back and forth between Locke's apprenticeship under Father Chains, and ten years later as Locke and his gang get their con underway. Meanwhile, to complicate matters, along comes The Grey King, who is systematically killing Barsavi's most trusted underlings and associates, threatening a major battle in the underworld. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The chapters are broken down into smaller sub-chapters, but this book rewards being read in big chunks, as so much occurs in the story. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've been very impressed by the book's 'English' feel, in both the language and the sentence construction, considering that Lynch is American born and bred. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He's captured the nuances of British English very well.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As I mentioned, this isn't the kind of tale that I'd normally read. I prefer stories set in places with cars on roads and elevators in buildings, but this book is so well written and plotted that I was drawn into it very easily. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So far, short of it all falling to pieces in the next 200 pages, I highly recommend this book. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi46kR0dfTB4ZJcI4mrSTejqfCiyCj4s8ySaT3PkJuAfl_Ul6InzUSov9abs1fcQ82Yd7eB7LwvlCCKUQqf9shcDccUcnpfWynD8c-8eRMTPARI557VmSdWrnRW1_yjVha1RQ4EK3BfPhzq/s1280/27th+Oct.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi46kR0dfTB4ZJcI4mrSTejqfCiyCj4s8ySaT3PkJuAfl_Ul6InzUSov9abs1fcQ82Yd7eB7LwvlCCKUQqf9shcDccUcnpfWynD8c-8eRMTPARI557VmSdWrnRW1_yjVha1RQ4EK3BfPhzq/s320/27th+Oct.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Omega Planet Ocean got some wear since my last post. There's been so much coverage of the new James Bond Omega watch from <i>No Time To Die</i> in recent months in the lead-up to the movie's release date. Aside from write-ups on various fashion blogs that have dissected Bond's wardrobe and accessories in this film, wristwatch forums are abuzz with chatter about this watch.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Personally, I'm not a fan of it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I think there are too many elements in its design which have dated since the original design from 1993. Of course, it's been a strong seller since its release, so what do <i>I</i> know? Either way, I have three watches as worn by Bond in the movies, so my OO7 wristwatch stable is pretty well stocked. <br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Omega Railmaster also got some time on the wrist. Here it is on a Forstner flat-link bracelet. It's not a bad bracelet, but I don't think it suits the watch 100%, or maybe I've just gotten to used to the original bracelet, which will go back onto the watch at some point. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBfvXy_UoQ4RONDj3COC6ck23bNGEgIeqPA2pElqLkgwoG7B7oBLcI-dDCjTpBS6uJfdXyVrqIpIQ7UUrWSvVjYgEV8YvbgL0_Ci_CYY4eYdBaGbn8VolhNFrZLaulnzq5Hvl5yjQLE2Qg/s1280/22nd.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBfvXy_UoQ4RONDj3COC6ck23bNGEgIeqPA2pElqLkgwoG7B7oBLcI-dDCjTpBS6uJfdXyVrqIpIQ7UUrWSvVjYgEV8YvbgL0_Ci_CYY4eYdBaGbn8VolhNFrZLaulnzq5Hvl5yjQLE2Qg/s320/22nd.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">January 1st, 2022</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Anyway, I'll stop it here. I hope you all had a pleasant festive season (for those who celebrate it) and here wishing you all a good year ahead. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I hope 2022 treats you all kindly.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Keep safe, and thanks for reading!<br /></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i> </i></div></div>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-15523971029934105792021-10-06T14:36:00.000-07:002021-10-06T14:36:02.448-07:00Wednesday October 6th, 2021 - RIP Charlie Watts, Post-Op Mishaps, Covid Jabs, Covid Tests + Recent Wristwatches<div class="separator"><div style="text-align: justify;">Wednesday 25th, August, 2021</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> I had just parked my car in an all-day parking space, which meant that I wouldn't have to step out of the office to move my car every two hours. As I approached the entrance to my office, my phone rang. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> It was my wife; <i>T, I just read the news that Charlie Watts died. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The news didn't hit me at first, but as the morning progressed, I found myself getting more upset. A hackneyed phrase, but it's the end of an era. Watts was 80 and had recently undergone a procedure for an undisclosed ailment. On doctor's orders, he was to miss the North American leg of The Rolling Stones' current tour in order to recuperate. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">He died on Tuesday and tributes soon began appearing on Twitter and Instagram. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">For me, The Stones are now permanently chipped. Watts was always low-key and unassuming. Reading a few articles on music sites, I soon realised the degree of his input in every song. I don't know much about music with regard to terminology, how its written, the difference between E-flat and D-sharp, major or minor chords. So, it's been interesting reading of how he managed to keep Mick Jagger and Keith Richards under control for almost 60 years. Whenever Richards would start speeding through a song onstage, Watts would reign him back in. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">There's the oft-told story of how Jagger was drunk in a hotel room and referred to Watts as ''my little drummer''. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Watts left the room, went to his own room, changed into a sharp suit and then returned to Jagger's suite and punched him in the face, then added; "I'm not your little drummer. You're my fucking little singer!"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDLDFLyDzUNMtgkwLHc5x8KdOissBeKvyEWm2xesh40y7Ov3kNUZJSf7Zi89GntEYe0ZCOJWRm6fK4mZJlmbkIdX8-_zTcESVmS91NS117s-qs2MDRI1rD1-NfphGJPA1Uur1bNKoXrLRD/s1334/CW.PNG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDLDFLyDzUNMtgkwLHc5x8KdOissBeKvyEWm2xesh40y7Ov3kNUZJSf7Zi89GntEYe0ZCOJWRm6fK4mZJlmbkIdX8-_zTcESVmS91NS117s-qs2MDRI1rD1-NfphGJPA1Uur1bNKoXrLRD/w225-h400/CW.PNG" width="225" /></a></div>Watts
provided the necessary calm amidst the storm that was Jagger and
Richards. The neatly pressed collar as a counterpoint to his little
singer's puffy shirt sleeves. If you logged on to The Stones website in
the weeks following his death, this picture (left) is what you would see. <br /><p>It
has since been updated with information regarding the band's upcoming
North American tour, but it was nice to see this image. <br /></p><p>I
have to hand it to Watts. It is well-known that he didn't enjoy touring,
as it took him away from home for long spells. You could cynically
argue that he made good money as a result, but he could have called it
quits twenty or thirty years ago and gone on to other pursuits. I just
think that he felt an obligation to the band and that's why he toured. </p>He leaves behind his wife Shirley, whom he married in 1964, and a daughter named Seraphina, along with a legion of fans around the world.<br /></div><p></p><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>_________________________________________________________________</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i> </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i> </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT2qa5N0IzYKGo4HjbDiGSlQmteNgjOfEOt8yDsoXvlXRe3KWR3id-fENsQujqk06cqg3zJ5TzID7WL05ZYkuoJRPvpP7V-_598Brpjju2iIT99ykKoHaXP7WGkLYzZyF0a5TEYnhXiWdq/s2048/6th.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1774" data-original-width="2048" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT2qa5N0IzYKGo4HjbDiGSlQmteNgjOfEOt8yDsoXvlXRe3KWR3id-fENsQujqk06cqg3zJ5TzID7WL05ZYkuoJRPvpP7V-_598Brpjju2iIT99ykKoHaXP7WGkLYzZyF0a5TEYnhXiWdq/s320/6th.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></i>Following directly from my previous post, here's my cat-inflicted wound,
healing nicely, three days after the previous photo. Also in the frame
is the Rado Golden Horse. This watch was first produced in 1957 and it
appeared again over the years. I doubt it was in constant production,
but a modern version was released a year or two ago.</div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I do like vintage Rados. They have cool names like Green Horse, Purple Horse, Golden Gazelle and they were decent sellers back in the day. Very popular throughout the Asian countries, as these watches were inexpensive and dependable. <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">So, I got the titanium implant procedure done in late July. Two titanium screws fitted to my gum-line. Puffier in the cheeks for the first week and all I ate was soup, to play it safe. About ten days after the procedure, I was using a mouthwash and felt one of the screws swishing around in my mouth. It had come off! Luckily, I didn't swallow it and it didn't end up down the bathroom basin's sink. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">A quick email to the dental surgeon (it was around ten pm) and a couple of frantic phone calls the next morning. Another dentist could re-attach the screw. Took him less than a minute. I later thought about it a surmised that it may have been the two sticks of Big Red that I chewed on the day before that might have undone the screw. Needless to say, I haven't chewed gum since and no screws have loosened. My next appointment is in late November, to check how the implant screws have settled in. Then it's an appointment with my regular dentist to get porcelain crowns fitted to the screws. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The day after this incident, I had my first Pfizer jab. Got my second one a couple of weeks ago. Two staff at work have stated that they have no intention of getting vaccinated, which ticks me off, but what can you do? </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Okay, some watches that I've worn since my last post.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuGBjapGiGUaI_wN4Zq_u-J63SZjiP4fjWHxlq9ffOAI8AeiYIDDq4_6SZDlVowkRl-pIVgHcw61Af2Zmp5d2qkl6_JEGBIbvEG5BPO5rFp5YasR5hqsuGU-GNTTC6F58dku2N628SEYw6/s2048/3rd.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuGBjapGiGUaI_wN4Zq_u-J63SZjiP4fjWHxlq9ffOAI8AeiYIDDq4_6SZDlVowkRl-pIVgHcw61Af2Zmp5d2qkl6_JEGBIbvEG5BPO5rFp5YasR5hqsuGU-GNTTC6F58dku2N628SEYw6/s320/3rd.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Citizen Eco-Drive Nighthawk. This is the watch that I'll probably take with me when I travel, whenever that'll be again. Battery-powered, 200m water-resistant, and it has a second timezone scale on the main dial. And the hands and hour markers glow like mad in the dark!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Obviously, I can't travel at the moment and, even if I could, my wife and I haven't exactly made plans for our next trip. If anything, there are some house-related refurbishments that require attention before another trip. And something tells me that airfares will be quite pricey once this whole Covid mess calms down a little. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkwkRSFrIRaxlw_HaQMcA6W3IMpHHDJc689TnV_SpyNwD_Sa58QQ2Mki2Qcx4TGrV-Fe3IH4OKZSTaI5sXfudOqqaH3G40r4gryjPHsFrIknUxZVpH6i6EPwJmTwwRrVUfoaus-p3jjd27/s1280/17th.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="795" data-original-width="1280" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkwkRSFrIRaxlw_HaQMcA6W3IMpHHDJc689TnV_SpyNwD_Sa58QQ2Mki2Qcx4TGrV-Fe3IH4OKZSTaI5sXfudOqqaH3G40r4gryjPHsFrIknUxZVpH6i6EPwJmTwwRrVUfoaus-p3jjd27/w400-h249/17th.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">The Seiko SARB033 has gotten some wear. This watch works nicely on its steel bracelet or a leather strap. It would look good on a brown strap, just as a point of difference. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi37mJUveicAXPapApF51Ra13TRCE0IXVQ_a033_ARymjifXb0QtbqRQWIMi6AQW6hUz26xRUly-1ufQFbn4ozuyPtDdMRPSoV94siyw-hqQUg_tZ-VUg1Rszikh9YXibxfq11SDMpZnonc/s1280/20th.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1063" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi37mJUveicAXPapApF51Ra13TRCE0IXVQ_a033_ARymjifXb0QtbqRQWIMi6AQW6hUz26xRUly-1ufQFbn4ozuyPtDdMRPSoV94siyw-hqQUg_tZ-VUg1Rszikh9YXibxfq11SDMpZnonc/w333-h400/20th.jpg" width="333" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Omega Seamaster 300 WatchCo. I had it serviced a couple of years ago and it's running nicely. It would be impossible to replace this watch for the price that I paid for it back in 2009, so that's just another reason why it's a keeper. Back in 2006 or so, I spent a long time trawling through eBay for one of these in original condition. I saw a lot of fakes, as this watch was heavily counterfeited during the Vietnam War and sold to unsuspecting GIs, and I saw a lot of badly water-damaged originals. The models that I <i>did</i> see in good condition were quite pricey and out of my price range. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the end, I contacted a former colleague who worked for a company that built these watches up, using genuine Omega replacement parts and old movements from vintage Omega watches. A lot of collectors don't rate these, calling them 'Frankenwatches', as they did not originate from Omega in Switzerland, but I don't care. All parts are genuine, and this watch would be no different to a water damaged watch that required a new dial, hands, full movement overhaul, etc. Sure, the serial number on the movement would correspond to a vintage dress model Omega from the 1960s, but big deal. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg5I8DI-Qar4fJdbwSjPxhnXuINXfrS3HQoJmR_aVCJAXZ_bDk1e-uh-n_pymNZ0nTASp_pdjbk5FLbgacpJuePoOtclhhLZEKnmCLZuljUT5uALkfcFfUK25qnRdCwBjSXRIrPgVDkPw7/s1280/9th.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg5I8DI-Qar4fJdbwSjPxhnXuINXfrS3HQoJmR_aVCJAXZ_bDk1e-uh-n_pymNZ0nTASp_pdjbk5FLbgacpJuePoOtclhhLZEKnmCLZuljUT5uALkfcFfUK25qnRdCwBjSXRIrPgVDkPw7/s320/9th.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Rolex Submariner 5513 got some time on the wrist as well, but it was usurped by the Tudor Black Bay 58 most days. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I think this one may be due for a service soon. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And, at the time of writing this portion (Oct 6th), <i>No Time To Die</i> has premiered in the UK to a majority of positive reviews. Our state-wide lock-down is meant to end on October 23rd, and this film is due for release in Australia on November 11th. Hopefully, I'll get to see this film around that time. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Covid case numbers were 1,746 as of two days ago. A week prior to that (27/9), they were 1,008. Now, however, the tactic here in Victoria has changed. Whereas our State Government was hoping for case numbers to drop, they have now suggested that the state will re-open gradually as more people get vaccinated. We have reached an 80% of the population having had the first vaccine, but the idea is to get to both vaccinations for 70 to 80% of the population Australia-wide. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Couple of staff at my office have no intention of getting vaccinated. We'll see if that changes sometime soon. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bit of a mess, ain't it? <br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgguUq98jBLgkzURMEX5BzKQqptFIVWL90lUYlp2ehzY_5L82Fh33Ov6Y7cjTREeA4K2y2ILeF21exQYTgq303v_xAJPAMWkF-FYXLCLTX6e671uHvO7PEx5Axz_uEmxomo4rodREokvtdg/s2048/17th.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgguUq98jBLgkzURMEX5BzKQqptFIVWL90lUYlp2ehzY_5L82Fh33Ov6Y7cjTREeA4K2y2ILeF21exQYTgq303v_xAJPAMWkF-FYXLCLTX6e671uHvO7PEx5Axz_uEmxomo4rodREokvtdg/s320/17th.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And, as I stated, the Tudor Black Bay 58 has spent much time on my
wrist. I'm fairly certain that it will take top spot as my most-worn
wristwatch of 2021.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">My Rolex Sub has considerable clout, history and street cred, and it's beautiful to look at, but this Tudor does things that the Sub no longer can. You may recall that I knocked the crystal off the Sub a couple of years ago when I bumped the watch against a door frame. I was a little surprised to see the crystal and bezel come off the watch so easily. Maybe it was one of those wrong-angle freak accidents, but I began to wonder if I could afford to maintain this watch in the long run. Knock on wood, there have been no other knocks since then, but I have been a little more careful with this watch since. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have often stated that owning one of these older Rolex dive watches is akin to owning a vintage sports car. A little more care and feeding is required in order to maintain them. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ZOxZ2eIsumXJMiIVxmvCVO232FD5GxVYBLqVlW-eyEC3uOrmPgffN8nWQmiKYkv0QP4PsOHcd-TaFWoJ2Kjf5O72y62mw1Q1YDj3o4u8LpgSvNT5rslOYNpw6fA7m4orLHhr7oJPp7ii/s1280/8th.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ZOxZ2eIsumXJMiIVxmvCVO232FD5GxVYBLqVlW-eyEC3uOrmPgffN8nWQmiKYkv0QP4PsOHcd-TaFWoJ2Kjf5O72y62mw1Q1YDj3o4u8LpgSvNT5rslOYNpw6fA7m4orLHhr7oJPp7ii/s320/8th.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My wife hasn't worn her Sinn 556A for the last couple of years. She got some good wear out of it, but always found the date a little hard to read. So did I. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I did my research before buying her this watch back in 2014. She wanted something large, not a dainty watch. Check, this watch measures 38.5mm in diameter. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">She wanted something with large numbers on the dial. Check. The numerals and hour markers are coated in SuperLuminova and glow nicely in the dark. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">She wanted something automatic, and it had to be water-resistant, as she tends to wear her watch all the time. Check. This watch is an auto and it has a more-than-she-needs 200m water-resistance. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And it had to have a date window. Check. This watch has a discreet date window at the 4:30 position on the dial. A little <i>too</i> discreet it seems, because the date window is quite small. I suppose this was done so as to not to interrupt the symmetry of the dial layout. The date is there when you need to refer to it. It's just a tad small for our eyesight these days. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Sinn 556A served her well over the years. It took a beating and kept on going, and it has a few scars to show for it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although, in the interests of her having a watch with a date that she could see, I began looking at alternatives. The Tudor North Flag was my first stop;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFwW53Cg4e6SMHKEm022DpYfnCBRiM9zXmhoEWWxn2ykuDqestx8Et79rOdolPUerjp0cZErAkA_tszjMpc32DpXArfEzSJjaK2iOH1NrxTPsOI4yBZ2g8Oa8OzsEsjsgoWrculI06MiPp/s1260/Tudor+North+Flag+Review+%252827%2529.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="1260" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFwW53Cg4e6SMHKEm022DpYfnCBRiM9zXmhoEWWxn2ykuDqestx8Et79rOdolPUerjp0cZErAkA_tszjMpc32DpXArfEzSJjaK2iOH1NrxTPsOI4yBZ2g8Oa8OzsEsjsgoWrculI06MiPp/w400-h266/Tudor+North+Flag+Review+%252827%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A bold 40mm case, black dial with at-a-glance readability, 100m water-resistance, a power reserve indicator - which lets you know how fully wound the watch is at any time - AND a date window that is easy to see. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">As an added bonus, it also had a 70 hour power reserve in its in-house movement. Take this watch off on a Friday night after wearing it all week and it'll still be running on Monday morning. This is no mean feat, as most watches (in lower price brackets, it has to be said) have a power reserve of around 40 hours. Still, 70 hours is a big deal. One thing about this Tudor, though; it was twice the price of what I was looking to spend, which is okay considering it is a Tudor with an in-house movement, but I don't think my wife would want me to spend that kind of money on a watch for her. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZUmi3LNlyG-RhETTWxYkzxtuSc7mRWL44CAucndvcHhIDfRkYm80FN3M2-E85TpHVwbkimbe4gNDQeGhyphenhyphenksBkb4Pw3tM5T00P1SrhJscIEdo-X9jQZgUZXLo5IioJ9GrbViEJbsxvwo-t/s906/ORIS+ProPilot+Big+Date+0175176974065-0782019.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="906" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZUmi3LNlyG-RhETTWxYkzxtuSc7mRWL44CAucndvcHhIDfRkYm80FN3M2-E85TpHVwbkimbe4gNDQeGhyphenhyphenksBkb4Pw3tM5T00P1SrhJscIEdo-X9jQZgUZXLo5IioJ9GrbViEJbsxvwo-t/w400-h265/ORIS+ProPilot+Big+Date+0175176974065-0782019.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">So, I kept looking and landed on the ORIS Pro Pilot Date model. Yes, this would work. It's known as the Big Date model and its date window is of a slightly larger dimension than most watches of this size. This watch is 40mm in diameter, with a dark blue dial with sunburst pattern. The hands and dial numerals are filled in with SuperLuminova, so it'll glow nicely in the dark, and the case is rated to 100m water resistant. Perfect. It would do nicely. So I got it for her, and in the two years that she's had it, she's put it through its paces and it has performed admirably. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">September 30th</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Somebody at my wife's workplace tested positive for Covid-19, so her office has closed for the time being and she's working from home. She and I went to get Covid tests done, as she was initially classified as a Primary contact. She works with one other staff member in an office that's just over four metres long. They both wear masks in the office and they don't have direct contact as such. Well, this co-worker of hers tested positive and is awaiting news as to whether or not she'll have to go into 14-day hotel quarantine. To play it safe, we went to get tested and got a Negative result the next day. My wife stayed in isolation at home since then, as a further precaution and has gone and had another test today (October 6th). The nurse who administered the test said that it's more than likely that it'll return a negative result, based on the info regarding her work area, as the distance between my wife and her colleague, plus the mask wearing and regular sanitising of their shared work spaces, have greatly minimised any risk. Also, as it's now been five days since my wife had her first Covid test, the incubation period for the Delta strain of Covid has passed. Basically, if my wife had Covid, we'd all know it by now. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Delta strain has a slightly longer incubation period than previous Covid-19 strains. Three to five days. Isolation and quarantine periods are listed as 14 days, in an effort to be completely certain as, on rare occasions, some people have not shown symptoms until ten days or more after exposure to the virus. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, an extra test doesn't hurt. I took my son to get tested last Sunday (negative) and my daughter on Monday, and since I was there, the nurse suggested I may as well get tested, despite having had one a few days earlier on the Friday. Our tests both returned negative results. Amidst all of this, I was keeping my boss informed via phone calls, since I didn't go back in to work this week, as a precautionary measure. I had last week off as annual leave and was due to go in on Monday (4th). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Needless to say, it's been a slightly nerve-wracking week here at <i>chez</i> Teeritz. We spent over four hours on hold trying to get through to the Contact Tracing Department of the Covid-19 hotline. My wife emailed them outlining her situation and three days later, we have yet to hear back, but from all advice from the Covid hotline and the Covid testing nurses, it all seems fine. Once my wife gets the results of this morning's Covid test, we'll know 100% for sure. Personally, I think she's fine. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oh, and today (October 6th) is our 25th Wedding Anniversary! <i>Happy Anniversary, baby! Here's to another 25 years! </i>We'll be spending it at home, under lock-down. I told my wife I'd bring the dining table out into the middle of the room, with a few candles, and we'll order fish & chips and have a pleasant meal with the kids. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And they say romance is dead.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Maybe we'll have a drink or two. My wife doesn't drink, but I might convince
her to have a Pavan liqueur with a dash of mineral water on ice.That would be mild enough, I'm sure. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, time for a watch-related typecast, hammered out on the circa 1966 Olympia SM9;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsC9FKVEVM1A9HpxezVF7I2vb085qEZ7ri78lNEROsQoYyXPNwXOL457JnIIF6mVbnilGfZ3uH3du372ibOU3Lun77eY8xIjprAlAg1aFYLmsmgu1yjAi3_qSyeQ06BoSxPw5psIb2FngO/s1011/Typecast+Sept+29th.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="953" data-original-width="1011" height="604" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsC9FKVEVM1A9HpxezVF7I2vb085qEZ7ri78lNEROsQoYyXPNwXOL457JnIIF6mVbnilGfZ3uH3du372ibOU3Lun77eY8xIjprAlAg1aFYLmsmgu1yjAi3_qSyeQ06BoSxPw5psIb2FngO/w640-h604/Typecast+Sept+29th.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div>Hmm, a couple of typos here and there. <br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0CCndLs4KyQof3dpjRpPcq_skrM3IlTT5gmc1skxuUQUJchp5JnNgUhxmcZFi29_ZrnMc0kxs0vWyN7bcvZeH7BsXH9WddGkPtOQ-6-U9O32tHvf3tgUZ_bleTUJ9xgCUXYYBX3F05wQr/s1280/Seiko+5+DX.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0CCndLs4KyQof3dpjRpPcq_skrM3IlTT5gmc1skxuUQUJchp5JnNgUhxmcZFi29_ZrnMc0kxs0vWyN7bcvZeH7BsXH9WddGkPtOQ-6-U9O32tHvf3tgUZ_bleTUJ9xgCUXYYBX3F05wQr/w400-h400/Seiko+5+DX.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This here is the Seiko 5 DX model. A nice watch. The Seiko 5 series was first produced in the mid-1960s and has always offered an inexpensive range of watches across a wide array of designs, from dress pieces to dive watches. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The movements inside these watches are true workhorses. They just run and run and run. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dammit, the more I look at this watch, the more I want to keep it. We'll see how it goes. If I find that it doesn't get much wear, it'll have to go. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's a nice day-to-day dress watch, and its overall design, with its sharp angles to the wide tonneau-shaped case, is very of its era. The dial, though, is a sunburst silver and I have found that the hands 'blend in' from certain angles and can become hard to read, as the dial throws back some reflection when glanced at quickly. Something that I always used to tell my customers back in my watch selling days; A watch has to tell the time above all else first. If it's not easy to read, it fails its primary purpose. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuVMeBuD47WOXRiyYRO6Ym-lbRwu8hgsdfUtT_zkL2_U96WPE2mqbTSFLMjliPa_xLYX_cdB2H4EbWYiSHqD5Zzyld1E8jQXOlo93CFhuOHRsR_40otljXGMJi0iEcKJsFRTvYWD6ZyYtA/s1280/Seiko+SKX009K1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuVMeBuD47WOXRiyYRO6Ym-lbRwu8hgsdfUtT_zkL2_U96WPE2mqbTSFLMjliPa_xLYX_cdB2H4EbWYiSHqD5Zzyld1E8jQXOlo93CFhuOHRsR_40otljXGMJi0iEcKJsFRTvYWD6ZyYtA/w400-h400/Seiko+SKX009K1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And this here is the SKX009K that just arrived a week ago. This is one of Seiko's classic dive watch designs, one that can't be mistaken for iconic Swiss dive watches from the like of Rolex or Omega, to name a few. There are two different variants of this model. The SKX009J is assembled in Japan and it has a slightly different shade of dark blue to the dial. This model, with the 'K' designation in the model number, is assembled under licence in Malaysia. The main at-a-glance difference between the two models is that the Japanese-built version will have ''21 Jewels'' printed on the dial underneath the ''DIVER'S 200m" wording. And, of course, it will state ''Made in Japan'' in small lettering at the six o'clock edge of the dial, as well as "JAPAN'' engraved on the case-back. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you're a purist, go for the Japanese-made model, which is about a hundred bucks pricier. Both watches house the rock-solid in-house Calibre 7S26, which is virtually bullet-proof. You can't wind this watch by hand, it needs to be given a few gentle shakes to get it started, and you can't hack the seconds hand. With the great majority of mechanical watches, when you pull the winding crown out to its furthest setting to set the time, the seconds hand stops ticking. This is so that you can line up the seconds hand to twelve, position the minute hand exactly on a minute marker on the dial and set the time on the watch right down to the second. You know, <i>synchronise your watches, gentlemen </i>and all that. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, you can't hack the seconds hand on this watch. No big deal. What you get with the Calibre 7S26 is a dependable movement that will run for a decade or two before it needs any major servicing, if anecdotal evidence amongst watch collectors is to be believed. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've spoken to a few people over the years who swear by this watch. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQyaZ80qq2tm20H-M99r1r86onOxxc-XiQEWB9qK6clzTOp47kVdFYUNEaWXgixZWAjICbh1e_mHOro5m9F3yvSO2cb5yWZSxf8KBLQBml3c1pROb5IoCdUepxJXDlvzAfShh3FFv8dfiY/s1280/30th+Sept+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQyaZ80qq2tm20H-M99r1r86onOxxc-XiQEWB9qK6clzTOp47kVdFYUNEaWXgixZWAjICbh1e_mHOro5m9F3yvSO2cb5yWZSxf8KBLQBml3c1pROb5IoCdUepxJXDlvzAfShh3FFv8dfiY/s320/30th+Sept+-+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The
SKX007 (black dial and bezel) and the SKX009 (blue dial with blue and
red bezel, like mine) were discontinued just over a year ago, but they
can still be found with a little searching online. <div style="text-align: justify;">I opted for the blue and red as a way to break up my dive watch collection a little and introduce some other colours. It arrived on the standard Seiko rubber dive strap which I promptly removed and fitted a bracelet that I kept from another Seiko watch that I sold last year. It looks better on a bracelet, but it works very well on a nylon NATO strap, which I may use on it in Summer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The case diameter is 42mm, but it wears very well on my 6.5 inch wrist. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The winding crown is positioned at the 4 o'clock edge of the case, as a further detail which separates it a little more from my other divers. Further difference is the red 3rd of the bezel, from zero to 20. The unidirectional bezel turns nice and smooth, with 120 clicks around the dial. Definitely better than the bezels of past Seiko dive models that I've owned. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, that's another post down. Been a while between drinks. Busy times for all, no doubt. I hope you've all been keeping safe and that you continue to do so. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thanks for reading! <br /></div></div></div></div>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-67691336763023410822021-07-20T18:37:00.003-07:002021-07-21T00:45:22.423-07:00Wednesday, July 21st, 2021 - Trips to the Vet, Dental Procedures & Why, Oh Why Did I Do Dry July? + Recent Wristwatches.<p><u>June 7th</u></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Posting less frequently, folks. Spending all day in front of a computer screen makes me less inclined to get back in front of one for long periods after hours. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"></span></span></span>Anyway, let's see how this post goes. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">At the time of writing, Victoria is currently in its fourth lock-down. After 84 Covid-free days, we had four new cases spring up. Then it rose to fifteen, then 25, then 34. So, on May 27th, we went into what our State Government called a 'circuit-breaker lock-down'. It was meant to be a seven-day lock-down. As this week-long period neared its end, a few more cases were still occurring, so the lock-down was extended for another week. We just heard the news about an hour ago that nine more cases have been confirmed. I suppose we'll find out on Wednesday or Thursday whether or not this lock-down will be extended further. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In the meantime, it's been back to wearing masks in public, two hours of outdoor exercise, no travel further than a ten kilometre radius, and work from home if you can, or if you are not in an essential industry.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Anyways, here's the Rado Golden Horse, one of the watches that I wore since my last post;</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhArnumetIgzt1iqimhyNhgc3tusL6F9h49rwRfdM9HiO9Wx_ScWtcSaq3kHCA6nkx0YIUsOhqQnRMI-WuPznSFt4e9OnrvHUkQ9O24gayfqC5YS4hiWU-StI803v4Yc-uVkCW5l1aYjdUs/s2048/12th.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhArnumetIgzt1iqimhyNhgc3tusL6F9h49rwRfdM9HiO9Wx_ScWtcSaq3kHCA6nkx0YIUsOhqQnRMI-WuPznSFt4e9OnrvHUkQ9O24gayfqC5YS4hiWU-StI803v4Yc-uVkCW5l1aYjdUs/w400-h400/12th.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've had it one the Speidel Twist-O-Flex expanding bracelet for a while now, but I switched it over to a leather strap a couple of days ago, to change the look of it. While I like the look of it on the Speidel, the watch had felt a little loose on the wrist. This has more to do with my wrist having gotten smaller in recent years rather than the bracelet stretching over time. <br /></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Most likely, there'll be a photo of this watch on the leather strap before this post is over. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><u>July 2nd</u></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> It's been a busy couple of months. I had my dental implant procedure booked-in for the 8th of this month, but I got a call from the dental practice yesterday morning asking if they could reschedule the procedure for the 22nd. Sure, I said. That would be fine. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><u>July 16th</u></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> And here we are, in the 5th lock-down in Victoria. Four furniture removalists traveled into Melbourne from Sydney and delivered some furniture to an apartment block in an inner-city suburb. A couple of these guys were Covid-positive. Soon after, some residents tested positive also. It all escalated from there. Back up to 16 cases and the State Government announced another seven-day snap lock-down. </p><div style="text-align: justify;">This coincides with my week of annual leave, which begins on Monday the 19th. And, I have my dental implant procedure booked for Thursday the 22nd. If this lock-down is extended beyond Wednesday, this operation will have to be re-scheduled. Which would be a nuisance. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">As it happens, I had a week off back in May. I accumulated a lot of annual leave last year and I was asked to take some of it, even though I had no obvious travel plans. Although, as 2020 and now 2021 have such strange times, I figured some semi-regular breaks from work might not be a bad idea, so I outlined four weeks off for the remainder of this year, to be taken as one-week breaks every eight weeks or so. This would chew up some of my annual leave time. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So I had a week off back in May...and I promptly caught a nasty cold that took me a month to get over. It wasn't a 'flu, it certainly wasn't Covid - I got tested and came back negative - but I figured that I must have been so run down that I was susceptible to whatever was going around this year. Spent a week blowing my nose. Kleenex's share price must've risen slightly thanks to me. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, I got over it eventually, but man, did it knock me around. And it was just a cold! We're now in the middle of Winter and as soon as the weather gets milder, as Spring kicks in, I'm gonna get fitter. That's it. No more mucking (playing) around. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, so I haven't posted since late March. Here's a quick list of some watches worn since then;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjllRBxXGmvfobAwaBun5CCrg-OXE5JrGeKvrvuH_gG_cgu2U8Jpx3wKyCjfKt39hUc9Qk8C8OG2zrcDrF4fqSutt3v4Kjr_0U9NkKMvSBrVljfgLpP4edhPfmn-XXiXC6SaRavEAHZv47p/s2048/IMG_6879.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1157" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjllRBxXGmvfobAwaBun5CCrg-OXE5JrGeKvrvuH_gG_cgu2U8Jpx3wKyCjfKt39hUc9Qk8C8OG2zrcDrF4fqSutt3v4Kjr_0U9NkKMvSBrVljfgLpP4edhPfmn-XXiXC6SaRavEAHZv47p/w362-h640/IMG_6879.jpg" width="362" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">APRIL</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> The Oris Divers SixtyFive. 40mm in diameter, with blue and black dial. That Martini book was written by a guy named Barnaby Conrad III. I had been after this book since it was first published. I think I even saw it at the Borders Bookstore that I worked at back in '98, and I'm not 100% certain, but I think I may have bought the book back then. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">About 12 years ago, our garage was broken into and somebody grabbed a few boxes of my books that I had stored in cardboard boxes. I left for work one morning and as I turned into a neighbouring street, I saw some of these boxes strewn along the gutter. I retrieved them and brought them back home, but every now and then, I'll remember a book that I used to have - such as Nabokov's <i>Lolita</i> - and my blood boils slightly because it appears that they did indeed take at least one box of my books. Bastards. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, I decided to hunt around on eBay for this book and wound up finding it. That long-stemmed cocktail glass cost me a whole dollar from a thrift store. It's not as large as modern cocktail glasses, which suits me just fine. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIH8beIVk0Xvfu9wmVrM1U4hB8RC8yszQblLaNvvs_hAG-MZaUNDGzg4m1tvWIy2SyYacFCgcx3JAaMb9iZH45WNtZ4NoK6jSuck97-YX4JXy8LmbpyMQEbpYZvQt1yh3b_8GXVj28EIgh/s2048/18th.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1865" data-original-width="2048" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIH8beIVk0Xvfu9wmVrM1U4hB8RC8yszQblLaNvvs_hAG-MZaUNDGzg4m1tvWIy2SyYacFCgcx3JAaMb9iZH45WNtZ4NoK6jSuck97-YX4JXy8LmbpyMQEbpYZvQt1yh3b_8GXVj28EIgh/w400-h364/18th.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Started reading <i>Thrilling Cities</i>, a collection of travel articles that Ian Fleming was commissioned to write back in the early 1960s for the <i>Sunday Times</i> newspaper. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">He writes about a restaurant called Gaddi's, which was part of The Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong. My wife came home one day a couple of years ago with a huge glass jar filled with book-matches from around the world. Inside this jar was a box of matches from Gaddi's. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, I couldn't waste the photo op. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The book isn't bad, but surely dated by now. Still, it shows further examples of Fleming's writing style, and it's interesting to read his non-fiction writing. He wrote one other work of non-fiction called <i>The Diamond Smugglers</i>, an account of the efforts of the International Diamond Security Organization to combat the multi-million dollar diamond smuggling industry in Africa in the 1950s. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMwqsmKabwqYXWaO-kPVcKx7nFK060amWE3Dud9hpW33z3VQcK5d95ztHhLCX_rvZeo5ib3SdYPK5ZaBKB9MwIOpRoXHqCatNqGv8bupbjaNJVirNJSMrP6eG1KWLAQlDpUGW7gX4NYec4/s2048/23rd.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMwqsmKabwqYXWaO-kPVcKx7nFK060amWE3Dud9hpW33z3VQcK5d95ztHhLCX_rvZeo5ib3SdYPK5ZaBKB9MwIOpRoXHqCatNqGv8bupbjaNJVirNJSMrP6eG1KWLAQlDpUGW7gX4NYec4/w400-h400/23rd.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The Submariner 5513 got some wear since my last post. I have to say though, and I had a feeling this might happen, the Tudor Black Bay 58 has been getting a lot of wear since I got it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This may put the future of the Sub 5513 in doubt. Anyway, I'll spend the next year or so thinking about it. I could still be in the honeymoon phase with the Black Bay 58 and this may be influencing my thinking. The Submariner 5513 <i>is</i> a very photogenic watch and whenever I wear it, I remember exactly why I got it to begin with. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Work-wise, we will be moving offices into the city sometime in August or September. This will mean that, rather than a 40 to 50 minute drive in to work, I will have to drive to a nearby train station and catch the train into town. Last time I worked in the city, when I was still in retail, my train line was not exactly reliable. I used to get to the station early enough to allow for four different trains because there was almost always a delay or cancellation. It was damned annoying and nerve-wracking. Not a good way to start the day. This new commute will add around 35 to 45 minutes to my morning travel time and it'll cost me ten bucks a day in train fares. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Needless to say, I ain't thrilled about it, but I'm adopting a wait-and-see policy with it all. Might not be as big a problem as I think it will be. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ozjWWhGFJ0Z5Qa5BWqicTIgntIjZYAO8VrumXSb71R4muH2fGgfUkTFuMI3ZPh7Zraos405xuYol_W6FgGJzltyG2BZtKxSDEw0OqqgN0zuBpXJCVp9NkUlhQ1HN1NQ5m15WTIw47eVt/s2048/21st.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ozjWWhGFJ0Z5Qa5BWqicTIgntIjZYAO8VrumXSb71R4muH2fGgfUkTFuMI3ZPh7Zraos405xuYol_W6FgGJzltyG2BZtKxSDEw0OqqgN0zuBpXJCVp9NkUlhQ1HN1NQ5m15WTIw47eVt/w400-h400/21st.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Speaking of the Black Bay 58, here's another shot of it. I was jotting down some notes about - Wait a sec, I'm getting ahead of myself. A little back-story first; my wife has been doing an online counselling course. Part-time, it's meant to take around two years to complete. She finished it in eight months. The last module consisted of 12 role-play videos that she had to complete. These role-plays consisted of various scenarios, such as a young man who's intensely shy and is nervous about asking a girl out, or a middle-aged housewife who works full-time and is studying to become a CPA and is finding it difficult to maintain home, work, and study commitments and is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I played this middle-aged housewife. I wanted to do it in drag because my daughter was itching to do my make-up, but my wife said she would not be able to keep a straight face. These role-plays were filmed and uploaded onto a dedicated YouTube channel once completed. As soon as she received a mark for them, they were deleted. Thank God.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><u>July 19th</u><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"> The snap lock-down was due to end tomorrow night at midnight. Our Premier held a press conference this morning to announce that there were thirteen new Covid cases overnight and, therefore, the lock-down would be extended. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I got a call a few hours later from my dentist. The implant surgery would still go ahead on Thursday morning, but I had to get a Covid test done in the meantime. Bloody hell! So, off I went to a nearby testing facility, which was located in the car-park of an X-Ray clinic. Stood out in the cold for about fifteen minutes before getting tested. I should have the results in the next 24 to 48 hours. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm slightly dreading this dental procedure. They're gonna drill into my gums to fit a titanium screw which will form the base for a crown. Aside from that, they will go into the sinus cavity and perform a 'sinus lift' whereby some powdered substance will be mixed with water to create a bone-like foundation for the screw. As we get older, our gum-line and jawbone can thin out. My jawbone will need to be reinforced or thickened with this sinus lift procedure. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Needless to say, I'm gonna lose my youthful beauty for a while. Probably gonna look like I went three rounds with Tyson by the end of it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The op should take around 60 to 90 minutes. As I mentioned, I have this week off and I've also arranged to have next Monday and Tuesday off as well, as I think I'll need a good five days to get over the swelling, etc. Last thing I need is to be at work answering phone calls. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>MAY</u><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgRZY1qrM05ntL7tSdCb55-PJHcBqOSsT1InOlQypkrszVzft8jGgtxzhVf586M8M7RepB_HPV0zUb59pO8yl37yDKWcQJkSdvBPmrruRau6xG_NtvVSIhE_RiPd72i8s_HPf4UaatOo9r/s1280/8th+night.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgRZY1qrM05ntL7tSdCb55-PJHcBqOSsT1InOlQypkrszVzft8jGgtxzhVf586M8M7RepB_HPV0zUb59pO8yl37yDKWcQJkSdvBPmrruRau6xG_NtvVSIhE_RiPd72i8s_HPf4UaatOo9r/w400-h400/8th+night.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Madame jumped up onto the kitchen bench-top and sat there, with her hind legs shaking slightly. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then she jumped down onto the floor and crouched before we saw a few drops of urine land on the floor. Very uncharacteristic of her. Something wasn't right. It was about 8:15pm on a Saturday night. I called the nearby animal hospital. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Bring her in</i>, they said. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fifteen minutes later and I sat in the waiting room and looked around. There were four other people sitting there. All glued to their phone screens. I brought in my car-copy of <i>Octopussy & The Living Daylights</i> because I didn't want to be yet another person sitting in a waiting room staring at their smartphone. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was past eleven-thirty by the time I got her home. Some painkillers and a muscle-relaxant was prescribed. It was not a cheap visit either, so I felt a little ticked-off at being given this band-aid solution. I took her to the vet a few days later and they said it was a urinary tract infection and we got a course of antibiotics. Man, these two cats have run up a crazy tab in vet bills over the last eighteen months. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">There was one visit to the vet last year where my wife and I sat there while the vet patted our cat and asked us a few questions. Afterwards, we got the the reception counter; <i>That's eighty dollars for today,</i> said the young lass at the desk.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I felt like saying; <i>Eighty bucks?! What for? She sat there and stroked the cat for ten minutes. We should be charging <u>her</u>! </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oh, the Tudor Black Bay 58 has been getting a lot of wear, as you can see in the shot above.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7kM8E0VXUlWUOsTX3KPH3VJI3ysDKCudxOkGfj8lw8Xtik-W-RbLTVhdGusL3p7oSXcBZDR_kCxZNOoCa_NpWfXySDEpMa4cAY0yXmIzh7P7m0aewRHgFkOsuQT8Yj_zTiLIOSC1xc9-n/s2048/20th+-+sharp.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2017" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7kM8E0VXUlWUOsTX3KPH3VJI3ysDKCudxOkGfj8lw8Xtik-W-RbLTVhdGusL3p7oSXcBZDR_kCxZNOoCa_NpWfXySDEpMa4cAY0yXmIzh7P7m0aewRHgFkOsuQT8Yj_zTiLIOSC1xc9-n/s320/20th+-+sharp.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I do sometimes spend a little too much time and trouble staging a photo. This one here took me a little while, as the sun kept disappearing behind clouds on an increasingly overcast day. Once it peeked out again, I got the shadows of the slanted Venetian blind across the page. Not a moment to lose. Also, that <i>espresso </i>would soon lose that creamy <i>schiuma </i>(foam) off the surface, making it look like just a black coffee. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The IMCO Triplex lighter has no fuel in it. The ashtray was from my parent's house and it advertises <i>Centerba Toro</i>, a liqueur from Abruzzo, the region in Italy where my folks were born. There was <u>always</u> a bottle of this stuff in the house. I never saw my parents drink it, but they would always offer a teaspoon of it to a cup of coffee whenever guests came around. It's made up of aromatic herbs and spices from the region and dates back to 1817. The green-glassed bottle is wrapped in straw, with a distinctive black and green label. </div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcjScsxUxdPcRYRlkzc1CRYRZnAiluahzlAexx-iL2b3pBpyC7nR_lP4M0xi-rWW6jJ3HthK6YjrQK0zWREgW1l7IdqF1SsNDudWZ2qU-lFC2JL3UZKbmejqVipUfXZSewFRhc4pJweXV_/s1280/Centerba+x+2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcjScsxUxdPcRYRlkzc1CRYRZnAiluahzlAexx-iL2b3pBpyC7nR_lP4M0xi-rWW6jJ3HthK6YjrQK0zWREgW1l7IdqF1SsNDudWZ2qU-lFC2JL3UZKbmejqVipUfXZSewFRhc4pJweXV_/w400-h400/Centerba+x+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oh, one more thing; this stuff is 70% alcohol by volume. That makes it around 140 proof. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Which is why I only ever saw a teaspoon added to short black coffees. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have two bottles of the stuff and I don't think I've ever properly drunk it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The small bottle on the left was given to me by my aunt when I visited her in Pescara in 2016. I cracked it open and had a sip, but I don't recall the taste of it. I'm currently doing Dry July - whereby I'm not touching any alcohol. Seemed like a good idea at the time - so I won't taste it now, but I'll do it properly and add a dash to an <i>espresso </i>at some point and report back. I daresay it is probably something that's worth having on a cold winter's night. You could add it to a cup of strong tea to add a hefty kick to it. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8LpcpemUNpvz3RkgohHDdyP9XmApBzIIPjREUEuq8SCZW59pdG_FvbiDF8LIqsJHP6TA00qXu-w5Y7faV6MGtJFy870qx24TJbMi5UIBHMYc6zcUoF-wF55vw1K12PsfgH068eRmnoiQo/s1280/Centerba+large.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="607" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8LpcpemUNpvz3RkgohHDdyP9XmApBzIIPjREUEuq8SCZW59pdG_FvbiDF8LIqsJHP6TA00qXu-w5Y7faV6MGtJFy870qx24TJbMi5UIBHMYc6zcUoF-wF55vw1K12PsfgH068eRmnoiQo/w304-h640/Centerba+large.jpg" width="304" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The large bottle was taken from my parent's house after my Mother died
in 2012. While going through the kitchen pantries and throwing out
various dry foods that would spoil, I found this bottle and thought it
was a nice reminder of my folks and the house I grew up in. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Just looking
at this bottle conjured up memories of loud conversations emanating
from the kitchen/dining area, ashtrays filled with the butts of Senior
Service and Viscount cigarettes, drained beer glasses, the ornate wooden sugar
dispenser, the steaming coffee poured from the Bialetti Moka Express
percolator, and the liberal pour of a dash of Centerba from the strange
bottle. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This half-litre bottle still has the seal intact and it would appear that there is less than 500ml inside it. I think this bottle may have been laid on its side at some point because the label around the screw-top looks stained. Did this liquor corrode the aluminium top? </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dear God, what's in this stuff?!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Either way, this Centerba triggers a lot of memories. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'll have a taste of it once Dry July is over. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Speaking of which, what exactly possessed me to do Dry July? </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I tend to drink more consistently through the Summer months. Gin & Tonics, Americano cocktails (Campari, Sweet Vermouth, topped up with soda water over ice), the occasional beer. I noticed last month, though, that this Summer style of drinking kept right on going once Autumn (Fall) and Winter came along. In the colder months, it tends to be a glass of wine with dinner some nights or a shot of scotch or bourbon after dinner if the evening is particularly cold. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, I thought it might be a good idea to 're-set' things by avoiding alcohol for the month. I have to say that it was tricky for the first week or so. I had some busy days at work and a nice G&T would have taken the edge off and provided some closure to the workday. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Same with the Friday Night Dry Martini, a crisp bookend to the working week. At any rate, I started, or rather, stopped drinking on July 4th and I'll stay that way until August 1st. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">After that, I'll ease my way back into it and keep it in check. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>21st July</u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> So, I have the dental procedure booked-in for tomorrow morning. I got a text message regarding the Covid test that I got done a couple of days ago. Result is negative. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">My wife will drive me to the dentist by 8:00am and after I fill in some paperwork, the op should commence around 8:30. They'll be giving me a twilight anaesthetic, which means I'll be awake and semi-lucid during the procedure. Dental surgeon said I could bring an iPod if I want. I just might do that. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiflxZT-bv7b4uRv2DOMBv91DC6OK1V7-hMat9l56LQB2nB8lOw_A6Qx60BZXK9UICIy6FLYGRyjjGFwW-cv_CWRs1di9PzOgDXMWa2CjtdMSp7ZG1ju5FFE0SHy-_Sr67k3B3uE-iDQdlr/s2048/3rd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiflxZT-bv7b4uRv2DOMBv91DC6OK1V7-hMat9l56LQB2nB8lOw_A6Qx60BZXK9UICIy6FLYGRyjjGFwW-cv_CWRs1di9PzOgDXMWa2CjtdMSp7ZG1ju5FFE0SHy-_Sr67k3B3uE-iDQdlr/s320/3rd.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One last shot, taken in early June. Did I mention that the cat doesn't like being given a tablet? </div><div style="text-align: justify;">But at least she didn't scratch the watch! </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first round of tablets didn't work. It wasn't a long enough course, so the vet gave me 45 tablets and said he'd see me in August sometime. Half a tablet, twice a day, can be given with food. So, I've been using a pair of flat-nose pliers to crush the tablet into powder, then I add a dash of boiled water, which dissolves the tablet, then I add her food, which is a special formulation for her kidney condition and I mix it in with the water to create a paste-like consistency.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Her appetite's been back for a couple of weeks now, so I think this urinary tract thing is gone, but I'll continue with the tablets until they're finished. Tell ya what, between these two cats, we've spent a small fortune at the vets over the last year and a half. If it's not one, it's the other. I don't know how people with multiple pets do it. It's not the cost so much, it's the fact that you always have to keep an eye on them if they suddenly start showing behaviours that are out of character. And it always happens at eight or nine o'clock at night. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, one thing at a time, as they say.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK6JXl8DpXLV6OtGQtAox1Wv3AxqnMVzYqaxPOccqD_rCSrm933AF1A3-VWz9yF05kVWY2tfcFzBKi1-9y8NYgNOcVURFkvLIKPnaDZhe8503S7C0TQ8_mMj5qVDVOZT7FeRScochthDg1/s1280/11th.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="1280" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK6JXl8DpXLV6OtGQtAox1Wv3AxqnMVzYqaxPOccqD_rCSrm933AF1A3-VWz9yF05kVWY2tfcFzBKi1-9y8NYgNOcVURFkvLIKPnaDZhe8503S7C0TQ8_mMj5qVDVOZT7FeRScochthDg1/w400-h291/11th.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Think I'll wear the Oris Divers SixtyFive for the procedure. Although I doubt I'll be looking at my watch. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Those Hot Wheels cars have been packed away in some box for about a dozen years. My son is twenty now and doesn't seem to have any special attachment to them, but I thought I'd go through them and keep a handful, for the sake of posterity. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, there was more I was going to write, but I think I'll stop here and maybe start a fresh post that I can put up in a week or two. Either way, I think I may be too zonked out over the next few days. The Victorian lock-down has been extended until the 27th, but I'm off work until then anyway. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I hope you're all staying safe. Some experts are saying that it will be a long time before we get back to anything resembling normal. Others say that we'll have to treat Covid like any other 'flu and take the necessary precautions. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Whatever the case, we are living through history, and these times are designed to test us, as I keep telling my kids. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Who are probably sick of hearing it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thanks for reading!<br /></div>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-72947409852638490692021-03-28T05:45:00.000-07:002021-03-28T05:45:17.803-07:00Sunday, March 28th, 2021 - Dental Visits, Cat Health, Farewell Hoover 550M + Recent Wristwatches<p>Okay, so my last post ran the risk of becoming a very long one, so I stopped it and figured I'd just pick up from where it left off. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ-PtVDqU7db-Ml_-oPW-eStM3NuRChXMv1TDx7ncyi4e0pTL8GXcdbAiwLfQO2wcl3PPaDOsyjsItgsn8ZvInBzfmp4470kRReL1io98TBjUoSuk34QWrYYOTNzN2ej9S1bAVkRQhTY0s/s2048/IMG_6451.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ-PtVDqU7db-Ml_-oPW-eStM3NuRChXMv1TDx7ncyi4e0pTL8GXcdbAiwLfQO2wcl3PPaDOsyjsItgsn8ZvInBzfmp4470kRReL1io98TBjUoSuk34QWrYYOTNzN2ej9S1bAVkRQhTY0s/w400-h300/IMG_6451.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Tudor Black Bay 58 has still been getting a lot of wear, but I thought I should wean myself off it a little. I decided to replace the ribbon on my 1981 Olivetti Lettera 32. Man, it took me over half an hour! I've been out of practice. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I wanted to keep the original spools of my machine, although one of them was lost a long time ago. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, I thought I had the spools correctly loaded, only to find that one of them was positioned so that it would turn in the wrong direction.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Off they came and I tried again. And again. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Purple fingers by the time I was done. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoRdUj5PaTOR7XTiFrZBBz5D4xCvPvGnr_XbHGjmHfy75_N2i4gCdrqpCTfawFVm2puw_ELbQ8R6DiazEgkULa5QXg-TJLBC1VNVeL3qYKC5FthbctDGKYIjePKwhSNY_hRZP_6EX9-kC5/s2048/IMG_6431.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2039" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoRdUj5PaTOR7XTiFrZBBz5D4xCvPvGnr_XbHGjmHfy75_N2i4gCdrqpCTfawFVm2puw_ELbQ8R6DiazEgkULa5QXg-TJLBC1VNVeL3qYKC5FthbctDGKYIjePKwhSNY_hRZP_6EX9-kC5/w399-h400/IMG_6431.jpg" width="399" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Madame appeared on our doorstep (literally) back in March 2009. The vet that we took her to back then surmised that she was about a year old. Our current vet thinks that she may be older than what we thought. If she was born in 2008, she'd be thirteen now, but we're all thinking that maybe she's a year or so older than that. Either way, her health has declined somewhat over the last year. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regular readers may recall that she was diagnosed with kidney failure last year. She's on a special diet and seems to be doing well. However, she began coughing about seven weeks ago. We figured it was a fur-ball, although she's never coughed one up. Quick trip to a nearby pet store and the vet there suggested a very small dose of laxative, to help work the fur through her system. The vet suggested I got to the nearby pharmacy and buy a bottle of laxative. She told me to get a brand that comes in a green and orange bottle. The cat would require 0.5 of a ml. Well, I headed over to the pharmacy and asked for a laxative with the green and orange label. The pharmacist asked me who it was for. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>My cat, </i>I replied. <i>The vet suggested I give her half a mil over a couple of days, </i>I added. <br />Well, the chemist was now reluctant to sell me this laxative. <i>Oh, I don't think it's made for animals, </i>she said. I informed her that the vet suggested it, saying that the pet store normally carries it, but they are out of stock. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">No dice. They wouldn't sell it to me. I thanked her and headed back to the pet store. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I spoke to the vet again; <i>They wouldn't sell it to me. I can get</i> heroin<i> easier! </i> </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The vet kept a straight face on hearing that line. Oh dear, did she think I was serious? <i>I wasn't born here.*</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">She reiterated that this laxative would be safe to use on pets, so I went back to the pharmacy, grabbed the bottle of laxative and headed to the cashier. Paid for it, and got the hell out of there. I gave the cat a couple of doses over the next few days. About four or five days later, she was still coughing. Okay, it wasn't a fur-ball. Time to go back to the vet.<i> </i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">They took a blood sample and ran some x-rays. She has asthma. Two options; a course of steroid tablets or an inhaler. We tried the first option to begin with, which I wasn't crazy about because these tablets have to be broken down by the liver, whereas an inhaler would go directly to the lungs. Half a tablet per day for the first week, then half a tablet every other day for the second week, then monitor the situation from there.The tablets appeared to work, but I didn't like the idea of their long-term use. So, I began getting her used to having a mask against her snout. I used a small plastic container and gently placed it over her nose and mouth. Of course, she resisted this. There's a YouTube video of a lady in Sweden or Denmark showing how she trained her cat to get used to the mask. It takes about a month, with lots of food rewards thrown in, because cats don't do anything for you unless there's something in it for them. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhytsZl8KwalOJPIdyhG6g78MS5H13L5N1oQLeOaojtY5MW9liW8npDTve-_kS-hoMpeQaQZjgnqyy8c1JxWpHdffKNxB4meTlWMbX-iQYe8vHig7twztZGH1baHk97dxR11pP11-FPwU09/s2048/2nd.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1843" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhytsZl8KwalOJPIdyhG6g78MS5H13L5N1oQLeOaojtY5MW9liW8npDTve-_kS-hoMpeQaQZjgnqyy8c1JxWpHdffKNxB4meTlWMbX-iQYe8vHig7twztZGH1baHk97dxR11pP11-FPwU09/s320/2nd.jpg" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Tudor Black Bay 58 continues to get a lot of wear, despite the not-100% perfect fit on my wrist. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, back to the cat. I ended up purchasing the inhaler from my local pharmacy, since it's the same medicinal version as what we humans would use. Next, I needed a spacer. A number of years ago, it was found that using a spacer with an inhaler would provide a more effective dose. Being a mild asthmatic myself, I would use a Ventolin inhaler like anybody else. Give it a few shakes, put the mouthpiece in your mouth, press down in the inhaler tube and a dose of the medicine would be aerosol-sprayed into your mouth. You would take a deep breath as you press down on the inhaler. Nowadays, doctors and pharmacists highly recommend using a spacer. In layman's terms, let's say you have an aerosol can of, oh I dunno...fly spray, for the purposes of this explanation. Now, if you hold the can about six inches away from a wall and you spray it, you end up with a moist patch on the wall. If, however, you stand back and spray it from three or four feet away, you instead create a light mist on the wall. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The spacer works along the same lines. Using the inhaler in your mouth, it's a very short distance from your lips to the back of your throat and this deposits much of the medicine onto the throat area. Apparently, you only get around 40% of the inhaled dose delivered into the lungs. Using a spacer, which is about the size of a soda can, but narrower, means that the spray is delivered inside the spacer canister as a mist, which you then inhale, thus providing a higher percentage of the dose. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">So, for cats and dogs, you use a spacer. The better one is called AeroKat. It has a tiny plastic flag inside it which dips down when the animal inhales. Because, a pet isn't gonna tell you that it breathed the dose in correctly. They're funny that way. This spacer comes with two different-sized masks. They're made of soft rubber and they resemble the mouthpiece off a trumpet. I used the smaller one, since cats have a very short space between their nose and mouth, and this one covers both. Madame doesn't inhale with her mouth open, so her nose would be doing all the work. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">First, I practiced with the mouthpiece over her face for a week or so. Followed by the signal word <i>Prinzi</i> , and a few dry treats as a reward. I used the word <i>Prinzi</i> (hopefully, it's a made-up word, but I'm sure it's probably a surname as well. Ha! I just Googled it. It's a suit hire place in Carlton. I've probably driven/walked past it a million times) because I didn't want to utter any actual word that she might here at any other time. Well, as long as she never has to hire a suit...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, I've been using the spacer with her for about a week. I weaned her off the tablets and introduced the inhaler. If she can get seven or eight inhalations out of it, that should do. Although, she does begin to turn her head to the side, and I'm reluctant to hold her down by force. And she'll also try to swat the mask away from her face with a paw. Her breaths are shallow. The little green plastic flag inside the spacer flutters rather than dips definitively, but it's a start. Anyway, all I can do is try. The rest of the family will also be getting familiar with doing this. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">After all, why should<i> I </i>have all the fun? </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhutslT-OqTXhgsoyc_iN5l5PljVJBMIMUClhSV9zkn3hg4_CeClS1yZTi01wJvGGDEayl9KymiFfV0WhZGOZH7fqE9neg0UjxLqOAwYrimomZdHXvz-9X6C8NjKgkoS6DB2aPVhr-MABYQ/s2048/26th+-2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2020" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhutslT-OqTXhgsoyc_iN5l5PljVJBMIMUClhSV9zkn3hg4_CeClS1yZTi01wJvGGDEayl9KymiFfV0WhZGOZH7fqE9neg0UjxLqOAwYrimomZdHXvz-9X6C8NjKgkoS6DB2aPVhr-MABYQ/w395-h400/26th+-2.jpg" width="395" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I wore the Tudor Ranger towards the end of February. I got a straight-edged bracelet for it from Geckota, a website that sells various straps and bracelets. I must say it's a great quality bracelet. Very well made and quite sturdy. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That pamphlet in the photo was given to me by the dentist who would be performing the 1st stage of a titanium implant procedure on two of my teeth. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">March 18th.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> I had the initial consultation with the dentist a few weeks ago and today was the day that a deteriorated root canal - done four years ago - would be extracted. I felt a little nervous in the car on the way to the surgery. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">While this type of operation has become routine in the last few decades, it would still be an intrusive surgery, drawn out over six to 12 months. My primary dentist discussed the two main options. I could have these two implants fitted, or I could get braces. At 55, I'm too old for braces. I pictured myself sitting in my manager's office at my next performance appraisal, negotiating a pay increase with a mouth full of steel. No thanks. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">My wife had braces fitted about ten years ago. She told me that if she could have had the choice all over again, she would have opted for removal of one or two teeth and crowns fitted. The process with braces involved routine adjustment and tightening of the wires over a two year period. This was <i>after </i>the removal of four teeth. The braces basically had to close up the gap left by the extraction of those teeth. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, I spent a week thinking about it and decided on the implant surgery instead. This in itself would involve a sinus lift on one section of my jawbone. I lost a tooth about ten years ago and the gum has receded a little, and the bone - which will provide the base for the titanium screw - has thinned out. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, I found myself lying in the dentist's chair just over a week ago and this guy deftly removed the crown, after giving me two injections (the second one hurt!). It all went smoothly enough, although I did hear the sound of breaking porcelain as he extracted one of the roots. It was all done within around 25 minutes. He packed my mouth with gauze and gave me prescriptions for a couple of antibiotics and a painkiller. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I paid for the consultation and tee'd up my next appointment for early June. The gum needs to heal. I bought the medications from my local pharmacy and went home. An hour later, I changed the gauze padding in my mouth and began to feel the slow creep of pain. I've been down this road before. When I had that other tooth removed ten years ago, I played tough guy when I got home and didn't take any paracetamol tablets. An hour later, my jaw felt like it was clamped in a vise. This time 'round, I popped two of the painkillers. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Soup for dinner later that evening and then one more painkiller before going to bed. Didn't need any more of them after that. This was a very smooth dental procedure. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">That was nine days ago. The area still feels tender, but it's healing nicely, from what I can tell. Stage 2 of this entire procedure will be the big one. They're gonna drill into my gum-line and then put in two titanium screws. And the sinus lift. Apparently, you're not supposed to blow your nose for a couple of weeks after that. Man, if I catch a cold, I'll be in trouble. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Wednesday, March 24th</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> I had the day off, and it would be a busy one. Our washing machine finally died on us. It has had some issues in the past and we've had it repaired, but this time, the drum wouldn't spin. We considered getting it repaired, but felt that if it had anything to do with the motor, the logical step would be to replace it rather than repair it, as the price difference between these two options would be marginal. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">We bought this Hoover 550M back in 1999, just after we bought our first house. Needless to say, it has served us well over the two decades that we had it. My wife got online and did some price and feature comparisons. The new machine, a Fisher & Paykel, would be delivered today sometime between midday and 2:00pm. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, the cat was due for her worming treatment, which I could have done myself, but I had some questions to ask the vet about the asthma treatment. So, an appointment was scheduled for 11:20am. The kids were home, so if I got stuck at the vet, they could deal with the washing machine delivery. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">And, our coffee machine had been playing up lately, which is an indication that it's due for servicing. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, I'd be taking that to the repairers as well. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia_WMgKjItPBCDQx_Bg2kgmQULStIGbQ598LWf1l5TP9JN0Lh0N7qKy-gijwRmXB2vv0N3WMgA9ssQDoLPCbGdwKv1qSnPigBTd5PHQ32V1Be8JyA4ECmZnL9of2J6DJDkMKA1gRbZswNh/s2048/24th-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia_WMgKjItPBCDQx_Bg2kgmQULStIGbQ598LWf1l5TP9JN0Lh0N7qKy-gijwRmXB2vv0N3WMgA9ssQDoLPCbGdwKv1qSnPigBTd5PHQ32V1Be8JyA4ECmZnL9of2J6DJDkMKA1gRbZswNh/w400-h400/24th-+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I had to remove the hoses from the old machine and then get it out into the driveway. The guys delivering the new machine would take away the old one. Time to put on the Hamilton Khaki Auto, which is the beater watch that I use for duties where there's a risk of scratching or scuffing the watch. In saying that, this watch still has no marks on it. I must be more careful than I realise. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once I removed the hoses, I tilted the machine at an angle to remove as much water from it as possible. I then wrestled the machine onto a flat trolley that I made ten years ago and wheeled it out to the carport. Took a photo of it, for posterity's sake, and headed back inside. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then it was time to coax Madame into her carry-cage for her trip to the vet. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I made the appointment with the same vet I spoke to the last time. The time before that, I dealt with another vet, but I didn't like his bedside manner. Anyway, this vet checked her breathing and heart-rate. She also did a blood-pressure test and took a blood sample. We discussed the management of Madame's asthma. Back to half a tablet every second day, for two weeks, in conjunction with using the inhaler. Drop the tablet dosage to half a tablet every three days for two weeks after that. Hopefully, the inhaler will have taken over after that four-week period on tablets and the condition will be under control. Fingers crossed. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">After the consultation, I stood at the reception counter and was presented with the bill for today's visit. I took a look at it;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>I think there's been some mistake. I brought in a cat, not a cheetah</i>, I wanted to say. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I paid the bill and got the hell out of there. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Got home, gave Madame some dry treats to take the edge off her ordeal and then decided to clean the coffee machine before I'd take it in for repair. Switched over to the Omega Planet Ocean;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeTsThjIBv89uxUyKMJAkBlLK5l4lNnudyHatJo33CMfSQvCwI_4FUSVyKE4wmJ3F7vsDkTHbZNu0fqmFdm5ewWHe9NzTQNqB6Yv0fZMDeRxvttksqGTKDMviJPoDZLxhdfQUiQ6brPITM/s2048/24th-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeTsThjIBv89uxUyKMJAkBlLK5l4lNnudyHatJo33CMfSQvCwI_4FUSVyKE4wmJ3F7vsDkTHbZNu0fqmFdm5ewWHe9NzTQNqB6Yv0fZMDeRxvttksqGTKDMviJPoDZLxhdfQUiQ6brPITM/w400-h400/24th-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This machine is a Rancilio Silvia V4. It's made for home use and is an absolute workhorse. Especially since my son began drinking coffee. I've told him that three cups a day is considered enough, but I think he's up around five. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Around 1:00pm, the delivery guys showed up and dropped off the new washing machine. They took the old one away. Vale, Hoover 550M! Your services were greatly appreciated. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hooked up the new machine and then took the coffee machine off to get serviced. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Back home by around three pm. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpU3f_60RdK_d64nhR3nJzg3-BeqCtH6bNg6Nl8ILOuiIZZL-kosvEtIuyi_rbIKjKvA2V2ezRovye886NnLoJ9qMcjKRC9LBOKSD03KFbfvKp-UzlCn9NS4nCUu6FnHMx_AyexPgUkkej/s2048/bialetti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2015" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpU3f_60RdK_d64nhR3nJzg3-BeqCtH6bNg6Nl8ILOuiIZZL-kosvEtIuyi_rbIKjKvA2V2ezRovye886NnLoJ9qMcjKRC9LBOKSD03KFbfvKp-UzlCn9NS4nCUu6FnHMx_AyexPgUkkej/s320/bialetti.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For the next week or so, it's back on to <i>caffettiera</i> coffee, which is fine. Certainly, it's weaker than an espresso machine's output, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. These Bialetti <i>Mocha Express </i>coffee percolators are permanently stamped into my memory, having seen and used them all my life. Originally designed in 1933, no Italian household was without one. My mother had a standard six-cup model, as well as the huge 12-cup version, which was used for larger gatherings like funeral wakes. Soon as one batch of coffee was made, it would get a quick rinse of hot water before being refilled with ground coffee and water. Then back onto the hotplate it would go. Six or so minutes later, the steam-release valve on the side would start to hiss while the machine itself would emit a sound like a distant steam train as the fresh brew bubbled out of the internal spout, filling the upper section of the pot with steaming hot coffee. The aroma of this coffee always takes me back through my life. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Cd26THM-bOB5CB7MvIeDsfOVhICcx3tYUFMQp-OlSGWrwbo_gY0k387s0WSbRLAcZIrZPfatopujbV5Ruj2r4ZJKhzMYJiIs4Q9mywvt_wKE1ZfHuG9BrVt9FHVly9iF34YIC9TJoLNr/s2048/13th.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Cd26THM-bOB5CB7MvIeDsfOVhICcx3tYUFMQp-OlSGWrwbo_gY0k387s0WSbRLAcZIrZPfatopujbV5Ruj2r4ZJKhzMYJiIs4Q9mywvt_wKE1ZfHuG9BrVt9FHVly9iF34YIC9TJoLNr/s320/13th.jpg" /></a></div>Okay, I think that's it for this post. The Tudor Black Bay 58 has gotten
the lion's share of time on the wrist since my previous post. I managed to sell a couple of vintage watches that weren't getting any wear. Still a couple more to go. More about that in my next post, I suppose. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm getting a clearer picture of the type of collections I'd like to have. Some items, be they watches, cameras or typewriters, are getting used more than others, so this helps me decide on what to keep. Typewriter-wise, I'm thinking of moving along the Olivetti Studio model. It looks sensational, but man, is it a loud typewriter!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some more thinking to do on that one. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">COVID restrictions have been greatly relaxed as of a couple of days ago, but I still take a mask with me when going into a crowded store. I hope you're all keeping safe. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Continue doing so, and thanks for reading!<br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><p style="text-align: justify;">* My wife once told me that when the stand-up comedian Lenny Bruce told a joke on stage that didn't get a laugh, he'd remark; <i>I wasn't born here, but I'm gonna die here, </i>referring to the comedian lingo of 'dying on stage'.</p><div><p><i> </i>So, whenever she or I make a crack that doesn't get a laugh (usually from our kids), we'll say; <i>I wasn't born here...</i><br /></p></div></div></div></div>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-44911870922386541692021-02-26T02:01:00.003-08:002021-02-26T02:01:55.796-08:00Friday, February 26th, 2021- Wristwatch Honeymoons, Reading More, Medical Appointments, Another Lock-down & Recent Wristwatches<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCX0XegtRTRZhCrX8G7Ft1unGT2fhRRl9XeAavd9yhl0iU0fr66eHi2ViulGhxCSqz4tW3Bl3VLsrVbqMuFfp6VW09vEfwriI5gntokaxZFG-Oi6aMV9gPRvPN0b28qzCEk1ZpTkeBLBt/s2048/IMG_6344.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1654" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCX0XegtRTRZhCrX8G7Ft1unGT2fhRRl9XeAavd9yhl0iU0fr66eHi2ViulGhxCSqz4tW3Bl3VLsrVbqMuFfp6VW09vEfwriI5gntokaxZFG-Oi6aMV9gPRvPN0b28qzCEk1ZpTkeBLBt/w322-h400/IMG_6344.jpg" width="322" /></a></div>I've had to slightly rearrange my computer set-up at work, as I find my eyes getting tired throughout the day. My optometrist said I should blink more, but this appears to be easier said than done. The real trick was to find the correct distance from my eye level to the screen. Took me a few days to get into the habit. <p></p><p style="text-align: left;">My wife gets a few people calling who are only interested in vouchers and monetary payments. Quite often, some of these people have already received their allocation for the week and they'll call up again asking for more money. My wife's job is to ascertain their requirements and then direct them to the appropriate department or social worker who will then continue dealing with them. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfF9sZznkRb3b5ACFe_yXO7IwUjoMegbbdUDA6ZU7hnndUYBoLGVWINtGG_Pdbu2svel5HID2iq2jkb38u5PiSvVkdfQxPeLydOzCl7fGcWLM-JIx36HnjJxGCfX00hSlMmzYu-lcMVuXk/s2048/IMG_6345.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfF9sZznkRb3b5ACFe_yXO7IwUjoMegbbdUDA6ZU7hnndUYBoLGVWINtGG_Pdbu2svel5HID2iq2jkb38u5PiSvVkdfQxPeLydOzCl7fGcWLM-JIx36HnjJxGCfX00hSlMmzYu-lcMVuXk/w480-h640/IMG_6345.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><u>CURRENTLY READING</u> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAQCy8gRCgchHlH9OXATOjgRdzAaBuujPdmWPsCgS2plO-4LQm5EV6pHusw3X9rCN-g-dU0kG7qEUMv80OSjMfMw095KEWHeoW8uHdFuT6g1WR1btNKOmlbCayRKe1s_89GBQCi0OlGgCF/s2048/IMG_6337.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1712" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAQCy8gRCgchHlH9OXATOjgRdzAaBuujPdmWPsCgS2plO-4LQm5EV6pHusw3X9rCN-g-dU0kG7qEUMv80OSjMfMw095KEWHeoW8uHdFuT6g1WR1btNKOmlbCayRKe1s_89GBQCi0OlGgCF/w335-h400/IMG_6337.jpg" width="335" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Published in 1977, this book concerns a guy named Al Rosen, who is currently living in Tel Aviv. He helps some elderly people escape a hotel fire and his picture winds up in the newspapers back in the States. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are some former associates of his back in Detroit who think that he has a tonne of money stashed away and they'd like to have it. So, they send some guys over to Tel Aviv to find Rosen, who is currently trying to locate a woman that he had a one-night stand with back in the hotel before the fire started. In the hurry to escape the burning building, he threw his jacket into her overnight bag. She has since traveled on to another part of Israel and his jacket is still in her luggage. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">With his passport in one of its pockets. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The boys from Detroit have already made one attempt on his life. Rosen needs to find the lady who has his passport so that he can get the hell out of Dodge in one piece. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, he's met a Marine who has a few weeks left in the Army before he gets out. The guy has no clear plans for his future and he decides to try helping Rosen out of his predicament. <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It took me the first fifty or so pages to get into the rhythm of the book, but Elmore Leonard was such a master of dialogue that I soon started enjoying this read. I've read maybe four of his other books over the years. He wrote around fifty books, mainly crime and westerns and as you may know, quite a few of his books were filmed. I'm half-way through <i>The Hunted</i> and I'll be curious to see how it ends. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6djnWIwhUKvEzM6nMJBgnXQSDmzAMOvoKn00ujpFoefGgd35r8ZhQCuDiPtcAKiR7ZI5VND7Qs1FEcseSgEadFN8jw1iu_XMP-ll49L_jYWGFAPRDunTAzbAN6RFtTb-wr5E4lqJ3LTqI/s1280/B3-FF943_LECARR_M_20191017124112.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6djnWIwhUKvEzM6nMJBgnXQSDmzAMOvoKn00ujpFoefGgd35r8ZhQCuDiPtcAKiR7ZI5VND7Qs1FEcseSgEadFN8jw1iu_XMP-ll49L_jYWGFAPRDunTAzbAN6RFtTb-wr5E4lqJ3LTqI/w640-h426/B3-FF943_LECARR_M_20191017124112.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>I had just finished reading two John Le Carré books back to back. He was a very prolific writer, with his last book, <i>Agent Running in The Field</i>, having been published in late 2019. You would think that a writer of his generation would have used a typewriter or word processor, but no, he wrote his manuscripts by hand, with a fountain pen. Which is staggering in itself when you read any of his novels.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Le Carré's books are densely plotted, thoroughly researched and extend beyond the espionage genre to range from big pharma to third world exploitation to the industrial military complex. Many authors have stated that his work should be viewed as literature rather than just genre fiction. I agree. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I tried reading <i>Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy </i>way back in 1981 and got as far as page 35 before giving up on it. I kept the book, as it was considered a big deal and, a year or so ago, I purchased a first edition hardcover version of it and took another crack at it. It is beautifully written. I'll have to re-read it at some point, as there's a lot in it that you can miss in the first reading.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Wristwatch-wise since my last post, I wore the Omega Speedmaster Professional;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNFnxGqPBaRKDM8vpWS4jyTvPwkoVM_mriGLM_ScLrNyG3prkAsN9rChUxOtvFNx6apckZtXnQoCzLTC0qlTywFsXH2NjXwepwxGlQeOAIcyWETmjNqKp7tz2pCXIC0mt7DVygIlwEo0vx/s1280/thumbnail_IMG_6183.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNFnxGqPBaRKDM8vpWS4jyTvPwkoVM_mriGLM_ScLrNyG3prkAsN9rChUxOtvFNx6apckZtXnQoCzLTC0qlTywFsXH2NjXwepwxGlQeOAIcyWETmjNqKp7tz2pCXIC0mt7DVygIlwEo0vx/s320/thumbnail_IMG_6183.jpg" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Omega has just released a new version of this watch with the first major upgrades since 1996. The new one contains an in-house movement, and they have made some slight cosmetic changes to the dial to bring its overall look closer to that of the original models from the 1960s. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The untrained observer may not see a difference between this new model and something like my one from 2007, but hardcore Omega and NASA fans rejoiced at some of the changes that were made to this watch. Naturally, it comes with a price tag to match. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">That's cool. I'm not in the market for a Speedmaster. </p><p>I also wore the Omega Railmaster;</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJqLwIS9wqjoGWKRf2YO04enpygYPdy6XnjsZiNEFkYaGm6YUY3VUshoY-IrXNXCAt09jzH6VTvNLuVTXUxCURPD7p2HaPcJhlyaMBtETC3x1avc64JTFZdLsKLQp1vfUjUUcU3M4lbo3/s2048/IMG_6217.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJqLwIS9wqjoGWKRf2YO04enpygYPdy6XnjsZiNEFkYaGm6YUY3VUshoY-IrXNXCAt09jzH6VTvNLuVTXUxCURPD7p2HaPcJhlyaMBtETC3x1avc64JTFZdLsKLQp1vfUjUUcU3M4lbo3/s320/IMG_6217.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p>And the Oris 40mm Divers SixtyFive with blue and black dial;</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihX-h2nsBY-8dIPuQXGULpPRm-10x3UYqF2nGRExMurCtWcx_sPgUjz6Z4a7y_7cZDUwGJv2TuqyI47REcPn5omnW43J62shgcYZYiEy12fKKtVzM9RHnGUmq6N-OUBijYYh5yE0M22xDs/s2048/12th.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihX-h2nsBY-8dIPuQXGULpPRm-10x3UYqF2nGRExMurCtWcx_sPgUjz6Z4a7y_7cZDUwGJv2TuqyI47REcPn5omnW43J62shgcYZYiEy12fKKtVzM9RHnGUmq6N-OUBijYYh5yE0M22xDs/s320/12th.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p>Although, the watch that's been on my wrist since January 21st is the latest addition to the collection, the Tudor Black Bay 58;</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH1Nqbfh_4b3B90Fl8RI7SCveYF1cXGhyphenhyphenSLRU3VME_JBNodgnK2keJzBn8QWzzxWgz5_2yq4zcsM-6f_WA9N8BkFNoLXCrzxO6C_xzbAQLeWubmm7O89fRuGECfVnpK7dT0Dv1z9TMyuW9/s2048/BB58+on+wrist.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH1Nqbfh_4b3B90Fl8RI7SCveYF1cXGhyphenhyphenSLRU3VME_JBNodgnK2keJzBn8QWzzxWgz5_2yq4zcsM-6f_WA9N8BkFNoLXCrzxO6C_xzbAQLeWubmm7O89fRuGECfVnpK7dT0Dv1z9TMyuW9/w400-h400/BB58+on+wrist.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">As it's new, I'm currently still in the honeymoon phase of ownership. I'd originally purchased it on the leather strap (see previous post), but I placed an order for the metal bracelet. It arrived a couple of weeks ago and I fitted it to the watch and then spent some time getting a fit that worked for my 6.5 inch wrist. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Took a while and I finally got to around a 95% perfect fit. It's not the watch that's the issue, it's the curvature of my wrist. I don't have a perfectly circular wrist. It tends to be thinner on the inner edge than it is on the outer edge and, as such, the clasp doesn't sit as well or evenly as it could. Hard to explain, so if a picture tells a thousand words...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG6Iw0jtLukrYa4sedzYhjmZs7eVXlcSlS3aDPMjA2jz-9-BBqXf5EC6ZWrEG-jBOwFHsGasfOEc98pfKze8CEx6L0P8n-5SHlHX8_Xvywynl-H4KiObGVF3USVcGafo43XvpT6zMwbJFZ/s2048/wrist.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG6Iw0jtLukrYa4sedzYhjmZs7eVXlcSlS3aDPMjA2jz-9-BBqXf5EC6ZWrEG-jBOwFHsGasfOEc98pfKze8CEx6L0P8n-5SHlHX8_Xvywynl-H4KiObGVF3USVcGafo43XvpT6zMwbJFZ/w640-h480/wrist.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The clasp bridge is long and is shaped in a way that doesn't fully follow the curve of my wrist. No huge drama. The watch sits well. I could do some wrist curls, but this most likely won't solve the issue because you just can't fatten up the wrist. Actually, you can. With fat, but not muscle, as the wrist area is all bones and tendons. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Still, I think I'll do some wrist curls, because I do recall my wrists looking a little thicker back in my hospitality days. Of course, that was half a lifetime ago...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Friday, February 12th.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> The air-con broke down in the office on Monday. It's Summer here in Melbourne and, even though it's been a pretty crappy one so far (due to the La Niña weather pattern this year, which made for a humid and cloudy Summertime), we have had some hot and humid days this week and the air in the office is stifling. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've been getting home from work with a thin film of sweat on my face and my shirt stuck to my back.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was announced earlier today that Victoria would go into lock-down again, as of midnight tonight, for the next five days. There were eight new cases of Covid-19 here last weekend. Then it jumped to eleven, and this morning it got to thirteen. There are major concerns that this new wave could be the UK variant of the virus, which is more contagious. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Great. Twenty/twenty-one has gotten off to a fine start. I'm still looking on the bright side, but I'm also having a gripe about it all. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, to cheer myself up in a shallow manner, here's another pic of the Tudor Black Bay 58;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQeznUsowvkFcHQCGCBcjETJYuloR8NT7ZX0TVnyR2POjpXdigOiT-H_kCa9MqQGeOs4VM6bUwza3KDuranAQgrLmotHUZE1P0XiWJdYSKN0Qa7SGjlqytLSOsvKwwX2GDqgyE26BXxr_I/s2048/IMG_6410.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1918" data-original-width="2048" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQeznUsowvkFcHQCGCBcjETJYuloR8NT7ZX0TVnyR2POjpXdigOiT-H_kCa9MqQGeOs4VM6bUwza3KDuranAQgrLmotHUZE1P0XiWJdYSKN0Qa7SGjlqytLSOsvKwwX2GDqgyE26BXxr_I/w400-h375/IMG_6410.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Anyway, I got a letter from the hospital a couple of days ago to inform me that I am now on the waiting list for the bunion operation. I'm classed as Level 3, which is considered non-urgent (that's cool), so that means that I could have the procedure done sometime over the next twelve months. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's a procedure with a non-threatening name. Scarf and Akin. The doctor that I had the meeting with two weeks ago explained the procedure with a sheet of paper and a ballpoint. I then got online a few days later and Googled it. Not that I'm squeamish, but since this operation is going to involve some surgical version of a reciprocating saw (yeah, you read it right!), I figured I would rather see animated video rather than an actual surgical procedure, complete with sound and blood. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, I'll be having the scarf and Akin procedure...on my right foot. My left foot will be getting the akin op as well as a Cheilectomy, whereby an arthritic spur of bone which has formed on top of the metatarsal (big toe joint) will be cut away. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Just as well I'll be out cold during this. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here's a link to an animated video which explains it, minus my blood and screaming;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.ct-ortho.com/patient-resources/patient-education/videos/bunion-correction-with-scarf-and-akin-osteotomy/ ">Connecticutt Orthopaedics.com/Bunion Correction with Scarf and Akin Osteotomy</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yessiree, this will be an interesting year. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, because this post has taken me a couple of weeks to get this far;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>CURRENTLY READING</u><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-6mYR3PoWhDIJQARZVHCCmLh-_znRT-SkVoO2RUT3_o21p-kbYyYs41KqYOk439-eJTRing5oDUEOAmJNjvBCDWkMIQqSHe00PaBRwPIKHHZK1PqUUGpj2iy4la3W-6fZfhtnnj4jk1P/s2048/IMG_6405.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-6mYR3PoWhDIJQARZVHCCmLh-_znRT-SkVoO2RUT3_o21p-kbYyYs41KqYOk439-eJTRing5oDUEOAmJNjvBCDWkMIQqSHe00PaBRwPIKHHZK1PqUUGpj2iy4la3W-6fZfhtnnj4jk1P/s320/IMG_6405.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I finished the Elmore Leonard book and quite liked it. It felt a little strange because there were a host of characters throughout the story and some played a bigger part than others. I'm not insinuating that this was a bad thing. Far from it. When I finished the book, I understood the arcs of these characters and felt that Leonard was a better writer than I first thought. He leads you one way and then takes you elsewhere, and you don't realise it until you near the end of the book. Very well done, and his characters and dialogue are first-rate. <br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Not certain of what to read next, I soon realised that I was still on an espionage novel kick, so I looked at my shelf and thought about starting the second book in le Carré's 'Karla Trilogy', <i>The Honourable Schoolboy.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But something was holding me back. Not sure what, but I think I wanted to give that book the proper time and concentration required, maybe even re-read the first book of the trilogy, <i>Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy </i>before starting this second book. In the end, I opted for one of his later books, <i>A Delicate Truth,</i> written in 2013.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It concerns a covert mission by British and American interests which takes place on the Rock of Gibraltar. The story then picks up three years later when a low-level assistant to a British minister uncovers some vague details about this mission and decides to dig deeper, despite the recommendations from his mentor to leave it all be. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Le Carré is not an author that I read if I'm feeling a little tired or distracted. It took me a week to read the first fifty pages and when I stopped to think about it, I couldn't recall what had taken place. So, I sat down last Sunday afternoon with the book and a medium-strong <i>latté </i>and re-read those pages. Once I was up-to-speed, I continued on. I do love his dialogue and his characters. The plots are usually multi-layered, which is why I need to be reasonably alert when reading them. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">He wrote twenty-five novels over the course of his literary career. He worked briefly for both MI5 and MI6 in the late 1950s before publishing his first novel, <i>Call for the Dead</i> in 1961 while working for the British Embassy in Bonn. As Foreign Office personnel were not allowed to publish writings under their own names, David Cornwell chose the name John le Carré and it was his third book, <i>The Spy Who Came In From the Cold</i> which put him on the best-seller lists in 1963. He soon took up writing full-time, which was just as well, as his real name was passed along to the Soviets by a double-agent, effectively ending his career with British Intelligence. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm now about seventy pages from the end of this book and I've no idea how it will end. Certainly getting my money's worth out of this one. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tuesday, February 16th, 2021</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> We had an increase in Covid cases here last week, after a 28-day period of no new cases and our State Government has put this town into a five-day lock-down until midnight tomorrow. There's a slight chance that this lock-down may be extended, which throws a spanner into the workings of my office. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm at home now, answering customer e-mails, hobbling along as best possible. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Wednesday, February 17th, 2021</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Looks like the lock-down will end tonight. Back to work tomorrow, which is just as well, as I have been dealing with a few very ticked-off customers via email this week. One customer's watch shows heavy impact damage to the case. There's a nice little dent in the steel, and this has had an effect on the movement of the watch, effectively shifting sections of it out of alignment. This is what is causing the erratic timekeeping of the watch. It will require a complete service, and the customer is not happy about it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, there's nothing we can do about it. The watch has sustained accidental damage and this is just no covered under warranty. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I wore the Omega Seamaster 300 recently;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ayc8Leq7v9yQ78BdRWBuSeLAb1unzcqRMB94cw3akYmaAYOuaaONNOWxk9H2GeSUprivMg9dTBhM99ijG0XhisbnN9Gri9pNXMdPMCtwmVCoZFBZspyawVgsPpm-0zBrn0tMBXgJ8Hjv/s2048/IMG_6437.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ayc8Leq7v9yQ78BdRWBuSeLAb1unzcqRMB94cw3akYmaAYOuaaONNOWxk9H2GeSUprivMg9dTBhM99ijG0XhisbnN9Gri9pNXMdPMCtwmVCoZFBZspyawVgsPpm-0zBrn0tMBXgJ8Hjv/s320/IMG_6437.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I think I've said this before; for somebody who doesn't dive, I have quite a few dive watches. There's a lot about them that I find handy. Aside from the more-than-I'll-ever-need water resistance, the rotating bezels tend to come in useful for parking meters, lunch breaks, cooking times, etc. Just about everything <i>except </i>timing an actual dive.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The legibility is nice and clear, too. If I wake up in the middle of the night, I can glance over at the watch on my bedside table and think to myself: <i>Oh, man, it's friggin' four am!</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And of course, there's something very <i>Action Man! </i>about their design, their heft, their size. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Given the ongoing popularity of a dive watch, you can pretty much find them in sizes ranging from around 36mm, such as the Oris Divers SixtyFive and Rado Captain Cook, all the way up to 46mm for something like the Breitling SuperOcean Heritage 46. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">For me, the sweet spot tends to be 40mm, as this represents the classic dive watch case diameter. The Seamaster up above clocks in at 42mm, but I can forgive this because it's such a nice watch. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">As it's Summer here in Melbourne, I tend to wear my more water resistant watches on bracelets. This means less having to take the watch off when dealing with water. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Feb 25th</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Okay, this post got long, so I'll stop it there. We're only two months into the year and I've been quite busy. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Might have to start my next post sooner rather than later. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I hope you're all coping with life the way it is right now. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Stay safe, thanks for reading!</div></div>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1373508591984404978.post-25884503544728943222021-01-11T02:25:00.000-08:002021-01-11T02:25:01.572-08:00My Most-Worn Watches of 2020<p style="text-align: justify;">It's been a busy couple of months since my last post, so I felt I'd better get back here and put something up. So, while I work on drafts of other posts, now's as good a time as any to tally up the watches that spent the most time on my wrist throughout the historic year that just ended.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The results surprised me. Watches that I thought I didn't wear very much were actually worn more often than I recalled. I had a few newcomers arrive in the collection, with one major arrival that was quite a surprise. I wasn't looking for it when it showed up, but it's such a rare piece that I thought I'd be a fool to knock it back. I'm also gearing up to get rid of a few that rarely get worn. The watch box is finally getting a bit of a shake-up.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, here are the ten most-worn pieces for 2020.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><b>(1) Rolex Submariner 5513/0, 40mm (1982 model) </b></u></span><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgELv2zWsQdf6mbvHO0P-HdHxuu4mf6PU8lMcTkfLS1RRvFFXvaLu8Upkeya8m3gybm6ieG0Ta3h6sfKkbD3B-coRhGCzINsB2XWmc3CwQc_0vxGTdZcncvQKef9YKEwvHNlw3Yiz5rr_zf/s2048/5513-1.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1493" data-original-width="2048" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgELv2zWsQdf6mbvHO0P-HdHxuu4mf6PU8lMcTkfLS1RRvFFXvaLu8Upkeya8m3gybm6ieG0Ta3h6sfKkbD3B-coRhGCzINsB2XWmc3CwQc_0vxGTdZcncvQKef9YKEwvHNlw3Yiz5rr_zf/w400-h291/5513-1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Spending 47 different days on my wrist throughout the year, the Sub 5513 is the winner by one. I was surprised to learn that this was my most-worn watch of 2020, considering that I do still tend to baby it a little. Whenever I was about to wash dishes, I'd take the watch off and put it on the window-sill. If I was about to do something requiring tools, the watch would come off, to be replaced by the Hamilton Khaki Automatic. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Regardless of all that, it reached the top spot in this list. From memory, I think it got the most wear throughout the winter months, when it was covered by shirt and jacket sleeves. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then, at the end of October, we got the news of the death of Sean Connery and I removed the bracelet from the watch and fitted a brown leather strap to it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7xIamvDaUBDa-8-MLWVoKoqeoe9non7S8pGFB-HahJIqFNINWutmobTBu5QJlowe_5SNLIyBzVWuW3s3OzJpI5byb0vxfT1je2QlcLc02jBVA6-yezMHZvt__dI3IKaOXsFn3NmDY3qN2/s2048/Sub5513.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7xIamvDaUBDa-8-MLWVoKoqeoe9non7S8pGFB-HahJIqFNINWutmobTBu5QJlowe_5SNLIyBzVWuW3s3OzJpI5byb0vxfT1je2QlcLc02jBVA6-yezMHZvt__dI3IKaOXsFn3NmDY3qN2/w400-h300/Sub5513.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>This was done to mimic the strap worn by Connery in <i>Dr No.</i> Bond's Rolex in that film was a Submariner Reference No. 6538, on loan to the production by one of the crew, who was ex-Royal Navy. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">As part of my week of mourning the death of the first cinematic James Bond, I had this watch on the strap and it looked fantastic. Hard to tell from the movie if his strap was black or brown. No matter. I had a brown leather strap with a crocodile pattern embossed on it. The Rolex three-link Oyster bracelet is as classic as the watch itself. It's been much-copied over the last four or five decades. As such, it is as much a part of the Submariner's DNA as the dial and hands and, whenever I remove the bracelet and put the watch on a strap, it doesn't tend to last very long, as I find myself reverting the watch back to its bracelet. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've had this watch now for just about six years, after wanting one since around 1974. Its allure is strong, but I'm not entirely certain if I'll keep it forever. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'll explain my reasons for this way of thinking later. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><b>(2) Oris Divers SixtyFive- 40mm, Blue & Black dial (2017 model) </b></u></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><b><br /></b></u></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisBWlTFYW8W911KQtul8QNdoMDAJzAh0Dqs0ckExrbLkip8DmblyoRN323BzTc_Cf5tkOFga0cpwBserUjQNsxf7QiwnE_TO2yPACnYDy7OscB4DCv02FoKXDoOEhwnmdXJItzDuYQCdVF/s2048/23rd.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1661" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisBWlTFYW8W911KQtul8QNdoMDAJzAh0Dqs0ckExrbLkip8DmblyoRN323BzTc_Cf5tkOFga0cpwBserUjQNsxf7QiwnE_TO2yPACnYDy7OscB4DCv02FoKXDoOEhwnmdXJItzDuYQCdVF/s320/23rd.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another surprise. I hadn't noticed that this watch got so much wear
throughout the year. It was worn one day less than the Submariner. I'm currently wearing it as I write this (Jan 3rd,
2021) and it's a watch that I never get sick of. Oris released the black-dialed version of this watch in 2015 at the annual BaselWorld Watch and Jewellery Fair in Switzerland and it was a hit. It was a bold move on their part. The return to a 40mm diameter was not yet widespread among watch brands (who were still producing dive watches in 42mm to 44mm sizing) and the 1960s-styled numeral font was a make-or-break choice, despite the fact that it was used on Oris' original model from the mid-Sixties. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This was the kind of watch that I could just put on the wrist without worrying about bumps and knocks, water, legibility, or anything else. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijfN-LJDOLvo62fKLly0V-WhRHDnUpxoxMPtjFqwCDS0qnZlKCkgO-gayptr1kptztZIMKgT0VLRQzZpfq5M7eQHHblcs_iTmKT8A-LgCGPHxp_NF8bbc8UWSRyLOVWwB6CDeFwO_pqJo7/s2048/17th.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijfN-LJDOLvo62fKLly0V-WhRHDnUpxoxMPtjFqwCDS0qnZlKCkgO-gayptr1kptztZIMKgT0VLRQzZpfq5M7eQHHblcs_iTmKT8A-LgCGPHxp_NF8bbc8UWSRyLOVWwB6CDeFwO_pqJo7/w400-h400/17th.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The majority of dive watches in my collection have black dials. When I first saw this watch in 2016, I was immediately drawn to the mixture of blue and black used on the dial. The numerals didn't thrill me, but once I remembered that they were part of the 1960s original design, I warmed to them pretty quickly. This watch looked like nothing else I had. The more I wore it, the more I liked it. Similar to the Submariner, I remove the bracelet from time to time, but it always finds its way back to the bracelet, even though it does look good on a NATO strap. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oh, I re-read <i>Casino Royale</i>, for the first time since the early 1980s. Have to say that it still holds up. <br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><b>(3) Oris Divers SixtyFive- 40mm, Movember 2018 Special Edition) </b></u></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><b><br /></b></u></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfS352FOhrTbeDZWlR1xqAtpVkbe_ki9VXvEu7jZrYQmdmo4Q2wl0FAjTjapR3V-2fGc-vEUH4jdlPB4Sck3GmEhyphenhyphenTsg8gBX5mf6KAMFKd1cog3DMq-qTahgZLBp9mPrSsOnH3MYe1yOBl/s2048/D65Mov.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1387" data-original-width="2048" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfS352FOhrTbeDZWlR1xqAtpVkbe_ki9VXvEu7jZrYQmdmo4Q2wl0FAjTjapR3V-2fGc-vEUH4jdlPB4Sck3GmEhyphenhyphenTsg8gBX5mf6KAMFKd1cog3DMq-qTahgZLBp9mPrSsOnH3MYe1yOBl/w400-h271/D65Mov.JPG" width="400" /></a>Worn throughout 40 days of 2020 was the Oris Movember Edition Divers SixtyFive. Exact same dimensions as the above-listed D-65, this one got a lot of wear during the year. A no-nonsense, easy-to-read dial made this a grab-and-go watch. Alas, I'll have to see how much wear it gets over the coming year, as I've very recently snagged a watch that is very similar in look to this one, and I feel that I'd like to avoid any doubling-up if at all possible. I already have two Omega <span style="font-family: inherit;">dive watches that look similar to each other and I don't want to fill the collection with look-alikes if I can help it.</span> <br /></div></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><b>(4) Hamilton Khaki Officers Automatic, 40mm (2018 model) </b></u></span><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-YB4uNkPcuRTyXmhCobJgTncJDIZXgrMKjC8_MJnOynMtBfbYtWrk6iH3hvbKXpOkuYH-FT5_aFymvLDxRmHhDud-Dv7wnc45wuGEqdtRQN6bnF5DI1Ac7jxWhdpN3p4Nxv_sifAKoDI/s2048/hammy-2.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1696" data-original-width="2048" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-YB4uNkPcuRTyXmhCobJgTncJDIZXgrMKjC8_MJnOynMtBfbYtWrk6iH3hvbKXpOkuYH-FT5_aFymvLDxRmHhDud-Dv7wnc45wuGEqdtRQN6bnF5DI1Ac7jxWhdpN3p4Nxv_sifAKoDI/w400-h331/hammy-2.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Thirty
days of last year saw me wearing this watch. Whenever I had some tasks
to do where there was risk of damaging my watch, this is the one I would
wear.Needless to say, though, this watch is still in excellent
condition. I must have been more careful with it than I thought. There's
barely a mark on it. If you ever want to get yourself one automatic
watch, you could do far, far worse than a Hamilton such as this. Legible
dial, 100 metres of water resistance, and an 80-hour power reserve,
which means you can take it off your wrist on Friday night and it'll
still be running Monday morning. <br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><b>(5) Omega Railmaster Co-Axial, 36mm (2009 model) </b></u></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><span><span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><span><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC5w5EE4M84FVeIbH8P0mYDhDMjYomPJ-b_InwTCoc7FC1BzIrSTia_R7lVoHxFmYFhzeFYvqP6jGDF7fh2g1cJHYZotO-PjCG_wascsyYHJuoWDH9gtfI-kMZM6zyf6EuRNsG0ZCom4TR/s2048/Raily-1.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC5w5EE4M84FVeIbH8P0mYDhDMjYomPJ-b_InwTCoc7FC1BzIrSTia_R7lVoHxFmYFhzeFYvqP6jGDF7fh2g1cJHYZotO-PjCG_wascsyYHJuoWDH9gtfI-kMZM6zyf6EuRNsG0ZCom4TR/w400-h300/Raily-1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>There were days where all I wanted to know was the time. That's where this watch would fit the bill. There's a perfect simplicity and symmetry to the dial of any watch that just has four numerals at the cardinal points of the dial and no date window to break up the overall aesthetic. The hands and markers are luminous, offering clear readability at four am or in a darkened theatre (not that anybody got to the movies much in 2020, dammit!) and the 150 metre water-resistance means that you need not have to take the watch off for days at the beach or fifteen minutes at the kitchen sink. </span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><span><span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><span><span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0CKC_49CxT92D21ZxFjfvGxcwbfCvokuHs9fsYI3CKJCokKgv8N88Nqrkqr3N1VXI0xZxi9kH9F4_OPKIf5oN-FZpT8O7xFyGi8m6EWcrmW4aSOHwvBsbIFBANd_jBTrnzA5Unn96lnLg/s2048/Raily+-2.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0CKC_49CxT92D21ZxFjfvGxcwbfCvokuHs9fsYI3CKJCokKgv8N88Nqrkqr3N1VXI0xZxi9kH9F4_OPKIf5oN-FZpT8O7xFyGi8m6EWcrmW4aSOHwvBsbIFBANd_jBTrnzA5Unn96lnLg/s320/Raily+-2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>This type of watch design is still popular. At the pricier end of the spectrum, Rolex still makes the Explorer model, and Omega have an updated Railmaster in their current range which doesn't really thrill me, as I don't see any resemblance between the new model and my watch. If I were going for something like my watch, micro-brand Nodus has just released their Sector Sport models which seem to represent a good value at just over $400 USD. </span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><span><span>I can't fault this watch at all, although I wish the clasp on the bracelet were a different design. I've always felt that this older clasp, a throwback to Omega models of the mid-Nineties, was just a tad flimsy in its construction. Easy to bend out of shape if one's not careful with it, as I saw with one or two customers who brought there Omega watches in for repair, back when I used to sell watches. However, there are sites that sell bracelets that just might fit this watch. I'll have to conduct a little more research before I make a move. </span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><span><span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><span><span></span></span></span></span></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><b>(6) Seiko SARB033, 37mm (2019 model) </b></u></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ZXYZ1RqyPhQdAp9BFFnrKjKPAlk4D86ffhYfu4Xk3bNy_VRldLMXoF9jagSy_l-pKo9i2_LdoGNkMUflj10D5r99io3NxrJf456xM5428gmj8pKKXzkehSMKq2u4HnLnF8cDvk8X_I0x/s2896/SARB033-2.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1086" data-original-width="2896" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ZXYZ1RqyPhQdAp9BFFnrKjKPAlk4D86ffhYfu4Xk3bNy_VRldLMXoF9jagSy_l-pKo9i2_LdoGNkMUflj10D5r99io3NxrJf456xM5428gmj8pKKXzkehSMKq2u4HnLnF8cDvk8X_I0x/w640-h240/SARB033-2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div></u></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><span><span>This Seiko got its fair share of time on the wrist. Recently discontinued, this is a well-made daily wearer with some design cues that can be found in the higher-priced Grand Seiko range. It's a beautifully executed watch which doesn't reveal much at first glance, but the more you look at it, the more you begin to see. The lugs have an extra step to them, the hour markers show a little more intricacy to their design, and the raised 'SEIKO' logo on the dial is the kind of thing that you find on more expensive Swiss watches. <br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><span><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><span><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><span><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><span><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><span><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><span><span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjMiAeBjjvYFeMfAhWHA9s1rtCY4jZFJ8vmyE4ECaJj3ugpdZ4bL0zyBrm1VoZSFapCsHg7tN3Q2txUPsIfz6LoBQ5lJ0L6AVvpGt4ywmAafVEmGo5inrxux3644cQRC0CXVwqxmisu6QJ/s2048/SARB033-1.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1371" data-original-width="2048" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjMiAeBjjvYFeMfAhWHA9s1rtCY4jZFJ8vmyE4ECaJj3ugpdZ4bL0zyBrm1VoZSFapCsHg7tN3Q2txUPsIfz6LoBQ5lJ0L6AVvpGt4ywmAafVEmGo5inrxux3644cQRC0CXVwqxmisu6QJ/w400-h268/SARB033-1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">This watch was worn over 26 days of the year and I can distinctly recall wearing it during those interminable daily Zoom meetings during our recent state-wide lock-down, of which some were an absolute waste of time. I found myself glancing at this watch frequently, and getting distracted by it. It's a slightly deceptive watch, in that it has a deep charcoal-coloured dial which can look black in low lighting, but takes on a metallic dark grey hue in bright sunlight. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Well, looks like I've just chosen tomorrow's watch!</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><b>(7a) Sinn 103 St Sa Chronograph, 41mm (2009 model) </b></u></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Twenty-twenty being the year that it was, there were countless occasions where I just didn't know what day it was. During the first lock-down of the pandemic, my work week was busted down to three days. The second lock-down had me working from home four days a week, but I still checked my e-mails on the days when I wasn't meant to. As such, there were times when a Monday would feel like a Wednesday or a Friday would feel like a Sunday, and on and on. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN5P0K7RlgmvMeisK1CCzARgYHzSd-tqgY9AShMzk7MMu0Vp5dHaSaohVqddqsXutyycK7gbUp4J4o0lNEt5h_Uv4cUb0mqxys5owoYojBvx6xgGPoQSxR8rwPI4qcKWhmR5q6eRg7zNM9/s2048/Sinn+103.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2042" data-original-width="2048" height="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN5P0K7RlgmvMeisK1CCzARgYHzSd-tqgY9AShMzk7MMu0Vp5dHaSaohVqddqsXutyycK7gbUp4J4o0lNEt5h_Uv4cUb0mqxys5owoYojBvx6xgGPoQSxR8rwPI4qcKWhmR5q6eRg7zNM9/w400-h399/Sinn+103.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;">To the rescue came the Sinn 103 St Sa, clocking in at 25 days throughout the year. The day/date function was a Godsend, even though the days were printed in German on the day wheel. That's how I ordered it back in 2009. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Monday - Montag</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tuesday - Dienstag</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Wednesday - Mittwoch</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Thursday - Donnerstag</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Friday - Freitag</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Saturday - Samstag </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sunday - Sonntag </span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">I figured why not get a daily language lesson whenever I glance at my wristwatch? In truth, I wanted the watch to have a 1970s/'80s GSG-9 anti-terrorist vibe. Real or imagined.<br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Either way, it came in very handy on those days when I didn't know what day it was. As this watch is now over ten years old, I think I should get 'round to having it serviced sometime this year. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><b>(7b) Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean, 42mm (2008 model) </b></u></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">In equal place with the Sinn 103, the Omega Planet Ocean was worn on 25 days of 2020. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiekqrTSX_niMCyJ9-cuqSzVNrqfD96bVeboj1QrDhg-haoPmfzpJR9LQaeBgTVtOH7XAm7soylnRzOv0qqQm9-onVFfKGAsmR26ptcknVFwgo7GfhTB8RHDQPFxd_O7W6FlfwQCGkEMS8I/s2048/PO-1.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1364" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiekqrTSX_niMCyJ9-cuqSzVNrqfD96bVeboj1QrDhg-haoPmfzpJR9LQaeBgTVtOH7XAm7soylnRzOv0qqQm9-onVFfKGAsmR26ptcknVFwgo7GfhTB8RHDQPFxd_O7W6FlfwQCGkEMS8I/w400-h266/PO-1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Like the Sinn, this watch has a reassuring heft to it when it's on the wrist. Like the Seiko SARB033, this is a set-and-forget watch where I don't have to worry about babying it. And, it was worn by Daniel Craig in his second Bond outing, <i>Quantum of Solace </i>(Dir: Marc Forster, 2008). <br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Not only that, but the serial numbers difference between Craig's watch and mine is just over 24,240. That may sound like a lot, but it could be that our watches were built in the same year. Maybe. Maybe not. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs0coChHaLSDlP_TBF8fCGYyFlzPv0zIgY2Bdl75tdZ6cceM6ftXupSeraaORNM81u7I-cYrqmFBjUd8L1pdQOXgX9hSNrGsCUKjCHjmqgfWLCSeIzZZgDY_aq-i-MyBieppZ3GqvwdxMJ/s2048/PO-2.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs0coChHaLSDlP_TBF8fCGYyFlzPv0zIgY2Bdl75tdZ6cceM6ftXupSeraaORNM81u7I-cYrqmFBjUd8L1pdQOXgX9hSNrGsCUKjCHjmqgfWLCSeIzZZgDY_aq-i-MyBieppZ3GqvwdxMJ/w400-h300/PO-2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">This watch now jostles for position with a few others that I wear regularly. It's one downside is the 42mm diameter of the case. If it were forty mil, it would be a near-perfect watch. It could end up being sold one day, but for now and the foreseeable future, it's staying right here. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">It <i>is </i>a Bond watch, after all.<br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><b>(8) Omega Speedmaster Professional, 42mm (2007 model) </b></u></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS1JdAznk3FZ8_nhtM8llil8z69f7FdVENUrmHQwuOlrKCYuv660HhKGic32lBMS-cWRxNNzyX3-WN1ko0lC3MXgoyz4oVr85jRXEywIRBtReLmdYfsL8ReCBxQHrPjzdN695vFfG4guGi/s2048/speedy-1.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1468" data-original-width="2048" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS1JdAznk3FZ8_nhtM8llil8z69f7FdVENUrmHQwuOlrKCYuv660HhKGic32lBMS-cWRxNNzyX3-WN1ko0lC3MXgoyz4oVr85jRXEywIRBtReLmdYfsL8ReCBxQHrPjzdN695vFfG4guGi/w400-h286/speedy-1.JPG" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Not really much else to say about this one. Its reputation is assured, though many argue that it's an outdated watch in so many ways; </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span><br /></div></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Hesalite crystal which can scratch fairly easily and wouldn't take much to break. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Fifty-metre water-resistance, which makes it just a little beyond splash-proof, although a lot of folks do wear this watch in water without fear. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Hand-wound movement, which many modern watch collectors consider a little too old-fashioned these days. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">I don't consider these as flaws by any means. Hesalite can be polished with a ten-dollar tube of PolyWatch, and replacing a cracked Hesalite crystal is a damn sight cheaper than replacing a cracked sapphire crystal. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fifty metres of water resistance is sufficient for day-to-day activities where the watch may get splashed with water. If I wanna swim with my watch on, I'll wear something with 100 metres water-resistance. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hand-wound movement suits me just fine. A little bit of interaction with the watch and, more importantly, a pause in the day where you can tell everybody to back off for 20 or 30 seconds while you wind your watch. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">The beauty of this watch - for me, anyway - is that it's virtually unchanged since its design from the mid 1960s. The old advertisement in the photo is from 1969 and you can see the similarities. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">A classic chronograph design. This watch is going nowhere. <br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><b>(9) Omega Seamaster 300, 42mm (Movement dates to circa 1967, 2009 purchase) </b></u></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Twenty-three times on my wrist in 2020, this one shows the original DNA that went towards the Planet Ocean model released in 2005. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlAVdZ-s6frdsW9dGA3VsS4gZcgHa8zzJtGh8r42rgjPgdmg12T4dUpOy_1Pwy2B53EqJL459r5_iXv0k_wMNnudsMwy5TuyQe_uPmsCBZ3ZGF0dJ3WEaTh4w1sH__r6rRSddS9l4PKqRI/s2048/SM300.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1737" data-original-width="2048" height="339" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlAVdZ-s6frdsW9dGA3VsS4gZcgHa8zzJtGh8r42rgjPgdmg12T4dUpOy_1Pwy2B53EqJL459r5_iXv0k_wMNnudsMwy5TuyQe_uPmsCBZ3ZGF0dJ3WEaTh4w1sH__r6rRSddS9l4PKqRI/w400-h339/SM300.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>This one was being serviced for most of 2019. It required a click-spring for the seconds hand and it took me some time to find one on eBay. Originally serviced in 2018 by a watchmaker who did good work, but couldn't access parts for the movement, this watch lay dormant for quite some time, so when I finally got it back, it got some TLC and time on the wrist. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To give it a point of difference from my other dive watches, I put it back onto the mesh bracelet, to Burt Reynolds it up a little. Granted, he never wore this watch, but it looks like the kind of watch he should have worn in <i>Deliverance </i>(Dir: John Boorman, 1972). <span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><b>(10) Citizen Eco-Drive Nighthawk, 42mm (circa 2012, 2020 purchase) </b></u></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOzPrO2UZ5EjtZQ9yQwHvRLngZ0edHjrNMFavu4n3JydcLFPDMtf33KNg0OjqUUop303ENU7ZwfZvKSM8hwV5yAl-PRwwZKr-Ikh0PEkh5T4m7-jA2nxfXaCj3KWK6ZspvFwteq9rJ0tLQ/s2048/Citizen.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1416" data-original-width="2048" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOzPrO2UZ5EjtZQ9yQwHvRLngZ0edHjrNMFavu4n3JydcLFPDMtf33KNg0OjqUUop303ENU7ZwfZvKSM8hwV5yAl-PRwwZKr-Ikh0PEkh5T4m7-jA2nxfXaCj3KWK6ZspvFwteq9rJ0tLQ/w400-h276/Citizen.JPG" width="400" /></a></div></b></u></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">A surprise purchase, I saw this at a local pawnbrokers and the price was right - just under $200, but I bargained them down a little. A few scuffs and scratches here and there, but that's okay. This would make a good watch for travel. Despite how busy the dial looks, it's a supremely legible watch, given that the hour markers are quite prominent and the sword-shaped hands stand out boldly against the slate grey dial. There's a scale along the left side of the dial that can be set for a second time-zone. The red airplane-shaped pointer reads off the red numerals for daytime and the white pointer opposite rolls around in due course to show the time for evening. Once you use it a few times, it gets easy. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">The inner rotating bezel is a slide rule, used by pilots to calculate fuel over distance, etc. Basically, I'll never use it. Two hundred metre water-resistance means it'll handle a dip in a hotel pool in some far away exotic land, whenever <i>that</i> day comes around again. The dial of the watch is a solar panel, which stores energy in the watch's battery. This thing will run non-stop for six months if left in a drawer. If it stops, you just leave it under light for a few hours and it powers up again. Battery changes are done every ten years or so, and some sources state that after 20 years, the battery retains 80% of its original power. Now that's pretty cool. I got quite some wear out of this watch. It totaled up thirteen days, which isn't bad considering that I tend to steer clear of quartz watches. Even though I think every collection should have one, since they can come in handy. <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">And that sums up the ten watches that I wore most throughout this dog's breakfast of a year. I had a few incomings too. One was a complete and utter surprise, but when it was offered to me, I knew I'd be a fool to say no. It was one of those watches that I've read about over the years. It has the dubious reputation of being one of the most-faked watches on the market. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>Tudor Ranger 9050/0, circa 1970 </b></u></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN1fZ8BoX9fme2StGsApzL5PrqnU0UmCeUZP7rAlrm7JAo55XS-lMXkC-HSQpK8yW6G5ms28IfNJnc1QxJeNLo1yXWlB54PvxKEqhfQXfSA2_ANORSxy2oI08-fo-ydle6N3zFDteH3gI2/s832/Ranger+fake.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="791" data-original-width="832" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN1fZ8BoX9fme2StGsApzL5PrqnU0UmCeUZP7rAlrm7JAo55XS-lMXkC-HSQpK8yW6G5ms28IfNJnc1QxJeNLo1yXWlB54PvxKEqhfQXfSA2_ANORSxy2oI08-fo-ydle6N3zFDteH3gI2/s320/Ranger+fake.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>If somebody ever offers you a watch like this one, run like hell. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Ranger was Tudor's version of the classic Rolex Explorer 1016 model. Tudor used almost all parts manufactured by Rolex- their parent company - and the brand was marketed as the less expensive alternative for the working man. Dials, hands, cases and crowns were all made by Rolex. The main difference was the movement inside the watch. Whereas Rolex used in-house calibres, Tudor movements were outsourced from ETA, one of the largest watch movement manufacturers in Switzerland. Very similar to the 1016, with the exception of the hands, these Ranger models don't come up very often, and when they do, they ain't exactly cheap. <br />Now, this one here may well be a genuine Tudor wristwatch of some kind, but it's not a Ranger or, if it is, it's been poorly refinished. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">There has never been a Ranger made with the name "RANGER" in red. Also, the minute hand flares out from the middle towards the outer length. This is another giveaway that there's something fishy going on.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">For the sake of comparison, here's the Rolex Explorer 1016. Picture courtesy of <a href="www.hqmilton.com">HQ Milton</a>;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib3NaQuwjJHvgj323DZQYTjaZaaX8nvVX47wUU8Wx8vl04p6LUEgcAE2Sz2Bg0xLXxh3WZOsyDJUqclau6Krs-eYPDvISVOfMSQX7QPOD5TLsxe5YFHq5Rdp2Rvl0XBDFp0H3un-HK2Ia-/s1200/Exp+-+hq+milton.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="801" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib3NaQuwjJHvgj323DZQYTjaZaaX8nvVX47wUU8Wx8vl04p6LUEgcAE2Sz2Bg0xLXxh3WZOsyDJUqclau6Krs-eYPDvISVOfMSQX7QPOD5TLsxe5YFHq5Rdp2Rvl0XBDFp0H3un-HK2Ia-/s320/Exp+-+hq+milton.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;">Any Bond fan worth his salt will know that Ian Fleming wore an Explorer, or a model very much like it, and as far as I'm concerned, it's the watch that he put onto Bond's wrist in his second book, <i>Live And Let Die </i>(Jonathan Cape, 1954). </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fleming wrote of OO7's Rolex Oyster Perpetual watch having "large phosphorous numerals and an expanding bracelet". Back then, this was the only Rolex model with large numbers on the dial. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">I've gotten into heated discussions from time to time with other collectors on wristwatch forums who claim that Bond wore a Submariner dive watch in the books, but my argument has always been that, Fleming being such a stickler for detail, he would have mentioned a Submariner's rotating bezel for diving purposes, etc. So, as far as I'm concerned, literary Bond wore an Explorer or a precursor of that model.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Anyway, I met an older gent who was looking to get his watch fixed. He said he had an old Tudor watch that he didn't wear anymore. I asked him what model it was. He said it was a Ranger that he bought in 1980, when his mother-in-law worked at a jewellery store that stocked the brand. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">He went on to tell me that the dial had gone yellow and that the watch had gotten caught in the door of his Land Rover a couple of decades ago when he had the watch in the pocket of a jacket draped across the passenger seat and his friend kept trying to close the passenger door with no success. Reason being that the jacket had somehow gotten caught between the car seat and the passenger side's door frame. His friend couldn't get the door closed because the jacket was half hanging out of the car. With the watch in its pocket. Getting repeatedly slammed by the car door!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">The gent had worked as a paramedic, crane driver and radio operator during the time that he had this watch. He told me it had been serviced once since he bought it. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">A week or so later, I called him and asked if he could send me a few photos of the watch. He and I had both done our homework and he knew what these were selling for. However, we were getting along nicely, so I offered him a price based on sight-unseen, on the proviso that if the watch was in okay condition, I would pay the price I'd offered. Since he said that the dial had gone yellow, I had to assume that it had sustained water-damage at some point. If the condition of the dial and hands were bad, this would be a deal-breaker for me. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">I asked him if he still had the original bracelet, but he said it fell apart years ago, most likely from being caught in the door of a Land Rover, no doubt. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">He sent a few photos via SMS. Yes, the numerals and hands had suffered water-entry damage. The dial was still black, but the luminous Tritium compound on the dial and hands had turned a dirty cream colour. Okay, not as bad as I thought, and at least it shows that the dial has not been tampered with. The case had a few scratches on it and the case-back showed two small light dents. This watch had been worn as it should and showed all the signs of an honest life. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">The dial itself showed a tool-mark at certain angles. Barely visible, but it was a sign of a clumsy watchmaker. My only real concern was the hour hand. It is shaped like an arrow head and there's a lot of lume in it. On this watch, the lume showed a crack through the middle of it. Not a major disaster if my watchmaker can stabilise the lume on this hand the way he did with my Submariner a few years ago. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Basically, you apply some varnish on the underside of the hand. This acts as an adhesive and holds the lume in place, reducing the risk of it breaking off. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here's the watch. He put a cheap, no-name bracelet on it. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirzhf9K0YlR0afPuZnioxJhlwkj0n-eX9tmjEU1FdB13oTKvnRu6Ell5Jf08DpemOdjG6GfTUTgqR-Fj3rStFw2svblvS84AaR-GspnXhf8ZsMlTXlmhiOovY2bBb5ABvsDZhNNIM1ff4E/s2048/Ranger.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirzhf9K0YlR0afPuZnioxJhlwkj0n-eX9tmjEU1FdB13oTKvnRu6Ell5Jf08DpemOdjG6GfTUTgqR-Fj3rStFw2svblvS84AaR-GspnXhf8ZsMlTXlmhiOovY2bBb5ABvsDZhNNIM1ff4E/w400-h300/Ranger.JPG" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Okay, time to get down to brass tacks. I factored in what it would cost me to service this watch sometime down the track. I called him a day after he sent the photos and offered him fifty bucks less than my original offer. I didn't want to insult him by going too low, but I didn't want to be stuck with a watch that would become a major headache for me either. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">He was happy with my price. As I mentioned, he didn't wear this watch anymore ever since he bought himself a new watch twelve years ago. This Tudor has been in a drawer since then. Definitely will require a service. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Worst-case scenario; the lume breaks off the hands at some point in future. I can either A) search, and search, and search for a set of replacement hands - which won't match the colour of the dial numerals and markers, or B) consider having the dial and hands re-lumed by an outfit in Singapore that does stellar work. This second option will probably shave something off the value of the watch. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">However, the eternal question - do you buy a watch for any potential investment/increased value purposes, or do you buy a watch to wear, enjoy, take through your life's adventures, etc?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Back in my watch selling days, I'd get customers coming in looking for a watch or brand that was 'a good investment'. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">My answer was always the same; buy it for investment and you'll constantly fret about it getting scuffed, let alone scratched. You won't enjoy the watch because you'll be too worried about it all the time. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Anyway, if the lume falls off, I would more than likely have it re-lumed. <i>Why would you do that, teeritz, when you know it'll damage any potential re-sale value? </i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Why? Because I'm sure that in a world with 7 billion people in it, there has to be at least ONE other person out there who doesn't care about re-sale because they're gonna buy a watch to wear it, and they may also like the watch to look as perfect as possible. If I get rid of it, I'll be transparent about it and list all defects and work that was carried out on it. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Either way, I wired him the money, while he sent me the watch. It all operated on trust. Soon as I got it, I removed the no-name bracelet and put a leather strap on it. I may get a bracelet for it, but I don't plan on going for genuine Tudor. I'm aiming for a different look. More about that when I get around to snagging a bracelet. <br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">The case measures 34mm in diameter which, even for my 6.5 inch wrist, is about as small as I'd go. The various scuffs and scratches on the case can easily be buffed out if I choose. The crown feels a little tough to wind, but I'd say the oils in the movement are near dried out. The watch keeps pretty good time regardless, but I'll look at having it serviced in a few months. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">I currently have a couple of watches being serviced. Once they're done, off they go to eBay. Wherever possible, I'm trying to stick to a one-in, one-out game plan. Better still would be a one-in, two or three out. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">We'll see. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><b><span style="font-size: small;"> Tudor Black Bay 58</span></b></u></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">As you may know, I've had my name on a waiting list at a store for a Black Bay 58 since August 2019. That store has yet to call me to say that one has arrived. So, About six months ago, I thought I'd cast my net out wider and go see some other Tudor stockists to see if I could get on their waiting lists. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Yes, I would be the first to say that it's a little ridiculous to put your name down for a wristwatch, but some watches are in such high demand that there's no other way to have a chance at securing one. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">The main culprit is Rolex. Stockists have display stands in their windows with one or two dress models on show. The sought-after sports models, such as the Submariner, GMT Master, or Daytona Chronograph are nowhere to be seen. In steel, that is. If you want one in white gold, you could probably get one pretty easily...if you have the tens of thousands of dollars for it, that is. Apparently, the wait-list for a stainless-steel Daytona is around five years. And there are plenty of people out there who are happy to wait. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">No store could tell me how long it would take to get a Black Bay 58. Some stores received one or two models every month or so, and these were reserved for customers who were ahead of me. No matter. I was in no real hurry. I just wanted to make sure that I could get one at some point. In the meantime, I kept slowly saving my bickies (Australian slang for 'biscuits' = bucks). </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Anyway, the sales rep that I work with has a brother who is the Area Manager for a jewellery chain that stocks Tudor watches, among other brands. This brother knew that I was in the market for a BB58 and I was happy to have my interest in the watch registered at one of his stores. I'd rather give my business to somebody I know, if at all possible. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Two days before Christmas, the rep shows me a photo on his iPhone;</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">REP</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Just arrived yesterday. Yours if you </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">want it, but he can only hold it for </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">a day. Only thing is that it's on a </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">leather strap and you want it on a </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">bracelet.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">ME</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: courier;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Shut up and take my money!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">I called his brother and placed a deposit for the watch later that day. The day after Boxing Day, I went in and picked it up. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Yes, it was on a brown suede leather strap with a folding steel clasp. Looked great, but I wanted a steel bracelet. No matter. It was as good as sold. I'd order the steel bracelet for it in a month or two. Meantime, I'd see about selling the strap and clasp, to help fund the cost of the bracelet. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">I got the watch home and spent a slow ten minutes removing the strap and fitting a black NATO strap to the watch;</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfGWBVY9vRASD-Io0PhmZfnui_xg2d5PaCPXSHkW2tt8ka6H7EGrx1gYmeI4uI4vQTCu1wpscYSkeh0TKPJJ8HF70tt5Gh-k0lQf-e02UvAfOyqBGjJxoo2Hp-e99Cc29fsxqVbkrWArST/s1280/thumbnail_IMG_6139.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfGWBVY9vRASD-Io0PhmZfnui_xg2d5PaCPXSHkW2tt8ka6H7EGrx1gYmeI4uI4vQTCu1wpscYSkeh0TKPJJ8HF70tt5Gh-k0lQf-e02UvAfOyqBGjJxoo2Hp-e99Cc29fsxqVbkrWArST/w300-h400/thumbnail_IMG_6139.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>The suede strap does look nice, but suede, as you may know, looks good when it's new, but is tricky to keep clean and free from scratches and scuffs. I put this strap back in its box. It has a slight curve to it, mainly from the watch being clamped to the pillow inside the box. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">The NATO strap didn't last very long. I wore the watch around the house for a couple of hours before removing this strap and fitting the watch to a plain black leather one. <br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">I don't plan on wearing it much until I get the bracelet. Experience has taught me that no matter how careful you are, a watch will still scuff up without you even noticing. I'd like the wear and tear on the case and bracelet to match and the only way to do that it to have the watch on bracelet. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">When my wife saw photos of the watch online, she thought it looked 'underwhelming'. When she saw the watch in person, she liked the overall 'warm' look of the dial and hands. It's a black and gilt dial, with cream-coloured lume on the hour markers and hand-set. The markers and hands are rose gold-plated. It's a rich and classic combination. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">This watch harks back to a mix of the original Tudor Oyster Prince Submariner models of the 1950s and '60s. These watches were based on their Big Brother Rolex Submariner and used almost all parts made by Rolex, with the exception of the movements under the bonnet. As such, they were lower-priced. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">The BB58 is 39mm in diameter, again this is a nod to older models of the past, and this size sits nicely on my 6.5 inch school-girly wrist. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAnyjocx53y6ocz6C7llh_gQDx-34JV0biQHESUmIZq_SRLAOlAQxp1L5QQJoYvqGCCFh6TwsEEtdWnZgyp-zR36OZI1PpCHh0csGeVMFfIwxSu8p-cNgL3-49YjGuwd-Aa4I85mf14OGr/s1280/thumbnail_IMG_6141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAnyjocx53y6ocz6C7llh_gQDx-34JV0biQHESUmIZq_SRLAOlAQxp1L5QQJoYvqGCCFh6TwsEEtdWnZgyp-zR36OZI1PpCHh0csGeVMFfIwxSu8p-cNgL3-49YjGuwd-Aa4I85mf14OGr/s320/thumbnail_IMG_6141.jpg" /></a></div>It will be an interesting year ahead. I will keep note of how often this watch gets worn, because I'm curious to see if it will knock some favourites off the top spot or punch a hole in the rotation of my other pieces. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Some watches I have are sentimental favourites. My Father's Wyler Incaflex measures 33mm in diameter and I find it too small for my wrist. I used to wonder how my Dad managed to put up with it for all those years - since his wrists were larger than mine - but then I figured that he was of a generation where a wristwatch was considered a tool for telling the time, not a fashion statement or an item to be collected. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Despite the fact that I never wear this watch, it isn't going anywhere. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have the Omega Seamaster 300M, the watch that I wore when my children were born. I do still wear it from time to time, even though it's worn a lot less than when I first got it in November 1999. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">However, I have been down that road where I've gotten rid of watches that weren't worn much once my collection began to grow and I have regretted those decisions in later years. I no longer have the quartz-powered TAG Heuer 1000 Series dive watch that I had on my wrist on my wedding day. Purchased on lay-by (lay-away) in 1987 for around $750.oo, I sold it to a watch dealer in 1999 for $180.oo. Should have kept that one. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">My first boss gave me an early 1970s Seiko Automatic, sometime in the early 1980s. This watch never worked properly. I gave it to a watchmaker free, when really what I should have done was had it serviced. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">I had a couple of Tudor Prince models that I should have kept. The list goes on and on. The perils of collecting, I suppose. <br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">These days, I spend quite a bit of time deciding on what comes in and what goes out. As such, I have two watches on the chopping block, with two more soon to join them, once they come back from being serviced. Also, there are two more watches that will go at some point, either in 2021 or 2022.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">I figure it's time to whittle the collection down to a stable of watches that see more time on the wrist. Otherwise, if they're not being enjoyed, they're just taking up space. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Anyway, that's the rundown of the watches that saw the most action this year. Five out of the ten were dive pieces. I have a soft-spot for dive watches. Their legibility, water-resistance, and robustness tend to cover much of what I like in a wristwatch. And a rotating bezel comes in mighty handy at times. <br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">I hope you've all been well, and that your end-of-year celebrations (if you celebrate) were a happy and relaxed affair. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here's hoping for a better year ahead, for all of us. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Stay safe in the meantime. <br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">Thanks for reading! <br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><p></p></div>teeritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421337385763144173noreply@blogger.com9