I needed the watch for work, I didn’t want anything expensive, just a simple watch that had a digital display. I required that it put up with swinging 8 pound sledge hammers, getting squat between iron pipe and unions and my wrist, take a clever beating and it was definitely going to be soiled, really soiled with lots of grease. Grease and dirt and pipe dope and all kinds of crap that doesn’t easily wash off after 5 hand washings and a thorough 17 minute long shower.
This watch had to be tough!
I don’t have the biggert wrist mind you, so when I get a watch I prefer one with a smaller face. You know, one that doesn’t accentuate my puny wrist. I needed it to be comfortable and with buttons that didn’t mistakenly change a setting that I had.
I remembered my old Timex Indiglo Ironman watch from back in the late 90’s, the one I burned and melted with a lighter when it ceased to work. The same watch who’s battery exploded and hot melted plastic stuck to my arm, right in front of Danielle Bishop, Renee Lynch and Richard Coombs. I hadn’t planned on it explosion, or pop as it were. Nonetheless an indiglo was in my price range and remembering the reliability of the watch, I decided to go with a Timex Indiglo. Ironman that is.
I perused (as Joe Pack likes to say) through the selection of Ironman watches, most all were either too flashy or way too massive. Some looked like diving watches – like I’d ever use my diving watch for work, if I had one. One caught my eye, I even liked the colours, so I tried it on and, well, I’m wearing it now.
It’s been a great watch, I’ve even timed myself holding my breath a couple of times – 1:47 is my best time, in a fully relaxed state of body and mind of course. But when I got home my girlfriend said it was a girls watch. I was a little insulted, but I wasn’t really concerned.
From time to time I would look at the watch and convince myself that there was nothing “girlish” about it. I mean I only wear the watch when I’m at work or doing something in which its a little too harsh for my other watches. I guess you could say I’m a watch guy. I have 2 ecodrive watches that are solar-powered and I love them equally. One is silver and I consider it my “fancy” watch the other is a “military looking” watch, but both are very plain and conservative. The face is on both is very plain and not too big as to look out of place on my wrist. My work watch is the smallest of the bunch.
All was well until last night when I went to purchase the laptop I’m currently writing on. I arrived at Futureshop straight from the job I just finished in Tumbler Ridge. I was wearing my regular work attire – pair of jeans, longsleeve “inside” shirt and another longsleeve shirt over it. I walked in wearing my dirty black and grey nike sneakers a baseball hat and my sleeves pushed back 1/3 the way. The shirts were pushed back enough so that my watch was in plain sight.
After talking with the salesperson I decided on my purchase and we went over to sign some papers and pay for the computer. I was totally unconcsious of wearing the watch as it’s just a part of my getup, until I noticed the guy look at my watch a tad bit longer than I thought ephemeral. It make me wonder if he was looking at my watch – thinking it was a girls watch. My girlfriend’s comment came straight to mind. Normally I ask people why they do the things they do, I was going to ask him what in particular made him stare at my watch for as long as he did. This line of questioning tends to get the usual defensive: “I wasn’t looking at anything” or “I don’t know what you’re talking about”, so I decided against it figuring he’d think me weird and it would ruin whatever – customer-sales representative – rapport we have going.
On the way back home that evening I decided it best if when I showed up at 9pm to pick up the computer, I wear my “civilian” watch. Civilian is what I refer to anything which doesn’t involve work. For me I have civilian clothes, civilian coats, civilian cologne, civilian boots, civilian hats and of course civilian watches. Otherwise what I’m left with is work stuff, work clothes and stuff like that.
When I went back at 9 I wore my civilian jeans, a civilain shirt that Steph bought me at the Bodies Exhibit in Montreal, a civilian hat and my beautiful civilian watch. I wanted to either wear a t-shirt or something with the sleeves rolled/pushed up, something that would allow my – definitely not girlish- watch to be in plain sight. Perhaps he would notice me wearing a different watch and study it closely, but it didn’t even enter my mind when I got to Futureshop.
I did enjoy wearing my civilian watch though:
Does this look girlish to you? Because this is the watch
