Yes, I always wear a wristwatch. The only time I take it off is to swim or bathe. I know it is waterproof and will be easily able to withstand a few feet of water pressure. However, my concern is “What if there are corrosive substances in the water?” “What if there are mineral deposits in that water?” “In the case of swimming in the ocean, gulf or sea, I’d be concerned about the saltiness of the water.” Not to mention the temperature changes can affect the accuracy of timekeeping. I know it would only be by a second or two, but I am quite anal about having my watch as accurate as possible. Some of you readers are probably giggling again because I used the word “anal.” Go ahead, laugh away, a sense of humor is a definite sign of intelligence!
Okay. Enough of that.
So definitely, at any other time I am wearing my watch. I got my first watch for my sixth birthday. It was a cheap little digital watch and it probably never had the right time, but it sure looked cool on my wrist.
I took it apart when I was eight.
Then when I was nine going on ten I got a watch for Christmas. It was a more sophisticated Nelsonic and had an alarm feature as well as an hourly time signal. In 1996-97, much fewer people had cell phones, digital cable or internet. Radio clocks weren’t widely available if available at all. So setting one’s watch to the exact time proved extremely difficult. This proved to be quite comical for a third grader, however. See, several guys and maybe a few girls in my class had watches with the hourly time signal turned on. But, we weren’t synchronized. We were maybe +/- 30 seconds within each other’s time. This mean that around the top of every hour, several beeps were heard, almost one after the other. Naturally, there is a great amount of humor in that. The most shocking part is that our teacher never once said anything about this and it went on for the entire school year.
Also in third grade, I had set a fad for bringing a pocket electronic organizer to class to use as a calculator but also to write down my assignments. Several other students followed my example until the teacher eventually forbade them.
The beeping hourly time signals continued up until some point between fourth and fifth grade when everyone was forced to disable the said feature. However, in fifth grade, I learned a new humorous watch activity: reflecting sunlight! I was eventually forced to keep my watch in my backpack. Also in fifth grade, I was misdiagnosed with ADD/ADHD and had to be medicated. For whatever reason in fifth grade, I only had to take medication once in the morning. In sixth grade, I had to take a dose in the morning and then another in the mid-afternoon. This meant that towards the end of big recess, I had to go to the office and pop a pill. I had my alarm feature set at 1:15 PM to remind me. Too bad recess was going on at that said time. It would have been much funnier if it would go off during class and I would have to get up and get out of class to go pop a pill. I firmly believe that a formal education isn’t meant for every child. I’ll also state that catholic schools are extremely strict but for all the wrong reasons. Okay Eric John, kill the controversy right now! Sir, yes, sir Eric John launching sidewinder missile on the controversy bogey at thirteen fifty-three hours Zulu time. Ha, I talked to myself and I answered myself. I hope I am making all of you laugh, even if it’s just a little bit. Kudos to myself, I definitely have a smirk on my face!
…Anyway…
The watches I had during those times were very flimsy, especially for an active child. I think products aimed at children should be built to mil-spec for water resistance, dust, shock, and vibration. Of course, that would drive up the cost of children’s playthings and many parents wouldn’t be able to afford them in this economy. “Damn it, E.J. you have another controversy Mig on your six. Don’t engage!” “Roger E.J. taking evasive measures.” I don’t know what’s funnier me talking to and answering myself as if I were a commander and fighter pilot or me using the [semi] bad language. I hope all of you are smiling, I sure am! In seventh grade and through eighth grade, I carried a travel alarm clock in my pocket. I must have thought that it was definitely more rugged than any wristwatch I could afford on a child’s allowance, plus I thought it looked cool.
I started at a different school in eighth grade and would place the clock on my desk. Some teachers allowed it. Some forbade it. One teacher thought it was cool and original (and, yes, he let me put it on my desk!)
In the summer of 2005 between my junior and senior year I began to wear a watch again, it was a cheap little diver style watch, but what I didn’t like was that it didn’t have increments for each minute. So right before I started my senior year, I bought a cheap Armitron digital watch. It lasted until about December. Then I bought a Coleman analog watch with built-in LED flashlight. Boy did I have some fun times with this thing! I also managed to get it synchronized to the school’s clock (and probably was the only non-honor student to do so.) This thing was surprisingly accurate too! I remember knowing whenever the bell to switch periods would ring and I would shout, “Now!” The bell would ring a split second later. Some teachers were impressed, some were irate. I can’t remember my fellow classmates’ reaction, but I’m sure at least some got a good laugh…
I started trade school in August of 2006 and had some money as gifts from high school graduation. So, I bought my first Casio watch. It had two digital times, plus an analog face and was probably the most accurate watch I had up until that point. I also had a job at a grocer and had my watch synchronized to the store’s time clock. Again I would do my “Now!” shout when it was time for all of us to punch in and my watch was right on the money. I wore it until the fall of 2008 when I was helping move a dresser and the band broke. So I replaced it with a Timex Easy Reader. I went to work at a few failed jobs (both due to my various medical conditions and a crippled economy.) “Eric John be on the lookout for more controversy Migs, intelligence reports they are near your airspace.” “Roger, Eric John got the RADAR on and a sharp eye on the skies.” In January of 2010, I got married, though I am now going through a divorce as of 2018, and purchased a new Timex Easy Reader. I wore it every day replacing the battery once until March of 2013 when it killed on me altogether. I was super angry because this thing was damn accurate and stood up to its advertising slogan, “…takes a licking and keeps on ticking…” I would talk to a policewoman who worked security details at the clinic I was going to and she told me Timex would fix or replace the watch for free. So I emailed the said company and was told that the Easy Reader wasn’t a covered model. Boy, I was even angrier and still to this day, I refuse to buy any more Timex watches.
In August of 2013, I bought a Casio MWR-200H. I thought it was cool because it somewhat resembled those super expensive Luminox watches that the Navy Seals use. This thing had the exact same interface as my Timex Easy Readers and was just as accurate if not more, but was cheaper. I had it until sometime in 2015 when the battery died. I then bought a cheap drug store watch which I had until August of 2015, when the Casio MWR-200H was on sale at Wal- Mart, so I bought it again.
Pleased with Casio, I decided to buy a classic, the F-91W in December of 2015. This is probably the cheapest accurate watch there is. I know it has a bad rep, what with being used by radical islamic terrorists to assist in detonating IEDs. “Watch it Eric John! You’ve got three controversy Migs closing in on you, do not engage return home.”…Radio Silence…”Eric John come in”…Radio Silence…”Damn it Eric John where the hell are you?!”…This said watch isn’t so bad, after all there are some good guys who wear it as well. Back in the day, many cops in my Parish (County) wore them as did the firefighters…”Scratch three controversy Migs, Eric John!” “Enough E.J. you’ve done well, now get your ass back here!” “Roger, roger, setting a course for home.” So all in all it is, I guess a decent watch. Be careful though if desiring to purchase one, because there is a huge plethora of knock offs which are off several minutes a day.
Speaking of all this military activity, I had been doing some research on the various Casio G-Shocks. It wasn’t long after that I wanted one desperately. However, at $60 MSRP for an entry-level model, that’s a price barrier I refuse to break.
But then in March of 2016, I saw that the Casio G-Shock DW5600E (the current entry-level model) on sale on Target’s website for ~$40. I decided to finance it through PayPal Credit and had it shipped to my residence.
This is the watch I currently use and I’m actually wearing it right now as I type this.
This thing is damn accurate too, only off 1-3 seconds in a month!
So I’ve discussed the watches I’ve had over the years, now I plan to explain why (time permitting-Ha) I’m anal about wearing a watch (go ahead, laugh):
I like to be punctual, no doubt about it. I get that from both my parents and especially from my maternal grandma who was probably the most punctual person I’ve ever known. I am always early if I can help it and I get extremely irate when someone or something hinders me from being early, wherever I need to be. I guess you can say I’m anal about being on time and preferably ahead of time. By the Grace of God, I never got a speeding ticket, though I came close one time.
Not only do I want to be punctual and on time, but I feel a compulsive need that my watch displays the most accurate time available. I typically do this by synchronizing it with an Atomic Clock receiver on the First of every month. I’ll do it more frequently if I know it has been exposed to a significant temperature difference.
Some people think I’m a little touched because I have a compulsive need to wear a watch all the time and furthermore to have it always keep accurate time, but damn it, to each his own. No one is harmed because of this behavior I engage it and actually, some besides myself have benefited in varying degrees.
As long as I can help it, I’ll always try to wear a watch and also try to keep it synchronized to a standard time. Also as far as I can see, I’ll probably use a Casio of some incarnation, but if I come into any money, I will probably buy a Victorinox. The Swiss make the world’s finest watches, the Japanese are probably second finest. Anyway, why Victorinox? Because it is Swiss and because I also enjoy the other items they produce such as their backpacks and Swiss Army Knives.
In most applications a Casio is equally as accurate as anything the Swiss make, but at a fraction of the cost. I hope I have shared a piece of my mind with you, the reader and as always hope I have been entertaining or at least informative.
And, may God bless us, everyone!
Eric John Monier's Personal Blog 