Tenacious Tuesday

Monday Tunes

My brain still hurts

Today in 1945

"Uncommon valor was a common virtue"...

Cubicle respite

I got these wonderful Bose noise canceling headphones a number of years ago when I was traveling for business quite often. I always lived how they put me inside my own 'audio cocoon', and made me feel like I had much more 'space'.

Then I transferred departments, and my travel ceased. I became a full-time cubicle dweller, and my need for constant background music annoyed a prickly co-worker so much, I began using headphones.

I used the cheap iPod headphones, as I got disapproving glances from my then-supervisor any time I wore them. It seemed that being able to enjoy work-time must have violated some personal ethics, or such nonsense, but I suffered on, bravely.

Now, several supervisors later, and three cubicle moves downstream, I find myself seated near several 'loud talkers". Lovely people, but very distracting.

On a whim, I brought in my old Bose noise-cancelers.

...Heaven...

Cheap Therapy

Pike's Place blend, black. Sunny, clear blue skies.
Temps in mid 40's.
Spider on the road, top-down, heater on...

Bar Shot

Sometimes a guy just needs a quiet drink in a dark bar...

Notes on Style - Footwear

Yes, bright orange laces...for an unexpected splash of color!

Valentine's

Tunes for Tuesday

I always love it when this song comes up in my Pandora mix, and it's especially appropriate on Valentine's day!

Bar Shot

Friday evening involved some medicine for me, as Clyde was undergoing overnight treatment at The Vet.

The Sunday Clyde

Clearly feeling better, he was even begging for food!

Honored

After five years as the Founder & President of Chicagoland Fiat & Lancia Unlimited, I have decided to step down & simply enjoy being a 'regular member', and give the joy of leadership to a new round of volunteers.

In a gesture that genuinely surprised me, I was presented with this plaque display Saturday night at our Annual Meeting.

Describing me as 'the fuel' that created & grew this club, it features a Fiat intake manifold holding shot glasses engraved with the car club logo, modified with my initials.

An expensive Puppy

Mr. Clyde spent Friday night at the Vet's office. Wednesday night he had an episode, and ate part of the door on his crate. The wood created a potential for a blockage, so he got x-rayed, and medicated, and had barium and two enemas. The good news is that he's fine, the bad news is that I loose a nice Christmas gift piece of furniture, and the hit my bank account took was awe-inducing. But he's back to his old self, and I can't put a value on that.

Friday Footwear

Comfy hiking boots from Cabella's, spiced up with some red laces for that 70's Alpine look. Rag wool socks from LL Bean.

MWC Auto

This nice automatic watch is quickly becoming a new favorite. Previously, it had a Stainless Steel bracelet for a classic 'Rolex Submariner' look. It was a great look, but I feared it was poser-esq in that this watch is certainly NOT in the same class as a Rolex.

Then I found the Survival Straps website, and they had a new accessory, the Survival Strap watchband.

Made from 550lb Parachute Cord, the strap can be unraveled when needed in an unexpected survival situation. Custom colors, heavy-duty Stainless hardware, and a portion of the proceedes goes to support our combat veterans?

I also dig that they will re-weave it for free if you ever have to use it - all they ask is that you share your story.

All in all, pretty cool. Not for everyday wear, but I think it'll become my weekend 'knockaround' standard.

Semper Fi, Survival Straps! Well done.

Notes on Style - Footwear

Timberland, with Vibram lug soles.

The Watch

In the Mid 70’s, my family lived in England.  My father worked for Price Waterhouse, and it was a great opportunity for us to ‘see the world’.  I was in 3^rd & 4^th grades while we there, and my sister was a few years behind me.  Our parents wanted to expose us to all the great culture, and with every opportunity that came up, they dragged us off to some castle or museum.  It wasn’t bad, really, but I’d love to re-trace our steps as an adult with a new appreciation for everything that bored me silly when I was eight.

 

On one trip in 1976, we were in the family truckster doing a big loop through the European mainland.  Rotterdamn, Lichenstein, Zermatt, and too many other places that I can’t quite remember thirty some-odd years later.  I remember that it was my Mother’s birthday & snowing when we rolled into Switzerland, and to celebrate, my Father got us each a Swiss watch.

 

I loved mine.

 

It was a diver-style watch, with interchangeable colored bezels for different purposes.  One calculated your heart rate, another did time zones, and such.  It was an automatic movement, so I’d never have to wind it, and I loved the sound it made as I swung my arm around.  (Imagine my Mother’s delight as I wildly swung my arm as we went through each & every museum in Europe!)  The beautiful & stylish saleslady showed me the proper wrist to wear it on, and told me all about it’s many features.  The ‘Incablock’ case was very, very light, and was ‘anti-magnetic’, so it wouldn’t interfere with my compass when scuba diving.  It had 21 jewels.  It was even waterproof to TWETY atmospheres!  (I never did understand what an ‘atmosphere was) It was way too nice of a watch for a kid my age, and I have no idea what my Dad spent on it, but I’m sure it was too much. 

 

Years later, when I was at Prep School, it was stolen from me shortly before I was dismissed from that fine institution.  For years, I shut out the memory of that watch as it brought up painful memories of my dismissal, but I never found a suitable replacement.  I missed that watch so much that I kept the original box & extra bezels for years.

 

After my Dad passed away in 2001, periodically I’d run across something he’d given me over the years, and I’d reflect on how I’d never again get another gift from my Dad.  At the beach a few years ago, I was talking on that subject with my brother In law (who is also my oldest friend) who had lost his Father shortly after mine had passed.  He understood what I was saying, and we spoke about favorite old gifts, when I brought up The Watch.  As it turns out, my brother in law is somewhat of a ‘watch guy’, and although I couldn’t remember the brand of the watch, I knew it was called a ‘Flipper’, and he rode off into the sunset to do some research.

 

He discovered it was made by a company called ‘Fortis’, and realized that I’d had a tough time figuring out what I’d owned, as the early ‘Flipper’ model I had was never sold in the US.  An early 80’s version was very popular here, which was a pre-cursor to the wildly popular SWATCH a few years later.  However, my Flipper with it’s multi-colored bezels (The grandfather of the SWATCH?) was very tough to find.  That made pricing it accurately very difficult to estimate, but in short order he’d found two for me – both international.  A very cheap one was in Toronto, but it wasn’t known if it ran, and while it had an original band, it had an incorrect (and awful) single bezel.  A VERY expensive one was available in Spain, but it was in magnificent condition with all it’s bezels & original paperwork, though it had a replacement band.  Neither came with an original box.

 

I told the story to my girlfriend, who made a valiant effort to find my ramblings interesting. 

 

A few days later, not wanting to bore her further, I saw that the watch in Spain had sold.  This confirmed my belief that these watches were tough to find, and I felt I should then snap one up as soon as I could, so I bid & won the EBay auction for the cheap one in Toronto.  Very nervous as to what I’d actually receive, I didn’t say anything.  Ten days later, it arrived.  I put a new band on it, as I didn’t want to trust the 38 year old original.  I wound it manually, and it ticked!  I swung it around on my arm, and I was rewarded with a familiar-yet-forgotten sound of a Fortis Flipper winding itself.

 

I was in heaven!  I hated the awful bezel on the watch, and I tore my house apart trying to find my original box with the extra bezels – but it seemed that somewhere along the 30-odd years passage of time, I must have thrown it out.

 

Regardless, I was thrilled, and I wore it for the next few days to see how it ran.  When the girlfriend spotted it, she commented idly, “What watch is that?”  When I told her, her face went blank with horror. 

 

You see, she’d bought the Spanish Flipper as my Christmas gift!

 

I now own not one, but TWO original, early 70’s Fortis Flipper automatic dive watches.

 

(In the picture, you can see a 70’s ad for the Flipper, though a much lesser model than mine)

 

Why I hate self-portraits

Forrest green mock turtleneck under a dark red polo shirt. Nice layering for a cold puppy-walk...

As previously mentioned...

The signet ring my parents gave me...

Notes on Style - The Monogram

No, it's not a 'funny looking' Polo - Ralph Lauren logo - it is my correct monogram, which matches my signet ring that my parents gave me on my 18th birthday.

Land's End yellow Oxford Cloth Button Down, and one of my favorite 'go-to' shirts for a day at the office.

Notes on Style - Footwear

Black lace-ups from Ecco, with purple laces from Hook & Albert for a dash of subtle color. Grey khakis from Dickie's.

Notes on Style - More cold weather gear

From J Press, another scarf, perhaps a bit more subtle? Argyle & Sutherland Highlanders.

Subtle, yet brightly cheerful, with a dash of history.

Notes on Style - Cold Weather

My Brooks Brothers scarf in Marine Corps colors, with a small gold USMC emblem on my dress coat collar. The emblem is just a re-purposed tie-tack, it had been gathering dust in my desk drawer for too many years, it's good to give it an excuse to see the light of day.

BTW - after several months of wearing this 'new-favorite' scarf, I've been honestly surprised at the comments people make. After all, working at an Education Company, one might be forgiven if people assumed it was collegiate colors, like ASU, or Seminoles, or some such. Nope. Perhaps knowing my history with The Marine Corps, people would make that connection? Sadly, no. All I hear are Harry Potter comments. Not that there is anything terribly wrong with Harry Potter, but honestly, how lazy is the mind that makes that connection? I'm a 300lb former Marine in my mid 40's, working in IT Management at an education company ... (sigh)

Shipping done right

I don't often purchase anything from Brooks Brothers, but they sure make a great presentation. A scarf in marine Corps colors came wrapped in BB logo tissue paper, inside a lovely BB box, packaged securely inside a white box with the BB logo on the INSIDE, a nice touch.

Gifting

For my Grandfather - US Navy custom logo ball cap & sweatshirt with the correct silhouette, number & name of his WW II Destroyer.

Accesories

Colorful shoe laces from Hook & Albert. A subtle way to add an unexpected dash of color...

Notes on Style - Glasses

Ray Ban Wayfarers re-purposed as reading glasses.

...and a new haircut!

Notes on Style - Office Wear

From the ground up:
Cordovan lace-ups from Ecco, with bright blue laces from Albert & Hook.
Khakis from Dickie's. (I wish Duck Head made my size)
Monogrammed French blue Oxford Cloth Button Down from Land's End
Two tone tortoise shell & vanilla reading glasses from Eye Bobs
No-name 'go to hell' diver-style chronograph - so ugly that I love it dearly.

Notes on Style - Coasters & Mugs

The coasters were found at Salvage One, in terrible condition. A bit of silver polish & elbow grease got them into GREAT condition, and they are a spot-on match for a set of coasters I remember in my Grandmother's house. Feels like a little bit of history has been brought home.

The beer mugs were a gift, and have a "P" initial etched on them, much like the "P" initial glasses my parents had back in the 70's.