Of Watches and Misers (that's me there)

Ok, so I decided to take the plunge...finally.

I turned the car out of the Bendemeer Hawker Centre into the straight that would take me to Mustafa Centre. Earlier on, I had gone for Tui Na (chinese massage...the painful kind) with Mr D. We were chatting over some salty Laksa and Teh-Si (black tea with evaporated milk), looking at the mess of a weather out there.

A little earlier than that, last night to be precise, I had paid Mustafa Centre a visit with my in-laws to buy some Indian spices for them to take back on their long trip to the US. If you have been to Mustafa's, you will know that one must pass through numerous display cases of watches before you make it to groceries upstairs. Endless displays of watches.

I am always a sucker for Casio watches. Yep, cheap, good, tough and nice too...for the price. But that's my rationale ---- why pay so much for something that will tell the time just as well? Oh all right, so the Casio watch will have a +/- error of 20 secs a month.

Who cares?

Sure, I buy the argument that watches can be an investment...a piece of art...a fashion accessory, especially on men who have really few options to accessorize themselves with (cuff links; ties; bracelet...I might get that one sometime). But honestly, let's analyse this a step at a time.

You buy a sort of entry level pricey watch --- Emporio Armani; Tissot; Seiko; Citizen

It will set you back $300 - $400. Not an investment. Can't really go around asking for a 20% return on your Citizen, if you know what I mean.

You get a mid level pricey watch ---- Tag Heur; Hamilton

Sets you back anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000. Exorbitant and trust me, after you sell it on eBay 20 years from now, unlikely to garner you a big return on your auction. Probably you will find fans of old watches who might pay a bit for them, but factor in inflation and time value of money...nah.

Moving up the rung, are the pricey, pricey watches ---- Jaeger Le Coultre; Corum; Rado; Patek Philippe; Rolex (who can forget that!)

OK, fair enough. Some of them, if you buy them at a good price (regular price $30,000; sale price $8,000), you might sell it for more next time. But ain't that like paying for the price of a motorbike for something you wear on your hand?

I was taken by the Casio Edifice collection of watches in the showcases. Really nice stuff for a decent price. It does not help that they recently blew up this huge poster of a slick watch model on the window display.

$302 for new slick watch model? Nope.

(since when did Casio have the audacity to charge so much!)

You see, my watches have been either given to me free (read as magazine subscriptions, hand me downs) or I have bought them really cheaply. How cheaply? My Casios cost about $40 to $70 and last me for 5 years at least. I got one Guess that cost me $100 more than 10 years back.

I left Mustafa last night thinking about the watches and with easy access to the internet, the world of Edifice popped into my living room.

Way cool!

And so, it was over Laksa with Mr D, that I decided to get an Edifice watch.

There it was, in the glass case, looking real fine.

$153.20!!!

*GULP*

Justification time: Do I really need a watch at this price? Can I get an alternative knock off version? Shall I just forget the whole thing?
(yah, I know. It's a bit of an anti-climax here, but you see...I'm a miser on such things)

I paced up and down, beside the display cases (I believe I was way calmer in the labour ward when The Wife was going to deliver). There were similar ones but did not look as good...but they were 2/3 the price of Edifice - I - Like.

Jia lat (local slang of exasperation).

Finally, after much mental wrestling, I decided to treat myself.

Why? I dunno. It's a treat right? Ask no more!

I took the sales slip to the cashier for payment, and returned to the showcase to claim the watch. An Indian (duh) sales man was there. As he handed me the watch, I winced dramatically, claiming that it was a pricey purchase. And then the reply came:

"But sir, it will help you keep good discipline."

I stared at him, dumbfounded at the smoothness of his sentence delivery and awed at the simplicity of wisdom of his statement.

I left Mustafa's with a grin on my face and my conscience, soothed beyond balming.

Mustafa's...they train their staff really well.




Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. (Matthew 25:13)

The day I met Lee Kuan Yew....I did not comb my hair

Well, the past week has been an interesting one for me, having been helping out behind the scenes at the World Effie Festival.

My role?

I was stationed mainly at Conrad Hotel, welcoming the speakers; helping them check into their rooms; and briefing them on what was to be expected during the 2 day event.

The challenge of this role? The ungodly hours I had to be at the hotel due to the odd arrival times. SQ flights from Newark and LA land around 5.30am in the morning. Other flights land around midnight. Imagine that day when I had a 1 am arrival and a 5.30am arrival on the same day.....suicide I say!

Being privileged to have been in direct contact with some prominent figures, let me share some of my personal insight into their personalities. Trust me, I am not one to kiss and tell....but tell I will!


Shelly Lazurus
Chairman, CEO
Ogilvy & Mather

Now this lady works 24/7! She arrived at 6am. When I ushered her from her limo, she was reading some notes handed to her by an assistant. Showing her to her room, we went through her schedule:

6am - Arrive from Newark
9.30am - Deliver address at conference
10.30am - Press Conference with Ogilvy Singapore
12pm - Working Lunch
1pm - Meeting with Ogilvy Singapore (4 hour meeting)
6pm - Depart for Bangalore

Does she even sleep? Little wonder that she is 26th on Forbes' list of most powerful women in business.


Lawrence Flanagan
Chief Marketing Officer
MasterCard Worldwide

Cordial chap who has been in Singapore a few times. Comes across to me as a decisive chap who quietly works behind the scenes.


Dr Jeffrey Cole
Director
Centre for the Digital Future
Annenberg School of Communication
University of Southern California

I missed welcoming him in the lobby. I ended up going to his room to brief him...and he was in not much more than his briefs....more like a bathing robe and a face partially shaved with shaving cream dripping off his face. Jeff is a big person and with a booming laugh and ring to his voice, he is one of the most affable persons I met.


Lord Sebastian Coe

His name says it all --- former Olympic medalist; former MP in Britain; Leader of the winning Olympic bid to host it in Britain in 2012. With his partner Annette, they swooshed into the lobby of the Conrad, but not before the GM of the Conrad approached me to request that we welcome them to the hotel together. A down-to-earth chap, Lord Coe checked-in wearing sweat pants that looked no less than a day over 10 years. Amazing! Extremely focused chap who can be seen pacing up and down in the lobby on his mobile, eventually being led away by Annette with the phone still attached to his ear.


Simon Clift
Chief Marketing Officer
Group VP Personal Care
Unilever

The head of marketing for one of the world's biggest consumer goods brands, Unilever is one of the top 2 biggest spenders of advertising budget in the world. Simon has a very likeable character and extremely humble for someone who wields great power. I have been extremely taken by him. In a different life, I would have asked him to mentor me and applied to work for him.


MM Lee Kuan Yew

OK, so I did not meet him personally, but I met his security entourage and his very capable personal assistant called Ms Yong or YY. A rotund lady in her 40s to 50s, she is extremely meticulous and great with detail....much like a motherly figure.

And yes, on the day when MM Lee was speaking, I forgot to comb my hair.

I should write a book with that title.....