A very happy milestone watch (AKA, gifting the GS SBGA013 to my little sister)
[Disclaimer / trigger warning: Based on 1 beautiful, fragile snowflake getting upset at the content of my last post - out of the nearly 600 unique readers of the post - I suppose I will provide this disclaimer / trigger warning on all my posts moving forward. EVERYTHING in this post is being said entirely tongue-in-cheek, solely to elicit laughs. Like all my commentary here on WatchCrunch, everything in this post is the equivalent of 4th grade fart jokes and “pull my finger” gags. If you are easily offended, if you are a sensitive soul, if you don’t like juvenile humor and fart jokes, please do not read on. Please leave now. Or, better yet, avail yourself of the amazing “mute” functionality here on WatchCrunch, and you will never see another one of my juvenile fart joke equivalent posts / comments ever again. But, if you do read on, and you comment about how you’re offended by the fart jokes, etc., etc., I will then click “mute” on your comment, which then erases your comment(s) from the post, and all other posts forevermore from my eyes, etc., etc.
Just don’t be the Ricky Gervais guitar lessons person…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3dxMGzt5mU
End disclaimer.]
******
Recently gifted this watch to my little sister.
It’s a limited edition of 550 pieces, in proprietary Ever-Brilliant Steel, with a 44GS case design, housing the Calibre 9RA2 Spring Drive movement, with 120 hours of power reserve. My sister couldn’t give two sh*ts about any of that. She saw it, wanted a watch with black dial, and got suckered by GS’s marketing copy:
The dial has a depth and a texture that attract the eye and take the imagination upwards towards the sky at night. The deeply etched pattern is that of the elliptical orbit of the stars as they move across the heavens and it captures the serene passage of celestial time with its flowing, unbroken lines.
The dial, like on many GS, is incredibly subtle. From a distance, it’s a simple black dial. Only up close, and at certain angles, can you see the texture.
So, she immediately said, “Hey, you should get this watch. And then I’ll just like, you know, borrow it… permanently.” I replied…
But, I eventually decided to buy it for her, and she doesn’t even need to borrow it. It’s hers.
My sister and I have a really funny relationship. I’m 10 years older than her. But, since we grew up as first generation Chinese immigrants, I may as well be 30 years older than her. Both our parents worked like dogs as a cook and a waitress in Chinese restaurants, which meant that as soon as I would get home from school, starting in the 6th grade, I took care of her as an infant while my parents went off to work. I changed her diapers, I fed her formula from her bottles… I raised her, while attending middle and high school, also trying to maintain a) my 4.0+ GPA, which I did successfully, and b) a social life which I wasn’t so successful at, as everyone would take one look at me and peg me immediately as…
Talk about Freudian slips, but to this day, I constantly accidentally call her by my older daughter’s name all the time!
By the same token, we’re like drinking buddies now. Constantly pointing out, “maybe you shouldn’t have seconds on dinner, I mean, your gut has really gotten a lot bigger since I last saw you," randomly pushing the other person into the bushes while walking down the street, punching the other person in the arm when no one is looking in a really high end restaurant so that the other person can’t say or do anything so as to not draw attention… it’s the best! One of my absolute favorite vacations was a cruise we took with our mom and aunt and cousins, where we packed our luggage full of Costco 1.75L bottles of gin and vodka, and ran around the ship completely lit for 5 days / 4 nights.
Everyone else in our family was annoyed beyond belief by our behavior. Whatever. We had a good time!
So, me, I got my 4.0+ GPA, did the whole college and grad school thing, career-focused, corporate schmuck, money, money, money, yadda, yadda, yadda. My sister? Not so much. Maybe she had a 1.89 GPA? Obviously didn’t go to college. Did A LOT of drugs. Like she would tell me stories about how the ball pit was talking to her all night when she was working at Chuck E. Cheese, ‘cause she had gone into work tripping balls on shrooms!
Me: Hey, you should watch Breaking Bad. It’s amazing!
Sister: Nah… I don’t want anything to do with meth. It always made my teeth feel itchy
She had odd jobs all throughout her twenties, lived at home with our mom, just sort of drifting from thing to thing, and always kinda suffering from a general malaise.
Then, out of the blue, she decided she wanted to do some arts and crafts, and started making some really creative stuff, like framed pressed flowers with guest names in calligraphy on it that served as a two-in-one wedding favor / place card... and became an event planner!
[She would make stuff like this]
And people started paying her lots of money to do that! Anniversaries! Weddings! She was really good at it! But, she hated dealing with bridezillas, so applied to event management type jobs, and landed one at the highest end hotel / resort here in San Diego. And overnight she became Ms. Responsible. Like, she would work 60-hour weeks on the regular, and when events came around she was the first into the office and the last to leave at midnight. She got promoted a bunch of times. No more talking ball pits and shrooms! Well, sure, cocaine is still a thing, but only on girls’ night out at the club - which is totally understandable.
Anyway, recently, she decided she didn’t want to work herself to death, and so I suggested that she apply to Big Tech jobs in Silicon Valley. Because nobody actually works in Big Tech - too busy collecting those monopoly profits to work! And, lo and behold, she got a job where she makes 50% more than she made in her old job while putting in 50% fewer hours! She’s got an apartment. She pays rent. She’s - dare I say it - successfully adulting now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU0uPqK1PJE
[She’s like 33 year-old Anna from this video]
So, the watch… it’s a gift. It’s a “Hey, welcome to adulthood” milestone watch. It’s a “I’m glad you didn’t die of an overdose in a gutter somewhere” milestone watch. It’s a “You’re the world’s best little sister” milestone watch.
The Artist formerly known as @HotWatchChick69 and formerly-formerly @Omeganut
More from Mr.Dee.Bater
Feel free to gift me a GS any time you want, man...I can figure out some excuse.
thats a real inspiring story. im really glad things working out for your sister, i really am sir. i hope she wears it proudly. is it a wood texture on the dial? and one more question, can i be your younger brother also? 😂
Yaaaa want I should rotate his kidneys boss!?!?😉
Okay obligatory comments about being a good brother, being proud of little sisters who dun good, and wanting to be adopted by the great sugardaddy @HotWatchChick69.
But seriously.
SLGA013 not SBGA013
How dare you call yourself a Grand Seiko Nut? 😉😉😉
Earn that name!
thats a real inspiring story. im really glad things working out for your sister, i really am sir. i hope she wears it proudly. is it a wood texture on the dial? and one more question, can i be your younger brother also? 😂
Too funny! Yeah, the whole textured dial thing and the marketing copy is pure GS BS.
GS originally came out with the SLGH007, LE of 140 pieces, at $59,000!!! Here's how they describe it:
Now that they spent all that fixed cost R&D on creating that dial texture, they gotta find a way to amortize that expense and stick it into more models and units, right?
So, they came out with the SLGA013 and SBGH009, both of which use the same dial! But, now they got different marketing BS selling a different story!
What a load of crap!!!
Okay obligatory comments about being a good brother, being proud of little sisters who dun good, and wanting to be adopted by the great sugardaddy @HotWatchChick69.
But seriously.
SLGA013 not SBGA013
How dare you call yourself a Grand Seiko Nut? 😉😉😉
Earn that name!
Must have been auto-correct on this darn keyboard!
Too funny! Yeah, the whole textured dial thing and the marketing copy is pure GS BS.
GS originally came out with the SLGH007, LE of 140 pieces, at $59,000!!! Here's how they describe it:
Now that they spent all that fixed cost R&D on creating that dial texture, they gotta find a way to amortize that expense and stick it into more models and units, right?
So, they came out with the SLGA013 and SBGH009, both of which use the same dial! But, now they got different marketing BS selling a different story!
What a load of crap!!!
thats a marketing language allright 😂😂. but both of them are gorgeous 🍺
Sorry to hear about those snowflake issues. Glad you’ve got a great bond with your sister. Love the sentiments behind the gift.
Great story, your a great brother,and tell your sister from us at WC well done for grafting and being successful. And the only snowflakes on WC should be in the dial.
Must have been auto-correct on this darn keyboard!
I only remember because in a brand with generally stunning dials the SBGA013 was....not my favorite.
I think they were going for champagne but it was a little bit too dirty water.
Sorry to hear about those snowflake issues. Glad you’ve got a great bond with your sister. Love the sentiments behind the gift.
Well, this kind of snowflake issue is better than this kind...
...of snowflake issue, right?
Great story, your a great brother,and tell your sister from us at WC well done for grafting and being successful. And the only snowflakes on WC should be in the dial.
Damn! You beat me to the bad pun!
We were all very upset. We just quietly dried our tears with the watch cushions of all the watch boxes we collect. 😂
Great story! You seems to be a great big brother and your sister really did a heck of a job climbing that personal ladder. Wait… there were a watch in this story as well. Beautiful gift👏
Ever considered adopting a 37-year-old from Germany? I can be sassy and witty on command but I tend to eat a lot.
Humor aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. This story shows why the watch collecting hobby is a worthwhile endeavor. Watches can represent so much more than the combination of art & engineering. In this case you showed how a watch can represent the unbreakable bond of family. Even though your sister doesn’t know the technical details of what makes her new GS a horological marvel, I’m sure what matters more to her is that the watch came from you. Thanks for sharing, this story touched me. I don’t have any siblings and the person who got me into this crazy beautiful hobby of ours is my dad & I hope to be able to gift him a great watch someday as a thank you for all the sacrifices he’s made to give my mom & I a great life. (sorry, I don’t mean to get too emotional, your story just touched me for real)
Cheers!
One of my aspirations in watch collecting is definitely to meet Mr. HotWatchChick69
Here you go...
Only difference is I'm about 1/3 as good-looking as Ken Jeong.
Err, I'm single and ready to mungle (when you smoosh mingle and bungle together you get...)?
So....are you my tai lo or sai lo? Eh, for a new GS you can be my je je. 🤣
Edit:Sorry for my bad Cantonese, never learned it, mostly got bits and pieces by osmosis from HK movies.
Your Cantonese is not half bad, dude!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0_Tt0En7v4
Just discovered this guy yesterday. Based on the accent, I'd bet he's Cantonese.
Humor aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. This story shows why the watch collecting hobby is a worthwhile endeavor. Watches can represent so much more than the combination of art & engineering. In this case you showed how a watch can represent the unbreakable bond of family. Even though your sister doesn’t know the technical details of what makes her new GS a horological marvel, I’m sure what matters more to her is that the watch came from you. Thanks for sharing, this story touched me. I don’t have any siblings and the person who got me into this crazy beautiful hobby of ours is my dad & I hope to be able to gift him a great watch someday as a thank you for all the sacrifices he’s made to give my mom & I a great life. (sorry, I don’t mean to get too emotional, your story just touched me for real)
Cheers!
Well, thank you so much for the kind words.
It's awesome that you can share this hobby with your father. It's wonderful to have something fun to bond over like that.
Really f*cking cool story and idea. Congrats to her on grinding for the man and to you for actually being a big bro and supporting your lil sis no matter what.
Really f*cking cool story and idea. Congrats to her on grinding for the man and to you for actually being a big bro and supporting your lil sis no matter what.
Ha! She's a cog in the machine now!
Uhhhh, what DRAMA did I miss that you now have to put a trigger warning on your posts?? 😮
That's a great story and a great watch. And I just farted.
Uhhhh, what DRAMA did I miss that you now have to put a trigger warning on your posts?? 😮
Ha! I suppose maybe I don't need to moving forward, given that there's the new "mute" functionality here on WC now?
In my last post...
It was magical!!!
I wonder how the mute functionality works. Like,
I wish real life were like WC. You could be walking along the street, see someone and know for certain that you're gonna hate their guts, and then just "mute" them and you'd never see or hear them in any way for the rest of your life! That's what I imagine heaven to be like!
Ha! I suppose maybe I don't need to moving forward, given that there's the new "mute" functionality here on WC now?
In my last post...
It was magical!!!
I wonder how the mute functionality works. Like,
I wish real life were like WC. You could be walking along the street, see someone and know for certain that you're gonna hate their guts, and then just "mute" them and you'd never see or hear them in any way for the rest of your life! That's what I imagine heaven to be like!
Things change around here so fast - I'm gone one week and you're in the midst of genocide and ethnic cleansing, WTF 🤣
The good news is, it's not a legit social media site unless there are members who get easily offended. Hooray for a magical mute button.
Your Cantonese is not half bad, dude!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0_Tt0En7v4
Just discovered this guy yesterday. Based on the accent, I'd bet he's Cantonese.
My daughter started watching He's videos last year. I cannot get that accent down. I say "what the hell" as near as I can and it drives her crazy.
What an inspiration your sister is. Life certainly changes once it says “go!”. Life is too short to be slaving at work. Have some time for yourself, I say.
What a beautiful watch and pretty dial. GS is always spot on for their dials. 🍻
What an inspiration your sister is. Life certainly changes once it says “go!”. Life is too short to be slaving at work. Have some time for yourself, I say.
What a beautiful watch and pretty dial. GS is always spot on for their dials. 🍻
Ha! Not sure she's an inspiration! Maybe more like a cautionary tale that luckily has turned the corner!
But, definitely agree with you. There are better things to be doing than slaving away 24/7!
Lol. Let her take the credit. At least she’ll in the right direction.
Wow, how did I miss this post? Very cool gift to your sister. I feel like I do more about you now. When I gift a watch it says I appreciate the time we spent together. I think that's part of this watch gift and story. Thanks for sharing