Hello, and Welcome!
I have a restless appetite for the world. I’ve loved coffee—or at least the idea of it—since I was a kid watching my dad make his coffee in a fench press. I drink more milk than a grown man should, I’ve lived on stages since I was old enough to stand on one, I have travelled the world, and I unashamedly geek out over tech. I am a reader and a debater, and I love dissecting the intersections of philosophy, theology, and sociology.
I’ve traded depth for breadth. While an expert could easily school me in any single field, I prefer the view from the bridges between them. I love how a lesson learned in roasting coffee beans applies to a problem in tech or music. Rick Diviney calls this "Learnability." I just call it curiosity.
Over the past few years, there are two other things that I’ve become increasingly interested in: watches and writing!
I’ve always enjoyed writing; in particular, I’ve always enjoyed storytelling! As I’ve progressed through my career, writing has become increasingly important as a way to communicate with my team through slowly formed ideas being fleshed out on the page, scrutinized in the sentences before subjecting them to others.
I’ve been deeply influenced by books like William Zinsser’s Writing to Learn and business influencers like DHH and Jason Fried. But I’ve been writing almost exclusively in the business context, with some weak attempts at writing on my personal blog. I have long wanted a creative output that I could use to put thoughts out into the world that are a bit more anchored than the meanderings you’ll find on my personal blog. I also wanted to write something that is a little less heavy than the sort of things I focus on in my professional life (digital safety, wellness, and policy).
Which brings us to watches!
I remember my first Timex. I’ve forgotten the model, but I remember the obsession: I timed everything. How long I could hold my breath underwater; how slowly the ski lift line moved; how fast I could sprint from my front door to the school gates. I was constantly racing against myself, trying to shave seconds off the mundane.
As an adult, I’ve fallen back in love with watches and the sorts of things that often are associated with what men tend to carry about with them (EDC?).
This blog won’t be only about watches, but will use watches as an excuse to write about other things—and will certainly also be about watches!
I enter a community of enthusiasts who are already creating wonderful content! I have faithfully been a part of The Grey Nato community for several years; I deeply enjoy creators like Teddy Baldassarre, Adrian Barker, and Harrison Brown (and so many more). One could make a compelling argument that no one needs another person out there talking about watches. But watches are really just these items that anchor us to more important things: things like the celebration of a major milestone, an adventure, a loved one, or any other number of things that are what make us human! It’s how a watch can be part of so many other stories that makes them deeply fascinating to me. It’s the beautiful brand stories and heritage of these little marvels that firmly speak to human ingenuity that makes them endlessly interesting to look at, talk about, and adopt into our own stories!
Even if you’re not a "watch guy," I hope you’ll find some of the words and pictures I’ll share here interesting. There’s a lot of noise out there, and I hope to bring something of value for anyone who’s willing to give me and this blog a bit of their attention.
And, if ever you want to connect about something I’m writing about, drop me a message!
Peace,
Nathan