Hello, and Welcome!

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 philosophy, theology, sociology, and technology.

I’ve traded depth for breadth. While an expert could easily see my short-comings 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 call it curiosity.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot more about writing. On a recent trip, as I was sitting at a cafe writing in my journal, the barista asked if I was a writer, and I said yes.

I’ve always enjoyed writing; in particular, I’ve always enjoyed storytelling! As I’ve progressed through my career, writing has become an increasingly important 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 a blog.

I’ve also become a person that loves watches (thus the blog name: watch as a physical item and a way of observing). And I’ve wanted to write about physical things as well.

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 really be about watches, but will sometimes use watches as a way to write about other things.

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).

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