One of the things that I pride myself on these days is not
spending too much money on useless things. Read – expensive useless things. Or even
better uselessly expensive things. Case in point - my watch. It’s the standard 700 bucks casio
F91 watch. I love this watch now. I bought it just as a style statement and
soon realsied that now I can’t wear any other watch. This is the watch for me.
Its tells the time as accurately and cheaply as possible. And wonder of wonder –
its also good for swimming.
I wanted an everyday watch which I wear in the shower and
for my swims as well. So in addition to the F91, I started searching for a
cheap water proof watch. Then online I read a few posts wherein people were
saying that the F91 is good for basic swimming. Someone said that the F91 and
the so called water proof watches conform to the same standard for water resistance.
Its only not promoted by Casio, so that you can buy the slightly pricier ones. I
was sold. This watch I will wear forever. Its become my identity.
Today when I look at my photos with the watch, I love the
look and the fact that I can wear this watch everywhere. I get questions from
people on why I wear this watch and they ask me about the sentimental value of
the watch. They are surprised to know that I am wearing it purely from a
functional perspective.
That’s also the question in people’s mind when the see the car
I drive. It’s a lovely functional Honda City. It’s got leather seats, its
automatic, it drives well – why should I upgrade? I like this car. I have no
reason to want another car over others.
No it’s not like I don’t like brands. All my life I probably
loved and coveted a Rolex or a Mercedes. Its only now that when I have the resources
and the brains that I am forced to think twice. Someone was asking me in office
– you don’t wear expensive watches – no, you don’t buy too many clothes – no,
you don’t drink – no, you don’t go to fancy restaurants often – no. They were obviously
looking at me like I am some miserly guy. I said – I have no problem with spending
and these expensive tastes but I hate it when I am buying something and all
that the brand is doing is taking me for a ride. Its making a fool of me, which
is what I don’t like.
But I do have a weakness – shoes. I like expensive shoes. I wonder
why. But now that I have bought quite a few I have restrained myself. It’s a good
thing that I have limited space for my shoes. Otherwise I would racked up quite
a bill, buying expensive shoes (at a sale of course) but still expensive.
So I like what I have become so far. Richer but wiser. That’s
how I like it. Simple and happier. I would love to be even richer and spend
even lesser. I think a lot of celebrities would have died happier if they had
learnt what I have learnt in my life.
The great joy is in being able to afford bling and not
buying it because you recognize it as such. Useless Bling. Or uselessly
expensive bling.
