Food Lab: Special Episode

I think staying one year independently has slightly improved my cooking skill. See, they look more presentable and edible now than my previous posts :)


Crabmeat in Egg White with Broccoli





Thai Pineapple Rice







Here's a new experiment on Rice Pilaf. I see this often in Japanese stalls in Kopitiam. I've been wanting to copy this egg-wrapped rice. Finally accomplished with a non-stick pan, again borrowed from hausmate.

Japanese Rice Pilaf





Of course, I would also love to perfect one of my classic pieces - Chicken Gordon Bleu. It tastes better now hehe.

Classic* Chicken Gordon Bleu




Recently, my hausmate introduced me to this stove-top grilling pan. Amazing, I didnt know grilling is possible without a griller hehe. I like the nice brown lines effect. I have here pork steak, chicken steak, and bacon-wrapped prawns. Hmm so probably I am starting to be a crossover of 'east meets a little west'. :)

Pork Steak, Chicken Steak, Bacon-Wrapped Prawn




What I ended up doing, adding my library of cookbooks hihi. Grill Time. :)

Valid ID

Sharing this 'very special' ID. Last year when I was in a terrible mood, I went to a spa salon for a facial and ended up signing a X-sessions package membership fee after going through some hardselling sales talk. And in return, I sent them my fancy pic and got this membership card. (which people refuses to believe it's me, my ex-officemates amusingly call it Rica) :p. Anyway it's quite cheaper to get in bulk so it's still good value for money, just that I dont like it that they still continue to 'pester' on me to top-up additional services whenever I go there for monthly visits.

Few weeks ago I went to Starhub to renew my cable line (recontract), queued for a long time and upon registration, they were denying me of my slot because I dont have a valid ID. I gave them my Employment Pass but they said they needed something that has my picture on it. They said better I come back again. Whooat! 'This is too inconvenient', I said. They argued back that it is my responsibility to bring my passport along with EP. Grrh I said 'you dont really expect people to be carrying their passports all the time right'. 'But sorry miss, we have to follow the rules'. I started emptying and flashing all sort of cards that I have in my wallet. I dont have my office ID that time. Suddenly found this membership card, I told them this is the only ID that I have right now with picture. They checked for a while, and said 'okay we'll accept this as proof of valid ID'. And viola, recontract was done.

Thanks to this card! :P I do hope to use something like this in the future for my passport hehehe.

English lah

I have an Indian officemate who is very funny (even if he does not exert effort to be funny). Here are some of the humorous quotes

-'My one is missing'. He went to my seat and murmured those words with a worried look. I said 'what?'. He replied again, 'my one is missing', pointing to my monitor. I then figured out he has some files missing. After checking I found those missing files and told him, 'no, your one is there, it's not missing'. 'Oh thank you'. See I'm a fast learner, copycat. :)

-'There was one time when he was browsing on some bank's websites. Suddenly in a loud voice, he asked, 'hey what's TT?' I said 'where did you see that?'. He replied several times, 'TT', 'TT'. I had to control my laughter, what in the world is this TT thing (not that I'm green, but my top recall of those 2letters is a Filipino word). It was only by chance when I got to ask my sister if there is such banking term TT, and she said yes, telegraphic transfer that is :p

Other funny terms: Singlish / Hindi-ish. :

'upgradation' of contract - upgrade

my aunt 'expired' ---- past away

scheduled pronounced as shedule

I shall send you this email and print the same - 'the same' appears so many times

#1 --- it's not number 1 but hex 1

' --- this is not apostrophe but inverted comma

this one can, this one cannot - everything is can and cannot. can help check this issue. can do this can do that.

*To be updated when I learn more. :)

Clueless and Puzzled Creature

It's really funny whenever I remember the 'amazing gift' na pinasuyo sa akin to bring back home last July. It was from a guy in SG who is courting my friend in Manila. Pardon me but up to this point, I still cant figure out the logic behind. :p Anyway it's my first time to be a bridge, let's just wait and see if this one's a happy ending.

Profile of the girl: She used to be my bestfriend and suddenly we lost touch after high school. Earlier this year, she greeted me in friendster saying she was surprised that I have changed a lot based from my pictures. And that started our frequent chatting. She's a simple girl who studied in CEU and currently works in a bank. I know she really wanted to have a bf but seems like she hasnt found one that's fit for her as she related. Dinalaw ko cya last July and I was glad that our closeness is still there despite the time and distance factors.

So anyway I got to know this guy from her. Seriously, bilib din ako sa tiyaga because this guy was literally sending sms to her everyday, calling her, online chats and lasted for already 4+ months. Whew for a guy to pursue someover overseas and engaging in posible long distance relationships, it must be real diligence and I respect him for that matter. We got to chit chat sometimes over ym. He was asking me for ideas what gifts to give. I told him looking at her friendster page, it was quite obvious as it was clearly stated that she likes accesories, 'anything kikay' I said. Then he told me he was planning to buy Body Shop products. My goodness, I dont know what he is thinking, there are so many Body Shop outlets in Manila, why bother, and I dont want to bring liters of lotions in my luggage! I said think of something unique that is only available in SG. I even gave him clues, if you find it difficult to buy accesories for women, well maybe just buy small bags, or perhaps kikay blouses.

'Pano kung hindi magustuhan' he said.
'Hindi yan.. or kung gusto mo buy one each of what I mentioned, khit sa tiangge lng, hndi naman kelangan mamahalin lahat. Cguro may magugustuhan naman cya khit isa lng dun'
'Naku bka magulat yon, sabihin bkit ang galante naman nito, hindi ko pa naman sinasagot'
I was like ha? Deep inside I was thinking what harm is there na magulat???
Then he continued,
'Hindi pa rin eh, hndi naman sa mayabang ako, what if naging kami, tpos mag-expect na lagi big-time ako magregalo. Mahirap yun ganon'

I was dumbfounded. What ??###!!@#. Here again is one guy who is worrying about what chicken dish to cook before the eggs are even hatched. And I dont see the logic behind giving gifts and being pressured what gifts to buy the next time to supercede the previous delight level. Isnt it giving gifts is a voluntary act? I give people gifts because I want to and probably because I care, not because I am forced to. Maybe it's a good trait that a guy has a clear grasp of future planning, however it's also because of this too much thinking left and right that stops them from progressing? That's it. He could have my vote, but he just blew it all away hehe. Anyway I dont intend to share this part with my friend, I dont want to be a factor para mabasted itong guy, because as a 3rd party, I can still see some goodness in this guy.

Anyway, when we met up, he has this nice silver box with a nice silver ribbon and placed in a dainty violet tiny bag. It looks perfect to me. I started teasing him 'hey teka ano ba laman nito. Naprepressure ako, bka pag nawala ko, hndi ko toh kayang bayaran'. (I was thinking it might be some watch? or maybe some accesory or jewelry, that was the impression actually of the size of the box and packaging). He just kept on smiling and saying secret secret. Later I was already serious, ano ba talaga laman, of course I dont want to bring any liquid or anything that might prohibit me from entering the plane right, at least give me a general idea. Deep inside I have the feeling somehow I have the right to know kasi pina-hassle mo na nga ako magdala. I asked once, twice, thrice, ayaw pa rin sagutin, tawa lng cya nang tawa. FINE. It's hard to talking to you. I gave up. :p

When I met up with my friend in Manila, of course she was really surprised that I brought her a gift from this guy back in SG. Girl talk chismisan, I simply told her 'hey buksan mo naman, I want to know what is it'. Medyo kilig pa cya when opening. So what was the big fuss all about. My goodness, it was several small pieces of puzzle packed in a tranparent plastic bag. The suspense didnt reach the climax part and drop down dead in a nano second..! I can't explain what my friend's expression was, and I had to be very careful to mind mine coz I dont want to upset her by laughing hard. Then I asked her, mahilig ka ba sa puzzle? Hindi. Cya mahilig ba? Hindi rin. Then I became speechless, I dont know what to say. Cge buuin mo na sa bahay. :p Then I changed the topic. The next day the girl called and told me she asked her kuya to form the puzzle which has something written like 'you're special to me'. The intent of the guy was that she extracts the message to the last piece. Poor thing, it didn't serve the purpose then.

Okay the intent was probably unique and has some substance in it. But then again, it's barking at the wrong tree. Hayy it's complicated! :p

Madly Crazy, Crazily Mad

Call it crazy, call it mad. I watched three concerts on 3 consecutive weekends after I got back from Manila vacation. I paid for two and the other one was free because the intended person does not know the band. Post-concert syndrome: I've been in LSS mood for quite some time, too many tunes playing in my head.

And what's the cure of addiction - another addiction. I heard from my friend that she went to KTV alone one afternoon and sang her heart out. I was very surprised and laughing hard, wow 'pwede pala yon'. So I just did the same. Went to Kbox one Saturday and sang for 3 straight hours by myself. And yet, bitin pa rin! One good thing about Singaporeans, they dont stare at you for your crazy deeds. Everyone minds his own business. My cup of tea, this is a free country! :)

Moral lesson: Do as your heart fancies!

P.S. To bad I have sore throat, I would love to pay another visit soon.

Loser Moment and Most Memorable Flight

I would never forget this day, July 12 08. My supposed flight back to Philippines was from Jetstar, a promo fare which I booked back in February. Initial flight sched is 7:50am. After a few weeks, Jetstar sent a notice that it has been changed to 6:30am. Probably had I known it earlier, I wouldnt have booked the flight.

Starting end of May till July, I was working one day every weekend. D*mn, I was so tired, the project was in tough times and cutover had been delayed for several times. The people in the project didnt like the idea that I was leaving for vacation, 'bad timing' my manager said.

Add to it that I did stick to my crazy decision to attend classes every Fridays and Saturdays and finishing the marketing projects. I wasnt supposed to take the exam because I didnt enroll the whole course, but I opted to and filed a request to take it because I'd be interested to know how I measure. So there goes more pressure to review my notes.

Few weeks before the flight, I accidentally deleted all the calendar reminders in my SG fon (probably hit some wrong buttons while turning off my morning alarms). I was too anxious to retrieve my reminders and birthday alerts, I thought of opening my Ph fone to make a copy. As I was in a hurry, my PH fon got locked due to incorrect keying of pin code. I don't even know how to contact my sundo in NAIA. I dont have an updated back-up of my PH sim. I cant remember exactly where I placed the PUK code

The issues with the changing tenants of the house surfaced too when the annoying family decided to leave. I should be happy because my nightmares are coming to an end, an answered prayer indeed. However things were not as smooth as expected initially, a hausmate wanted to bring an additional tenant after the headcount was already finalized, in which I didnt like because I am sick and tired of too much noise from too many people living in the same house and too many people using the shared bathroom. Because of too much thinking on the matter how to talk to her to drop that option, I got myself some serious oil burns while cooking, some even bubbled and left marks on my hand, my mom is worried that whenever she calls me now, she'd ask if the marks have disappeared :( Aside from those, I had to literally nag the replacing tenants for employment passes, the agent was nagging me for additional agent's fee, the house owner sounded like I owe him a big favor for not changing the contract despite the tenant change. Hell, this was really too much. Nobody has any idea how STRESSED I was and people might think I was worrying too much. Really bad timing, when it rains, it does pour. Well, a lot of those things are avoidable if I choose the easy way out, and my life would be much simpler. BURNOUT.

Going back, July 12 morning I had my alarm set at 4am. The same morning I finished packing my things at 2am. I was so tired that I dozed off again and hoping to wake up after another 10 minutes. The next time I opened my eyes, it was already 515am. Big sh*t, I was hurrying like hell, taking a bath, booking a cab. I arrived airport probably around 5:55am, still hoping that I'd be okay. Jetstar was firm, they do shut the check-in gate 50minutes before take-off time. My voice was shaking as with my whole body, no matter how I pleaded to consider taking me in since the flight hasnt taken off yet, it's of no avail. I'm dead, shoot me. I felt like crying. It took some time before the idea sank in to me. Yes I have to MOVE ON, and find the next available flight. I cannot afford to delay another day because my Davao flight was scheduled the next day July 13. If I don't get myself home the same day, I'd be suffering more losses.

I was in panic, making phone calls at 630am. I called my family back home to cancel my sundo, they were worried because they know I'm not the kind of person who would be missing out essential things like catching a flight. I already got the rates from SQ and PAL from airport booth, booking a same day flight at the airport is the craziest rate you'll ever have for an SG-MLA trip. I called several friends to help me checked the online rates but only two picked up and they told me online booking for the same day is no longer available after checking the websites. I dont have any choice, I booked PAL for the same day flight. That one-way SG-MLA trip was even more expensive than my December round-trip fare (holiday season rates are already at least twice of regular). Had I woke up 30minutes earlier, I wont be in such big mess and credit card damages.

I managed to arrive Manila the same day, the rest of the days were well-spent, no qualms. Just that I dont feel like talking about this stupid thing to anyone because I think I'd be getting more laughs than emphaty :p. I just wanna forget the bad things. I then remembered my good friend who used to have a suitor overseas who wakes her up every morning (probably via skype). For that matter, yeah I suddenly felt a surge of envy.

Anyway, some things you just have to learn the hard way. Wee hours of the morning flights? Hmm forget it, unless I have reliable wake up calls.

Sex and the City

Just finished watching the pre-screening of SATC the movie last May28. What's it about - how men can screw up BIG time :p, and how women find strength in each other. You'll see a lot more of the glamorous Carrie with her branded apparel, the naive and funny Charlotte, the working mom Miranda, and surprisingly a very tamed Samantha. Will Carrie be Mrs Big - find out for yourself.

My take - entertaining, fun. some parts maybe dragging, predictable plot (or probably I was expecting something grander for a movie?). Overall still good. Who cares, feels good to see the 'four' back in the big screen. Truly friendship never runs out of style.

P.S. SATC probably is the only English series that I managed to watch religiously. Brings back the good old school days, the Sat HBO nights. :)

The Overall Marketing Experience in NUS Ext

The discussion was lively, the professor's good and doesnt seem to run out of witty arguments. One thing I like best is the invocation of a lot of real-life case studies, like Google overtaking Coke as the number 1 brand, De Beers making a strong impression on their diamonds, Sony being a mass favorite for electronics, as so forth. I'm not really into theories in terms of studying marketing concepts.

My professor would always say it's all about 'branding and positioning', how do you want your product/service to be perceived, to be the top recall, and ultimately the choice of buying and consumption. AIDA - Create Awareness, Interest, Desire and (take) Action to close the deal. Below are excerpts taken from his article about AIDA, a good read.

A little known secret as well, Donald’s biggest marketing challenge was marketing himself to his wife. Having known her since she was 13 must have been a mean feat to suddenly market an image of potential husband material.

“Actually, it was more like how she marketed herself to me. I was captivated by her. She is definitely the better marketer because she applied the A.I.D.A. approach. She first created the AWARENESS to let me know she existed in Sunday School, made me INTERESTED to find out more about her, created the DESIRE to make me do things that I never thought I would and got me to take ACTION by going down on my knees to propose to her.”

We had several classroom exercises, out of those three were quite remarkable..

One was to think of a company that has strategic business units (SBUs). The example given was Procter and Gamble, like they have Pantene shampoo, Pringles chips, Gilette, soaps, diapers, etc etc. What a familiar example ;p. So what was my example.. none other than HP, they have desktop, laptops, IT outsourcing services, printers, PDAs, etc.. need I say more? I should know all these! Hmm two companies quite close to my heart. :)

The other was to think of a brand that was able to stand out from the competition. My example was Olympus, they have created a big impression for their underwater camera which has become a must-have item for divers and water sports lovers.

Lastly, we were asked to think of a product that is still existing nowadays despite the evolution of technology. This is pertaining to typewriters that has come to obsolency after the PC age, the walkmans that have been replaced by MP3 players. And my brilliant case.. the electric fan. :p No matter how advanced technology has evolved with the onset of split-type airconditioning units, each household will still have an electric fan. No special argument. It's just too useful not to have one and too hard to replace.

Fun fun. My creative juices are flowing. Seems like I've been hitting the right note. And they were surprised to know that I dont have any Marketing work experience. :)

There was a time when the topic was about packaging and distribution. The professor was talking about the economies of different countries. In Singapore, everything is in bulk, you have to buy tissues by the dozens. While in other countries like Philippines, India, we have sachet concepts. When talking about distribution, he suddenly asked, anyone of you familiar with Philippines? Philippines is a huge group of islands that designing distribution channels to penetrate the whole country is quite a challenge. 'so how many islands does Phil have? any guess? I feel like I have to raise my hand (I'd be too hypocrite if I pretend not to know). And I answered '7107 islands'.. At the back of my mind, I was really tempted to say 'high tide or low tide' ala Charlene Gonzales in Ms Universe pageant. hahaha just cant get it out of my head. After that people were all surprised to know that I am from Philippines because I dont look like one. Some started asking me stuff in Philippines. Whew suddenly I became a tourism spokesperson. :p

And oh I also realize it's really hard raising a kid. It hurts the pocket when you yourself are paying for tuition fees!

Sidenote: Short but I did try to enjoy every moment of it. My classmates were of normal level, not the geeks that I initially expected. Mostly female and shortage of male (no prospect hehe). There's one good-looking though, who humorously told me 'if i were you, i'd think of a way to shift out of IT and practice IE (my degree) as IE is a good paying job in SG'. Hehe too bad it's too late for me to look back and shift careers.. and oh too bad, he's married. haha of course I wont be mentioning anything here that would incriminate me. :p

P.S. I just got my class card last week. I got a B!

P.P.s I was hoping it was an A! haha :p

Marketing Project: TV

Sharing my final project - creating a marketing strategy for digital TVs. It was a group project, I was assigned to do positioning and financial plan.

Positioning
Being one of the strongest in terms of producing LCD panels, Sharp doesn’t seem to have conveyed this strong point across, leaving the television industry throned by Sony and Samsung. With the impending switch of Analog to Digital Television, it’s a good timing that Sharp uses this winning strength and launch a full-blast campaign.

The main positioning statement would be composed of two main parts: to produce IDTV that gives the best image quality and the FIRST to give you visually appealing designs.

For the first part, best image quality. With Sharp owning their own LCD panel technology, coping up with the demands and trends wouldn’t be a problem on resource availability for mass production. As television sets evolve through the years, they were able to achieve a sustainable growth from the old days of CRTs to the current LCDs and much more in the future of digital living.

For the second part, visually appealing designs. Sharp will differentiate itself from the competitors by introducing creative designs to veer away from the usual black and silver panels. Mobile phones have colored casings, laptops now come in different colors and skins, and so with digicams. It’s about time that a top TV manufacturer be daring enough to try different colored LCD panels. To be able to cater to individual taste, two lines will be launched -Trendy and Elite lines. Trendy designs should be the hip and colorful designs targeted on women. Elite lines will have an elegant finish and will also have higher specs, as this will be charged a premium and targeted to the high-end market.

We want to position Sharp Aquos – Trendy and Elite lines as a must-have item in every home, it’s not just a TV but a house decor for owners to flaunt, a de facto item in every household.

We have thought of two strong concepts of ads/taglines to position our TVs clearly in the mind of our target buyers.





P.S. Special thanks to my artist who has put my brilliant ideas into awesome images. :p

P.P.S. Above concepts are created for educational purposes only. If this does become a trend in the future, well then I'd be more than happy to be acknowledged. My brainchild. :p

Marketing Assignment for Bvlgari

I finished the Marketing Strategy module of NUS Ext last July. Yes, learning is fun!

Thought of sharing one of my assignments, actually it was written in haste, cramming due to conflicts with work. Anyway, here is my analysis and comments on marketing mix of luxury watches. (4P's)

Brand Chosen: Bvlgari


Background:
Bvlgari established its first jewellery shop in 1884, known for setting the pace of Italian style in jewellery. Then later on it has branched out into creating luxury watches in 1977. To date, Bvlgari is among the top preferred choices for luxury watches worldwide.

Target Market:
Bvlgari’s brand value is high as they have built a strong name with their elegant watches with contemporary designs. Accesorized with their own Bvlgari jeweller heritage on some of their watches, I believe it’s a plus factor and an eye candy for the women market. Their steel watches are also a favourite among the men. In general, Bvlgari targets people from the extreme high-end market, the watch collector hobbyist, those who appreciates quality and design and can afford a premium cost for a watch.

Product Mix for Watches:
Their watch product line is a good mix for the discerning eye suiting different preferences.
High Jewelry Watches – overloads of gems, mostly the diamonds, and some with red and green gems.
Collections Watches – the more popular ones are the following:
- Bvlgari-Bvlgari (contemporary, cylindrical)
- Assioma/Assioma D (quadrangular, minimalistic)
- Rettangolo (geometrical lines)
- Ergon/Diagono/Calibrio (sporty and free-spirited)
- Cerchi (colored constellation gems)
- Lucea (bracelet style)
- Parenthesi (parenthesi sign and diamonds)

From the descriptions in their website, the categories are clear cut on what to expect and which to choose in accordance to one’s own taste. A prospect buyer would find it easy to spot one.
The watches for women are very appealing, as they were able to combine their jeweller craft into the watch designs, like the bracelet style with dangling hook chains, goes well with elegant formal wear.

The watches for men on the other hand have a strong , unique and clean finish, whether it’s the sporty type or the executive type.
Material wise, they are able to explore steel, rubber, leather straps. It has something to offer for each individual taste.


Price:
Price of Bvlgari watches ranges from a minimum 1,500USD and can go as high as 100,000USD. It’s a usual practice among any luxury products to launch limited edition series, of which people go crazy about having one, Bvlgari included. The price range shoots up high unbounded. An example is their Bvlgari Assioma D Line designer collection which boasts of a hefty 20,000-100,000USD.


Promotion:
Bvlgari’s Website
With the emerging dotcom world, a decent website is a must. A website speaks much of a brand, and an audience can clearly identify what image a certain product is trying to convey. And definitely Bvlgari successfully hits the bull’s eye. Among the five watch websites that I browse through while choosing a brand for this project, Bvlgari is definitely the most appealing. It’s the only site I came across that offers a 360degree view of the watch, the watch rotates slowly and shows you a view from the front, the side, and the back view (what is engraved). And there’s even an icon for you to ‘play’ with the watches, check under the Collections category. You can drag and tilt the watch whichever way you like as if you’re actually holding it, virtually enticing. Each watch model also has a detailed description of the material, the design, what it suits, which gives a very clear understanding of the product. The adornment of the precious gems adds more attraction. It’s more than a watch, it’s an addiction.
There’s one thing I’m curious though, they spelled their website as www.bulgari.com, which is not the spelling of their brand. Though the pronunciation is indeed ‘Bulgari’, I just feel that it’s quite more logical to stick to the correct spelling, rather than create confusion, or maybe their marketing arm has a valid explanation for such.

Whole Bvlgari Product Line
Bvlgari is a brand that carries other products aside from watches, obviously the jewels where it started, then they also have fragrances, bags, ties, eyewears. For people who are die hard Bvlgari fans or those who are particular about consistency, having one Bvlgari product would influence the purchase of the other. Like for example, if I have a Bvlgari necklace, I might as well consider buying a Bvlgari watch, like wearing both to achieve perfect harmony. Thus with Bvlgari having a wide variety of products, it is fairly possible that one product can boost the sales of the other.

Celebrity Endorsers
Popular product endorsers also help in promoting world recognition for a brand like Bvlgari. Below are some articles taken from the internet which further proves the success of Bvlgari in this aspect:
Bvlgari watches have always been associated with celebrities with watch forums discussing which high profile personality is wearing the latest Bvlgari watch. Some of the best known actresses like Audrey Hepburn, Ava Gardner, etc. wore Bvlgari watches as their favorites, making the Bvlgari name synonymous with fine taste and style


One of the most desirable American bachelors and one of the most sexual men on the planet, Ben Affleck chooses the watch that proves to be a combination of elegancy and quality. He wears the steel watch BVLGARI.


Asian endorsers are not left behind. Korean Actress Kim Tae Hee of Love Story in Harvard, also voted to be one of the most beautiful in Korea, was presented with the limited edition Bvlgari Carbon Gold watch during her visit to the new Bulgari store in HK. This watch was also presented to other acting luminaries such as Leonardo Di Caprio, Johnny Depp and Cate Blanchette, as well as other Hollywood celebrities like Martin Scorsese, in honour of their outstanding talent.


Distribution
Bvlgari has strong presence in almost all parts of the world, with boutiques and authorized dealers in 65 countries. Their website bulgari.com also caters for online purchases 24by7, making orders convenient at hand’s reach. A prospect buyer can just put orders online and key in his credit card and shipping details. They also have 24by7 customer service hotline, whether it’s for servicing or for placing orders.

Positioning
Bvlgari has positioned itself to be a premium watch with classy contemporary designs and made of quality materials, a high-valued collector’s item, a de facto standard of the rich and famous, celebrities included. They differentiated themselves as having a strong and rich history sprouting from their jeweller legacy and classic watch design masterpieces, of which commands respect and pricing standard for their watches.

Pictures updated.

P.S. I'm not a big fan of watches, I treat them as necessity rather than a piece of luxury item to flaunt. I dont remember buying watches, most of what I have are just gifts from family or hand-me downs hehe. Don't worry I do appreciate watches as gifts, but oh if it's worth over thousand dollars, hmm maybe cash is good. :p