My Career (to Date) as an Automotive Journalist: The Beginning

In 2012, I was working a desk job that I hated.  I realized whenever I had a free moment I was reading about cars, watches or menswear.  In fact, I started this blog about those three exact things.  I knew I had to make a change.

I already had my bachelor's degree in management and a brief check of the classes I would need to finish to get a second degree, albeit an associate degree, at Austin Community College revealed I only needed nine more hours!  I soon enrolled in an online continuing education class that would teach me how to write for magazines, quit my soul-crushing flunky position and turned in all of the required ACC enrollment paperwork.

One of my classes - Critical Issues in Journalism - was on-campus and taught by a local news anchor.  He was so passionate about politics and the history of journalism that I felt kind of lucky to be in the class.  Even if I don't share your interests, I can absolutely respect and smile at your enthusiasm.

When it came time to write my term paper, I was, at first, tempted to write about Richard Nixon, whose career fascinates me.  However, I didn't want to write about Watergate or all of the hackneyed topics associated with "Tricky Dick."

I was going to go out on a limb and try to start my automotive journalism career early by writing about the media biases and practices applied to and exploited by the late John Z. DeLorean.  (That A-quality paper can be found here.)

Notttt you!

My second class was News Writing I.  Luckily, I was able to take it online.  That didn't make it any easier, though.  Some of the assignments were real nail-biters.  My failure to grasp certain points in assignments was reflected in my grades, but I didn't make those mistakes again.  I ended up bumping along and learning my way to an A. 

I soon got involved with ACC's student newspaper, the Accent.  I proposed writing about male campus fashion, an interest that was not represented at the time.  (The next semester I would write an automotive journalism article for them.)

I finished the semester with As in both classes and by writing about another one of my interests: James Bond.  My review of the movie "Skyfall" would lead to my winning 2nd place in Critical Review from the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association.  (The awards ceremony took place in April of 2013.  I had no idea I was even up for an award, so I didn't attend it.  Ah, regrets...)

I had no idea how career-shaping my next (and final) semester would be.  And you won't know until you read the next installment in this series (coming soon)...

I Took My Time Machine to the Mechanic, Part Two

When I last left you in this two-part series, I had just taken my Omega Seamaster, model 2301.21, to Russell Korman for a repair estimate.

The shop is in North Austin and shares a parking lot with a block of other shops.  When you walk in, you see an armed guard behind a counter.  Kind of intimidating, but comforting at the same time.   You'll see the usual glass cases full of glistening stones and shiny baubles and gleaming timepieces.  Among those watches are the Rolex and Omega brands, a rare sight in a retail store in Austin.  A few years ago, Omega pulled out of Ben Bridge stores and Bailey Banks & Biddle stopped selling watches altogether.  So, Russell Korman is like a candy store for a watch nut, especially one who owns/enjoys Omegas.

When I dropped my Seamaster off for a quote, I was told I would receive a call with the price and necessary repairs and parts within a week or two, if I remember correctly.  I was thinking they would get back to me with a figure higher than the amount I paid for the watch itself.  When the call finally came, I was told my baby would need a "Clean, Oil and Adjust" (of course) as well as a new mainspring, reverser wheel and bearing; the original bearing had worn down to a malfunctioning shape.  I asked if I could keep the parts they replaced and my contact at Russell Korman gave the in-house watch repairman a note to set them aside for me.  I also requested, as part of the estimate, the cost of replacing a missing link pin and tube which had been replaced by the previous owner with what I could only guess was part of a paperclip.

I was pleased to learn that all those repairs, including the new link pin and tube, would cost about half of what I had expected they would, partly because they would give me a discount for having the repairs performed and the link pieces installed at the same time.  The Omega-authorized technician would adjust my watch to run within COSC chronometer specs (-4 seconds/+6 seconds a day) and the shop would provide a one-year warranty for the work performed.  Also, if the watch ended up not keeping time to my satisfaction, I could take it back in to have it tuned to my individual wearing habits.

I put down the necessary 25 percent deposit over the phone and Russell Korman set about ordering the required parts.  I was told to expect a call in four or five weeks telling me to pick up my revived timepiece.  

The day after I received that long-awaited call, I made the trek up north.  When the sales person brought out my watch, I noticed something about it looked a little different from when I had brought it in.  Could it be?  Yes.  Yes, they had refinished the case, bezel and bracelet!  The best part?  There was no charge for it.  That saved me about 150 dollars and transformed my watch into like-new condition.  It's never looked better.  Hopefully, I won't need to have it mechanically serviced for another five to eight years.

At one point, I had given up on ever owning this watch.  At another point, I had resigned myself to never having it work again.  Now, it's back, working perfectly and looking as if it just came from Switzerland. 

Please forgive the borders - I took these pictures from my Instagram page.

Back and better than ever.

My old gaskets and what I assume is my watch's original reverser wheel.

Big thanks to Russell Korman Jewelry.  If you're in the Austin area and want to see some beautiful watches or have yours worked on, give them a visit.

If you're reading this, which watch brands do you like?  Which brands do you own?  

"Le Mans" Movie Night at the Long Center

     After much weather-related going back and forth Thursday night, my friends Dan and Sarah and I went to watch a free showing of the Steve McQueen classic "Le Mans" on the lawn in front of the Long Center.  I thought it would get rained out, but that didn't happen.  However, the rain that did fall earlier brought a stretch of severe humidity in its aftermath.  Ugh!  

     I think others had my same fear.  I thought there would be a ton of event staff and patrons there, but the potential for rain must have scare a lot of them off.  There were two race cars present and a few girls in skin-tight red dresses handing out World Endurance Championship flags and pocket notebooks before the movie started.  Yay for swag!

     On the way to Sandy's Hamburgers, we came upon a Ferrari FF parked at the bottom of the stairs of the Long center, courtesy of Ferrari of Austin.  I must say, it's certainly a departure from traditional Ferrari styling and body styles - and that's not a good thing.  I couldn't seem to find an angle from which the car looked good.  I never thought I'd miss the 612 Scaglietti.  However, it was nice to see the 651-horsepower oddity "in the metal" for the first time.

     After dinner and returning to our cars to pick up a folding chair and a blanket, we walked back to the lawn and discovered the Long Center started the movie early.  We probably only missed five minutes or so.  It was just as well that we did.  "Le Mans," while rife with what I would imagine were cutting-edge filming techniques and breath-taking crashes (no CGI in 1971),  failed as a movie.  There was very little dialogue, no chemistry between Steve McQueen and Elga Andersen and too many shots that lasted WAAAAYYY too long.  "How many shots of the crowd do we need?!  We get it!  They're there to see the race."  It almost felt as if the director was going to spend the 24 Hours of Le Mans just showing audiences people sleeping on the ground and guys in weird hats.

     Despite that, my friends and I had a good time, especially once the air cooled and the breeze rolled in.

     Did any of you catch the "Le Mans" showing?  What do you think of the movie?  Who's going to the races at the Circuit of the Americas this weekend?