No Time for Lost Time

Chapter 1: The Gateway Watch

8:05 AM <Monday>

Michaela Buenaobra had an unusual hobby for a sophomore girl studying at the University of the Philippines Los Banos. Many of her contemporaries were obsessed with Kpop or American television. Some fancied beauty products. Quite a few were already setting their sights at their careers, and therefore had no interests apart from what they were studying. Michaela was obsessed with time.

The technical term would be horology, which roughly translates to "the study of counting the hours." Michaela was interested in nearly anything that related to the concept of time.

She collected watches. She bought shirts that had clocks, watches, or sundials printed on them. Even though she wore a watch all the time (sometimes two!) she still had wall-clocks and alarm clocks all over her room. 

She bought books not just about watches but about time in general. She was especially interested in the historical development of timekeeping and how it related to changes in attitudes within society.

She was, in the words of horologists, "in deep."

Her watch collection is small and modest, certainly not at par with those of famous collectors, but she cherishes every single watch that she owns.

The interest was sparked when her parents gave her an automatic Seiko watch for her high school graduation. She had never owned a mechanical watch before, and never even thought of time except casually.

When Michaela first put on the watch, the first thing that she noticed was its weight. Mechanical watches are heavier than quartz models due to the complexity of their movements. She would move her arm up and down to assess the weight of the watch. Many horologists note that this is what "mechanical newbies" do: having been used to lighter watches, the weight surprises many. It is what singer John Mayer (also a known watch nut) calls "the density of design."

Michaela was also surprised by this "density." She realized that watches can be so complex, and yet fit on top of her wrist. It was as if a mini-universe was existing on a gadget only slightly larger than a 5-peso coin. Michaela was hooked. The watch became her "gateway watch."

A "gateway watch" is the watch which brings you to the hobby. You can have watches before, but the gateway watch is the one which lights the fire in your mind and you begin to think "hey, there is actually much more to this watch thing."  

It was this watch that Michaela chose to put on her left wrist one Monday morning on September 2017. The watch had a steel bracelet, which made her feel a bit mature. She would often choose watches based on what mood or mindset she wanted for that day. On adventure and casual days she would wear her Baby G-shock (the first watch she bought with her own money). For formal gatherings wherein she would be wearing formal evening wear she would pick her small but elegant Timex dress watch. That Monday she was going to give a report in one of her classes, and the Seiko gave her an air of confidence.

As Michaela was preparing her things before going out of her dorm room, her roommate Anna barged in carrying a laptop. Anna, who is a Kpop addict and prefers to be called "Anna-shi," had just come back from a K-drama viewing marathon with the other girls in the dorm wing. There were faint circles under her eyes.

"You will lose your eyesight at this rate," Michaela said.

"Micha, I say the same thing to you when you stare at your watch for hours," replied Anna as she plopped on her bed. "By the way, what time is it?"

"8:10."

"Good, I still have time to nap before class." This was wishful thinking on Anna's part. It was not that she would not be able to fall asleep--it was more about whether she would be able to get up before her class at 10 am.

"If you say so," Michaela gave a knowing shrug. "Good night!"

"Good morning!" Anna said before bundling herself up in bed.

Michaela was about to close the door on her way out when Anna suddenly exclaimed "wait a minute!" in her broken Hangeul.

"Yes Anna-shi?"

"Your watch, I just noticed. I saw someone yesterday wearing the same thing. Weird."

"That is not weird, not even the slightest--"

"A dude was wearing it!"

"Well this is technically a men's watch, but I wear it just the same."

"Really? I just thought that guy was a bit tacky wearing a girly watch."

"This is not just a girly watch! This is a Seiko SNK--"

"Wait again! I just realized another thing!" Anna was notorious for her wild swings in changing the topic of conversation.

"What is it now?" 

"I have a classmate who looks exactly like Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo! Isn't that amazing?"

Michaela, who herself did some casual K-drama watching, could not be bothered. She gave an exasperated smile and said a curt "goodnight" again before leaving Anna with her thoughts.

8:25 AM

Michaela has this recurring dream/nightmare. It features her being late for class, and the professor is repeatedly calling out her name in the attendance. Buenaobra? Is Ms. Buenaobra around? Buenaobraaaaa...Yoohoooo...Not here? Ok. How about Ms. Buenaobra?

She felt this nightmare was playing itself out in reality while the jeepney that she was riding was stopped in front of the Raymundo gate inside the campus. The driver was casually waiting for his jeepney to fill up with passengers, not minding the other passengers who were running late for class.

Michaela was holding herself from blurting "Manong can we get going already? I am sooooo late already!!!" She just stared at her watch. The seconds passed with the sweep of the seconds hand. It seemed to be going much to quick at that moment, a common illusion for automatic watches.

She could not bear it any longer. Apart from her obsession with time, Michaela was also strict when it came to her being on time. ALWAYS. So she decided to un-board the jeep and start walking.

In her haste, however, she forgot to look both ways before crossing the street. At that exact moment, a guy on a road-bike was overtaking the jeep. The guy also realized it too late that someone was crossing the street. In a split-second, this guy and Michaela collided--sort of.

 What did  happen was the handlebar of the guy's bike hit Michaela's wrist--only her watch was there to stop it. Both parties were shocked, and initially did not move. Without saying a word, Michaela inspected her arm and saw that she was unhurt. As for her watch...

The untaped and rough part of the bike bar had hit the watch squarely at the glass or "crystal." Michaela was horrified when she saw a wide and deep scratch on the crystal of her beloved gateway watch.

The guy, for his part, seemed equally mortified. His face got pale and seemed to understand the magnitude of the situation. Which was strange, since most folks would think a scratched watch but an unharmed person would always be better than an injured person and an unharmed watch. But for some reason, he seemed to detect the consequences right away.

"You IDIOTTTTT!!!!!" Michaela screamed at the top of her lungs.

TO BE CONTINUED