You couldn't possibly go to your first job interview without a
wristwatch. After all, you had to be punctual and it would be
awkward to pull out the cellphone to check for the time all the time!
Besides, every man in a suit had those classy watches. For The Young
Man, the one available at home was a digital water-proof Casio with
calculator from his middle school years. Don't take it personally,
though. He loved his retrospective Casio with lights, world clocks and
chronometer but a classical one was needed. He asked around his friends
but all of them had the same Casios! While on the phone, he even asked
one if it had the calculator function. It was like those old days where
everyone were in a competition for Casio watches. His model with
calculator had been very much adored at the time, indeed.
Eventually his uncle gave him the news that he had found a watch.
But the watch didn't turn out to be what he expected. It
was a McDonald's McMax promotion watch with a somewhat classical look.
"Why McDonald's", he asked to himself; and then to his uncle. It was the
only watch to spare. He desperately took the watch and returned home.
The next day he was going to the interview and it wasn't possible that
he could get another one. The watch was black with blurry gray drawings.
It couldn't be noticed from a distance. It was as if the watch has been
designed to leave the user indecisive about whether to wear it or not.
Should he wear it? The watch was simple and classic, not so bad. But he
was anxious about the little logo, the drawings. "So what the hell
happens if they notice the McDonald's logo?" No! People were
getting rejected because of the way their hair looks. This promotion
watch was way too dangerous, so he gave up. But after a while,
he decided to put it on again. "Everyone there will have a wristwatch,
and I will need one too", he thought.
The Young Man was as sharp as a razor at the interview that morning,
prepared. He put on the watch indecisively. Nobody but himself knew of
the McDonald's watch. He could even recall the latest McDonald's
advertisement music; playing inside his head. In the building everyone
was looking at the wristwatches before their faces. They were big,
dashing and luxurious. There were even the ones two times as big as his.
"It doesn't matter, mine is just as elegant as me", he thought. The
staff who took them to the interview office also had big, shiny watches.
He noticed that as they got higher in the building, the bigger the watches
appeared. He hadn't seen such big watches in his entire life. The
McDonald's jingle in his head, and the promotion watch on his wrist, he
examined each watch carefully as thinking to himself, "perhaps there is
a secret brand logo behind them." If there was one more person wearing a
KFC or Disney Mickey Mouse watch, he would be relieved. But no
such thing happened.
The interview ended.
"Do you have any further questions?"
The Young Man responded, "Do any of you have a wristwatch with a
calculator? I have one. But it's at home, this is not my real watch."
~