Victoria

Since joining the four main rep watch forums, RWG.COM, RWG.CC, RWI, and Repgeeks, I've noticed an unusual rise in spam -- fortunately going to an email addy I use for such registrations. Is it me, or have you guys been receiving a higher-than-usual amount of spam lately, too? Especially from so-called Nigerian 419 scammers. (I love how they start their emails, "Dear Sir", as if we women were too stupid to be scammed, same as men. We totally are. )

I recently drove my first Smart car when I was in St. Barths (a perfect island for such a small, economical automobile). Unfortunately, here in America I would NEVER drive a little car, and this is one of the biggest sticking points that foreigners do not understand. Yes, perhaps there is a cultural bias that plays a role, but the primary reason Americans like big cars is their safety. This is an enormous country, and when you're driving on the interstate next to a 16-wheeler, or bigger, and there's an accident, you inside your Mini-Morris will die. You stand a fairer chance of surviving in your SUV or big-[censored] car. It's as simple as that, people. Having said that, I'm all for hybrids so long as they make them in makes I like. I hate Toyotas, sorry. Bring on the Benz hybrid and make it half-way competitive, and I'm in like Flynn. @Warbody: Good luck! $1000 is not too much, though maybe harder to get in the Dominican. My first car was a Mustang 5.0 as a present for my 18th birthday, for good grades on graduation from HS. I know Mustangs are the better Fords, but let's just say there is a reason that Ford is known as "Found On Road Dead" or "Fix Or Repair Daily"...

I was about to pull the trigger on a PAM, but that seller was upfront about a similar problem, saying it had a 75% stripped screw housing, which with this or that thing to do to it, you would be able to fix it. I demurred from buying it because I have no idea about epoxy or dremel tools yet, but thanked him for his honesty. Sorry your transaction was less forthright.

@ Deltatahoe: THANKS! The Sony range of small digital cameras are amazing for macros. Not sure of the model, but this is one of the reviews that convinced me to get one: http://www.416-1100.com/gallery/1074988#64958996 (Note, it's got a super amazing closeup of a bee, so all those with insectophobia, or apiphobia, stay away; had I had a chance to make aperture changes, and perhaps set up a tripod, I would've gotten as good a shot!) @V: If I told you one of my worst fears as a child was seeing a cricket, based on the photo above, you wouldn't believe me. But it's true, and I feel your pain...apologies. P.S.: Still am very very scared of one creature, but I won't post it because I know men. They like to push your buttons by doing that exact thing to mess with you. @AllergyDoc: I bet you By-Tor got the soccer reference! Gianluigi Buffon, the Azzuri goalkeeper, frequently wore a pink "maillot" and some men raised their eyebrows at him. http://www.rainews24.rai.it/ran24/immagini/buffon_rosa.jpg Nice to see you around, either way! @V again: You're the only I've seen who can carry off that Ferrari PAM (I think it's the strap and your arm shape). That range of models is the ugliest I've yet seen. Sorry to all who own one... @b12a2: Inventive composition too! Miniature airplanes next to a Breitling Aerospace. Perfect! Now let's see those Bentleys, guys. @Pix: I love your tie, first and foremost! And Pix, would you believe me when I told you that your series on the VC was the one I showed my dad, and he said, oh yes, that's the kind of watch I wouldn't mind (he was always a very elegant man). So you see, you, Maciek, Ola, Rima, and others here are silently the reasons why people buy certain watches. We motivate each other, by posting photos and series on certain watches we otherwise wouldn't have thought of buying. Now you know! @Pix about my phobia (yes, Sssurfer, the VIP edit would've lowered my post count LOL!): Nope, not mice! I have never feared mammals of any kind, although I have to say that seeing a rat the size of a chihuahua in Paris once, I almost fainted. This is why I saw and didn't like "Ratatouille", though it got good reviews from everyone else.

That happened to me at the Dark Side, trying to view a chap's Fidddy on Tootall's straps. Also, 3 photos of a strap for sale which didn't even have an imageholder (I switched from Firefox to IE for a second, and though I didn't see the photos either way, I did see that there were three Xs in red where the photos were supposed to be). Everyone else said they could see the pics. Hmm, I thought. Next day, I saw the pics. Try first changing browsers, then rebooting a few times. Also, lighting a candle to St. Th

Two posts, and one is about my manicure! Aww. LOL. Hmm. Thanks! :cc_jockey: (In all seriousness, I was aggrieved yesterday when I had to use Cape Cod cloth to buff anyway whatever gunk Paul's PAM 199 had on the CG. There was no way one could close the thing, if I hadn't. But guess what happened? Yep, ruined the mani. So here I come Saturday, nail spa...)

Hehe. No TR, it's not one of those massively expensive Hublots that people here are salivating over. I decided to take a $119 plunge with a silly model first. If I liked what I saw, I'd MAYBE consider a higher-end HBB this Christmas. Guess what? Crappy as it is. Fakey gold as it looks -- I love it. I get the Big Bang hype. (NEVER like the Panerai though. I'm a PAM girl now, forever!) Wrist-check tomorrow, with the new HBB.

Corgi, that sucks. I'm sorry. I have one just like that, and we had to change the bracelet finally. But though I just used Cape Cod cloth on my new Hublot gold deployant, I would suggest to heed what others are saying: NEVER on gold-plate. It WILL strip the "gold" right off.

Wow, I totally need to get out more. I thought this was a sophomoric humour spin on Google using Ebonics... "What dat is?" instead of "Search", etc.

Gorgeous. Ordered 1, and a steal at 10 bucks even if I will probably receive it by Christmas...thanks!

Don't worry! There are no Reds under my bed. Mind you, I check every night! YAY! I don't care if it sucks. Just want to see Homer on something bigger than my 41" TV. DOH.

Hehe. That's just a throw-away line, V. No offence intended, especially to all my Belgian friends! Many parts of Europe are getting staggered premieres, ahead of the US premiere. To anyone who has ever been to Scandinavia, with their Simpsons obsession, you will know why.

I'm so excited about this flick, it's not funny. And here, as a sometime professional film critic and perpetual cinephile, let me just say that Summer 2007 has been a very good year for the traditional summer blockbuster. I've turned down invites from two friends to see this on the weekend, because my parents said they want to watch with me on Sunday. Don't think I can wait... And why did Europe get the premiere first?? World Premiere was on 21 July in Springfield, Vermont, but Belgium is getting it today. COMMIES!

CLASSY! Very classy, AllergyDoc. Gotta love a guy who can carry off a pink shirt, and not be called Buffon. And why haven't you been as around in these here parts, as over at the other forums? I see you there all the time. Boo.

BRING PATCHES BACK! BASKETS! (I'm having WAAAY too much fun with these VIP emoticons)

Considering a family of 4 in Rio can exist (subsist) on $100 per month, it's small wonder people brave oceans on rafts, and seal themselves in canisters to come to First World countries. We got it so good, Nanuq. So much so, we're complaining about shoddy rep watches in the middle of the night when kids are going to bed starving. Ack, what's wrong with me. Reality check, Vic...

I've been emailing with Andrew all night. Last week, to the day, I received my dad's Omega 2537.80 with an off-centre pearl and the wrong deployant bracelet. One email to Andrew solved it, and by next post, a new one was on the way. We received it Tuesday, yesterday. He sent me shipping instructions in an email, asking me to send the old one back Airmail. He knows he runs the risk of it never reaching him, due to the vagaries of Chinese post, but he trusts me enough to send me a new one, no questions asked. Man, considering that Paul hasn't responded YET to my emails to yet ANOTHER problematic watch of his, and I know that he'll play possum for dayyyyyyys, and send me BS emails asking for clarification again and again (I provide him with photographic evidence each time), I'll take that $25 hit with Andrew. I know you weren't complaining much, Fitmic. It's not that. But with Andrew, it's as close to an AD service as you're going to get half-way around the world. And Armin, I emailed Andrew the link to your Dealer Review post. I'm sure he'll respond. P.S.: I'm up at this ungodly hour on the off-off-chance Paul responds. He tends to respond to problems JUST before he goes home, so that yet another day passes by without an answer. Nice, real nice. Anyone have a spare noose they can lend me?

Unfortunately, Abu Ghraib was all too real during Saddam's time. I think cavity searches classified as foreplay then. Or maybe his sons thought prisoners were secretly concealing AP RO's in rose gold within their persons.

I feel like the class dunce telling the smart kids the answers to the quiz! I fear if I PM you, I'll be deluged with questions asking the same thing. So here goes, in RWG morse code: Matryoshka. Copy, 10-4, roger and out, Delta?

I know there is one of you out there that read this and said, "And your PMS too". I know who you are! :gun2: Hehe. P.S.: Deltatahoe, guess what? The kid never PMed me back! He just sat waiting for responses, so I'm not even sure he knew he had to refresh to get a private message, with more sensitive info. Me, 1 month ago. Good times.

Rima, isn't it? I called you Riva at RWI, by mistake, argh, sorry! Thanks for your sisterly advice. I wish I could say this is my last purchase from Paul, but I can't. It will most probably be the last for a good long while though. Having other options, even the Member trade areas, really widens one's horizons. Anyway, thanks for listening to me! I feel like the kid who wanted to cancel his Rolex order last night, and we all secretly laughed, and teased him a bit -- but something inside us realises, hey, we were once "there" too.

Really? I heard he was almost out-of-the-business, semi-retired, etc. Everyone establishes a personal relationship with this or that dealer, I've noticed. Some prefer Josh, some Andrew, some Ruby, some EL. I have awesome chemistry with Andrew. For me, he's perfection as a collector. I'm sure there are others who will form a queue to tell me otherwise. It's just the way things are in life. You couldn't meet a nicer guy than Paul. Until you get your first bad rep, and then...and then...well, then he's still I'm sure a nice guy. But business is about professionalism. If my post helps one newbie avoid my problems, it'll have been worth it.

I'm calming down reading all your replies, even the ones which give him a kindlier opinion than I have of him, now. After all, I'm just one person out of possibly thousands of otherwise satisfied people. Maybe it's a fluke... So thanks, Cornerstone. The problem is, I LOVE bargains. That's why I went to Paul in the first place. I adore Andrew, and Joshua has been stellar, but at the end of the day my cheap genes kicked in. Really, I have no else to blame but me. Meh, I suck.

LOL, that's alright, Delta. We all have our pet peeves, and issues with this or that service. Look, my problem is a question of approach, as well as quality control. A watch arrived in bad repair, I asked in endless emails that it be rectified, and was given the runaround (12x emails asking to restate the problem, TWELVE. I got 'em saved) until finally he sent the replacement. In that original order, not only did the fantasy mini-Fiddy come with a broken CG/bridge, but my $35 Meisterst

Wow, if true, Nanuq of the North. But no, sadly I don't know. Try this fun site, though: http://www.globalrichlist.com/ The site is a little preachy, and morosely lefty (despite the Top Gear Jeremy Clarkson sponsorship, heh)...but at least I found out that I am in the 0.01% bracket. How that is, since I ain't rich by a long shot, dunno, so you could be on to something, Nanuq.