The Tale of The Three Little Watches

Once upon a time there was a girl named...Karin, yes Karin, that is a pretty name. Well, Karin decided to go on a long journey to explore the world she had heard so much about yet had never seen for herself. She was excited but knew that there would be a lot of planning and a lot of planes, trains and buses to catch and so it was very important to have a good watch with her so she could keep track of time and not miss any of these modes of transportation to get her from place to place. She liked to be prepared so before she left her homeland, Canada, she walked into a store called Walmart where she had bought her sporty stopwatch about eight years ago and thought it may be a good idea to buy a new battery incase it dies while she is out travelling the world. The lady in the pretty blue apron checked the battery to see how much life it had left and she said, "Oh, you still have about two years left on this battery." 'Oh how wonderful!' she thought. So Karin went on her merry way, stopping in England, Germany, Switzerland, England again and onto Ireland and then Scotland, never late for her important departure times. One morning she awoke from her slumber in a hostel just off the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, Scotland. 'What a lovely city Edinburgh is!' she thought as she reached for her watch and starting thinking about where she would head off today. All of a sudden her half shut eyes were now wide open as she looked at her watch in shock. There were no numbers to be seen, the screen was blank, her watch was dead! 'But the lady in the pretty, blue apron said the battery would last for two years!' 'Try two months,' the other half of her brain said. Karin was sad but there was nothing she could do then and there. She was to leave for Sweden in a couple of days so she decided to look for one there and in the meantime use her cell phone.
A few days later she landed in Sweden where she was to visit a friend. She asked if he knew of any places where they sold cheap watches and he did. This was a delight to Karin's heart! They went there the next day and they weren't as cheap as she thought they would be but they had lots of sales and they looked quite nice so she thought, 'How about a nice Swedish souvenir?' She had worn sporty watches her whole life so it was a little strange to see more stylish ones on her wrist so much so that she couldn't decide which one she liked best. The lady pointed to one and said, "This one is better quality. The wristband will last longer than the other one." It was a little more expensive but if it will last longer than it is more worth it in the long run. So they say. The sales lady won her over and she bought the watch. Two days later Karin was in such distress because the strap of the watch was now splitting apart from either side! 'I am so confused,' she thought, 'This was supposed to be a good quality strap!' She could not bare to keep a watch that was said to be good quality but clearly was not so she went back and returned it for the other one she had tried on. She was happy with this watch and it's style and was almost glad the other one didn't work out in the end. She wore it proudly, glancing at her wrist every now and then to see how it looked on her wrist. But one time she glanced down and noticed the clock hands weren't moving. She was slightly worried but reset the time and things were back to normal. This began to happen more frequently and Karin began to wonder if she would have to replace the battery. 'Oh my goodness gracious. How annoying! Well, atleast I could just get a new battery eventually and everything will be fixed.' She then hopped over to Holland to spend a good week there but things began to grow very strange over these next days. One morning she looked at her watch only to find that the big hand flopped from side to side whenever she turned the watch. 'Does this happen when a battery dies?' she asked herself. She wondered if it could be broken but she denied the fact that that could ever be possible. Later on she asked her friend what she thought and the words that came out of her mouth were enough to shatter a heart into a million pieces. "It's dead." she replied. Three watches. All gone just like that. Were the watch gods against her? Was there anything more to live for? How could she possibly keep on in her journey without a proper watch? Was she to rely on her cellphone for the next three and a half months? What if she lost her cellphone? The pain was too much to bare. But with every good story there is a happy ending. One day Karin was walking through Portobello Market in Nottinghill at one of the coolest markets she had ever been to and to her great surprise she saw a stand selling watches. Cheap watches infact! She saw one that she was interested in but she was doubtful and fearful as her heart had not fully healed from all her previous betrayals. Her lovely friend, Savannah encouraged her and said, "Karin, this watch is only five pounds. You have to buy it." And so she did. And to this day, almost one month later, she has worn it proudly, knowing that she is able to rely on it to get her to her destinations on time, worry free. Well, so far.

So friends, remember this, things aren't always what they seem, quantity ($$$) does not always mean quality, and less is often more.