Scavenging for a Pocket Watch

A few weeks ago, I went looking for a pocket watch with a friend. He had a pocket watch before, but it was stolen from him. He been wanting to get a new pocket watch for a while, so I finally decided to help him get one again. I knew that pocket watches were easy to find if you looked and bought them online, but my friend wanted to physically search for one, so we did just that.

First, we tried to get it at the place he got his first pocket watch, which was at Kohl's, but there was none in the store. After leaving the store, I didn't want to give up then and really wanted to help my friend find a pocket watch.

I started thinking of possible places that would sell pocket watches. I called a few department stores, such as Marshalls, Ross, and Burlington Coat Factory, but those places didn't have it.  I didn't really expect pocket watches to be that hard to find. Then, I thought about other places and Sears had one in store, so I asked for them to hold it. However, pocket watch we saw at Sears was pretty expensive and had a big picture of a railroad, which wasn't really the pocket watch my friend was looking for. My friend thought of the idea to check out stores at the mall and so we checked out a few jewelry stores, but a lot of the jewelry stores had watches, but no pocketwatches. Some jewelry stores had pocket watches, but the pocket watches were expensive. One customer service associate at a jewelry store told me she was only ever asked twice about pocket watches during her whole duration of working there. We not only checked the department stores and jewelry stores at the mall, but we also checked other possible places that might have them, such as Spencers or Zumiez.

After browsing through the mall, I realized that the best plan for the moment was just to call places  and ask if they had pocket watches for sale. I probably made around 15 phone calls that day. I called jewelry stores, department stores, and some other places. I even tried calling the Men's Warehouse, but when I asked about pocket watches, all I can hear the associate say is "no, this is a toilet store". Next, I thought that antique shops would be a good place to ask for pocket watches. A few that I called didn't have any. Finally, I called an antique shop and they had a wide selection of pocket watches and I was smiling. But, I asked about the price range of the pocket watches and associate said "around $300-700," which was really out of my friend's budget.

At that moment, I thought to myself what place would sell pocket watches, but also who would buy pocket watches in this day of age and why. The thought that immediately came to me were people who performed and dressed up and accessorized for Halloween, event, or maybe just because. That's when the idea of costume shops came to me and I knew exactly which costume place to call. When I called the costume shop, the place not only had pocket watches for sale, but also it was reasonable prices and they were able to make a hold on the item until we arrived. When we arrived, I noticed that there was a pocket watch in display, but it wasn't for sale. Only two pocket watches in the locations were available, but both looked pretty nice and I think better looking than the ones I saw at the more expensive locations. My friend also noticed that there was a railroad on the one he did used and asked if there was any significance or relationship of railroads and pocket watches. That question stuck in my mind and I decided to do some online research and found out that some pocket watches were approved for railroad use to help avoid risks of accidents through accurate timing, which I thought was pretty cool.

What do I share with the world?

A long time ago, when I ran out of ideas for this blog. I was searching and reading articles or other blogs. Somehow, someway, I came across a few interesting questions that I feel I would love answering. However, I did not feel like answering the questions at that particular moment, so I saved them as a draft until I came up with the moment when I was inspired to answer one of those questions.

So, today, I finally finished answering one of those questions.

"If you weren’t waiting to be good enough, smart enough, skilled enough or rich enough — what would you share with the world?"

I'm not particularly any of those. I have never defined myself as the person who was "good enough, smart enough, skilled enough or rich enough". For me, I'm always reaching out to improve myself and to better understand the world. I feel that through trying to improving myself I'm not only helping myself, but also others.

I feel that I do work "hard enough", if given the opportunity, so I will contribute by trying to do my best to complete my work. Some people don't think about it too often, but things that people do are being listened or being paid attention to by others. So, if I work "hard enough" often I can inspire maybe just one or a few to work "hard enough" as well. Also, if I am working "hard enough" I'm sharing with the world that I'm willing to provide my best effort in making improvements and doing my best to provide the best quality.

My curiosity has allowed me to connect more surroundings, but also a yearning to understand the world and its mysteries. Through my curiosity, I want to imagine, think outside the box, and explore places I have seen on Pinterest or other places and are far away. What I do with my unique experiences is I share them through my social media and my blog. I share stories that help make people understand, feel, and think. I have also noticed that the little bits of knowledge that I have gained about Davis or Sacramento has made some people's lives just a bit easier when I can tell the person one little detail. Moreover, I see my contribution as being one of those people who keep people informed and give them ideas or inspiration. I see my curiosity as something that is positive and makes me happy, so its good to share that (happiness) with the world.

Open Late in Sacramento/Elk Grove

After hanging out with a friend and constantly thinking about where to go late night, I decided to compile a list of a couple places that I would be likely interested in going to late at night that are either in Sacramento or Elk Grove.  I only looked for places that closed at 11 p.m. or closed later than 11 p.m. on certain days. I couldn't find a coffee place that opened later than 11 p.m, but wished I did find one. I didn't spend much time researching places because I felt that I already got a long enough list to choose from whenever I'm bored at night.

Of course, most of the information I got about the closing hours were from Yelp. If more than one time is listed for a place, that means that each day it closes at a different hour. But, its usually someday on the weekend(s) that it is open later.

Open until 11 p.m.
Rick's Dessert Diner until 11p.m., 12 a.m., or 1 a.m.
Temple Coffee until 11 p.m.
Tupelo Coffeehouse until 11 p.m.
Old Soul at the Weatherstone until 11 p.m.
Tower Cafe until 11 p.m. or 12 a.m.
Leatheryby's Family Creamery until 11 p.m.
Heat Shabu Baru until 11 p.m. 12 or 1 a.m.

Open until 12 a.m.
Ink Eats and Drinks until 1, 2, 3, or 4 a.m.
Sa Rang Bang until 12 a.m. or 2 a.m.
Burgers and Brew until 12 a.m. or 3 a.m.
De Vere's Irish Pub 12 or 2 a.m.
Tapa the World until 12 a.m.
Arigato Sushi until 12 a.m.
Cold Tea Bar until midnight
The Red Rabbit Kitchen or Bar until 12 or 2 a.m.
Firestone Public House until 12 or 2 a.m.
In-N-Out- until 1 or 1:30 a.m.
BJ's Restaurant and Brewery until 12 a.m. or 1 a.m. depending on the day
The Rind until 12 a.m. depending on the day
Roseville Golfland until 12 a.m. on weekends
Scandia Family Fun Center until 12 a.m. on weekends
LazerCraze until 12 a.m. on weekends 

Open until 2 a.m. or later
The Golden Bear until 2 a.m.
The Republic Bar & Grill until 2 a.m.
The Shady Lady Saloon until 2 a.m.
Tank House BBQ and Bar until 2 a.m.
LowBrau until 2 a.m.
Blue Moon Cafe and Karaoke until 2 or 3 a.m.
Petra Greek open until 3 a.m. depending on the day
Wrap N' Roll Burrito until 3 am. some days  - Sacramento Location only

Open 24 hours
Denny's
IHOP
La Garnacha
Original Perry's