It’s time to admit it: being absent minded is my thing. D’oh. One of the things that irritate my other half about me… and one of the things that characterise me – whether I like it or not. After 41 years, I… lost my watch for a first time. Never too late to do something as stupid as this!

Could have been much worse, I know, but still a loss I found difficult to get over.

After a week of mourning (and feeling totally lost without a watch, even with a phone constantly within safe reach), I decided to go to the same shop where I got my lost watch… only to buy one very similar to it (how predictable, hey). Similar shape, colour and design, a bit bigger and with lots more of a bling. Why know. At least I didn’t pay too much money: not worth it, is it, as I have now officially admitted being absent minded.

I was told by a specialist some time back that being absent minded is not necessarily a bad thing – it signifies that you just, simply, have too much on your mind. Good excuse, and definitely one to make you feel better about yourself.

Enjoying my new watch, I decided to put up with the fact its hands didn’t glow in the dark, as well as the lack of calendar. At least it was a new accessory, and any change of accessories is good. I am a woman, after all!

Until one day, just over a month later, I realised the metal was losing its glossy finish and was starting to reveal the horrible brass underneath. Yuk. I sunk even more when I calculated how long it had been since I bought it. Enough, I thought, not to be able to take it back.

Feeling lucky today, I decided to dare and go back to that shop. To find out that they actually operate a 45-day return guarantee (rather than the standard 28-day one)! The very helpful lady who served me had, apparently, never seen a strap losing its colour like this, and happily took the watch back. ‘Would you like to replace it with the same one?’, she asked. You can easily guess what my response to this was. Now, excitedly, I had a wide choice again, looking for yet another new watch for myself. That posh Seiko did catch my attention, but my, was it within my budget…

So, after a careful consideration of all my options, what I bought… is exactly the same watch I lost. How sad is that, you’d groan!!

Could it be that this was my safest choice: a watch I had for three years that never faded in colour and I was perfectly happy with? Or maybe because this is what I like, after all. As simple as that: I just can’t escape my own taste.

Same as my choice of perfumes. A few times I have tried (very hard!) to find another brand to like. No success there either. No matter how many different perfumes I smelled, I still got myself a Calvin Klein. This just seems to be the brand for me. Now I’m not even trying to look for a new brand, as any new CK perfumes are guaranteed to hit the spot for me.

Sad? Or maybe not! It is, actually, good to know that there is something you like that never changes. Admittedly, this does result in a lesser variety of accessories and cosmetics… but is this necessarily bad? Not for me. Apparently!