Mike Experiences The Internet

Category: Horology

  • 01282026 – Learning from multiple disappointing things

    01282026 – Learning from multiple disappointing things

    An email is shown, letting the recipient know they did not move forward in the admissions process for a watchmaking program.

    I received this email yesterday morning around the time of this post. I was really hoping that I would receive a different version of this email, one that would say that I had been accepted … but the reality is this. After reading this email, I wrote the administrative assistant a really nice thank you note. I was taught to do this many years ago when I was in college, as part of one of my classes (which specialized in mock interviews).

    I also had a learning experience about a recent major purchase that I made. I recently financed a car (!!), and just a few days in; it started to have issues. We still had about a week to bring it back in; but then Winter Storm Fern hit. I was barely able to get out yesterday to return the car to the dealership, and all is well on that front.

    It is very hard to not give up when things are like this, and I feel that in the context of the last few months that I’m very close to doing just that.

    I just hope that things get better soon, because I’m tired of being sad and angry at everything (and everyone).

  • 01262026 – The Horology Confinement

    01262026 – The Horology Confinement

    It’s been a while since I’ve done a horology post, but seeing as we are snowed in and can’t really go anywhere; why not right?

    It will soon be time to find out whether or not I made it past the essay process; and just like being a caregiver I’m going to see this through to the bitter end.

  • Horology and Biopsies

    You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. – Wayne Gretzky

    After our recent appointment with the doctor, and on the way home; we discussed not only the biopsy appointment (which is at 7am local time tomorrow as of 2:30pm EDT on October 14th, 2025), but also the horology program at Rolex.

    I know what you’re thinking … you’re talking about watches whenever your wife is having a procedure done?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!

    To my credit, I did find out about the Rolex Watchmaker Training Center prior to the cancer diagnosis; via notable YouTube creator (and watch boutique owner) Teddy Baldassare posting a video about American watchmakers being in short supply; and that Rolex was trying to step in and help fill that void … and that their training center was close to home. And come to find out, so is the training center for the Swatch group.

    Let me explain. We live near Tyler, Texas; a town of about 105,000 … and the Dallas-Ft. Worth metropolitan area is about 90 minutes away from our apartment. It just so happens that Rolex has a service center in Dallas; and the Swatch group service center is in Ft. Worth. Both programs are extremely competitive in their admissions process; with less than 50 persons accepted into their respective programs yearly. Where the programs deviate from each other is that with the Rolex program, you are guaranteed employment with a above average yearly salary at one of their ADs (short term for Authorized Dealer), but with the Swatch program you earn a industry-wide certification that can find you employment at any establishment that services watches, not just Rolex dealers and boutiques.

    (If any of my tech friends are reading, the differences between the two would be akin to learning how to repair Apple devices in the case of Rolex, and Android devices in the case of Swatch).

    I am going to try to apply for the Rolex program, confident that I can get through the admissions process and become a student.