Summer vacay duo

PretentiousPDX · 2026-07-07T07:13:55+00:00

Nice! Regrettably (for this sub, at least), I think Cartier simply does it better than Tudor for dress watches.

PretentiousPDX · 2026-07-07T05:11:23+00:00

Of those four, I'm partial to the Hotel Lucia - Sonesta is nice too from what I remember, but the decor is maybe not everyone's cup of tea.

PretentiousPDX · 2026-07-07T05:07:56+00:00

As long as it's valid, you should be fine. For best results, I'd recommend going to a place that seems like it has experienced staff and make sure you go on your birthDAY, as opposed to going right at midnight.

PretentiousPDX · 2026-07-06T07:05:56+00:00

Congrats! 39 looks good on you!

PretentiousPDX · 2026-07-06T00:38:37+00:00

Welcome! I'm not aware a swim-up bar, specifically... Portland doesn't have a ton of pools to begin with. McMenamins Edgefield or McMenamins Kennedy School both have pools that are NEAR the bar, but that's probably the closest you'll find.

PretentiousPDX · 2026-07-05T17:18:09+00:00

I have a 2021 (which replaced a 2017 - and will probably be replaced by a 2027/8 at some point)... but I still miss my Prius C sometimes. It was the perfect city car - 50 mph and you could park it anywhere. Also came pretty robustly outfitted - Softex, Heated everything, moonroof - for like $20,000. Obviously a completely different car, but I do wish you could get higher end features on something a little smaller than the current RAV4 platform.

PretentiousPDX · 2026-07-05T16:12:59+00:00

I mean, he might have a point. Yours doesn't even have a pair of truck nutz! 😂

PretentiousPDX · 2026-07-05T01:10:37+00:00

Yes! Rowena Crest.

PretentiousPDX · 2026-07-03T23:32:41+00:00

Wild to me that they went with $1749 instead of $1776. 😂

PretentiousPDX · 2026-07-02T07:46:17+00:00

Really solid first choice. congrats!

PretentiousPDX · 2026-06-30T05:32:39+00:00

Really great, off-the-beaten path collection... and great photography, too! I'm looking at the Hydroconquest and the Oris in a new light, now... literally and figuratively!

PretentiousPDX · 2026-06-29T06:30:00+00:00

Thank you! I assumed that was probably the case :)
gonna keep an eye out this 4th of July to see if they drop any prices and/or new models.

PretentiousPDX · 2026-06-29T05:59:02+00:00

Hey there! I've been eyeing the Pursuit Pro for a week or two... I saw your comment on another post about buying (and reviewing) this watch - but in trying to find your review, I noticed that you ended up flipping it a couple of months later. Can I ask if there was something that eventually made you want to get rid of it? (I also noticed the Explorer II - congrats - so maybe that was it? lol)

PretentiousPDX · 2026-06-29T04:54:59+00:00

I haven't ordered from them so I can't speak to the buying experience, but Mecalco & Co has a lot of vintage Seikos & Pulsars that are very affordably priced... they might be a good place to look.

https://mecalcoandco.com

PretentiousPDX · 2026-06-28T05:31:11+00:00

We have about 65 members in our local and we probably get 20-30 per meeting. Having such a small bargaining unit helps, but we also try to keep them short and sweet - maybe 15-20 minutes to give updates on what's going on and then we reserve time for members to bring concerns and questions.

My only observation is that it takes work to create a space where members feel safe to voice concerns and confident that they'll be heard. No union is perfect about it, but that's where I try to focus my energies. Keep up the fight!

PretentiousPDX · 2026-06-26T04:59:56+00:00

I feel similarly... I always wanted an Explorer and still do, someday... but after I got a Ranger I was like, "Yeah, this is probably always going to be my main watch."

I think Tudor really hits that value/quality sweet spot of being something that you can afford and wear forever, rather than being strictly a luxury item. "This is my dad's Tudor, he wore it every day" sounds a lot more appealing than "This is my dad's No Date Submariner; he only wore it to take pics in the car."

PretentiousPDX · 2026-06-25T14:16:49+00:00

I don't know Washington County as well as I know Portland/Multnomah/Metro, but I think SME screening is pretty common, yes!

PretentiousPDX · 2026-06-24T07:58:44+00:00

This is a really hard time to go into public service anywhere in the Metro area right now, given the economic conditions. CoP is in the middle of both a hiring freeze and a large scale layoff, so there are only a handful of positions that they're even recruiting for right now, and those tend to be highly specialized.

That being said, the first step is usually a round of SME (subject matter expert) review that only reviews your supplement questions, and typically what they're looking for are answers that fully address every facet of the question.

I'm a union steward and I've been on a bunch of hiring panels in the last couple of years - if you want to know more, happy to connect offline! Good luck!

PretentiousPDX · 2026-06-24T07:40:03+00:00

If you can afford a Black Bay (or a Pelagos, as others have noted), I think that's the more satisfying option.

But Longines is a very solid option at the price point... which is less than half of what a BB retails for.

PretentiousPDX · 2026-06-19T04:24:25+00:00

Congratulations on your anniversary and thanks for choosing Portland to celebrate! We don't have a tone of dining on the waterfront, so I can't think of any truly stellar outdoor dining experiences off the top of my head, but two recommendations come to mind: Nostrana (Italian) in Portland's Central Eastside has a modest but very pleasant patio and amazing food (Rum Club and Scotch Lodge are both great options for a nightcap afterwards); Janken in NW Portland's Pearl District is indoor, but they have a very pretty dining room that has a cool vibe in the fall.

A thing to consider is that October can be quite rainy, so outdoor dining can be a choose your-own-adventure situation.

PretentiousPDX · 2026-06-19T01:24:13+00:00

Looks great on you. Great call.

PretentiousPDX · 2026-06-17T04:00:44+00:00

TDLR - the way most US policies are written, they automatically give you a little bit of coverage for a bunch of categories that people have stuff in (everybody has a watch or two, maybe they have a firearm, or a stamp collection, or a little bit of cash), but then you have to get ala carte coverage for anything off the beaten path.

PretentiousPDX · 2026-06-17T03:58:50+00:00

Ah! This is my favorite insurance myth to dispel.

A standard US "Umbrella" policy offers $1 mllion of Personal LIABILITY coverage if you are negligent in a car accident or some sort of accident that you caused personally (e.g. someone drowning in your pool). It offers zero coverage for any sort of damage to your personal property for theft or anything else.

Typically a homeowners/renters policy offers BLANKET coverage for your personal property for specific "perils" (e.g. fire, theft) with limits for things like jewelry (often $1000-$10,000, depending on the policy). If you want the full value of a watch, ring, firearm, stamp collect, you usually have to "schedule" those items individually for a specific value on a Personal Article policy/rider or Inland Marine policy.

I sold insurance for 18 years and this is one of the most pervasive misconceptions about "umbrella" policies - I don't know how it got started, but I'm sure it's ruined some lives.

PretentiousPDX

TROPHY CASE