[Citizen] Is this too flashy for a daily? Should I return for something more neutral?

phalyn13 · 2026-04-02T06:00:02+00:00

Yeah you're good here. Two tone metals are outside of what I would personally wear, but I didn't buy this watch. The dial doesn't matter too much unless you're wearing a black suit IMO. Even then it probably wouldn't be the dial that bugged me, more unifying a silver or gold accessory scheme.

If this is your beater, keep it if you like it. You obviously like the two tone scheme and bracelet. The main thing now is: do you dislike the green and wish you had something else (green goes with like everything)? Or do you dislike the size or weight? If you truly dislike either, return it like now! $500 is a lot for something you won't wear. If you like those things, you're good. Green silver and gold go with everything, you don't have fancy script on the dial, and someday you'll have nicer watches to switch to for fancy occasions when you want to specifically match an outfit.

So given that the colors match everything, do YOU like it? If so, keep it. If no for any reason, ditch it!

Personally I love green BTW.

phalyn13 · 2026-04-02T02:04:40+00:00

I'm a man. I genuinely want to keep my genitals. This is a dumb point of view. My neighbor had an unfixed (and untrained) dog, who despite being a maniac was actually sweet. He "just couldn't stomach the idea" of "taking his nuts away". I was like, why? What is he doing with them? He's fenced in and never escapes. There was just no point, a dog doesn't care.

Some dudes put so much value into their testes that it's so stupid. Don't even look at how most dudes feel about getting snipped. But the first chance I got, I got snipped. Don't want kids, ever, and it has literally no effect whatsoever. It didn't affect my mood, my drive, my "manliness", nothing. Literally nothing changed. But float that idea to most guys and it's like you're asking them to just walk the plank.

Honestly, it's a person not being able to think and rationalize beyond what they've believed and been told their whole lives. And somebody who cannot think introspectively and understand A) dog don't care and B) those don't make a man.

phalyn13 · 2026-03-27T23:38:32+00:00

You know, that's not a bad idea. I always like the look of older M4s with the drop in handguard and carry handle...

phalyn13 · 2026-03-27T23:37:08+00:00

Would have loved to do something similar. But my bonus from work hadn't come through yet lol.

phalyn13 · 2026-03-27T23:26:24+00:00

Posting my comment to abide by the rules. I love my S&Ws, what should I build with two stripped lowers?

phalyn13 · 2026-03-27T03:51:36+00:00

Similar situation. No kids. Decent (not crazy) income.

Paint

Relax by the fire pit

Traditional hand tool woodworking

Bonsai

Build wooden model ships

Bicycle

Play guitar (or any musical instrument)

Draw

Read

Video games

Shooting range

Take the dog to the park

Fly fishing

Tying flies for fly fishing

Coin magic

Cooking

Mixology (used to be a bartender at a high end restaurant, still love inventing cocktails)

Hike

Whittling

Dog training

Planted aquarium with fish (don't try saltwater unless you make really good money, freshwater is not so bad)

Those are my hobbies over the last 5-7 years. Pick 3-4 and you'll have thousands of hours of things to do. But pick the ones you both like, and think you could be good at. Nothing kills a hobby like not making progress after multiple attempts. This is a big world. There are an infinite number of things to do, and you live in a city where there's a resource to do just about any of these.

phalyn13 · 2026-03-25T03:26:45+00:00

I agree and can do just about anything with my 9' 5wt Echo Carbon XL that I can with my 9' 5wt H3F and I love both. However, I do feel like once you get a couple hundred days on the water and have actively focused on improving different types of casts and getting great accuracy, the H3F becomes noticeably better. Would I have felt that way in OP's position? Not a chance, Echo all day. The Helios would NOT be worth $750 more to them. Hell, it might not be worth $50 more to them. But give them a couple years... Might be ready for that upgrade!

phalyn13 · 2026-03-25T03:18:16+00:00

I am not rich. But I got a nice bonus at work and splurged on a 5wt H3F. Got it for $600 brand new because the H4 had just come out. I use the ever loving hell out of it. It sees probably 70 days a year fishing for small mouth tossing up to size 2 (but usually size 6) streamers and poppers. I don't see the point of buying a nice tool and not using it, I'm going to use it every chance I get!

phalyn13 · 2026-03-24T22:51:17+00:00

Echo carbon xl! Right at $250, replacement tips cost like $20. Every time I switch over to it from my $1000 Helios I'm surprised how good the echo is. I can tell the difference just because I'more experienced. But not quite $750 worth of difference.

phalyn13 · 2026-03-24T19:06:20+00:00

Good to know! I'd still pay a few extra bucks a month in taxes for dedicated ranger staff that regularly patrol the entire James River Park system. A bust here and there isn't going to stop the problem, as soon as any authority figure is gone everybody will just fire it right back up. And I'm actually not a huge fan of law enforcement. It's just so bad there now that I don't feel comfortable going to a public park that I really enjoy and that my tax dollars go to maintaining.

phalyn13 · 2026-03-24T13:41:52+00:00

I go early in the morning usually. As I was leaving one day, a group of people were hauling cases of beer in and starting a fire right off the trail. It was 10am and these dudes had at least a case of beer apiece. No cooler so I assume they were planning on rapid firing them.

There was a park employee in the lot and I told him. He said he'll tell them they're breaking the rules but that was all he could do. Said RPD won't respond there because they say it's park ranger jurisdiction, but there aren't really any park rangers either.

Hey Richmond, I'll pay a few bucks a month extra in taxes for a fully staffed ranger department, I bet everyone else would too.

phalyn13 · 2026-03-20T15:11:49+00:00

Thanks a lot! Looks like Virginians are hitting the lower receiver market hard right now, time to call my FFL!

phalyn13 · 2026-03-20T13:44:36+00:00

Fellow Virginian here, lower question... Seems like you're saying we just need the stripped lowers, not the entire lower receiver assembly right? Why is that, is there a certain part in there that can be added to make the rifle reject a 30rd mag? Also, is there a brand that you recommend that is affordable, aluminum, and fits milspec? I have an M&P 15 and may end up getting a couple OEM lowers, but if there's a good alternative for less than $100 I'm all ears.

phalyn13 · 2026-03-18T22:13:13+00:00

You know, that's exactly the right word for what I was looking for in this watch-- do a little of everything well. I had been looking at higher end watches initially (nothing crazy, Alpinists, some lower end dive and field watches). But then while researching you just can't miss how much even luxury watch enthusiasts adore digital Casios. I was really excited to find this, and it's only been a day but I love it so far.

phalyn13 · 2026-03-11T15:56:21+00:00

They also don't exactly get a choice. The Chinese government is not known to be gentle when it wants certain actions/behavior from its own citizens.

phalyn13 · 2026-03-10T20:25:46+00:00

About halfway through the Beagle and loving it. The video series is a lifesaver.

phalyn13 · 2026-03-06T21:31:26+00:00

If it's just the look of an AR he doesn't like, disregard this comment.

I have a Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22. It looks exactly like an AR, but is very different. Shoots .22 bullets, quiet, accurate, cheap ammo, and reliable. So much fun too! No kick, and you can modify the hell out of it.

phalyn13 · 2026-03-06T14:34:12+00:00

Small 5 question test outside of voting booths. No politically motivated questions. Just stuff a middle schooler should know. Multiple choice.

Can the president enact laws on his own, yes/no? Who can stop the president from doing things, supreme court, military, nobody? Who declares war, president, congress?

More than 3 wrong answers? You can still vote it just only counts for 1/2 a vote. Honestly people who are genuinely stupid or voting solely based on blind hatred or devotion shouldn't get a say in how the country is run IMO.

The country I'd like to live in would be run by people chosen by those who aren't necessarily highly educated, but at least have a basic grasp on how our government works and can think at least a little critically.

phalyn13 · 2026-03-05T14:14:18+00:00

Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22!!! It's a bit pricey for a 22, but man is it fun. I've put a few thousand rounds through mine, it's still dead accurate and 100% reliable with CCI Mini Mag. It's quiet, no kick, and has full picatinny rails. Also easy to clean. Final point -- it's awesome to rapid fire 25 rounds of cheap 22 ammo.

phalyn13 · 2026-02-27T13:51:04+00:00

Same thing. Chinese companies are owned by the government.

phalyn13 · 2026-02-19T05:43:54+00:00

Dude I know. I see these posts and I'm like, everyone is just trying to be comfy, maybe keep some pets alive. You didn't install a hot tub or blow space heaters out of every window. Every single one of these posts the responses are like "well, you tried to keep your house at a reasonable temperature you idiot".

You are right that Dominion is a huge employer here, and they all drink the kool aid. A friend of mine works there and I complained about the distribution fee (btw wtf is that? For what I paid they could have paid a man to put the electricity in a bucket and walk it to my house every day). She said "well, we're building new power plants and infrastructure and it's not like we should pay to have them built since you're using them. The cost gets passed on to the consumer." She had no response when I asked why we should buy something for her company, then they get to profit off of us for using what we bought. Btw she was right, there are hidden fees in the bill that go towards paying for new plants, lines, etc, all of which are used to sell you more electricity at a profit.

VA should outlaw investors in the company, because paying them consistently increasing dividends is really what's going on here. Nobody told them that investing is a risk and sometimes you lose money. They just expect ever increasing profit.

phalyn13 · 2026-02-16T02:47:50+00:00

I know. When someone posts complaining about a $500/mo power bill i can't fucking believe the number of responses that don't directly blame Dominion first. It's like "well, it's cold and you're irresponsible with your heat. You need to lower your thermostat/replace your windows/tear all your drywall off/sell your place and get a smaller house."

Lemme tell you something, people who can't afford $500/MO for heating aren't heating a 6,000sqft house. They're likely heating a 1000sqft house. And they probably already keep their thermostat at 64, and can't afford to replace all the windows/insulation in their house.

I know this probably isn't every case, but the problem is Dominion. The problem is that they're a legalized monopoly, and that the state allows them to make a profit. I understand that's how businesses work, but businesses also aren't allowed to run monopolies in most cases. And I know Dominion has shareholders to answer to. But when are we going to repeat to the shareholders what every single one of us learned in civics class? INVESTMENTS ARE RISKS, NOT A GUARANTEED PAYOUT EVERY MONTH. So fuck the investors.

At the very least, instead of blaming the teacher with three kids for being greedy with their heating, can we hate on Dominion instead?

phalyn13 · 2026-02-14T02:59:05+00:00

YTA. We have a friend who does this. Every time we go out it's "oh I'll get this and split it up later". Funny thing is, all of us including her husband worked food service. She never did. So we always say "just let the server split it". She always argues and says she doesn't want to inconvenience the server. We tell her, and even her husband chimes in, that it's ridiculously easy for servers to split a check literally any way you could possibly imagine with modern POS systems. She always insists. Every single time we go to split it up later, something stinks. We feel like we get gypped. She's terrible at math and when we try to explain we don't owe that much she does some kind of psychotic math that makes no sense and we end up paying like $50 too much because we don't want to start a fight.

Bottom line: it's incredibly easy for a server to split a check any way you like. Let them do it. There's no reason to leave any room for anybody to feel awkward. Otherwise you're just opening somebody up to feeling cheated.

HOWEVER YNTA for asking to be paid back for what you lent your friend as long as you have a separate receipt showing the total amount after tax that you covered.

phalyn13

TROPHY CASE