iPod

At long last, I have joined the mainstream and gotten an iPod. I had an mp3 player from Dell, and it just wasn't very good. It doesn't work with my Gateway, and it seems to have some kind of nervous breakdown every time I try to cut it on or off.

Since I loved it when it worked, I decided I wanted another one, but since a good one is pretty costly, it's been low on my list of things to get. The other day, though, Dad gave me some money and told me to "Go buy something shiny."

It was so sad. I sat there with the money in hand, and I really, really couldn't think of anything on which to spend it. I've been a poor teacher so long that my first thought was, "I'll pay a bill with it or save it for Christmas shopping." Dad told me, "No bills, nothing sensible. Go buy something you want. Go buy something shiny." A minute later, the idea of an iPod struck.

Thursday, I went to pick up my package from FedEx, and Thursday night I stayed up late setting my new iPod nano. I LOVE it. It's bright red, very thin, and appealingly square. It shows the cover art of all the albums it contains.

My favorite part of it though, is that I can now get podcasts. My old mp3 player wouldn't and couldn't handle that. Now, I can get all those wonderful NPR and PRI shows that I always miss and listen to them during my off period or while I'm waiting somewhere. It's wonderful. I listened to Highway 61 in my classroom Friday afternoon, and I'll get a new episode delivered tonight. It's like a magazine subscription for my ears.

Yesterday afternoon, I was waiting to meet my family to go out to eat, and I went to our local bookstore. I got the latest copy of Mental Floss, a green tea frappe, and commandeered one of the "good" leatherette chairs. I spent a pleasant hour that way with my little iPod screening out the querulous gossiping of old women and the frantic begging for sweets of little kids. Last night, I hooked it to the little stereo I have in my bedroom and read while listening to a podcast. Pure luxury.

Even though I know iPods are annoyingly "mainstream", their ubiquitous status isn't going to keep me from giggling gleefully each time I slip the tiny little white headphones into my ears. It's amazing how much pleasure something small and shiny can give.