Tuesday, January 30, 2007

You'll never know fear or pain like this

Dear fellow iPod owners,

I guarantee that you have no idea how dependent you are on your iPod. No idea.

Until Monday evening, I was also in the dark about my intense emotional dependency. I was at the grocery store, doing what one does there (y'know, buying groceries and listening to music), and I heard a *crackle crackle* mixed in with the music and then silence. I was immediately certain that it was the headphones. "Crap headphones," I thought to myself, "I'll have to get some new ones ASAP." I think I then added a mental "Stat!" to really hit home the urgency of the situation to myself. Later that evening I thought of going to the gym without my headphones and it instantly became clear that I could never stay put on that crap elliptical machine without either some rockin' tunes or This American Life, so I asked Patty if she had any headphones. Indeed she did and she was cool with lending them too me, even though they were the kind that go in your ear and she doesn't even know what kind of ear hygiene I have (by the way, I have really good ear hygiene). New headphones in hand, I decide a test run is in order: I plug them in, I scroll around on the strange little iPod wheel to find a song, I press play, I wait, I wait, I wait--you get the point. Nothing. I try plugging it into my speakers. Nothing. I start to shake. Stay calm, Claire, stay calm. Look for iPod box, find iPod box, look at receipt and warranty information: warranty ran out on January 3. Shaking resumes. Depression sets in instantly. How could this be? Just one year with my iPod and this is it? I felt like I had been dumped by my soul mate--how could I continue living without the iPod?

Now this is the part where most of you are thinking "Claire, you are just way too nuts about your portable MP3 player" and this is also the part where I tell you, if you are a portable MP3 player owner, that you just don't know what it's like until you go through it.

Alright, to make a long story, well, not short but less long at least, I can tell you that I eventually got the idea of restoring the factory settings and low and behold the iPod caressed my ears with its sweet sweet melodies again.

Moral of the story: To avoid immeasurable pain and anguish, make sure your iPod is still under warranty and if it is, buy the extended warranty. And just acknowledge to yourself the fact that you are totally in love with it and couldn't live without it.
The bliss of an iPod brought back to life.


A appreciative snuggly moment with the iPod.


9 comments:

Rhiannon said...

i am completely obsessed with my ipod! i got the new black nano after christmas, and i never, NEVER leave the house without it.

Katie said...

I remember my iPod died in Uganda and I didn't have it for TWO months because the internet connection was so slow and it kept crashing when I tried to reload iTunes. It was really sad. I think I tried about 15 times. So I listened to the world BBC service instead. Except I kept losing it on the dial. Still don't know how that happened.

al said...

I had no fricking clue that you had a blog. I'm so behind. I promise to catch up.

And share the ipod love. Which lets me walk down the street in Toronto and not hate every person that I see.

Anonymous said...

I often wonder what the perpetual ipod/mp3 player/general-headphone-sporting says about our communication with others. Clearly, we want to block them out most of the time. Well I do, in any case. I sometimes feel even guilty about wearing my ipod all the time. Like, sometimes I force myself to turn it off, just to prove to myself that I can. Weird. I prolly shouldn't think too much about that. Mostly, though, I happily give in to my addiction and bop along to the beat!

Tasha said...

I totally understand the iPod obsession. I didn't understand it until I got one, but I've had mine for about a year and a half and I love it dearly. I wouldn't say it's my favorite electronic gadget--I love my computer more (but don't tell my iPod I said that)--but should it die, more than few tears would be shed.

By the way, I'm a friend of Alli's.

skhl said...

I LOVE salami too. I crave it all the time. Some one once said "salami is the ice cream of lunch meats." That some one was not me but I agree.

Katie said...

updateeeee blogggggg

I'm bored. I have checked your site at least 7 times today.

Joyce Chapman, Consultant for Communications & Data Analysis said...

ok claire, take it up a notch. im ready for your next blog post. we have finals this week, just so you know, i am sitting at my desk with nothing to do but blog patrol for 8 hours a day.

Maria said...

My ipod love has skyrocketed since my Canadian friend informed me that most of CBC's sweetness is available via podcast. I'm gearing up for a walk through the woods to the soothing sounds of "Ideas" as I write.