I can't believe I actually wrote a big, long blog about a freaking iPod

(I wanted my blog to be more ordinary, and now I just feel shallow. Forgive me.)

 

Both the husband and I enjoy music, although he on a larger scale than I. While he is searching eBay for a perfect deal on surround sound speakers and endlessly tweaking the settings on the stereo receiver, I am perfecting my iTunes playlists, researching iPods, and contemplating the best brand of earbuds for sound quality.

 

I've been pining for a new iPod for awhile now. The used one we purchased last summer has turned out not to be worth the money it saved us. The sound is distorted at times, the volume level keeps getting worse, and recently the click wheel has been acting up. I have been sucking it up and dealing with it (no small feat, considering I listen to it constantly—while working out, while driving, and all day while working), but last week I caved and started looking into the cheapest way to get a new one.

 

Thanks to some patience and some clever eBay bidding, I found a brand-new 4th generation 8 GB nano for about 2/3rd of the retail price (a total which technically is about equal to my share of some yet-unspent Christmas money from months ago...so when you play little mind games with yourself, you can believe it was basically free. Not that that matters, but it did something to ease my "Is this expense necessary or frivolous?" internal battle over the little 1.5" X 3.5" piece of machinery). It arrived on Wednesday—a little purple gem nestled in bubble wrap and a clear plastic box inside a bubble envelope. Resisting the urge to tear it open with my teeth and start using it right away, I decided to be patient and wait until its accessories (specifically, the hard case) arrive. Meanwhile I let it spend a day plugged into iTunes, charging its battery and loading itself with music I would be enjoying (clearly! and loudly!) all too soon.

 

Fast forward to last night. Wait, I should back up a little. Several years ago when I got my first iPod (a 2 GB 2nd generation nano that now belongs to Craig), I became enthralled with the Apple-brand earbuds. Until then, I had hated earbuds—they hurt my ears, they always fell out, the sound was crap, etc.—and opted for headphones. But all that changed once I discovered the bonafide, name-brand, meant-for-my-iPod-and-my-iPod-was-meant-for-them earbuds. I don't know what it is, but the sound quality is phenomenal through those little guys. They retail for around $30 (!!??!), but they come standard with any new iPod. So imagine how crushed I was when I discovered that Obie (the 20+ lb spaz cat from outer space) had chewed through the cord. Since then, I have been making do with lesser earbuds, on the prowl for a generic set that can deliver the same quality (to no avail).

 

End sidenote.

 

Fast forward to last night. I'm checking my email and a flash of brilliant purple catches my eye. I glance over to see my new little toy sitting there patiently on top of the computer tower. I think it actually winked at me. So I thought, to heck with it. Case or no case, I'm going to unplug this girl and take her for a spin. I reached for my new (and long-awaited) pair of Apple-brand earbuds and flick the wheel to a favorite old song ("Inside Out" by Eve 6). To my surprise, the intro is only playing in my right ear. Desperate to find a reason other than the inevitable one I'm dreading, I think to myself, "Maybe the song starts this way. I'll bet it does. This is the acoustic part—once the drums kick in, I'm sure I'll get sound through both speakers."

 

Nope.

 

With a sick feeling in my heart, I slowly look down at the cord and discover what I had most feared—there's a spot where the outer rubber coating is broken and there are wires sticking out. Whether the cat is to blame or this injury was there (but unnoticed) when I opened the box, I don't know. But once I could bear to look over at him, I swear that cat was trying just a little too hard to look cute and innocent.

 

To be honest, I am a little embarrassed at how sad this made me. I just wanted to enjoy the superior sound quality of my new toy (and fully appreciate the difference between it and the broken-down, janked-up one I'd been using for the past year), and now I'd have to wait even longer.

 

Thankfully, I found some factory-sealed Apple earbuds on eBay for $7.99 (Why I never thought to look there before, I don't know), so now it's just a matter of waiting for the mail to get here. Meanwhile, my little purple treasure sits there, waiting much more patiently than I for her full potential to be realized and appreciated.

 

Soon, little one. Soon.