I'd fallen in love with podcasts. "This American Life", "Vinyl Café," BBC documentaries, audiodharma, radio plays, zencasts, language-learning lessons and the like. Thanks to an Audible.com subscription a few years ago I have a couple of dozen audiobooks in electronic format. And of course there's the addictive lure of all those music tracks just a few clicks away. Want four recordings of the first movement of Schubert's "Death and the Maiden" quartet? Clickety-click.Except that I had nothing with which to carry all this content around with me. Sophie and Erin own Nanos that they bought with their own money. I was gradually developing iPod envy. So one morning I wondered to myself how much a little iPod shuffle would cost me. I started looking at prices. Not as good as I had hoped.
I decided to take a peek on eBay. I'm a pretty restrained eBay user. I do my research, I don't get caught up in bidding wars and I have the restraint necessary to step back from something I've got my heart set on if the price isn't right. So I put in my search criteria. I wanted cheap, I didn't care if I got a cord or earbuds or any of the peripherals. I didn't need a lot of capacity. I clicked search and started browsing at the top of the list. By the time I realized that the unit at the top of the list was the perfect condition, capacity, price and location, there was a scant 53 seconds left in the auction. With my speediest eBay skills I checked the seller's feedback, read the fine print and assured myself that it was what I wanted. I bid with 4 seconds left and won it for thirty bucks and change. I think about three and a half minutes had elapsed between when I'd said "I wonder how much a little Shuffle would cost?" and when I had bought myself a 2 MB first-gen. Nano. I'm particularly thrilled that I got it used, my anti-consumerism values being what they are these days.
It arrived 4 days later. I've had it about 3 weeks now and I am so happy. Even folding laundry has a certain attraction to it now, provided my iPod is charged up.
I, too, love my iPod Nano! I was nodding and chuckling to myself as I read your post because I got a cheap iPod from eBay for Hubby who promptyl sold it and got a different one. Oh well, I tried!
ReplyDeleteAs far as folding laundry goes, I'm not sure even an iPod ought to help with that! Laundry is just.... well, laundry. The only thing that helps me to like it is when Hubby does it for me!
But glad you're enjoying your podcasts and audio books. If you get looking, there are a lot of post-copyright free audio books out there too. Nice for long car rides.
Congrats on your great eBay score. We have the opposite problem, awash in Shuffles and iPods but I can't usually use them - my kids are of the age where I need to be able to hear what is going on (or note when they are too quiet - always a sign of trouble, lol). Three Cheers for the podcast!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations!
ReplyDeleteI have yet to get a nano or a shuffle...
Just sign me "One foot stuck firmly in the 20th century."
Now I have iPod envy! It was starting with DH and his 2, and this post has just cemented it. We are allowed to put Suzuki music on the Shuffle to go on holiday, as DS's sleepy music and to make sure he does listen. But I don't get to listen, and DH isn't happy about me resetting his Shuffle just when he has got it nicely organised. If DS weren't unable to go to sleep without music, I don't think it would've got filled last holiday and I would've been a restless and concerned Suzuki mom. Of course I don't actually have a Mac, and barely know how to load songs, but still....
ReplyDelete