RIP: My First iPod 2005-2006

Dearly beloved we gather here today to pay tribute and say goodbye to my first iPod. It was just under two years ago when I first met my iPod. At first I was resistant. Did I really want to be another jackass walking around with their white ear plugs? However, I was buying a new computer and it seemed like a now or never opportunity. Then Apple began the final seduction and reduced their prices. My eyes immediately wandered to the metallic green iPod mini and eyed her up and down. She had the capacity to hold 1000 songs and she was small enough to fit in my pocket. I decided to engrave my gift to myself with the words “What now? Now what?” As I began my iPod journey, I certainly thought those words indeed.

Of course if you’ve been here before you know that our relationship blossomed. Me and my iPod rediscovered my love for music together as we loaded old obscure CDs from boxes in my closet. Then we even embraced the kinky life when we dared to try new things from the iTunes store. My iPod and I went everywhere; the car, work, the mall. Everyplace we went she always could surprise me. Sometimes she’d play the perfect song at the perfect time but at other’s she could be surprisingly inappropriate. She often liked to tell people my top 25 songs and sometimes that could bit sticky when she played Hilary Duff. Still she was my constant companion and I thought we’d never be separated.

As our relationship wore on though we encountered some bumps in the road. One such problem was her complete lack of energy. I know, I know, usually this is the man’s problem but in this case the iPod had the problem. Of course I’m not without fault as sometimes I didn’t give her enough time to charge up. Still she just kept quitting on me and during inopportune times such as dee-jaying a post wedding party. I thought about getting her some help maybe taking her in somewhere to get her a new set of batteries but the cost was pretty high and it’s not like she brought any money into the household. Soon I started looking at my friend’s iPods with their color screens and their smaller sizes. I started to do things like leaving her home on a Saturday night and listening to tracks directly to the computer. I’m sure she knew something was up but she could never be ready for my final betrayal.

Last Friday, we woke up and everything seemed fine. I drove in to work for a couple of hours and listened to my iPod as I walked from my car to the office. After work she got plugged in to the car and we played together as I did some shopping. Later in the day I met up with my mom and while I wasn’t driving my car, my iPod still went along for the ride in my pocket. I feel like such a coward because the first thing my old iPod saw when she was removed from my pocket was the sight of a new 30GB iPod staring back at her. I can’t imagine what went through her head as I measured her side by side and made open comments about her weight. She went back in my pocket before I made the purchase but I’m pretty sure she knew that was the end of the line.

I did feel bad so when we got home that night I spruced up the drawer next to my desk and put my old iPod away before I pulled out her replacement. I still plan on keeping in touch with my 1st iPod is she’ll have me. Maybe we’ll go over to a friends place or on a trip but sadly our days of living together are over.





BONUS RIP (Beware Veronica Mars Spoilers Below)




I also wanted to pay a quick tribute to Dean O’Dell who left us all too soon last night on Veronica Mars. It was the best TV roll I’ve seen Ed Begley Jr. since St. Elsewhere and it actually reminded me more of his performances in A Mighty Wind and other Christopher Guest flicks. Poor Ed really did good work here which is why his death is a great springboard into the second arc of this season’s show. In most hands the role of the asshole Dean can be one note, no matter the writing, but Ed hit a home run. So here’s to Ed’s resurgent career and hoping he lands another sweet job on an equally entertaining show…at least he went out with a bang.