An iPod’s Tale

Not many posts last week, first the kids were sick, then I came down with it. No fun. No Energy.

Nonetheless, one thing worth noting did happen to me this week. I finally got my iPod.

For the last three years, every Birthday, Anniversary and Christmas my wife asks me, “What do you want for [insert occasion here]?”

To which I reply, “An iPod.”

Alas, for a variety of reasons, no iPod arrived on the scene.

When the iPod Shuffle first came out, I went down and bought one. It works, but, 1gb of storage is grossly inadequate for my 20gb music collection.

A few weeks ago, when Apple announced the new 5.5th generation iPods, a sudden rush of returns/refurbs showed up at a decent discount on the Apple store online. I decided I’d buy a 2gb Nano for my wife. When it arrived, I was really impressed. Apple refurb process had made it “new” again. (Unlike some of the old, coffee-stained refurbed equipment they sell at Fry’s Electronics.) I was so impressed, I decided to buy a 30gb iPod with Video.

It arrived Thursday, coinciding with my getting sick, so I was at home when it arrived. Apple requires that Fedex collect a signature, so my wife was alerted and I was ready also. being sick, though, I fell asleep.

Something woke me at 11:45. I just happened to be facing the window when I awoke and saw the Fedex truck drive off. Hurray! My iPod was here! I leapt off the bed and promptly collapsed on the floor. (I really was very sick.) I collected myself and ran into to living room only to see my wife and son sound asleep on the sofa. I opened the door in horror to see the little “We’re sorry we missed you, but you have to sign for this package, so we’ll bring it back when it is convenient for us.”

Friday, I was still sick, but I refused to go to sleep until after the Fedex truck arrived. At 11:45, the Fedex truck came down the street, passed our house, and headed on down the road. I ran outside just in time to see him turn onto the major thoroughfare and depart.

It occurred to me that, perhaps, Fedex put the iPod on the afternoon shipment, thinking it might stand a better chance of getting a signature. Knowing that the Fedex truck comes by around 4:00PM, I was finally able to go to sleep. Until 1:45, when I awoke to, once again, see the Fedex truck in front of the house. Screaming at the top of my lungs, shouting, “Fedex truck is here,” I tried dashing out of bed again, with similar results. This time, fortunately, my wife was awake, received the package and my iPod had found a new home.

It’s quite nice, all new and shiny. I hooked it up to the MacBook to offload my music and videos (it took a while) and let it charge.

Later that night, was feeling a bit better and we decided to go out for an ice cream and stop at the Apple store to buy a case for it.

I got a nice Agent 18, clear case, which allows you to still see the styling of the iPod but protects it from mars, chips, etc. It also has a removable belt clip and video video stand, allowing you to stand it up for watching videos. By the time we’d finished at the Apple store, I was knackered again and I went home to sleep.

Saturday morning, 6:00AM I was awake, Michelle woke up, everyone else was asleep. I was feeling better, and the weather was great, so I took Michelle to the store to buy some needed groceries.

The iPod was great. I could walk up and down the aisles, not having to listen to the horrid muzak in the store and, oblivious to all the things Michelle invariably asks to buy. Wonderful!

That took about an hour and when we got home, the weather was still great, so I decided to go into the backyard and do some light maintenance. Feed the dogs, water the trees, pick up and trash that had blown in the yard, fill the pool, etc.

I tossed the hose into the pool, but too much of it went into the water, so I bent down to retrieve some of the hose. My left arm lightly touched the iPod. The iPod leaped off of my belt and flew 4 ft straight out into the pool and sank to the bottom. It was playing “A Taste of Honey” by the Beatles as it broke free from the headphone safety line.

I momentarily thought, “Wow, the water is so clear, I could see what was on the iPod’s display, if it were on.” Then unprintable thoughts started going through my head and, without thinking, a desperate plan of action formed in my mind. I removed my sandals…

No, let me re-phrase that, I removed my waterproof sandals, so they wouldn’t get messed up, and jumped into the pool to retrieve the iPod.

It’s a pity I didn’t think to remove my wallet or my cell phone before jumping in. But at least my shoes didn’t get wet.

20 seconds. My new iPod was only in the water for 20 seconds, but it might as well have been a lifetime.

Without being able to immediately remove the battery like on my cell phone, nothing I could do would guarantee that that battery wasn’t surging power through the circuitry.

All attempts to dry it and revive it have failed.

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