iFinally bought one

'Tis March, which means that 'tis the season for tax refunds. (Well, not for everyone, but as parents and homeowners, Dragon and I get a good-sized refund; thus, we get our taxes done ASAP and are now the proud recipients of two direct deposits from the federal government and the State of Wisconsin.) Much of the money has gone, or will go, to various practical applications. However, Dragon did suggest that I purchase a prize or two, entirely for myself, and after some consideration I decided that this was a good idea.

So I bought an iPod. Well, not really an iPod. Actually, not even an iPod nano. I didn't feel THAT much of a prize would be prudent. And really, those things hold like 1,000 songs, and as I've always been more book- than music-oriented, I don't know if I can even think of 1,000 songs. My small and shiny prize is the iPod shuffle, which holds about 240 songs and can be clipped nicely to a pocket, sleeve, or lapel. It comes in blue, silver, purple, and green, and has the added bonus of having recently dropped $30 in price, as it is about to be eclipsed by the newer model of shuffle, which can hold about 500 songs. It also comes in a shiny dark red, and I almost considered waiting for that one based strictly on color reasons. But the small and shiny blue shuffle was calling to me, so I purchased it and took it home.

And I like it very, very much, and have spent quite some time with it since purchasing it on Thursday night. I have put many songs from my CD library on it, and have even purchased a few from iTunes. I took it grocery shopping, and rather enjoyed doing the shopping in a pleasant haze of Moby and Muse. I wore it tonight while doing dishes and folding laundry. I have even taken it for daily walks.* Dragon is quite amused, but he is, after all, the one who told me to buy myself a prize, and he should be quite happy that I did not decide to take my "prize" money to the bookstore and buy another shelf's worth of books.

I am somewhat behind the techological times (the shuffle was introduced in 2005), but I am very happy with my small and shiny shuffle.

*Granted, that last goes above and beyond the instructions in the small and shiny user's manual, and is based entirely on my need to lose a few pounds. However, the iPod shuffle does make a fine exercise companion.