What Shall It Be Today

From a gal who is a stranger in her own land.

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Sunday, January 28, 2007

My iPod has returned from the dead. 

This is a "holy crap!!" moment. 

So, after I dropped the iPod several days ago, the ominous "sad iPod" icon came on.  Apple's site was of no help; it kept telling me to reboot and restore, but my iPod wouldn't respond.  It gave this sort of "crying" sound whenever I tried to turn it on.  (Hindsight: probably a loose cable trying to connect to the hard drive, now I think about it, not unlike the sound I used to hear with my desktop computer when the temperature got too cold and it refused to boot up because the jack came loose). 

Like any other person would do, I googled the net...and found the secret 6th method to fixing a dropped iPod: bang the crap out of it.

Ok, maybe not so much, but seriously?  It involved slamming the iPod, charger port down, on a legal pad.  Or thick book.  Or leather wallet.  Whatever one prefers.  The advice might have been given out of humor, partially, but soon I found myself reading hundreds of testimonials where more abuse actually knocked the senses back into iPods.  Quite contrary to common sense, but clearly it was no joke.

So there I was, banging it on all sides, purposely dropping it, hurling it, slapping it, all to no avail.  Maybe my iPod wouldn't succumb to this fix after all.

So then there I was, looking on Amazon and apple.com, seriously contemplating getting a new iPod.  A full one, at that, maybe a 30 GB or 80 GB one, as opposed to my measly 4 GB iPod mini (which, BTW, is now a big collector's item because they don't make them anymore, thus making my beautiful apple green one that much more special).  2 minutes away from ordering one, and warming up to the idea of shelling out another $250-300 for a device that holds at least 7500 songs, and maybe a new protector with an arm band worth another $20.

Dammit.  Out of frustration, I banged the stupid thing on my wrist.

Suddenly, the Apple icon came on.  Strange, no crying...  Could it be?!

Yes, it could.  Thank you lord!  Guess it just needed some spanking, and apparently some masochism on my part.  Keep your fingers crossed, though.

thus spake merserene on January 28, 2007 20:41 | link | comments (5) |
file under technology, oh no you didnt

Thursday, January 25, 2007

I think I killed my iPod.

Down it went on the treadmill, off the treadmill and onto the floor.  Wouldn't respond to my touch and wouldn't shut off.  This was the first time I used it at the gym in about 2 months, too.  Maybe it was meant to be.

For such expensive pieces of equipment, they really should be more resilient. 

thus spake merserene on January 25, 2007 19:11 | link | comments (5) |
file under oh no you didnt

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

If you were, wouldn't you?

If you didn't, does that mean you aren't?

thus spake merserene on January 23, 2007 13:59 | link | comments (3) |
file under

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Someone came up to me today specifically to ask a question: Whether I was Filipina or Vietnamese. 

That specific.  It was a first for me for both guesses.

The person was so convinced that I was either, that when I said no, he went on to Thai.  No to that, too.

Sometimes I like to play the game.  I mean, who doesn't?  We're endowed with curiosity.  You wonder where someone comes from because of his/her looks, accent, dress, demeanor.  As long as people are not asking to discriminate, there's no reason to be offended. 

* * *

Yesterday several people asked for my age.  People had me pegged at, "You can't be more than 22!"  (Which is impossible given the amount of education I've had, unless I was a whiz and zipped through it all.  Certainly am not a whiz.)  Only when I said no did they reluctantly go up in numbers. 

Hey, I'll take that reaction any day - especially the early 20s range.  When they get down to the teenage years, like16, it's just a tad ridiculous.  You have to wonder if some people are really that bad at telling other people's ages, or if they tried to flatter but went too far.

I don't know why there's this sudden interest in my ethnicity and age, though this is CA, likely the most diverse state on earth.  At least people aren't asking me what high school I went to just to gauge my social status, like they love to do down in NOLA.  Good lord.

Speaking of which, looking back, it's amazing how I ever managed to survive in and through that place.  9 murders within the first 11 days of the year, and with a rising crime rate.  The most positive things the experience gave me, at this point, are points of conversation.  Like Katrina, murders, and the damn roaches.  Otherwise, you can't pay me enough to live in that city again.

Fun times.

thus spake merserene on January 14, 2007 23:59 | link | comments (6) |
file under oh no you didnt, cultural differences

Monday, January 01, 2007

On the first (ok, second, by the time I posted this) of this new year, I am surprised (actually, just a tad horrified) that I am even considering putting Justin Timberlake's latest album, FutureSex/LoveSounds on my Amazon wishlist.

I had my fill of boy bands in my younger days.  I was too old to listen to 'Nsync or Back Street Boys.  I never cared about Justin Timberlake.  Until, I saw a clip on YouTube of his skit on SNL. Don't remember SNL being funny in a long time, and don't remember laughing at a skit so hard.  (Not even Natalie Portman's skit compares.)

And then, to my great shock, I found myself having some sort of respect for this kid.  Not that I thought he was the skum of the earth, but just never cared enough about him to pay him much attention, and always thought he was in the media way too much, be it with Britney, Janet, or Cameron.  But, he can act!  He is funny!  He's really not that bad of a singer!  Brownie points, gold star.

For some odd reason, too, now that I'm back in the land of great radio stations, I'm eating my former words and have begun to listen to commercial radio again.  Just to see what's out there, you know.  NPR all the time can get a bit boring.  Granted, I still think most commercial radio/pop/hip hop/top 40s suck, but hey, whaddya know, I like Gnarls Barkley!  I was obsessed with "Crazy" for days.  I like Black Eyed Peas, too!  Whoa, and what's this "Sexy Back" song, and why do I find myself moving to the beat?  It's Justin! 

Suddenly, I'm reliving my youth.  Sort of.  There were glory days of following teen/pop idols, but those days were kinda cut short by a move into the adult contemporary category. *cough*notsurewhatpossessedme*cough*  It's like I'm making up for something I missed.  Wow.  Has too much NPR blown my mind?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  Same goes for music.  When you think it's good, it's good, regardless of what you're supposed to be listening to.  Enjoy them for what they're worth.

(Note: I just listened to samples of FutureSex/LoveSounds on Amazon.  Think I will hold the wishlist add, after all - most of the rest of the album just doesn't grab me as much, though the ones I do like have this familiar feel.  Very Prince.  Still, brownie points and gold star for Justin!)

thus spake merserene on January 01, 2007 23:31 | link | comments (3) |
file under listening, thats entertainment