iPod Shuffle, I Hardly Knew Ya

About three weeks ago, I was able to "purchase" a 1GB Apple iPod Shuffle through the reward points program at my job. In other words, I got this cool gadget with no out of pocket expense. It's a great mp3 player. Some people may be turned off by the fact that it doesn't have a display at all but that never bothered me at all. You can load a play list from your computer onto the shuffle, or let iTunes (the program it was made to work with) pick a playlist at random. I really enjoyed using the shuffle on my forty-five minute commute to and from work everyday. But, alas, this love affair was not long for this world due to one fatal flaw in the iPod Shuffle's design: It's so stinking small and light!

Each day I went to work with it, I would take it and put it in my right pants pocket since I knew that the heat that would be present in my car all day could potentially damage the sensitive electronic components. And, when I got home at night I would take it inside and put it on my dresser where it could rest peacefully away from my two year old and my cat. Of course, coming home from work with coffee mugs, soda cans, etc. meant that I would typically put the Shuffle in my pocket during the trip from my driveway to my bedroom. Therein lies the rub.

On at least three different occasions, I was getting ready to leave for work and could not find my preciousss. I mean my precious mp3 player (oops). Then, each time, I would go look in the hamper and, sure enough, there was my iPod: in the pocket of my pants, in the dirty clothes.

Ah, dirty laundry in the hamper. An image that will haunt me for years to come, I'm sure. A couple of weeks ago, I got up for work and realized that I did not have any clean pants. Not only were they dirty, they were apparently the only dirty clothes in the hamper. As I started the washing machine in a panic for fear that I'd be late for work, I fussed at my wife saying, "Why did you wash everything else but my work pants?" Strange how our words come back to haunt us.

Thursday night, I came home from work in the usual way. My wife took my daughter up to the hospital to see our new baby nephew (see pics below). I knew that I had to drop a bill off so I grabbed my wallet, keys, and... where was the iPod? I searched my dresser casually, then a sense of dread came over me. From my room I could hear the washing machine's steady mechanical motion. I swear the swishing of the water and motor harmonized and sounded like: SHOR FUL- SHOR FUL- SHUF FULL-SHUF FULL- SHUFFLE!! I ran to the hamper and started digging through the dirty clothes, frantically searching for my work pants. They weren't in there. I threw open the lid of the washing machine.

It looked just like a murder scene. Khaki pants, wet and twisted into unnatural positions, filled the tank. I pulled out the first pair and shoved my hand into the pockets. Not there. I pulled out the next pair - empty pockets. Then I saw it.

Time seemed to slow down when I laid my eyes upon the iPod Shuffle resting peacefully at the bottom of my washing machine tank under about three inches of water. I plunged my hand into the water in a vain attempt at saving its poor, defenseless life. I looked at the water droplets that now covered its white little frame and shook it gently. A small splashing sound answered. Water. Water had infiltrated the iPod Shuffle's design.

I had plans for this little mp3 player. I start my vacation on the outer banks of North Carolina in about three weeks and I was already mentally setting up a vacation/beach mix that would last us all week in our car (the thing could run twelve hours on a single charge for crying out loud!). I was planning to link it to the Xbox 360 (which you can supposedly do) when it finally comes out.

Funny how our plans get tossed aside in this life. Despite all my plans, I never planned on this: Selling it on eBay with this title: "Inoperable iPod Shuffle Due to Water Submersion".

Apple iPod Shuffle: June 17th, 2005 - July 7th, 2005.